of belief. In the Risale-i Nur many descriptions of the divine activity in the universe are looked at through the eyes of science and reflect Bediuzzaman's knowledge of it. The Risale-i Nur shows that there is no contradiction or conflict between religion and science.

In addition, all these matters discussed in the Risale-i Nur are set out as reasoned arguments and proved according to logic. All the main truths of faith are proved so clearly that everyone can see their necessity. So too, inspired by the Qur'an, even the most profound and inaccessible truths are made accessible by means of comparisons, which bring them close to the understanding like telescopes, so that they are readily understandable by ordinary people and those with no previous knowledge of these questions.

Another aspect of the Risale-i Nur related to the face of the Qur'an which looks to this age, is that it explains everything from the point of view of wisdom; that is, it explains the aims and purposes of everything. It considers things from the point of view of the divine name of All-Wise.

Also, following this method, in the Risale-i Nur Bediuzzaman solved many mysteries of religion, such as bodily resurrection and divine determining and man's will, and the riddle of the constant change in the universe and the motion of particles, before which, relying on his own intellect and philosophy, man had been impotent.

While in Barla, Bediuzzaman put the treatise on resurrection and the pieces that followed it together in the form of a collection and gave it the name of Sözler (The Words). The Words was followed by Mektûbat, Letters, the present collection of thirty-three letters of varying lengths from Bediuzzaman to his students. And this was followed by Lem’alar, The Flashes Collection, and Şualar, The Rays, which was completed in 1949. Included in these last two are Bediuzzaman's defence speeches from the trials at Eskişehir in 1935 and Afyon in 1948-9. Together with these are the three collections of Additional Letters, for each of Bediuzzaman's main places of exile, Barla Lahikası, Kastamonu Lahikası, and Emirdağ Lahikası.

Bediuzzaman’s Letters

Bediuzzaman’s Letters

Thus, during that period of oppression when under the name of secularization those in power were seeking the virtual eradication of Islam and Islamic culture and their substitution by irreligion and materialist philosophy of Western origin, with his unequalled learning, extraordinary clear vision and foresight, and courage, and his writings, Bediuzzaman became a point of hope and strength for the people. Despite the adverse conditions and efforts to isolate him in Barla, he began to attract 'students' — so-called