CONTENTS

THE FIRST WORD
On In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate, showing what a strength and source of bounty it is and how it is constantly recited by all things through the tongues of their beings

The Second Station of the Fourteenth Flash: 

On six of the thousands of mysteries of In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate

* * *

THE SECOND WORD
A comparison showing the believers’ and unbelievers’ views of the world and how happiness and ease of mind lie in belief in God, and safety, in Islam

* * *

THE THIRD WORD
A comparison illustrating how worship yields high profits and vice and dissipation result in serious loss

* * *

THE FOURTH WORD
A comparison illustrating the value and importance of the five daily prayers, and the ease they afford man’s spirit, heart, and mind

* * *

THE FIFTH WORD
A comparison showing that man’s true duty is worship of God and to avoid grievous sins

* * *

THE SIXTH WORD
A comparison describing five ways in which selling oneself and one’s property to God is profitable trade, and five serious losses incurred when this is neglected

* * *

THE SEVENTH WORD
A comparison showing how belief in God and the hereafter are two talismans which both solve the riddle of creation and open the door of happiness for man

* * *

THE EIGHTH WORD
On the true nature of religion, this world, man, and belief in God, and a comparison between the way of the Qur’an and that of unbelief and their results for man’s heart and spirit

* * *

THE NINTH WORD
On the wisdom in the specified times of the five daily prayers, in five ‘Points’

* * *

THE TENTH WORD
On Resurrection and the Hereafter: A comparison in the form of twelve ‘Aspects’ containing proofs of the resurrection of the dead

An Introduction consisting of four ‘Indications’ explaining the comparison and demonstrating the existence and unity of God, the function of prophethood and the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), the importance of man, and the necessity of the Eternal Creator of this transitory world creating a permanent realm

Twelve ‘Truths’ consisting of detailed proofs of the resurrection of the dead and the hereafter based on a number of the Divine Names, and a Conclusion

First Addendum: An Introduction comprising two ‘Points’; the First, how essential is belief in the hereafter for human social life in particular; the Second, how the other pillars of belief require the resurrection, and prove it

Second Addendum: How life looks to all six pillars of belief including the resurrection of the dead, and proves them indirectly

Third Addendum: Three ‘Matters’ explaining the instantaneous occurrence of the resurrection

Fourth Addendum: An explanation of a number of Qur’anic verses describing the resurrection of the dead and the end of the world

Fifth Addendum: The testimony to resurrection and the hereafter of the prophets, saints, the spring, and man’s desire for eternity

* * *

THE ELEVENTH WORD
On the wisdom in and purposes of the world, the riddle of man’s creation, and the mystery of the five daily prayers, including a comparison, and an explanation of the purpose of man’s life, its true nature, and its duties

* * *

THE TWELFTH WORD
Four ‘Principles’, comprising concise comparisons illustrating the wisdom of the Qur’an and that of philosophy, the instruction they give to individual life, the principles they put forward for social life, and the superiority of the Qur’an over all other Divine revelation

* * *

THE THIRTEENTH WORD
A comparison between the degrees of knowledge of the All-Wise Qur’an and the philosophical sciences, how the Qur’an is infinitely superior to poetry, and an aspect of its miraculousness which scatters the darkness of unbelief

Second Station: How to save the life of the hereafter

Advice for some youths concerning the dangers facing them

Three letters addressing prisoners

An important matter imparted on the Night of Power

The Sixth Topic from the Fruits of Belief: “Teach us about our Creator.”

The Air: A Window onto Divine Unity

* * *

THE FOURTEENTH WORD
Five ‘Matters’ which, comprising comparisons and similes, form steps by which to rise to certain truths of the Qur’an and Hadiths, and a Conclusion which is a warning lesson to the heedless

Addendum: Seven questions and answers demonstrating that earthquakes occur at the Divine command

* * *

THE FIFTEENTH WORD
Seven Steps rising to the heavens of the verse: We have adorned the lowest heaven with lamps, and made them missiles to drive way the evil ones

Addendum: A Proof of the Qur’an Against Satan and His Party

A Second, Small Objection of Satan

* * *

THE SIXTEENTH WORD
Consists of four ‘Rays’: The First explaining Divine oneness and the universal Divine works; the Second demonstrating there is no incompatibility between Qur’anic verses showing things to come into existence instantaneously and those showing their existence to be gradual; the Third, an explanation of verses showing Almighty God to be infinitely close and those showing Him to be infinitely distant; and the Fourth Ray describing the comprehensive worship expressed by the phrase: God is Most Great!

A Short Addendum: Just as the order in the universe, manifest through the Divine laws, demonstrates Divine power and wisdom, so too exceptions to the laws and differences and changes demonstrate Divine will and choice

* * *

THE SEVENTEENTH WORD
In the face of the manifestations of the Divine Names of Merciful and Giver of Life, which make this world like a festival, the Names of All-Compelling and Dealer of Death appear. The First Station describes five ‘Aspects’ in which this apparent incongruity is in fact appropriate

Second Station: Pieces in free verse: Reliance on God in the face of tribulation; Answer to Those Smitten by the West; A Supplication in Persian; A Supplication inspired by the verse, I love not those that set; Two Tables, of Guidance and Misguidance; A Supplication in Arabic; A Fruit of the Uplands of Barla; The Utterance of the Stars

* * *

THE EIGHTEENTH WORD
Comprising three ‘Points’: the First, A Chastening Slap for My Evil-Commanding Soul; the Second explains one meaning of the verse, Who has created everything in the best way; and the Third shows how the beauty and art in the universe require the messengership of Muhammad (PBUH)

* * *

THE NINETEENTH WORD
On the Messengership of Muhammad (PBUH): Fourteen ‘Droplets’ proving and describing the messengership of Muhammad (PBUH), the Fourteenth, on his greatest miracle, the Qur’an

* * *

THE TWENTIETH WORD
Consists of two ‘Stations’

First Station: Three verses of the Qur’an, comprising three ‘Points’, in which the particular matters mentioned indicate general laws and universal principles

Second Station: On the Miracles of the Prophets, demonstrating that just as the Prophets were leaders of communities in regard to spiritual and moral progress, so were they masters in regard to some craft or industry, taught them by means of a miracle. In mentioning them, the Qur’an is urging man towards scientific and technological progress

* * *

THE TWENTY-FIRST WORD
Consists of two ‘Stations’

First Station: Five ‘Warnings’ to the soul, which is dilatory in performing the five daily prayers

Second Station: Five ‘Aspects’ comprising five cures for five of the many sorts of scruples with which people are afflicted

* * *

THE TWENTY-SECOND WORD
Consists of two ‘Stations’

First Station: Twelve ‘Proofs’ demonstrating in allegorical form how the beings in the world around us speak of their Maker and point to His unity

Second Station: Twelve ‘Flashes’ from the sun of belief in God which, by pointing out the stamps and seals on all things denoting their Maker and His power and other attributes, demonstrate the true affirmation of Divine unity

* * *

THE TWENTY-THIRD WORD
Contains two Chapters

First Chapter: Five ‘Points’ describing the virtues and advantages of belief: how man acquires value through belief by manifesting the Divine Names; how belief illuminates both man, and the universe, and the past and future; how belief affords man strength; how belief makes man a true man, making his essential duty belief and supplication

Second Chapter: Five ‘Remarks’ explaining man’s possible progress through infinite degrees, and possible decline. For he is a miracle of Divine power and art, the result of creation, who has been cast into the arena of trial and before whom two ways have been opened

* * *

THE TWENTY-FOURTH WORD
Consists of five ‘Branches’ from the luminous tree of the verse, God, there is no god but He; His are the Most Beautiful Names

First Branch: The manifestations of the Divine Names in the various realms and worlds of the universe, and their diversity

Second Branch: A comparison which in examining the three ways of approaching reality, shows the reasons for the differences and even contradictions in the truths experienced by the saints through illumination, and among scholars arrived at by rational proofs, and why previous to the Qur’an, all the pillars of belief were not taught in detail by the prophets

Third Branch: Twelve ‘Principles’ explaining certain figurative Hadiths that speak of the signs of the end of time, and of the merits of certain acts, which have been misunderstood

Fourth Branch: The four categories of workers in the palace of the universe: the angels, the animals, plants and inanimate creatures, and man, and their diverse duties of worship

Fifth Branch: Five ‘Fruits’: on love and fear; worship is not the introduction to further reward, but the result of previous bounty; limitless acts pertaining to the hereafter in a brief life; do not imitate the worldly; turning from multiplicity to unity and from transience to permanence

* * *

THE TWENTY-FIFTH WORD
On the Miraculousness of the Qur’an. The verses discussed in this Word have been criticized by atheists or objected to in the name of science, but are proved according to scholarly principles to be flashes of miraculousness and eloquence

Introduction: Definition of the Qur’an, in three parts

First Light: consists of three ‘Rays’

-First Ray: The eloquence of the Qur’an, which is at the degree of miraculousness, in two ‘Aspects’ and five ‘Points’

-Second Ray: The Qur’an’s extraordinary comprehensiveness, in five ‘Flashes’, including five ‘Glows’

-Third Ray: The Qur’an’s miraculousness pertaining to its giving news of the Unseen, its preserving its youth throughout the ages, and its addressing all classes of mankind appropriately, in three ‘Radiances’, including three ‘Glistens’, three ‘Degrees’, and four ‘Principles’

Second Light: consists of three ‘Beams’

-First Beam: The fluency, proportionateness, and harmony of the Qur’an as a whole

-Second Beam: Ten ‘Points of Eloquence’

-Third Beam: The Qur’an cannot be compared with other speech and writings

Third Light: Consists of three ‘Gleams’

-First Gleam: Through scattering the light of guidance and miraculousness, each of the Qur’an’s verses disperses the darkness of unbelief and heedlessness

-Second Gleam: A comparison between how Qur’anic wisdom and human philosophy see the world

-Third Gleam: The degrees of wisdom before the wisdom of the Qur’an of the purified scholars and saints and the Illuminist philosophers

Conclusion

First Addendum: From The Supreme Sign, The Observations of a Traveller Questioning the Universe about his Creator, in six ‘Points’

A Flower of Emirdag: A reply to objections about repetition in the Qur’an

Conclusion, in the form of two ‘Additions’

* * *

THE TWENTY-SIXTH WORD
On Divine Determining, sometimes known as fate or destiny, and man’s power of choice or faculty of will. In four ‘Topics’: the First, Divine Determining and the power of choice; the Second, a scholarly discussion of the same; the Third demonstrates by pointing out some of its certain proofs how powerful and extensive is the pillar of belief of Divine Determining; and the Fourth demonstrates that calamities and tribulations are not contrary to the fact that Divine Determining is good in all its aspects

Conclusion: Five ‘Paragraphs’ silencing the Old Said’s soul

Addendum: A short way to Almighty God, consisting of four ‘Steps’

* * *

THE TWENTY-SEVENTH WORD
On Independent Judgements of the Law (Ijtihad). The door of ijtihad is open, but at the present time there are six ‘Obstacles’ to entering it

Conclusion: On the wisdom of the change in laws according to the ages, and of the diversity of the schools of law

Addendum: On the Companions of the Prophet (PBUH), in three ‘Reasons’ and three ‘Aspects’, and four questions and answers

* * *

THE TWENTY-EIGHTH WORD

About Paradise. A discussion of several aspects of Paradise that have been either criticised or questioned

A Short Addendum: On Hell

* * *

THE TWENTY-NINTH WORD
On the Immortality of Man’s Spirit, the Angels, and the Resurrection of the Dead, in an Introduction, and two ‘Aims’

First Aim: Belief in and affirmation of the angels is a pillar of belief, in four ‘Fundamental Points’. The First, on life, the light of existence; the Second, all the scholars of religion have agreed on the existence of the angels, while the various schools of philosophy, being unable to deny them, have merely misnamed them; the Third, the consensus of all religions, prophets, and saints concerning the angels; the Fourth, the functions of the angels

Second Aim: About the resurrection of the dead, the end of the world, and the life of the hereafter, in four ‘Fundamental Points’ and an Introduction. The First, man’s spirit is definitely immortal, in an Introduction and four ‘Sources’. The Second, ten ‘Points’ proving certain matters that necessitate eternal happiness. The Third, three ‘Matters’ pertaining to Divine power. The Fourth, four ‘Matters’ proving that the world possesses the potential for the resurrection of the dead

* * *

THE THIRTIETH WORD
An explanation of the human ‘I’ or ego, and minute particles, in two ‘Aims’

First Aim: On the nature and results of the human ‘I’

Second Aim: On the transformations of minute particles, and their motion and duties, in an Introduction and three ‘Points’. The First, indications to Divine unity in the motion of particles, and five instances of wisdom; the Second, the evidences of particles to the Divine existence and unity; the Third, a sixth instance of wisdom in the motion of particles

* * *

THE THIRTY-FIRST WORD
About the Ascension of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), in four ‘Principles’. The First, why was the Ascension necessary? The Second, what was the reality of the Ascension? The Third, what was the wisdom and purpose of the Ascension? The Fourth, what are the fruits and benefits of the Ascension?

Addendum: About the Miracle of the Splitting of the Moon, in five ‘Points’ and a Conclusion

* * *

THE THIRTY-SECOND WORD
Three Stopping-Places

First Stopping-Place: A proof of Divine unity in the form of imaginary debates between the representative of misguidance and successive beings from a minute particle, then a red corpuscle, then a cell in the body, and so on. Each rejects his claims over them through the tongue of the true wisdom and order it displays

A Short Addendum: A description of the verse, Do they not look at the sky above them?

Second Stopping-Place: Three ‘Important Questions’, comprising three ‘Aims’, concerning Divine oneness and unity. The Second includes two comparisons, and a question and answer about the certainty afforded by analogies in the form of comparisons. The Third Question, concerning the Divine perfections, in two parts, answered in five ‘Indications’ and five ‘Signs’

Third Stopping Place: Two ‘Topics’ and an ‘Important Question’. The First Topic, the reality of the universe and all beings is based on the Divine Names. How the Names are manifested and how to ‘read’ them. The Second, a comparison between the way of wretchedness laid out by the representative of the people of misguidance and the path of happiness defined by the All-Wise Qur’an. The question, how we should love all the things it is natural to love, is answered in four ‘Points’, an Introduction and nine ‘Indications’

A Supplication

* * *

THE THIRTY-THIRD WORD
Thirty-three Windows making known the Creator. Concise explanations of how the microcosm and macrocosm, that is, man and the universe, point to the existence and unity of God, and His dominical attributes

GLEAMS: Pieces written in “semi-verse” during Ramadan 1337 (1921), which “form a sort of Mathnawi and collection on the subject of belief for the Risale-i Nur Students,” and are “a sort of forerunner of the Risale-i Nur, giving the good tidings of its major parts.” The work was later added by the Author to The Words Collection.

Reply to the Anglican Church

About the Risale-i Nur, The Words, and their Author

* * *