|
BEDIUZZAMAN SAID NURSI
DELIVERED THE GOOD NEWS OF JESUS'
SECOND COMING TO THE MUSLIMS
Bediuzzaman Said Nursi (1877-1960),
one of the greatest Islamic scholars, spent his
entire life inviting people to believe in God
and to live by the morality prescribed in the
Qur'an. He suffered great hardship in this cause,
but was always pleased with his lot and met every
difficulty with faith in God, patience, and joy.
Bediuzzaman's Qur'anic commentary, the Risale-i
Nur Collection, is full of precious advice reflecting
his exuberant love of and faith in God and his
devotion to God's religion. For this reason, his
works are an important reference source for all
believers.
Bediuzzaman wrote extensively
on Jesus' second coming, particularly about his
struggle with the Dajjal, the representative figurehead
of all godless ideological systems. Jesus will
eliminate godlessness and declare the rule of
God's law with the help of the Muslims.
In this part, we will deal with
his views on Jesus' second coming and related
matters.
Jesus' Ascent
to God's Presence
In the introduction to The Letters,
Bediuzzaman speaks of three levels of life: that
of our life, that of the life of Khidr, and that
of the life of Jesus. Bediuzzaman explains the
second level of life, as follows: "...they can be
present in numerous places at the same time. They
are not permanently restricted by the requirements
of humanity like us. They can eat and drink like
us when they want to, but are not compelled to
like we are..."
Bediuzzaman says the following
about the third level of life:
(1)
The Third Level of Life is that of Enoch and Jesus
(May God grant them peace) which, being removed
from the requirements of humanity, rises to an
angelic level of life and acquires a luminous
fineness. Quite simply, Enoch and Jesus are present
in the heavens with their earthly bodies, which
have the subtlety of bodies from the World of
Similitudes and the luminosity of star-like bodies.
(Bediuzzaman Said Nursi, Risale-i Nur Collection,
Letters, "First Letter." All quotations from Bediuzzaman
are taken from www.bediuzzaman.org)
Bediuzzaman also points out the
existence of doubt over Jesus' second coming.
Bediuzzaman reminds us that our all-powerful Lord
Who has created the universe from nothing, is
certainly able to bring Jesus back for a second
time:
(2)
Indeed, it is not far from the wisdom of an All-Wise
One of Glory Who all the time sends the angels
to Earth from the heavens, sometimes in human
form (like Gabriel appearing in the form of Dihya),
and sends spirit beings from the Spirit World
making them appear in human form, and even sends
the spirits of most of the dead saints to the
world with similitudes of their bodies, it would
not be far from His Wisdom-even if he was not
alive and present with his body in the skies of
the world, and had truly died and departed for
the furthest corner of the Hereafter-to clothe
Jesus (upon whom be peace) in his body and send
him to the world, so to bring the religion of
Jesus to a good conclusion; for such a momentous
result. Indeed He promised it because His wisdom
required it to be thus, and since He promised
it, He will most certainly send him. (Letters,
"Fifteenth Letter")
Jesus Will
Be Recognized by the Light of Faith
(1)
The question of exactly how Jesus will
be recognized on his second coming has been asked
ever since his ascension to God's presence. Bediuzzaman
says that he will be recognized by the light of
his faith. However, Bediuzzaman also points out
that only those who are close to him and have
deep faith will be able to recognize him:
When Jesus (upon whom be peace)
comes, it is not necessary that everyone should
know him to be the true Jesus. His elect and those
close to him will recognize him through the light
of belief. It will not be self-evident so that
everyone will recognize him. (Letters, "Fifteenth
Letter,")
(2) He
also says that only a few people will recognize
him, at least in the beginning, and that the irreligious
currents will be very strong:
It says in a narration
in connection with Jesus (Peace be upon him) killing
the Dajjal: "The Dajjal will have a colossal form,
he will be extraordinarily big and taller than
a minaret, while Jesus (PUH) will be very small
in comparison."
None knows the
Unseen save God. One interpretation must be as
follows: It is an allusion and sign that quantitively
the spiritual community of mujahideen [those who
struggle in God's cause] who will recognize Jesus
(peace be upon him) and follow him, will be very
few and small comparatively to the "scientific,"
physical armies of the Dajjal. (Rays, "Fifth Ray,")
"... the 'scientific,' physical
armies of the Dajjal...": Through this expression,
Bediuzzaman reveals that Jesus' opposition will
be very strong in terms of education, military
power, and financial might. While their education
system propagates irreligion, the military is
working to disseminate the same irreligious ideologies.
"... the spiritual community
of mujahideen...": This expression describes
Jesus' followers. The word "community" indicates
that they are close to one another and act together.
This community's members will make great efforts
to establish the morality of religion where the
powers of irreligion rule, and will be dedicated
to work on God's path. They will engage in a great
ideological battle to destroy the irreligion created
and spread by the education system and the military.
The word "spiritual" points out this community's
genuine faith, as its members are fully aware
of the spiritual dimension of things as well as
their material appearance. "Mujahideen" stands
for a group of people who work for the cause of
God, actively promoting His religion throughout
the world.
Jesus Will
Rule with the Law of Islam and Adhere to the Qur'an
Bediuzzaman reveals that Jesus
will return at a time when irreligious ideologies
rule the world. As the following quote states,
he will rule with, and be bound by, the Qur'an
on his second coming. Christianity and Islam will
unite and succeed by living according to the Qur'an's
morality. The Risale-i Nur says that:
(1)
"At the end of time, Jesus (upon whom be peace)
will come and will act in accordance with the
Shari'ah of Mohammed (may God bless him and grant
him peace)," indicates that at the end of time
the religion of Christianity will be purified
and divest itself of superstition in the face
of the current of unbelief and atheism born of
naturalist philosophy, and will be transformed
into Islam. At this point, the collective personality
of Christianity will kill the fearsome collective
personality of irreligion with the sword of heavenly
revelation; so too, representing the collective
personality of Christianity, Jesus (upon whom
be peace) will kill the Dajjal, who represents
the collective personality of irreligion, that
is, he will kill atheistic thought. (Letters,
"First Letter")
"... in the face of the current
of unbelief and atheism born of naturalist philosophy":
Bediuzzaman reveals that Jesus will lead a great
struggle against the irreligious movements created
by Darwinism and those who deny God's existence.
"... the religion of Christianity
will be purified and divest itself of superstition
... and will be transformed into Islam": Here,
Bediuzzaman interprets the hadith that says that
when Jesus returns in the End Times, he will abide
by Islam's law and rules. His struggle will begin
by cleansing Christianity from all of the myths
and false beliefs that have entered into it over
the centuries, and thereby return it to Islam.
In this way, Christians and Muslims
will unite to form a great power. Jesus will kill
the Dajjal, who is the representative of all irreligious
systems, and eradicate them.
(2)
At that point when the current appears to be very
strong, the religion of true Christianity, which
comprises the collective personality of Jesus
(upon whom be peace), will emerge. That is, it
will descend from the skies of Divine Mercy. Present
Christianity will be purified in the face of that
reality; it will cast off superstition and distortion,
and unite with the truths of Islam. Christianity
will in effect be in a way transformed into Islam.
(Letters, "Fifteenth Letter")
Although the Dajjal will appear
to be very powerful, Jesus will return to Earth
and reveal true Christianity. As stated earlier,
the first thing that he will do is restore Christianity
to its original form by removing all false and
baseless practices and beliefs and all unnecessary
rules and traditions. This has not happened until
today because Jesus is the only person who can
end Christianity's ongoing 2,000-year process
of change.
"... [Present Christianity will]
unite with the truths of Islam. Christianity will
in effect be in a way transformed into Islam...":
Once Christianity has been returned to the
state of its first revelation, it will integrate
itself into Islam.
(3)
Following the Qur'an, the collective personality
of Christianity will be in the rank of follower,
and Islam, in that of leader. True religion will
become a mighty force as a result of its joining
it. Although defeated before the atheistic current
while separate, Christianity and Islam will have
the capability to defeat and rout it as a result
of their union. Then the person of Jesus (upon
whom be peace), who is present with his human
body in the world of the heavens, will come to
lead the current of true religion, as, relying
on the promise of One Powerful Over All Things,
the Bringer of Sure News has said. Since he has
told of it, it is true, and since the One Powerful
Over All Things has promised it, He will certainly
bring it about. (Letters, "Fifteenth Letter")
"... Following the Qur'an,
the collective personality of Christianity will
be in the rank of follower, and Islam, in that
of leader...": This transformation of Christianity,
beginning with Jesus, will conclude in everyone
adhering to the Qur'an, as required by the final
book of revelation. Both Jesus and Christianity
as a whole will adhere to Islam.
"... Although defeated before
the atheistic current while separate, Christianity
and Islam will have the capability to defeat and
rout it as a result of their union...": A
great power will form when Christianity, under
the leadership of Jesus, adheres to the Qur'an,
because the world's two greatest religions are
two huge powers in terms of politics, economics,
and spirituality. After their unification, they
will have enough power to destroy all forms of
irreligion. Materialist philosophy, which distances
people from their true purpose in life and forces
them into selfishness, lovelessness, and aggressiveness,
will be eradicated, along with all forms of irreligion.
"... Then the person of Jesus
(upon whom be peace), who is present with his
human body in the world of the heavens, will come
to lead the current of true religion...": This
alliance, when combined with the Christians' acceptance
of the Qur'an, will achieve a global majority
status and move as one body led by Jesus. Bediuzzaman
reminds us that Jesus' leading of the true religion
is based on the hadith and stresses that this
news is therefore true knowledge.
Jesus' Struggle
Against Irreligious Movements
When speaking of the End Times,
Bediuzzaman asserts that two ideological movements
will create disorder in their quest to establish
the rule of irreligion. One of these will try
to destroy the morality of Islam from within,
while the other movement will reject God's existence
openly. Its members will claim that matter has
always existed and will continue to exist forever,
and that life emerged from lifeless matter by
means of a series of coincidences. This movement
will represent the naturalist and materialist
philosophies. (Naturalism is also known as the
philosophical dimension of Darwin's theory of
evolution.)
This definition forms the basis
of all atheist ideologies. Ever since the beginning
of recorded history, materialists have opposed
true religion and fought those who adhered to
it and called others to do so. They oppressed
people, made war, and were always found at the
forefront of all kinds of decadence. In his second
coming, Jesus will fight this materialist Darwinist
mentality and defeat it, by the will of God.
(1)
In his Collected Works, Bediuzzaman says the following:
A tyrannical current born of
Naturalist and Materialist philosophy will gradually
become strong and spread at the end of time by
means of materialist philosophy, reaching such
a degree that it denies God... The members of that
current, who deny God, each ascribes dominicality
to his soul like a little Nimrod. And the greatest
of them, the Dajjal, who will come to lead them,
will manifest awesome wonders, a sort of spiritualism
and hypnosis; he will go even further, and imagining
his tyrannical, superficial rule to be a sort
of dominicality, he will proclaim his godhead.
(Letters, "Fifteenth Letter")
Bediuzzaman refers to the destructive
effects of the naturalist-materialist philosophies
on society. His words "a tyrannical current born
of naturalist and materialist philosophy" seem
to indicate materialism and Darwinism, the foundations
of atheism. In the end times, these two philosophies
will spread around the world on the back of the
materialist philosophy and openly deny the existence
of God. Its proponents will deny the infinite
power of God and instead believe themselves to
have powers independent of Him.
(2)
He gives the following account of the irreligious
powers formed by the Dajjal:
Moreover, in the world of humanity,
with the intention of denying the Godhead, the
secret society of the Dajjal (Anti-Christ) will
overturn civilization and subvert all mankind's
sacred matters. A zealous and self-sacrificing
community known as a Christian community, but
worthy of being called "Muslim Christians," will
work to unite the true religion of Jesus (peace
be upon him) with the reality of Islam, and will
kill and rout that society of the Dajjal, thus
saving humanity from atheism. (Letters, 515)
"... with the intention of denying
the Godhead, the secret society of the Dajjal
(Anti-Christ) will overturn civilization and subvert
all mankind's sacred matters...": Bediuzzaman
defines the irreligious movements represented
by the Dajjal as a secret society that will overturn
civilization and subvert all mankind's sacred
matters in order to deny God's existence.
"... A zealous and self-sacrificing
community known as a Christian community but worthy
of being called 'Muslim Christians', will work
to unite the true religion of Jesus (peace be
upon him) with the reality of Islam...": Bediuzzaman
calls the devoted Christians who will work tirelessly
with Jesus to unify the Christian and Islamic
faiths after Christianity has been purified, Muslim
Christians. This "Muslim Christian" community
will destroy the irreligious ideological systems
represented in the being of Dajjal, according
to Bediuzzaman.
Another explanation by Bediuzzaman
on the subject reads:
(3)
"He [the Anti-Christ] will be so powerful and
long-lived that only Jesus will be able to kill
him; nothing else will be able to." That is, it
will only be a revealed, elevated, pure religion
that will be able to overturn his way and rapacious
regime, and eliminate them. Such a religion will
emerge among the true followers of Jesus, and
it will follow the Qur'an and become united with
it. On the coming of Jesus and emergence of the
true Christian religion, the Antichrist's irreligious
way will be wiped out and will cease. The Antichrist's
person could otherwise be killed by a mere germ
or by influenza. (Rays, "Fifth Ray")
Bediuzzaman draws the attention
to the hadith that indicates that only Jesus will
be able to destroy the Dajjal and his established
and aggressive regime, and abolish his irreligious
way. He will be accompanied by the genuine Christians
who have freed themselves of myths and have surrendered
to the Qur'an. With Jesus' second coming, the
Dajjal's irreligious way will die out.
"Antichrist's irreligious way
will be wiped out and will cease. The Antichrist's
person could otherwise be killed by a mere germ
or by influenza": Bediuzzaman touches here on
a very important subject. What matters is not
to incapacitate those people one by one who work
to spread irreligion ideologically, but to eradicate
all schools of thought which enable irreligious
movements to exist. It is not difficult to have
individuals ideologically incapacitated.
Bediuzzaman continues:
(4)
It could only be a wondrous person with the power
of miracles who could kill and change the way
of the awesome Dajjal, who will preserve himself
through wonders, bestowed on him by God in order
to lead him astray, such as magic, hypnotic powers,
and spiritualism, and will spellbind everyone.
And that person will be Jesus (Peace be upon him),
who is the prophet of the majority of mankind...
(Rays, "Fifth Ray")
Bediuzzaman reveals here that
Jesus is the only person who can eradicate the
irreligious movements that are trying to increase
people's denial by deception and through misleading
them, and that only he can force the Dajjal to
change his chosen way.
(5)
... The Great Dajjal will abrogate the injunctions
of the Christian Law, and destroying the bonds
in accordance with which the life of Christian
society is administered, he will prepare the ground
for anarchy and Gog and Magog. (Rays, "Fifth Ray")
Bediuzzaman uses the word "Dajjal"
to define all the irreligious thought systems
combined, and states that it is a movement that
seeks to do away with all of the injunctions in
Christianity, to destroy all the spiritual bonds
between people, and to entice them to rebellion,
corruption, and anarchy.
(6)
Bediuzzaman defines the annihilation of
irreligious movements by Jesus and the Christians
as follows:
It will be the truly pious followers
of Jesus who will kill the collective personality
and the huge statue of materialism and irreligion
embodied in the Dajjal-for the Dajjal will be
killed by Jesus' sword-and destroy his ideas and
disbelief, which are atheistic. Those truly pious
Christians will blend the essence of true Christianity
with the essence of Islam and rout the Dajjal
with their combined strength, in effect killing
him... (Rays, "The Fifth Ray")
"the huge statue of materialism
and irreligion": With these words Bediuzzaman
likens the globally influential materialist movements
to a huge statue. This statue could be indicating
that these movements will be established and strong.
It is a hard task to uproot and destroy a big
statue. However, with its destruction, materialism
as well as irreligion will disappear.
"... will blend the essence
of true Christianity with the essence of Islam":
When Jesus returns, he will be subject to God's
final book of revelation, restore Christianity
to its original form, and unite it with Islam.
"... rout the Dajjal with their
combined strength, in effect killing him":
When the two true religions of God unite, they
will have gained much power in the wider sense
of the word. They will defeat the materialist
ideologies ruling the world and free all people
from their hegemony.
In all of his statements concerning
Jesus' second coming, Bediuzzaman stated that
Jesus will abolish all irreligious systems in
conjunction with Muslims, unite with sincere Muslims,
and do away with all the sufferings inflicted
upon people by irreligious systems.
BACK |
