Table Of ContentAn Introduction to Said Nursi
Life, Thought, and Writings
Ian S. Markham and Suendam Birinci Pirim
An IntroductIon to SAId nurSI
To the precious memory of Bediuzzaman Said Nursi in the 51st
anniversary year of his death
An Introduction to Said nursi
Life, thought and Writings
IAn MArkhAM And SuendAM BIrIncI pIrIM
© Ian S. Markham and Suendam Birinci pirim 2011
All rights reserved. no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,
recording or otherwise without the prior permission of the publisher.
Ian S. Markham and Suendam Birinci pirim have asserted their right under the copyright,
Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as the authors of this work.
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British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
Markham, Ian S.
An introduction to Said nursi : life, thought and writings
1. nursi, Said, 1873–1960. 2. Islam–doctrines.
I. title II. Birinci pirim, Suendam.
297.2’092–dc22
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Markham, Ian S.
An introduction to Said nursi : life, thought and writings / Ian S. Markham and Suendam
Birinci pirim.
p. cm.
Includes index.
ISBn 978-1-4094-0769-0 (hardcover : alk. paper) — ISBn 978-1-4094-0771-3 (pbk. :
alk. paper) — ISBn 978-1-4094-0770-6 (ebook) 1. nursi, Said, 1873–1960. 2. nurculuk.
I. Birinci pirim, Suendam. II. title.
Bp253.Z8n8765 2010
297.8’3—dc22
2010040818
ISBn 978-1-4094-0769-0 (hbk)II
ISBn 978-1-4094-0771-3 (pbk)
ISBn 978-1-4094-0770-6 (ebk)
contents
Acknowledgements vii
Introduction 1
1 Life and Times of Said Nursi (1878–1960) 3
Anatolia during nursi’s early Years 4
nursi’s childhood and early Adolescence 6
revolutionary Ideas and Activism 8
Moving from the periphery to the center 10
post World War I 13
transformation: From old Said to new Said and
composition of the risale-i nur 14
Said nursi’s Legacy: the risale-i nur and the nur community 17
What makes Bediuzzaman Said nursi and the
risale-i nur important? 18
2 The Concepts of God and the Qur’an 21
concept of God in Islam 21
the Qur’an 23
nursi on God 25
nursi on creation and the role of human Beings 28
nursi on Vicegerency and the trust 29
nursi on Reflective Thought 32
3 Said Nursi and Spirituality 37
Sufism in the Risale-i Nur 40
4 Nursi’s Approach to Disagreement and Pluralism 51
the traditional options: theocracy or Secularism 51
Grounded pluralism 53
Summary 60
vi An Introduction to Said Nursi
ExTrACTS froM ThE WrITINGS of SAID NurSI
Part 1 Belief 65
extract one: difference between Believer and non-Believer 65
extract two: the Four channels 67
extract three: the universe as a Book 78
extract Four: the Supreme Sign 84
extract Five: God’s unity 86
extract Six: God has no partner 90
extract Seven: divine oneness and Works 95
extract eight: there is no god but God 104
Part 2 Prophethood 115
extract one: need for prophets 115
extract two: Foundation of prophethood 115
extract three: Muhammad the prophet 122
extract Four: revelation and philosophy 133
extract Five: humanity, particles, and the divine 140
Part 3 Life after Death and resurrection 145
extract one: the tenth Word 145
extract two: Benefits of Resurrection 156
extract three: the concept of Bodily resurrection 161
extract Four: creation and resurrection 162
extract Five: divine name of ever-Living 163
extract Six: death as “Bounty” and the timing of the
Last Judgement 164
extract Seven: divine unity and humanity 166
Part 4 Justice and Worship 169
extract one: centrality of the divine name 169
extract two: human tendencies that need Justice 172
extract three: the nature and purpose of the Worship of God 174
extract Four: the Importance of daily prayer 177
extract Five: the damascus Sermon 187
Further Readings 191
Glossary 193
Index 197
Acknowledgements
collaborating on this book has been important and precious work. In an age
when Islam is so frequently misunderstood, it is essential that the insights of
distinguished Islamic scholars are made accessible. We appreciate very much our
time together at hartford Seminary in connecticut. this is an institution that has
pioneered the importance of the christian–Muslim dialogue for decades. to our
friends, colleagues (both on the Faculty and on the Staff), we are deeply grateful.
We are grateful to Sarah Lloyd, the commissioning editor for Ashgate. She
has recognized the importance of this moment—the need for accessible texts
that explain in a systematic way the insights of Islamic scholars. her care with
this project is much appreciated. As the book moved into production, nick Wain
provided an outstanding service to the authors.
We are grateful to those who helped us with the glossary, especially Lynn
campbell, Whitney kirby, and Audrey o’Brien. christine Faulstich did a
wonderful job on the index and christine peel read the proofs carefully. katie
Glover and catric Whaley helped organize the project.
We are grateful to our respective life partners—harun and Lesley. For your
love and support, we are forever grateful.
The editors are grateful for the following permissions: Şükran Vahide for the
translations of the Risale-i Nur; Ashgate publishing for permission to use sections
from Ian Markham, Engaging Bediuzzaman Said Nursi, (Ashgate 2009).
Suendam Birinci pirim and Ian Markham
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Introduction
there are very few books on Islamic thinkers. With christian theologians, there are
companions, encyclopedias, dictionaries, introductions, textbooks, and surveys.
there are accessible introductions to the thought of such theologians as karl Barth
and paul tillich. But when it comes to Islam, there is virtually nothing. With the
exception of some good work on classical thinkers (for example, Al-Ghazali),
contemporary Islamic thinkers are treated sociologically rather than as theologians.
A book on Muhammad Iqbal is more likely to focus on his contribution to the
emergence of pakistan than his highly innovative account of God. this needs to
change; we need to start engaging at the level of ideas with the rich depths of
contemporary Islamic theology.
this book is written for the student in the academy. We are interested in the
student in “Introduction to Islam” course that wants to understand the worldview
of a distinguished and hugely influential Islamic thinker. We want to see courses
emerge that compare and contrast Muslim and christian theologians. this is a
book that is intended to be accessible and, at the same time, demanding. It is
accessible because the opening chapters ease the reader into the context of our
thinker and provide an accessible overview of the theology. It is demanding
because then the reader is invited into the primary text. to look closely at the
challenge of interpretation and to enjoy exploring the nuance and detail embedded
in the extracts. At moments when the text is difficult, the reader is invited to turn
to the end of the book and use the glossary. And at the end of every chapter, there
are study questions to orientate and reflect on the material.
this book is an exploration of the thought of Bediuzzaman (this means
“Wonder of the Age”) Said nursi (1878–1960). his thought has birthed a major
worldwide Islamic movement of approximately 6 million followers. While the
egyptian Muslim Brotherhood (a group committed to the realization of a Muslim
State, which observes sharia) is numerically small yet has spawned a vast
literature, the nur community (the community formed out of nursi’s thought) has
produced a vast movement, which has had virtually no attention. We list under the
further reading sections all the books that have been written on nursi available in
english. one of our tasks in this book is to start correcting the imbalance: instead
of focusing on small Muslim movements, let us start taking more interest in the
mainstream ones.
While the need to understand the inspiration behind a major Muslim movement
may be our place to start, there are many other reasons for this book on Said nursi.
The first is that he is a remarkably compelling thinker and writer. The underlying
project is renewal. At a time when a modern turkey is emerging that can compete
effectively in twentieth century europe, nursi sees the danger. Islam is being
