soc.culture.pakistan

Two days ago I saw a small news in the inner pages of "DAWN", which
are used for unimportant and insignificant news. Some religious books
have been burnt in one of the Russian republics. When I read it I came
to know that the books were written by Badiuzzaman Saeed Nursi. The
Russians have been burning Holy Quran and Islamic religious books and
therefore in less than 70 years their large empire Soviet Union met a
humiliating defeat at the hands of a small and under developed Muslim
nation, Afghanistan. But the book they burnt this time was not Quran,
but its translation by Badiuzzaman Saeed Nursi.


Luckily I recently saw a book " Akse Wujude Bari Taalaa". I have not
seen such a informative and interesting book on the subject of "Image
of the Supreme Being", before. It has been printed by Jahangir Book
Depot and is available in all major cities in Pakistan. Its ISBN is
0-9720654-5-8(pbk.)

I first heard the name of Saeed Nursi in a TV Quiz program "Kasoti"
of yore. Shaheed Salahuddin had thought his name and the compares
Obaidullah Baig and Iftikhar Aarif had to guess it in 20 hints. He
could not succeed. Then Salahuddin said he was a Turkish Aalim and
Mujahid Nursi. Recently Dr Imran Nazar Hosien said in a lecture on Q
TV that Saeed Nursi was the first person who declared in 1917 that
the last age has started and therefore Muslims should move to
upcountry to safeguard their religion from enemy influences, As holy
prophet Muhammad has advised, he persuaded thousands of Muslims to
move to smaller villages and establish settlements with a view to
retain the Original Islam. This way he saved hundreds of thousands of
Turks from Kamal Ata Turk's secularism. He was arrested several
times, jailed for many years but he did not give up his mission. He
was kept in solitary confinement, which is considered the most
difficult imprisonment, for 7 long years, but they could not break his
iron will. His only fault was that he saw no room for secularism in
Islam. He was also opposed to separation between state and religion
and insisted Islamic education to be imparted to all students, from
primary to doctorate level. He suggested an education system where
Islamic rules of business are taught to doctors, Lawyers and
engineers, so that their dealings are fair, sincere and dedicated. He
also exhorted ulemaa to learn modern science and technology, as the
ulemaa of early Islam did. This would enable them to differentiate
between good and evil and guide Muslims in day to day problems.

Saeed Nursi Rahmatullah Alaih, also fought against the Russians and
was once taken prisoner. During the captivity, a Russian general
came to inspection of the camp . Every prisoner rose to welcome him,
save Nursi. The general got infuriated and asked him why he did not
raise. Badiuzzaman told him that he was a Muslim and therefore much
higher than a non-believer, so he need not pay respect to him. The
General lost his temper further and ordered him to be hanged.
Immediately he was handcuffed and taken to the gallows. He smiled and
said d he just needed 10 minutes to offer his last prayers. As Faiz
has put it.


' Lo wasl ki saat aa
pahonchi, phir hukme huzuri par hamne
Aankhon ke dariche
band kiye, aur seene ka dar baz kiya

( Lo! the time for meeting the beloved God has come as in order to
attend the Order, I closed my eyelids and
opened the door of my Chest)


The general was so impressed with his cool determination that he
begged his pardon and released him saying that he was a real saint.
The whole life of Saeed RA is full of such trials and turmoils, but
that did not deter him from continuing his unique translation of Holy
Quran which is spread over 3000 pages and is known as " Risalahe
Nur". It is due to his pioneering work that the modern day Turkey has
turned towards Islam and has elected her President and Prime Minister
from an Islamic party. Due to his foresight, secularism only affected
urban Turkey and rural areas remained aloof from the Godless society
created by agents of Gog and Magog. May Allah bless his soul in the
highest Paradise (Firdous) and create one more leader like him for the
Ummah.



Muhammad Javed Iqbal