The Ninth Remedy

O sick person who knows his Creator! Because illnesses sometimes lead to death, they bring pain, dread, and fear. Since death, from the heedless and superficial point of view, appears frightening, illnesses that may lead to it cause worry and fear.

First, know and believe with certainty that the appointed hour of death has already been determined and cannot be changed. It has happened that healthy people who were weeping over the seriously ill have themselves died, while those seriously ill people recovered and continued to live.

Second, know that death is not as frightening as it outwardly appears. Through the instruction of the Qur’an, we have proved in many treatises of the Risale-i Nur, in an indisputable and irrefutable manner, that for believers death is a release from the burdens arising from the responsibilities of life. It is a discharge from the duties of worship, which are forms of service during the trial of this world. It is also a means of reunion with ninety-nine out of every hundred friends and relatives who have departed for the Hereafter, as well as a means of entering one’s true homeland and attaining eternal happiness. Moreover, it is an invitation to move from the prison of this world to the gardens of Paradise. It is the beginning of receiving the spiritual wages that the Compassionate Creator, out of His generosity, will grant in return for services devoted to Him.

Since this is the reality of death, one should not view it as frightening, but rather see it as the beginning of mercy and happiness. The reason why some awliyā(sing. walī) Those who seek the pleasure of Allah and attain elevated spiritual ranks through worship, obedience, and sincerity. fear death is not because of any terrifying aspect in death itself. Rather, their fear arises from their desire to perform more good deeds through the continuation of life.

Indeed, for believers death is a gate of mercy, while for the misguided it is a pit of eternal darkness.

The Tenth Remedy

O sick person who worries unnecessarily! You are anxious about the severity of your illness, yet that anxiety only makes your illness heavier. If you wish to lighten it, try not to dwell on it. Think instead of how short-lived the illness is, of its benefits, and of the thawābThe rewards granted in the Hereafter for deeds performed in pursuit of Allah’s pleasure and acceptance. it will bring. Let go of anxiety, and in this way you will strike at the root of your illness.

Indeed, anxiety doubles illness. In addition to your physical illness, anxiety creates a spiritual illness in the heart, to which the physical illness clings and upon which it continues to grow. If this anxiety is removed through submission, contentment with the decree of Allah, and reflection on the wisdom behind illness, then an important root of the illness will have been cut away. As a result, the illness becomes lighter and, in part, disappears. Sometimes even a minor physical illness may become ten times worse because of anxiety. When that anxiety is brought to an end, ninety percent of the illness disappears.