The Tenth Flash

There, as long as I was again occupied with the service of the Qur’an—during a time when exiles were kept under strict surveillance and were required to report every evening—both I and my sincere students were exempted from this. I never reported myself, nor did I acknowledge the government. The governor complained about this to Fevzi PashaFevzi Çakmak (1876–1950), a military commander and statesman who served as Chief of the General Staff of Turkey and was one of the leading military figures of the early Turkish Republic., but he said: “Leave him alone and treat him with respect.” It was the sacredness of the service of the Qur’an that caused him to speak in this way.

But when once again the thought of concerning myself solely with my own Hereafter prevailed, and the service temporarily slackened, I again received a warning through the opposite of my intention: I was transferred from one place of exile to another, to Isparta.

In Isparta, I again took up the service. After twenty days, some fearful people said to me out of concern:

“Perhaps the government will not look favourably upon this situation. It would be better if you acted somewhat more slowly and proceeded with a little more caution.”

Thereupon the thought of thinking only of myself again gained strength. I said: “Let people not come.”

And again, from that place of exile too, I was sent as a third exile to 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.. 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., whenever slackness came upon me and the thought of occupying myself solely with myself gained strength, one of the snakes and hypocrites of this world was set upon me and troubled me.

In these eight years, I could relate eighty incidents that happened to me personally. But so as not to weary you, I shall keep it brief.

O my brothers, I have set forth the merciful warnings that struck me. If you permit it, I shall also mention the merciful warnings that befell you. Do not be offended. If anyone is offended, I shall not mention his name.

The Second Case

My own brother and my foremost, elevated, and self-sacrificing student, AbdulmecidAbdulmecid Nursi; the younger brother of Bediuzzaman Said Nursi, an Islamic scholar who translated parts of the Risale-i Nur from Ottoman Turkish into Arabic., had a beautiful house in VanA city in eastern Turkey where Bediuzzaman Said Nursi lived and taught for many years before his exile to western Turkey.. His affairs were well ordered, and he was also a teacher. When, contrary to my wish, some people undertook efforts to send me to the border region—a place where the service of the Qur’an would find greater circulation—he did not take part in this and did not cast his vote, according to his own judgement and supposedly for my benefit. He thought that if I went to the border, the service of the Qur’an would no longer remain pure and free of political involvement, and that they would also remove him from VanA city in eastern Turkey where Bediuzzaman Said Nursi lived and taught for many years before his exile to western Turkey..

But he received a merciful warning directly opposite to his intention. He was compelled to leave VanA city in eastern Turkey where Bediuzzaman Said Nursi lived and taught for many years before his exile to western Turkey., his beautiful house, and his homeland, and to go to ErganiA town and district in Diyarbakır Province in southeastern Turkey, where Abdulmecid Nursi, the younger brother of Bediuzzaman Said Nursi, served for a period as a religious official..