The Twenty-First Flash

The essence of such friendship is genuine sincerity. Whoever loses that sincerity will fall from the exalted station attained through sincere friendship, like one who falls from the summit of a lofty tower. He also risks plunging into an exceedingly deep ravine, for there is nothing between the summit of that tower and the abyss below to which he might cling.

Indeed, there are only two paths before us. Those who now abandon our path—the broad highway of the Qur’an—risk unwittingly strengthening our enemies, the movements of godlessness.

InshaAllah, those who enter the path of the Qur’an through the Risale-i Nur will always strengthen the light, sincerity, and īmānFaith; belief in the six articles of faith: Allah, His angels, His revealed scriptures, His prophets, the Hereafter, and divine decree (qadar)., and will never fall into such abysses.

O my friends in the service of the Qur’an!

One of the most effective means of attaining and preserving ikhlāsSincerity in worship, seeking only the pleasure of Allah and avoiding the pursuit of fame or status. is the contemplation of death.

Indeed, while worldly ambitions undermine ikhlāsSincerity in worship, seeking only the pleasure of Allah and avoiding the pursuit of fame or status., foster riyāDisplaying piety to impress others rather than seeking Allah’s pleasure; the opposite of ikhlās., and incline one toward the world, the contemplation of death engenders an aversion to riyāDisplaying piety to impress others rather than seeking Allah’s pleasure; the opposite of ikhlās. and helps one attain ikhlāsSincerity in worship, seeking only the pleasure of Allah and avoiding the pursuit of fame or status.. That is to say, by reflecting upon one's own death and recognising the transience of this world, one guards oneself against the deceptions of the nafsThe aspect of the soul associated with lower desires and negative traits..

Indeed, the SufisFollowers or practitioners of Sufism, the spiritual tradition within Islam that emphasizes purification of the heart, remembrance of Allah (dhikr), sincerity, and drawing closer to Allah through worship and spiritual discipline. and seekers of truth, taking guidance from verses of the Qur’an such as:

كُلُّ نَفْسٍ ذَٓائِقَةُ الْمَوْتِEvery soul shall taste death. — The Qur’an 3:185

اِنَّكَ مَيِّتٌ وَاِنَّهُمْ مَيِّتُونَIndeed, you will die, and they too will die. — The Qur’an 39:30

have made the contemplation of death an essential means of spiritual advancement.

Through this contemplation, they have sought to dispel the illusion of immortality, which lies at the root of worldly ambitions. They imagine themselves to have died, their bodies to have been washed, and themselves to have been laid in the grave. By repeatedly engaging in this contemplation, they impress the reality of death upon the nafs-i ammārahThe aspect of the soul that incites a person toward evil and harbors negative traits and desires.. As a result, the nafs-i ammārahThe aspect of the soul that incites a person toward evil and harbors negative traits and desires. withdraws, to some extent, from the worldly desires it imagines will endure forever.

This contemplation brings many benefits. Indeed, people are exhorted by the narration:

اَكْثِرُوا ذِكْرَ هَادِمِ اللَّذَّاتِ“Frequently remember the destroyer of pleasures.” — A hadith referring to death.

to remember death frequently, for it destroys pleasures and turns them bitter.

We, however, have no need to practise this contemplation through imagination, as the SufisFollowers or practitioners of Sufism, the spiritual tradition within Islam that emphasizes purification of the heart, remembrance of Allah (dhikr), sincerity, and drawing closer to Allah through worship and spiritual discipline. do, for our way is not a tarīqahA spiritual path within Sufism through which one is guided toward spiritual perfection under a system of spiritual training and discipline. but a haqīqahA spiritual path outside the formal framework of Sufism through which one is guided directly to spiritual perfection and realization of the truth.. Moreover, that method does not accord with the way of haqīqahA spiritual path outside the formal framework of Sufism through which one is guided directly to spiritual perfection and realization of the truth..

Our way does not require us to bring the future into the present through imagination. Rather, it requires us to journey in thought from the present into the future and contemplate our death at its appointed time.

Indeed, without recourse to imagination, a person can behold his own corpse, the sole fruit of the short-lived tree of his life. Through deeper contemplation, he perceives not only his own death but also the death of his age. If he carries his reflection still further and looks more deeply, he will perceive even the death of the world. This leads to the attainment of perfect ikhlāsSincerity in worship, seeking only the pleasure of Allah and avoiding the pursuit of fame or status..