The Sixteenth Flash

 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 dear and sincere brothers from SenirkentA town and district in Isparta Province, southwestern Turkey, known as one of the places where the Risale-i Nur was studied, copied, and distributed by students of Bediuzzaman Said Nursi.: İbrahim, Şükrü, HāfizA person who has memorized the entire Qur’an. Bekir, HāfizA person who has memorized the entire Qur’an. Huseyin, and HāfizA person who has memorized the entire Qur’an. Recep,

The three matters you sent through Hāfiz TevfikŞamlı Hāfiz Tevfik; one of the early students and scribes of Bediuzzaman Said Nursi in Barla, known for copying parts of the Risale-i Nur by hand and helping to circulate its treatises. are questions to which unbelievers have long raised objections.

The First Matter

حَتّٰۤى اِذَا بَلَغَ مَغْرِبَ الشَّمْسِ وَجَدَهَا تَغْرُبُ فِى عَيْنٍ حَمِئَةٍUntil, when he reached the place where the sun sets, he found it setting in a spring of muddy water. — The Qur’an 18:86

According to the outward meaning of the verse, it is said that he saw the sun setting in a hot, muddy spring.

The Second Matter

Where is the barrier of Dhul-QarnaynA righteous and powerful ruler mentioned in the Qur’an (18:83–98), to whom Allah granted authority and the means to undertake great journeys. He is known for his justice and for building a barrier to protect a people from Yājūj and Mājūj (Gog and Magog). located?

The Third Matter

This concerns the coming of Īsā (as)One of the great prophets and messengers of Allah, born miraculously to Maryam (Mary) without a father and sent to the Children of Israel. in the end times and his killing of the DajjālAn end-times figure associated with deception, tyranny, and opposition to Islam and its values.

The answers to these questions are extensive. Here we shall confine ourselves to a concise indication.

Since the verses of the Qur’an, in accordance with Arabic style and outward perception, address the general understanding, they are often expressed in the form of comparison and imagery.

Thus the expression:

تَغْرُبُ فِى عَيْنٍ حَمِئَةٍSetting in a spring of muddy water

means that Dhul-QarnaynA righteous and powerful ruler mentioned in the Qur’an (18:83–98), to whom Allah granted authority and the means to undertake great journeys. He is known for his justice and for building a barrier to protect a people from Yājūj and Mājūj (Gog and Magog). saw the sun setting on the shore of the western ocean, which, through heat and vapour, appeared like a hot, muddy spring, or near a volcanic mountain from which fire and smoke were rising.

In other words, during a period of intense summer heat, when the surrounding marshes along the shores of the Atlantic Ocean were evaporating, a part of that ocean appeared from a distance to Dhul-QarnaynA righteous and powerful ruler mentioned in the Qur’an (18:83–98), to whom Allah granted authority and the means to undertake great journeys. He is known for his justice and for building a barrier to protect a people from Yājūj and Mājūj (Gog and Magog). like a great basin or spring. In his outward perception, he saw the sun setting there, or saw it disappearing behind the fiery opening of a volcanic mountain that was casting forth stones, earth, and mineral waters.

Indeed, through this expression, the miraculous eloquence of the Qur’an teaches many meanings.