since he described himself as a teacher. Drawn by those "lights of belief' in that dark time, they willingly suffered the persecution and assisted Bediuzzaman by writing out and spreading the Words. The writing and dissemination was another unique feature of the Risale-i Nur; Bediuzzaman would dictate at speed to his students who acted as scribes. He had no books for reference and the writing of religious works was of course forbidden. They were all written therefore in the mountains and out in the countryside. Handwritten copies of the treatises or the letters were then made of the originals and these were conveyed to the Risale-i Nur students and secretly copied out in their houses. These copies were passed from village to village, and then from town to town, with more and more copies being made on the way till eventually they spread throughout Turkey.

Travel was not easy and Bediuzzaman communicated by letter with those of his students who lived in towns and villages other than Barla. Largely in reply to their questions, the letters offer important guidance on numerous points of belief and Islam, explained in the light of the Risale-i Nur and its way, and in the face of the misguidance of the times. Indeed, they form an important source and authority on many subjects for Muslims today.

Since some of his students had previously been attached to Sufi orders, he sometimes explains the way of the Risale-i Nur to them through comparisons with the Sufi way. The primary aim of the Risale-i Nur is the saving and strengthening of belief. Employing both the intellect and the heart, Bediuzzaman described it as "reality" (hakikat) and Shari 'a, rather than tarikat, that is Sufism. It is the highway of the Qur'an, which teaches the true affirmation of divine unity; true and certain belief, attained in a short time through investigation and the exercise of the reason. The direct way to reality and knowledge of God, which is the way of the Companions of Prophet (UWBP) through "the legacy of prophethood."

Some of the letters offer guidance and encouragement to the students by answering criticisms and misrepresentations put forward by those antithetical to religion, concerning both points of Islam and Bediuzzaman himself. Others expose the plans to corrupt Islam through the introduction of innovations. They show how on the one hand Bediuzzaman was absolutely uncompromising in the face of enemies to religion, and on the other his complete fairness and moderateness in adjudicating points of conflict and controversy within Islam. All these illustrate his profound knowledge of many subjects, as well as the clarity and power of his style, which is based on logic.

Bediuzzaman did not ascribe the Risale-i Nur to himself; he saw it as a