In His Name, be He glorified! Peace be upon you and God's mercy and His blessings!
[This is the answer I have been obliged to give to a question that has been asked from several angles, both explicit and implicit.]
My Dear, Loyal Brothers!
Question: Why don't you display any interest in currents both at home and abroad and especially in political groups? And why do you prevent as far as is possible the Risale‑i Nur and its students from getting involved in them? Whereas if you did show concern and were in touch with them, thousands of people would enter the fold of the Risale-i Nur and would spread its shining truths, and also you wouldn't be the target of so many needless troubles.
The Answer: The chief reason for this lack of concern and avoidance is sincerity, which is the basis of our way; it prevents us. For at this time of heedlessness, the person with partisan ideals in particular exploits everything for his own worldly way, even his religion and otherworldly movement. Whereas the truths of belief and the sacred service of the Risale‑i Nur can be exploited for nothing in the universe; they can have no aim other than divine pleasure. But it has become difficult at this time of partisan conflict between the political currents to preserve the true meaning of sincerity and not exploit religion for the world. The best solution is to rely on divine grace and assistance, rather than the strength of political currents.
One of the many other reasons for our avoidance of political involvement is one of the four principles of the Risale‑i Nur: to be compassionate and not to act tyrannically or cause harm. For No bearer of burdens can bear the burden of another , that is, no one, not even a relative, is guilty because of another's fault and does not deserve punishment. But in the face of this principle of divine will, at this time, in accordance with the meaning of Man is indeed given up to injustice and ingratitude, some people retaliate with extreme ferocity. Because of one person's crime, out of feelings of partisanship others are hostile towards not only his relations but all those who support him. If they can, they ill‑treat them. If they have the power, they bomb a village because of one man's mistake. However, the rights of one innocent person may not be sacrificed due to a hundred criminals; he may not be ill-treated because of them. Present-day conditions cause a hundred innocents to be harmed on account of a handful of criminals.
For example, it is opposed to the principle of compassion to crush the hapless elderly parents and innocent children of a faulty man, and to ruin them and nurture partisan hatred for them.
But partisan currents among Muslims are the cause of such innocents being wronged; they cannot be saved from oppression. Especially situations that give rise to revolution, they altogether spread and escalate the wrongdoing. In jihad — even if it is in the name of religion — the position of [non‑ Muslim] women and children is the same. They may be considered as booty and Muslims may include them in their property. But within the realm of Islam, even if a person is irreligious, his family cannot be claimed as property; their rights may not be infringed. For owing to the ties of Islam, they are bound not to their irreligious father, but to Islam and the Islamic community. [Outside the realm of Islam] unbelievers' children are surely among those who will be saved, but according to the law those innocents may be made prisoner and taken into possession at the blow of jihad, since they are dependants of and bound to their fathers, so long as they are alive.
I send greetings to each and every one of my brothers and congratulate them on the Holy Night of the Ascension, which yields thousands of merits. Convey my condolences to the family of the late Haji İbrahim, like Re'fet Bey, and tell them that the deceased is within the fold of the Risale‑i Nur, perpetually receiving the prayers of all. And we are offering prayers for him especially.
Saîd Nursî