Emirdağ Letters I — 21. Do Not Look to Worldly, Curiosity-Arousing Matters and Slacken in Your Duty — Emirdag Letters

The supplement to the required answer to a question

In His Name, be He glorified! Peace be upon you and God's mercy and blessings!

My Dear, Loyal Brothers!

During this summer time, when one is heedless and preoccupied with earning one's living, and during these Three Months, the time of highly meritorious worship, and at this time when the storms raging over the earth are conducted by diplomacy not weapons, if one does not persevere in one's sacred duties with the Risale‑i Nur with truly powerful tenacity, a slackness, an idleness, a cessation sets in to the detriment of that service.

My dear brothers! You should be certain that the duty with which the Risale‑i Nur and its students are occupied is greater than all matters of serious concern on earth. Do not, therefore, look to worldly, curiosity-arousing matters and slacken in your duty. Frequently read the Fourth Topic of The Fruits of Belief so that your morale is not weakened.

Yes, since all the supreme matters of the worldly are cruel, pitiless, and sacrifice religion for this world in consequence of the tyrannous principle of struggle, divine determining bestows a sort of hell on them within those crimes of theirs. The Risale‑i Nur proves as certainly as twice two equals four that death, which is the veil concealing eternal life, for which its students are working in place of transient life, and the executioner of the appointed hour, which is truly terrible for the worshippers of this worldly life, are merely veils and means to the believers' everlasting happiness. It is this truth that we have been demonstrating up to now.

In Short: The people of misguidance strive for this fleeting life, while we struggle with the light of the Qur'an against death. Even their most momentous questions are transient and cannot be compared with the very least of our matters, because ours look to eternity. Since in their madness, they do not condescend to interfere in our greatest questions, why should we evince curiosity about their inconsequential matters and follow them to the detriment of our duties?

The verse, If you follow [right] guidance, no hurt can come to you from those who stray , means that the misguidance of others cannot harm your right‑guidedness; so you should not concern themselves with their misguidance unnecessarily. And the important Islamic principle, Those who comply with harm should not be assisted, means that anyone who looks favourably on harmful things should not be supported; they should not be pitied or shown leniency.

These rules forbid us to pity those who knowingly condone and are happy at things that cause harm. We, therefore, should concentrate all our strength and curiosity and time on our sacred duty, and know that everything outside of it is trivial and not waste our time on such things. For we hold light in our hands, not clubs. We cannot attack others, and if we are attacked, we show light. Our duty is a sort of luminous defence.

One of the Reasons This Supplement Was Written Was This:

I put one of the Risale‑i Nur students to the test; I asked him a couple of things about the Bosphorus question to learn what the excitement was and to find out what he thought about the political situation. I saw from his answer that he was interested and well-informed. I said to myself: “What a shame! This will be harmful for the work of the Risale-i Nur.” Later, I gave him a severe warning.

We have a principle: I seek refuge with God from the Devil and from politics! If you feel pity for people, the principle cited above shows that they are not deserving of it. Just as Paradise seeks people, so does Hell seek them.