The "New Said" Period and the Composition of the Risale-i Nur Collection
Ustad Bediuzzaman divides his life into two periods the “Old Said” and the “New Said”. He names the first part of his life during which he was dealing with politics as “Old Said”. The second part started with the composition of the Risale-i Nur Collection and was shaped by the period he focused on the service of the Qur’an and faith as the “New Said”.
In the exile of Barla where he stayed 8 years, Ustad Said Nursi composed most of the parts of The Words (Al-Kalimaat) The Flashes (Al-Lam’aat) and The Letters (Al-Maktubaat) which are commonly based on the tenets of Imaan. He commented on his exile and composition of the treatises: “Those torturing us served the expanding of the truths of imaan (faith) by not conceiving the secrets of the Holy Destiny.”
Ustad Bediuzzaman stated that those who were willing to become his students in the precious service of the Qur’an, revitalizing and reminding about the message of the Qur’an, were required to preserve the use of the Qur’anic letters. Risale-i Nur students gathered around Barla and Isparta were both hand-copying the Risale-i Nur Treatises and distributing the copies for those who were eager to learn their Deen all around the Anatolia. In that way, Anatolia turned into a Madrassah.
The Eskisehir Court and Kastamonu Exiles
Risale-i Nur’s expansion among people irritated some. Ustad
was brought to Isparta from Barla in 1934, after a year he was sent to Eskisehir Prison along with his one hundred and twenty students with the accusation of “allegedly founding a secret organization, being against the regime and struggling to destroy the current regime.”
They were tried together at the Court of Heavy Crimes in Eskisehir. The court sentenced Ustad Bediuzzaman eleven months imprisonment on the grounds of Risale-i Tasattur (A Treatise on Islamic Dress Code), which was written in order to provide clarification on the issue of the Islamic dress code). While fifteen out of the students were charged with six months, the others were acquitted. After being released from the Eskisehir Prison, he was exiled to Kastamonu province. For a long while he was obliged to reside in the police station and was then moved to a house across from the police station. In total he spent eight years living in exile in Kastamonu.
While the Risalatun Nur Treatises were passing from one person to another, new ones were being composed. The treatises and the letters newly written were sent to Isparta. Students in Isparta were spreading them to the villages of Anatolia even to the most remote places. The circle of students were widening every day. In the meantime, the people whom Ustad Bediuzzaman called “the Secret enemies of Islam” did not stop their activities. Numerous times they made raids; he was brought from court to court and from exile to exile. He was poisoned 23 times. However; with the help of Allah (SWT) he managed to survive every time. He never abandoned his Islamic activities.
Denizli-Afyon Courts And Emirdag Exile
He was sent to the Court of Heavy Crimes in Denizli with one hundred and twenty six of his students in 1943. Risale-i Nur Collection was investigated by an expert committee composed of high scholars and judges in Ankara.
In consequence of the defence in the court and the affirmative report concerning his not being interested in political propagandas and the Risale-i Nur treatises’ being a “Qur’anic Commentary” based on scientific and religious truths, the court decided on the acquittal by proving the immateriality of the incrimination in 1944.
Prison life lasted 9 months, during which Bediuzzaman Said Nursi was stopped from seeing his students and was exposed to so many hardships and he was also poisoned. He endured all of these with the help of Allah (SWT) and managed to survive. After his release, he resided in Denizli for 2 months. He was then moved to another enforced place of residence, Emirdag; where he was still under surveillance.
Despite all the hardships, the spread of Risale-i Nur went on here as in every other place, Emirdag also shone with his arrival. In spite of all the blockings, there was no end of visitors to Bediuzzaman. His students were bringing the hand-written copies of the treaties to him and he was rectifying them. Most of the time, he was going to the moorlands, but even then he was being followed. As he was sentenced to be under surveillance all the time, a police officer was always on guard at his door. At the end of 1947, he was arrested and brought to Afyon along with his various students from different cities.
The accusation was the same: “Being against the regime and founding a secret organization.” This trial also lasted twenty months and the punishment ended with the acquittal of them. The court board wasted their time with so-called deficiencies day by day and the courts procrastinated several times until the illegally given punishment expired. Ustad and his students were released then. In 1950, multiparty period started in Turkey. The Democrat Party won the election. During the Democrat Party term, Bediuzzaman and the Risale-i Nur students were relieved to some degree; this change in the political arena was like a breath of fresh air, although arrests and hardships still continued. He stayed sometimes in Emirdag and sometimes in Isparta. Sometimes, he visited various cities to meet his students and talk to his visitors.
After the acquittal of Afyon Prison, Ustad Said Nursi was forced to reside in Emirdag. He went to Eskisehir after the Democrat Party came to power. He finally went back to Isparta and worked on raising his students. In 1952, on the occasion of the book “The Guide of the Youth” he was again tried and after an absence of twenty seven years he returned to Istanbul. His hotel was flooded by students and friends. He was released on bail and later the court acquitted him again. After the trial he returned to Emirdag; while he was wandering on the moorlands, he was apprehended again for not wearing the European Hat (1953). Subsequently, he sent a petition written about this to The Ministry of Justice and The ministry of Interior.
Some students published his petition in local newspapers in Samsun, for which he was sued and called to Samsun. Even though an official report about his inability to come due to being old and ill was submitted to the court, they insisted on his attending the trial. His health deteriorated when he came to Istanbul on the way to Samsun. He submitted another health report saying: “Not available for travelling by any means of Sea, land, or air.” Finally, this trial also ended in acquittal. In 1953 spring, he stayed in Istanbul for three months and attended to the 500th anniversary celebration of the Conquest of Istanbul.
Afterwards, he alternately went to Emirdag, Eskisehir, and Isparta; from there he went to Barla together with students where the Composition of Risale-i Nur treatises had first started.
His Last Journey
In the first months of the year 1960, political life in Turkey had become agitated. Ustad Bediuzzaman went to Ankara three times in order to warn the statesmen of that time about the coming disasters. But these struggles were in vain. The interior Minister hindered Bediuzzaman’s last visit to Ankara on 11 January 1960 and sent him back from Golbasi (a place near Ankara.) Along with the intimidations of the People’s Party, the Interior Minister forced him to reside in Emirdag. Afterwards he went back to Emirdag, then to Isparta. Ustad
Bediuzzaman was making a farewell to his friends and students. He frequently mentioned “death, his will and his grave” in his sermons. He was saying he would die with a peace of mind for there were people who had been brought up to adopt the service of Islam, Imaan and the Qur’an. He was severely ill. In the end, Ustad Bediuzzaman left Isparta and headed for Urfa. He reached Urfa after a twenty five hour journey which was very annoying and distressing due to the non-stop observation of the police.
Settling in Ipek Palas Hotel (Silk Palace) in Urfa, Ustad Bediuzzaman discussed with his visitors despite being desperately ill. The Cabinet of the time was following a plan to deport him from Urfa with the security forces. However; Ustad Bediuzzaman on 23 March 1960 (A.H [after hijrah] on 25 Ramadan 1379) passed away towards morning. The next day (On 24 March 1960) after the funeral Prayer was performed by a huge crowd of people in Ulu Mosque, his funeral was carried by the masses to the Mosque of Halilurrahman
and buried there.
After two months, there was a military coup on 27 May 1960 and again there was another dark age for the country. This period was so distressed that Bediuzzaman’s grave was attacked by the coup officials on 12 July 1960. Those, who kept disturbing him throughout his lifetime because of their fear, were even more frightened after his death and moved his honourable body to an unknown place in Isparta.