Why do you violently oppose war, although, with foreign forces like the British and Italians interfering in the government recently, it would have excited Islamic zeal—the true point of support and source of moral strength of this country’s government—and been a means to an extent of reviving the marks of Islam and repulsing innovations? Why have you offered prayers for its being settled by peaceful means, and come out fervently in support of the innovators’ government? Is this not indirect support of innovations?

T h e A n s w e r : We want relief, release, happiness, and victory—but not with the sword of the unbelievers. Let the unbelievers’ swords be the end of them! We are not in need of any advantage proceeding from their swords. In fact it is those obstinate Europeans who have set the dissemblers to pester the people of belief, and have raised the atheists.

As for the calamity of war, it would cause great harm to our service of the Qur’an. Since the majority of our most valuable, self-sacrificing brothers are under the age of forty-five, they would be forced because of war to leave their sacred service of the Qur’an and enroll in the army. If I had the money, I would gladly pay the thousand liras necessary to release each of such valuable brothers from military service. With hundreds of my valuable brothers leaving the Qur’anic service of the Risale-i Nur and laying hands on the club of physical jihad, I feel a loss in myself of a hundred thousand liras. These two years of Zekâi’s military service, even, have caused perhaps a thousand liras of his immaterial profit to be lost. Anyway... Like the One Powerful Over All Things sweeps and cleans in a minute the atmosphere filled with clouds and shows the shining sun in clear skies, so He may also dispel these black and merciless clouds and show the truths of the Shari’a like the sun, and give them without expense or trouble. We await it from His mercy that He will not sell them to us expensively. May He give intelligence to the heads of those at the top, and belief to their hearts; that would be enough. Then matters would put themselves to rights.