The Twentieth Letter

The Twentieth Letter

In His Name, be He glorified!

And there is nothing but it glorifies Him with praise.(17:44)

In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate.

There is no god but God, He is One, He has no partner; His is the dominion, and His is the praise; He alone grants life, and deals death, and He is living and dies not; all good is in His hand, He is powerful over all things, and with Him all things have their end. [^1]

[This sentence expressing divine unity, which is recited following the morning and evening prayers, possesses numerous merits] [^2] and according to an authentic narration bears the degree of the Greatest Name. [^3] It consists of eleven phrases each of which conveys both some good tidings, and a degree in the unity of dominicality (tevhid-i rubûbiyet), and an aspect of the grandeur and perfection of divine unity from the point of view of a Greatest Name. Referring a full explanation of these vast, elevated truths to other parts of the Risale-i Nur, in fulfilment of a promise we shall for now write a brief, index-like summary of them in two Stations and an Introduction.]

[^1]: Bukhārī, Adhān, 155; Tahajjud 21; Muslim, Dhikr, 28, 30, 74, 75, 76; Tirmidhī, Mawāqit, 108; Ḥajj, 104; Nasā’ī, Sahw, 83-6; Ibn Māja, Du‘a, 10, 14, 16; Abū Dā’ūd, Manāsik, 56; Dārimī, Ṣalāt, 88, 90; Muwaṭṭa’, Ḥajj, 127, 243; Qur’ān, 20, 22; Musnad, i, 47; ii, 5; iii, 320; iv, 4; v, 191.

[^2]: See, Musnad, iv, 60; al-Haythamī, Majma‘ al-Zawā’id, x, 107.

[^3]: See, Ibn Māja, Du‘ā, 9.