The Twenty-Second Flash

The principal source and driving force behind this diversity within humanity is true virtue born of īmānFaith; belief in the six articles of faith: Allah, His angels, His revealed scriptures, His prophets, the Hereafter, and divine decree (qadar)., attained through struggle and effort. Such virtue can be abolished only by altering human nature, extinguishing the intellect, killing the heart, and destroying the soul.

Indeed, although the following magnificent words deserved to be hurled in the cruel face of this age—which conceals terrible oppression beneath the veil of freedom—they were unjustly hurled in the face of a person of great importance who in no way deserved such an attack:

“Can freedom be destroyed through injustice and oppression?

Then try, if you can, to deprive the human being of his intellect!”

Instead, I would hurl these words in the face of this age:

“Can truth be destroyed through injustice and oppression?

Then try, if you can, to deprive the human being of his heart!”

Or:

“Can virtue be destroyed through injustice and oppression?

Then try, if you can, to deprive the human being of his conscience!”

Indeed, virtue born of īmānFaith; belief in the six articles of faith: Allah, His angels, His revealed scriptures, His prophets, the Hereafter, and divine decree (qadar). is neither a means of domination nor a cause of oppression. On the contrary, the desire to dominate and assert superiority is itself a deficiency in virtue. The foremost principle governing the lives of people of virtue is to participate in society with humility and an awareness of their own powerlessness and poverty. Lillāhilhamd“All praise belongs to Allah”; an expression of gratitude and praise, acknowledging that all praise is due to Allah alone., we have always lived by this principle and continue to do so.

I do not claim to possess virtue out of pride. Rather, in acknowledgment of a Divine favour and as an expression of gratitude, I say the following:

Through His mercy and generosity, Allah has bestowed upon me the favour of devoting myself to, and gaining insight into, the knowledge of īmānFaith; belief in the six articles of faith: Allah, His angels, His revealed scriptures, His prophets, the Hereafter, and divine decree (qadar). and the Qur’an.

Lillāhilhamd“All praise belongs to Allah”; an expression of gratitude and praise, acknowledging that all praise is due to Allah alone., with Divine assistance, I have devoted this Divine favour throughout my life to the welfare and happiness of this Muslim community. It has never served as a means of domination or abuse of power.

On the contrary, the attention and esteem of others—which so many seek—are distasteful to me for a profound reason, and I avoid them. Having lost twenty years of my former life on account of such attention, I regard it as harmful to me. Yet insofar as that esteem is an expression of appreciation for the Risale-i Nur, I do not reject it.

Now behold, O worldly people! I do not interfere in your world in the slightest, nor have I any connection with your principles. My nine years of secluded life bear witness that I have neither the desire nor the intention ever again to involve myself in worldly affairs. On what grounds, then, am I subjected to all this surveillance and pressure, as though I were a former ruler merely awaiting an opportunity to regain power and dominate others? By what law? To what end?

No government in the world would sanction treatment that stands outside the law and that no one could approve. Yet I am subjected to such mistreatment that I am not alone in being aggrieved by it. Were humanity aware of it, all humankind would feel aggrieved—perhaps even the entire universe.