In today’s world we’ve witnessed multiple wars, catastrophes, sorrows, widespread hunger and poverty and the devastating illnesses, loss and sufferings as a result. Are we then left to a life shaking our heads in utter despair? Indeed, no, we are not! There is hope!
The nature of mankind is to want lasting happiness, nobody wants misery and nobody wants good things to end. Yet at the same time, humans are inherently unable to secure their own lives with respect or eternal happiness. When people inevitably face the truth that they have no control over the security of their existence, realazing they cannot sustain their own existence, finding hope to alleviate such angst seems elusive, if not impossible. So the question needing to be asked is: where may we find hope? The answer: Belief in God! Mankind is destined to anxiety, loss, misery and dread without belief in God and the Afterlife for it is only through belief in God that we are saved from what would be an otherwise psychologically unbearable fate. There is hope!
Bediuzzaman Said Nursi emphasizes belief in God through the Holy Scriptures, and in one instance discusses what he calls an allusive proof of their light-giving hope, which, according to Bediuzzaman, is the unlimited nature of man’s potentialities. He writes:
Man’s unbounded conceptions and thoughts are born of his infinite hopes. These arise from his unrestricted desires, which in turn arise from his unlimited abilities. These are concealed in his boundless potentialities, planted in the substance of his spirit, which Allah the Most High has ennobled. All of these point testifying to eternal happiness beyond the bodily resurrection of the dead, fixing their gaze on it from afar. Reflect on this!
Most certainly, we must reflect on this for it is the duty of every individual seeking and wanting a better life and future for themselves, for all mankind, and for all life of Earth. Throughout the Risale-i-Nur works Bediuzzaman’s clear message is this: hope for humanity lies in belief in God and the Afterlife, without which the happiness of mankind remains in perpetual and perilous poverty. There is hope!
-The Light Institute
Our next blog will cover more of Bediuzzaman’s words on this subject. Discover more of his teachings: