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Resurrection and the Hereafter (Humanity's Encounter with the Divine) by Bediuzzaman Said Nursi
«Prepárense. Marcharán a otro reino indeleble, un reino que hará que este parezca un calabozo. Partirán hacia la sede del gobierno de nuestro rey, y recibirán su compasión y generosidad, en caso de obedecer este decreto y acatarlo. Si se rebelan y lo desobedecen, serán arrojados a calabozos abrumadores»
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First published January 1, 2006
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September 27, 2021First of all, I only read the tenth word, not the other two.
I had a hard time with the way some of the arguments in this book were constructed. It seems that most religious texts I have read relied heavily on scripture, but this seemed to rely more heavily on "logic." Logic is great and all but I think I would have enjoyed reading some scriptures talking about the afterlife more than reading the argument (not quoted but paraphrased) "God must give us a heaven because we want one." There were just some missing links in the logic.
I am guessing that I would like this better if I were Islamic, or if I came from the same intellectual culture as Said Nursi. As it was, I agreed with what was said more than I agreed with how it was said, and had a hard time getting through it.
I had a hard time with the way some of the arguments in this book were constructed. It seems that most religious texts I have read relied heavily on scripture, but this seemed to rely more heavily on "logic." Logic is great and all but I think I would have enjoyed reading some scriptures talking about the afterlife more than reading the argument (not quoted but paraphrased) "God must give us a heaven because we want one." There were just some missing links in the logic.
I am guessing that I would like this better if I were Islamic, or if I came from the same intellectual culture as Said Nursi. As it was, I agreed with what was said more than I agreed with how it was said, and had a hard time getting through it.
May 24, 2024
A SUNNI MUSLIM OFFERS AN ISLAMIC PERSPECTIVE ON THE AFTERLIFE
Said Nursi (1877-1960), commonly known by the honorific ‘Bediüzzaman’ ("wonder of the age") was a Kurdish Sunni Muslim theologian who inspired a religious movement that helped spark revival of Islam in Turkey.
He explains in a prefatory note, “The reasons for my writing these treatises in the form of metaphors, parables and stories are to facilitate comprehension and to show how rational, appropriate, well-founded and coherent are the truths of Islam. The meaning of the stories is contained in the truths that conclude them; each story is like an allusion pointing to its concluding truth. Therefore, they are not mere fictitious truths.”
He explains, “let nobody ask: ‘how can one earn eternal torment in the course of a very brief life?’ For unbelief seeks to drag creation, something as valuable and exalted as a letter written by God, down to the depths of meaninglessness and purposelessness. It is an insult to all being, since it denies and rejects the manifestations and impresses of God’s Sacred Names that are visible in all being, and it seeks to negate all the infinite proofs that demonstrate the veracity and truthfulness of God Almighty. Hence, unbelief is a crime of infinite proportions, deserving of infinite punishment.” (Pg. 41)
He asks, “is it possible that He should not chastise those rude and discourteous men who disbelieve in His wisdom and justice, and rebel against Him in insolence? Now not even a thousandth part of that wisdom and justice is exercised with respect to man, in this transient world; it is rather deferred. Most of the people of misguidance leave this world unpunished, and most of the people of guidance leave it unrewarded. All things are, then, postponed for a supreme tribunal, an ultimate bliss.” (Pg. 48-49)
He argues, “Is it at all possible that God Almighty, He Who is worshipped by right, should create man within creation as the most significant of all of His servants with respect to his absolute dominicality in all of His realms… and He should make him the most needy of all creatures with respect to His infinite gifts, the one suffering most from annihilation and the one most desirous of immortality; that He should make him the most delicate, the poorest and neediest of animals, most wretched and subject to pain in his world life but most sublime in disposition in the highest of form and characters---is it possible that God Almighty should do all this with man and not send him to the Eternal Realm for which he is suited and fitted and for which he is longing?” (Pg. 102)
Later, he adds, “Is it at all possible that belief in resurrection should be untrue, a belief made as manifest as the sun by the additional thousands of testimonies and claims advanced in a book of which bears the fruit of all the numerous scientific and cosmic truths contained in the Islamic sciences, although a single verse would suffice? Will it not be a thousand times impossible and absurd, just like denial of the sun, or the non-existence of the cosmos?” (Pg. 129)
He points out, “The human race thus acquires great value and importance, and … by means of its arts and sciences that it is the wise reason for the creation of the cosmos, that it is the great consequence and supreme fruit of creation, that it acts upon earth as the viceregent of God. Since in this world it displays and orders the miraculous works of the Maker, it is permitted to tarry in this world and its punishment is postponed, despite its acts of rebellion and disbelief. Because of the services it performs, the human race is granted a respite and is aided by God.” (Pg. 137)
The book concludes, “One of the most important lessons taught us by the All-Wise Quran, is, then, belief in the hereafter. This belief is so firm and contains within itself so powerful a hope and a consolation that if a person be assailed by old age hundred thousandth, the consolation derived from this belief will be fully enough. Saying, ‘praise be to God for the perfection of belief,’ we old people should rejoice in old age.” (Pg. 174)
This book will be of great interest to those studying the Islamic concept of the afterlife.
Said Nursi (1877-1960), commonly known by the honorific ‘Bediüzzaman’ ("wonder of the age") was a Kurdish Sunni Muslim theologian who inspired a religious movement that helped spark revival of Islam in Turkey.
He explains in a prefatory note, “The reasons for my writing these treatises in the form of metaphors, parables and stories are to facilitate comprehension and to show how rational, appropriate, well-founded and coherent are the truths of Islam. The meaning of the stories is contained in the truths that conclude them; each story is like an allusion pointing to its concluding truth. Therefore, they are not mere fictitious truths.”
He explains, “let nobody ask: ‘how can one earn eternal torment in the course of a very brief life?’ For unbelief seeks to drag creation, something as valuable and exalted as a letter written by God, down to the depths of meaninglessness and purposelessness. It is an insult to all being, since it denies and rejects the manifestations and impresses of God’s Sacred Names that are visible in all being, and it seeks to negate all the infinite proofs that demonstrate the veracity and truthfulness of God Almighty. Hence, unbelief is a crime of infinite proportions, deserving of infinite punishment.” (Pg. 41)
He asks, “is it possible that He should not chastise those rude and discourteous men who disbelieve in His wisdom and justice, and rebel against Him in insolence? Now not even a thousandth part of that wisdom and justice is exercised with respect to man, in this transient world; it is rather deferred. Most of the people of misguidance leave this world unpunished, and most of the people of guidance leave it unrewarded. All things are, then, postponed for a supreme tribunal, an ultimate bliss.” (Pg. 48-49)
He argues, “Is it at all possible that God Almighty, He Who is worshipped by right, should create man within creation as the most significant of all of His servants with respect to his absolute dominicality in all of His realms… and He should make him the most needy of all creatures with respect to His infinite gifts, the one suffering most from annihilation and the one most desirous of immortality; that He should make him the most delicate, the poorest and neediest of animals, most wretched and subject to pain in his world life but most sublime in disposition in the highest of form and characters---is it possible that God Almighty should do all this with man and not send him to the Eternal Realm for which he is suited and fitted and for which he is longing?” (Pg. 102)
Later, he adds, “Is it at all possible that belief in resurrection should be untrue, a belief made as manifest as the sun by the additional thousands of testimonies and claims advanced in a book of which bears the fruit of all the numerous scientific and cosmic truths contained in the Islamic sciences, although a single verse would suffice? Will it not be a thousand times impossible and absurd, just like denial of the sun, or the non-existence of the cosmos?” (Pg. 129)
He points out, “The human race thus acquires great value and importance, and … by means of its arts and sciences that it is the wise reason for the creation of the cosmos, that it is the great consequence and supreme fruit of creation, that it acts upon earth as the viceregent of God. Since in this world it displays and orders the miraculous works of the Maker, it is permitted to tarry in this world and its punishment is postponed, despite its acts of rebellion and disbelief. Because of the services it performs, the human race is granted a respite and is aided by God.” (Pg. 137)
The book concludes, “One of the most important lessons taught us by the All-Wise Quran, is, then, belief in the hereafter. This belief is so firm and contains within itself so powerful a hope and a consolation that if a person be assailed by old age hundred thousandth, the consolation derived from this belief will be fully enough. Saying, ‘praise be to God for the perfection of belief,’ we old people should rejoice in old age.” (Pg. 174)
This book will be of great interest to those studying the Islamic concept of the afterlife.
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September 18, 2019Een boek dat zeker van me verwacht om dingen te herlezen. Omdat het zo diepgaand is.
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