The Sixteenth Hope

Once, in my old age, after serving a one-year sentence in EskişehirA city in northwestern Turkey, known for its historical and cultural significance. It holds an important place in the life of Bediuzzaman Said Nursi, who was imprisoned there in 1935 together with many of his students because of their activities involving the Risale-i Nur. Prison, I was exiled to KastamonuA historic city and province in northern Turkey, in the Black Sea region. It holds particular significance in the life of Bediuzzaman Said Nursi, who lived there under surveillance from 1936 to 1943, continuing his work on the Risale-i Nur. His letters from this period are collected in the Kastamonu Letters., where I was kept at the police station for two or three months. One can readily imagine how much someone like me must have suffered under such circumstances—a recluse who finds even meeting his devoted friends burdensome and cannot bear the slightest change in his clothing.

While I was in this state of despair, Divine assistance suddenly came to my aid. The police commissioner and the officers at the station became devoted friends of mine. They never compelled me to wear a hat. On the contrary, as though they were my attendants, they allowed me to walk about the outskirts of the town whenever I wished.

Afterwards, I took up residence in the Madrasa an-Nūriyya“The School of Light”; a term associated with the spiritual and educational mission of the Risale-i Nur, referring to a place or community where the truths of faith are studied, taught, and shared. of KastamonuA historic city and province in northern Turkey, in the Black Sea region. It holds particular significance in the life of Bediuzzaman Said Nursi, who lived there under surveillance from 1936 to 1943, continuing his work on the Risale-i Nur. His letters from this period are collected in the Kastamonu Letters., opposite the police station, and began writing the Risale-i Nur. Heroic students of the Risale-i Nur, such as Feyzi, Emin, Hilmi, Sadık, Nazif, and Salahaddin, faithfully came to the madrasaAn Islamic educational institution where students study religious sciences such as the Qur’an, hadith, Islamic jurisprudence (fiqh), and Arabic, sometimes alongside other subjects. to copy and distribute its treatises. They afforded me an experience of scholarly companionship even more splendid than the precious discussions I had enjoyed with my former students in my youth.

The details of this Sixteenth Hope are recorded in the letters I sent from KastamonuA historic city and province in northern Turkey, in the Black Sea region. It holds particular significance in the life of Bediuzzaman Said Nursi, who lived there under surveillance from 1936 to 1943, continuing his work on the Risale-i Nur. His letters from this period are collected in the Kastamonu Letters., which were included in The KastamonuA historic city and province in northern Turkey, in the Black Sea region. It holds particular significance in the life of Bediuzzaman Said Nursi, who lived there under surveillance from 1936 to 1943, continuing his work on the Risale-i Nur. His letters from this period are collected in the Kastamonu Letters. Letters; in the short letters I secretly sent to my brothers there from DenizliA city and province in southwestern Turkey. It holds special significance in the life of Bediuzzaman Said Nursi, who was imprisoned there with many of his students from 1943 to 1944 because of their activities involving the Risale-i Nur. Prison; and in The Treatise of the DenizliA city and province in southwestern Turkey. It holds special significance in the life of Bediuzzaman Said Nursi, who was imprisoned there with many of his students from 1943 to 1944 because of their activities involving the Risale-i Nur. Defence. These writings clearly illustrate the truth of this Sixteenth Hope. For further details, we refer you to those letters and to my defence, contenting ourselves here with only a brief indication.

I had concealed the confidential and important treatises—particularly those concerning the SufyānAn end-times figure associated with misguidance, tyranny, and hostility toward the Muslim community. and the karāmātMiraculous events granted by Allah through righteous believers who are not prophets. of the Risale-i Nur—beneath coal and firewood, intending that they should be published only after my death, or after the authorities had learned the truth and come to their senses.

While I rested secure in this hope, detectives and the deputy public prosecutor suddenly raided my residence. They discovered those confidential and weighty treatises beneath the firewood and, despite my frail health, sent me to IspartaA city and province in southwestern Turkey, known for its rose cultivation and natural beauty. It holds particular significance in the life of Bediuzzaman Said Nursi, who spent many years in the region during his exile, writing and spreading the Risale-i Nur with the help of his students. Prison.

While I was deeply distressed by the suffering and grave harm inflicted upon the Risale-i Nur, Divine assistance hastened to our aid. The authorities began reading those hidden and weighty treatises—which the government itself was, in fact, in urgent need of—with great interest and attention. Great government buildings were almost transformed into madrasas of the Risale-i Nur. Although the officials had initially approached the works with the intention of criticising them, they gradually came to appreciate them.

Moreover, in DenizliA city and province in southwestern Turkey. It holds special significance in the life of Bediuzzaman Said Nursi, who was imprisoned there with many of his students from 1943 to 1944 because of their activities involving the Risale-i Nur., without our knowledge, many officials and private individuals read the printed edition of The Supreme Sign, and their īmānFaith; belief in the six articles of faith: Allah, His angels, His revealed scriptures, His prophets, the Hereafter, and divine decree (qadar). was strengthened through it. All this caused us almost entirely to forget the hardships of our imprisonment.

Later, they transferred us to DenizliA city and province in southwestern Turkey. It holds special significance in the life of Bediuzzaman Said Nursi, who was imprisoned there with many of his students from 1943 to 1944 because of their activities involving the Risale-i Nur. Prison, where they placed me in complete isolation in a stuffy, damp, and cold cell. Burdened by old age and illness, tormented by the suffering my innocent friends were enduring on my account, and distressed by the interruption of the activities of the Risale-i Nur and the confiscation of its treatises, I was in a state of profound anguish.