Twenty‑Second Point
This piece is very valuable. Everyone may benefit from it as far as the Second Point.
In connection with certain unpleasant situations which come about in Eskişehir Prison, not through bad morality but because of the distress, this is about one fine point of a well‑known verse that has remained undisclosed, and a point concerning good behaviour.
First Point
Out of His perfect munificence, compassion, and justice, Allah the Most High has included in good works an immediate reward and in bad actions an immediate punishment. He has included in good works spiritual pleasures that recall the rewards of the hereafter, while in bad works are spiritual penalties which recall the torments of Hell.
For example, love between believers is a praiseworthy action for the people of faith. Included in that good work are a spiritual pleasure, a gratification, an ease of mind that recall the physical rewards of the hereafter. Anyone who refers to his heart will feel this pleasure.
And for example, enmity and hostility between believers are an evil that cause noble spirits to feel torment of the conscience enough to overwhelm the heart and spirit. I myself have experienced it perhaps more than a hundred times: when I have felt enmity towards a believing brother, I have suffered such torment that it has left me in no doubt that it was the immediate punishment for my evil deed.
And for example, to be respectful towards those worthy of respect, and compassionate to those worthy of compassion, and to assist them, are good works, good deeds. They hold a pleasure and gratification so great they make felt the rewards of the hereafter. And they so increase the respect and compassion they make the person ready to sacrifice his very life. The pleasure and reward a mother receives as a consequence of the compassion she feels for her child may be so great she will sacrifice her life due to it. The hen who attacks a lion in order to save her chick is an example of this truth in the animal kingdom. This means that there is an immediate reward in compassion and respect. Magnanimous people of high aspiration feel it, and for this reason assume their heroic attitude.
And for example, in greed and wastefulness is such a punishment that, afflicting his heart and spirit, it makes man complaining and anxious, and bewilders him. And in jealousy and envy is such an immediate punishment that it scorches the one who feels them. While in contentment and reliance on Allah the Most High is such an immediate, pleasurable reward that it dispels all the pains and tribulations of poverty and indigence.
And for example, in pride and conceit is a heavy burden, for the proud man wants respect from everyone. And because he is despised due to this desire, he suffers constant torment. Yes, respect is given, it may not be sought.
And for example, in humility and the giving up of egotism is a pleasurable reward by which a person is saved from the heavy burden of trying to make himself liked.
And for example, in pessimism and always interpreting things unfavourably is an immediate punishment in this world. In accordance with the rule, “Whoever strikes is struck,” those who think unfavourably of others are also thought of unfavourably. The actions of those who misinterpret the actions of their believing brothers are also misinterpreted, and they suffer the punishment for it.
And so on, all good and bad deeds should be measured according to this yardstick. I beseech divine mercy that those who witness the Qur’anic miraculousness manifested at this time in the Risale‑i Nur, experience these spiritual pleasures; they will not suffer from bad morals, Allah willing.
Second Point
In the Name of Allah, the Merciful, the Compassionate.
I created not jinn and mankind except that they might worship me. ❋ No sustenance do I require of them, nor do I require that they should feed me. ❋ For Allah is He Who gives [all] sustenance – Lord of Power – Steadfast [for ever].
For a long time, these verses worried my mind, since according to many Qur’anic commentaries their apparent meaning did not reflect the Qur’an’s elevated miraculousness. I shall now explain briefly three aspects of their extremely beautiful and exalted meanings, which proceed from the effulgence of the Qur’an.
The First
Sometimes Allah the Most High attributes to Himself certain states that could pertain to His Messenger, so as to honour and exalt him. Here too, the verses, “I created you for worship; not to give Me sustenance and feed me,” have this meaning: “My Messenger does not want a wage, recompense, or reward, or to be fed in return for his duty of messengership and conveying to you the obligations of worship;” they refer to the Noble Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace) being given food and sustenance. Otherwise it would be making known something self‑evident and clear, and would be incompatible with the Qur’an’s miraculous eloquence.
The Second Aspect
Man is excessively preoccupied with his sustenance. So, lest he is deluded into making his winning it a pretext for neglecting worship, or making it an excuse, the verse says: “You were created for worship. The result of your creation is worship. Winning sustenance is worship of a sort, from the point of view of its being a divine command. I have undertaken to provide your sustenance and that of your families and animals, my creatures; it pertains to me; you were not created to procure food and sustenance, for I am the Provider. I provide the sustenance of my servants, your dependants. So do not make it an excuse and give up worship!”
If its meaning is not this, it becomes a statement of the obvious, for to provide Allah the Most High with food and sustenance is self‑evidently impossible. It is an established rule of rhetoric that if the meaning of a sentence is clear and obvious, it is not that meaning which is intended, but a meaning necessitated by it and dependent on it. For example, if you say to someone: “You are a hafiz,” it is stating the obvious. The intended meaning is “I know that you are a hafiz.” You are informing him because he did not know that you knew.
Thus, in consequence of this rule, the meaning of the verse, in which the prohibition of giving food to Allah the Most High is a metaphor, is this: “You were not created in order to produce food for My creatures, which are Mine and the providing of whose sustenance I have undertaken. Your fundamental duty is worship. But to strive to procure sustenance in accordance with My commands is also a sort of worship.”
The Third Aspect
In Sura al‑Ikhlas the apparent meaning of, He begets not, nor is He begotten is self‑evident and obvious, hence another meaning is intended which is necessitated by it. That is to say, Allah the Most High states extremely clearly and self-evidently He begets not, nor is He begotten meaning: “Anyone who has a father and mother cannot be a god,” and, “pre‑eternal and post-eternal,” to deny the divinity of Jesus (UWP), and of Uzayr, and the angels, and stars, and other false gods. It is just the same with our example, the verse, “The All-Glorious Provider, your object of worship, does not require sustenance for Himself, you were not created to provide Him with food” means: “Things with the ability to receive sustenance and food cannot be gods and objects of worship,” meaning: “Beings that are in need of sustenance and being provided for are not worthy of worship.”
Said Nursi