A Striking Lesson for the Heedless

O my foolish nafsThe aspect of the soul associated with lower desires and negative traits. that longs for worldly life. You are sunk in heedlessness and have forgotten the Hereafter. Do you know what you resemble? An ostrich. When it sees the hunter, it does not flee because it cannot fly. Instead, it sticks its head in the sand so that the hunter will not see it. But the hunter most certainly does see it, because its large body remains protruding above the ground.

O my nafsThe aspect of the soul associated with lower desires and negative traits.! Look at the following comparison and see how, by fixing one’s attention only on this worldly life, a person exchanges a very refined pleasure for painful misery.

Suppose that in this village, that is, in BarlaA village in Isparta Province, where Said Nursi lived in exile from 1926 to 1934 and wrote many parts of the Risale-i Nur Collection., there are two men, each with one hundred friends. Ninety-nine of the first man’s friends have departed for Istanbul and are enjoying their lives there. Only one of his friends has remained behind, and he too will soon depart. For this reason, the first man longs for Istanbul, thinks of it, and wants to meet his friends there. If he were commanded to go to Istanbul, he would obey joyfully.

Just as with the first man, ninety-nine of the second man’s friends have also departed from BarlaA village in Isparta Province, where Said Nursi lived in exile from 1926 to 1934 and wrote many parts of the Risale-i Nur Collection.. Unlike the first man, he thinks that some of them have perished and that others have gone missing. He thinks they are lost. Instead of longing for the friendship of those ninety-nine friends and seeking it, this helpless man tries to console himself with the company of a single guest. In this way, he wants to forget the sorrow that arises from separation from his friends.

So then, O my nafsThe aspect of the soul associated with lower desires and negative traits.! All your friends, especially HabībullāhThe Beloved of Allah; a title of our Prophet Muhammed (pbuh). (saw)Sallallāhu alayhi wa sallam (Peace and blessings be upon him), are on the other side of the grave. As for the few who have remained here, they too will go there. Do not be afraid of death, do not fear the grave, and do not avert your gaze. Face the grave with courage and listen to what it asks of you. Smile courageously in the face of death and look at what it wants from you. Be on your guard and do not be heedless, lest you resemble the second man.

O my nafsThe aspect of the soul associated with lower desires and negative traits.! Do not say: “Times have changed; we live in a different age. Everyone is immersed in worldly affairs and worries about their livelihood.” For death lies on the path of our lives, and this reality does not change. The separation from your friends and loved ones that comes with death cannot be prevented. Humanity’s powerlessness and the human being’s needs do not come to an end; rather, they increase. The journey of the human being does not stop, but accelerates.

And do not say, “I am like everyone else.” For everyone accompanies you only as far as the grave. The consolation you find in the thought that others are struck by the same misfortune has no value beyond the grave. Nor should you think that you are exempt from your responsibilities. For if you look attentively at this dwelling place, the world, you will find nothing that has been created without order or purpose. How, then, can you think that you have no purpose and no responsibility?

 

From The Fourteenth Word