The First Principle

You must seek the pleasure of Allah in your actions. If He is pleased with them, it does not matter even if the whole of humanity rejects them. Once He is pleased with an action and has accepted it, He can, if He wills and His wisdom requires it, bring about acceptance and approval among people as well, without your seeking it.

Therefore, in this service of the Qur’an, you must make the pleasure of Allah your sole aim.

The Second Principle

You must not criticise your brothers who labour in this service of the Qur’an, nor should you arouse feelings of envy in them by presenting yourselves as superior.

For example, one hand of a person does not compete with the other, one eye does not criticise the other, the tongue does not object to the ear, and the heart does not expose the shortcomings of the soul. Rather, they make up for one another's deficiencies, conceal one another's faults, and assist one another in fulfilling their needs and duties. Otherwise, the life of the human being would come to an end, his soul would depart, and his body would fall apart.

Likewise, the cogwheels of a factory do not compete with one another, seek to dominate one another, or bring the machinery to a halt by dwelling upon one another's shortcomings, criticising one another, and weakening one another’s resolve to work. Rather, they assist one another with all their strength, directing their respective activities toward a common purpose. In genuine unity and harmony, they continue to function in accordance with the purpose of their existence.

Yet even the slightest opposition or obstruction among the cogwheels may disrupt the operation of the factory and prevent it from fulfilling its purpose. Ultimately, this may cause the owner to demolish the factory.

Indeed, O students of the Risale-i Nur and servants of the Qur’an! The service to which we devote ourselves is, as it were, a perfect spiritual human being, each of us forming one of its limbs. We are also the cogwheels of a factory in which eternal happiness is produced for everlasting life. Moreover, we are servants working aboard the Divine ship, which carries the community of Muhammad (saw)Sallallāhu alayhi wa sallam (Peace and blessings be upon him) toward the peaceful shore of Dār-us-SalāmThe Abode of Peace; a name for Paradise (Jannah), where believers will enjoy eternal peace, safety, and happiness through Allah’s mercy..

We therefore need, and are compelled to attain, unity and genuine harmony arising from ikhlāsSincerity in worship, seeking only the pleasure of Allah and avoiding the pursuit of fame or status.. Through such unity, four individuals can acquire the spiritual strength of 1,111 people.

Indeed, when three alifs remain separate and do not stand shoulder to shoulder, their numerical value is only three. But when they join together and stand shoulder to shoulder, they acquire a value of one hundred and eleven.

Likewise, when four fours stand separately, their combined value is merely sixteen. Yet when they unite as close brothers around a common purpose, working together in complete harmony and standing shoulder to shoulder in a single line, their value becomes 4,444.