The Third Letter 9
• A light from the Qur’an’s eloquence
• Two points of belief
In His Name, glory be to Him.
There is nothing that does not glorify Him with His praise.
FIFTH: YOU WROTE THAT YOU WISHED TO SHARE MY FEELINGS. Here is just one of them: One night while in my little hut in a tall, wild pine tree, I looked at the sky bright with stars and discovered a sublime miracle of expression and a clear light from the supreme eloquence of the Qur’anic oath: No! I swear by the planets that recede, go forth, and hide (81:15-16). These two verses, which refer to moving stars’ concealment and reappearance, draw one’s attention to a magnificent work of Divine artistry and a marvelous scene for reflection.
Those planets sometimes enter the circle of the stationary planets, leaving the light-circle of the sun that “commands” them, and provide ever-renewed displays of Divine artistry. Sometimes they appear with another bright star like themselves and compose a beautiful scene. At other times, they enter among smaller ones and appear as their commanding officer. Venus after sunset, as well as one of its companions before dawn, present fine spectacles particularly at this time of year. After fulfilling their duties of “inspection” and serving as shuttles in weaving the works of Divine artistry, they re-enter the resplendent circle of the sun’s light and are concealed therein. Such a display demonstrates the majestic Lordship and splendid Sovereignty of the One Who conducts in perfect order all heavenly bodies and Earth like airplanes or ships in the universe’s sky.
Reflect on His Sovereignty’s might. Some of His airplanes and ships are 1,000 times larger than Earth, and yet move so fast that they can cover in a second the distance a person travels in 8 hours. Now you may understand what sublime happiness and how great an honor it is to devote yourself to such a magnificent Sovereign in sincere belief and worship, and to be His guest in this world.
I looked at the moon and discovered a bright light of miraculousness in: And the moon—We have determined it by stations, till it returns like an aged palm-bough (36:39). The moon’s determination and directing, as well as illumination and minutely calculated position in relation to Earth and the sun, are amazing miracles displaying the infinite power of Its Determiner and Positioner. The moon teaches its observers that everything is easy for the Owner of such power, Who can do whatever He wills.
By following the sun so strictly that it is never lost and always performs its task, the moon makes its observers say: “Glory be to Him Whose creation bewilders intelligence.” At certain times, such as the end of May when the moon enters the Pleiades as a crescent resembling a curved palm bough and the Pleiades a cluster of dates, it leads one to imagine a huge, radiant tree behind the sky’s dark-colored veil, some of whose fruits (stars) and a bough (the moon) pierce that veil and show themselves with one of its clusters (the Pleiades). Behold this spectacle, and see the elegance and eloquence of the simile: like an aged palm-bough.
I recalled: He made Earth submissive to you; therefore walk in its tracts (26:109, 127, 145, 164, 180), which likens Earth to a meek ship. Inspired by this resemblance, I found myself on a large ship travelling rapidly in space, and recited: Glory be to Him, who has subjected this to us, and we ourselves were not capable of subjecting it (36:21), which the Prophet told us to recite whenever we mount an animal or ride in a vehicle.
I observed that the nature of its motion makes Earth resemble a movie’s projection, which firsts set the skies in motion and then mobilizes the stars as if they were a magnificent army. Such enchanting spectacles fill a reflective mind with admiration and amazement. “Glory be to God,” I said, “How amazing, wonderful affairs are conducted in such abundance yet at such little expense!” This led me to reflect on two points of belief.
FIRST: A visitor recently asked: Paradise and Hell are quite far from us. If the people of Paradise will fly across the Supreme Plain of Mustering into Paradise at the speed of lightning, how will the people of Hell, burdened down by their sins, reach Hell with their bulky bodies?
I replied: Imagine that all nations are invited to a meeting on the other side of Earth. Each nation would go there on a large ship of its own. Likewise Earth, used to high-speed travelling across the great “ocean” of the universe, will convey its inhabitants to the Supreme Plain of Mustering on Judgment Day. Besides, its center contains a fire of 200,000°C (mentioned in a Prophetic saying), given that heat increases by 1°C for every 33 meters toward the center and Earth’s radius is 6,000 kilometers. Some Traditions state that this fire fulfills some of Hell’s functions in this world and in the intermediate one, and that it will be discharged by Earth into Hell. After this, Earth will assume its permanent and far more beautiful form, and will be a station in the other world.
SECOND: The Almighty Creator, One and All-Wise, accomplishes many things out of a few and uses a little thing to perform many tasks so that His Power’s perfection, His Wisdom’s beauty, and His Oneness’ proofs are manifested. When the power to create is attributed to One Being, everything becomes so easy as to be virtually necessary. In contrast, attributing it to more than one maker and cause engenders such difficulties that everything becomes impossible. Consider this analogy: A commander (or a builder) easily achieves great feats by using many soldiers (or stones). But if the soldiers (or stones) had to do these activities themselves, the end result would be great confusion and difficulty.
In the same way, ascribing all celestial bodies’ movements and everything’s circulation, as well as seasonal, diurnal, and nocturnal alternations, to One God makes it easy to see that God, by moving a planet with one order, demonstrates amazing art in the succession of seasons, wisdom in the alternation of day and night, and charming scenes in the apparent movements of the stars, the sun, and the moon.
As the host of all beings, He gathers them like obedient soldiers in His army. He can make Earth, as insignificant as a private when compared to other planets and galaxies, the commander of all stars and make the sun a lamp for its inhabitants. He weaves matchless scenes of beauty (pictures of His Power’s works) by using the four seasons as a shuttle. He uses day and night (pages of the Book of Wisdom) to divide and measure time, and establishes lunar months by daily showing the moon in a different fashion. Further, He puts the stars as ornamented, elegant, charming, and shining lamps in the hands of angels whirling in ecstasy, thereby displaying vast wisdom in the relationship between Earth and the stars.
If all of these activities were not the work of a Being having absolute rule over all creation, then every day Earth, the moon, the sun, and all stars would have to perform a real, conscious movement in an endless circle and at an infinite speed.
Infinite ease in unity and in becoming one, and infinite hardship in multitude and division, cause artisans and traders to derive unity from multitude by forming corporations to facilitate their business. In sum, misguidance is a way of infinite hardship, while the way of unity and guidance is one of infinite ease.
The Everlasting: He is the Everlasting.
Said Nursi
9 An extract from the same letter as above. (Tr.)