THE FOURTEENTH FLASH

It consists of two chapters. The First Chapter is the answer to two questions.

بِاسْمِهٖ سُبْحَانَهُIn His Name, glory be to Him.

وَاِنْ مِنْ شَىْءٍ اِلاَّ يُسَبِّحُ بِحَمْدِهِIndeed, there is nothing that does not glorify Him with praise. — The Qur’an 17:44

اَلسَّلاَمُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَةُ اللّٰهِ وَبَرَكَاتُهُMay the peace, mercy, and blessings of Allah be upon you.

My honoured and sincere brother RefetRefet Barutçu, one of the foremost students of Bediuzzaman.,

The answer to the question you asked concerning the sawrox and the hūtfish is found in several treatises of the Risale-i Nur. For questions of this kind, in the Third Branch of the Twenty-Fourth Word, twelve important principles have been set forth through twelve rules. These rules are measures for the various explanations and interpretations of prophetic narrations, and are essential principles for removing misunderstandings and doubts concerning hadithA report of the sayings, actions, or approvals of Prophet Muhammed (pbuh)..

Unfortunately, certain circumstances prevent me for the time being from engaging with scholarly questions, except when something presents itself to me in the form of inner inspirations. For this reason, I cannot respond to all your questions as fully as they deserve. Yet when such an inner inspiration occurs, I cannot turn away from it. Sometimes questions coincide with such inspirations and are answered; so do not take it amiss that I cannot treat every question completely. Nevertheless, this time I shall give a brief answer to your question.

In your present question, you say the following:

“Scholars say that the earth rests upon an ox and a fish, while geography shows that the earth moves as a floating planet. There is, after all, neither an ox nor a fish.”

The Answer: There is a reliable narration attributed to Companions such as Ibn Abbās (ra)Abdullah ibn Abbās, a cousin of Prophet Muhammad (saw) and one of his Companions. He was renowned for his profound knowledge of the Qur’an and its interpretation (tafsīr), earning him the title Interpreter of the Qur’an., in which the Messenger of Allah (saw)Sallallāhu alayhi wa sallam (Peace and blessings be upon him) was asked: “Upon what does the earth rest?”

He replied:

عَلَى الثَّوْرِ وَالْحُوتِUpon the ox and the fish.

In another narration, he said on one occasion:

عَلَى الثَّوْرِUpon the ox

and on another occasion:

عَلَى الْحُوتِUpon the fish

Some hadithA report of the sayings, actions, or approvals of Prophet Muhammed (pbuh). scholars connected this hadithA report of the sayings, actions, or approvals of Prophet Muhammed (pbuh). with superstition-like stories drawn from Israelite sources and transmitted from ancient times. In particular, certain scholars from among the Banī IsrāīlChildren of Israel; dhe descendants of Prophet Yaqūb (as), who was also known as Israel. They are frequently mentioned in the Qur’an as a people to whom Allah sent numerous prophets. who had entered Islam connected stories they had read in earlier scriptures about the ox and the fish with this narration, and in doing so they distorted the meaning of the hadithA report of the sayings, actions, or approvals of Prophet Muhammed (pbuh). in a strange way. For the present, in answer to your question, three principles and three viewpoints will be set forth.