Words That Fell Upon the Heart from Said Nursi
Said Nursi's wisdoms are a selection of short sayings that touch the human heart, character, and inner discipline. Although each saying may appear as a simple note on its own, behind it lie fundamental issues such as disciplining the nafs (nafs—the lower self), awareness of mortality, knowledge, adab (adab—propriety), and maturity of the qalb (qalb—the heart).
On this page, a concise selection of 72 sayings has been compiled for Said Nursi.
01
"Just as you depart from this station, you will also leave this city. Therefore, strive to leave as one who is honored. Sacrifice your body to its Creator; in return, you will receive a great price."
02
"Abandon pride, understand your weakness, recognize your Owner, know your duty, learn why you have come to this world."
03
"Worldly friends and ranks last only until the door of the grave!"
04
"A day will come when women as hard as stone will become earth! You have looked; what have you gained except sins? I did not look; what have I lost?"
05
"The foundation of happiness in both worlds and both lives is only iman (iman—faith)."
06
"Whoever does not possess a powerful hand that can lift and turn the earth and all the stars and planets like prayer beads, cannot claim to create or invent in the universe. For everything is connected to everything else."
07
"One who knows the hereafter and discovers the reality of the world—if he has reason—will not regret, nor will he return to the world and busy himself with it again."
08
"The result of spending the strength of youth: is an eternal youth in the abode of happiness."
09
"O world-worshipping human! The world you imagine to be so vast is, in reality, like a narrow grave."
10
"A village cannot be without a headman, a needle cannot be without a craftsman, cannot be ownerless, a letter cannot be without a scribe; you know this. How is it, then, that this country, which is extremely orderly, could be without a ruler?"
11
"You, O my arrogant nafs, resemble a grapevine! Do not boast; the clusters were not attached by the tree itself, but by another who attached them to it."
12
"Within every sin there is a path leading to kufr (kufr—disbelief). If that sin is not quickly destroyed through seeking forgiveness, it bites the qalb not as a worm, but as a small spiritual snake."
13
"The sphere of what is lawful is wide; it suffices for pleasure. There is no need to enter into what is forbidden."
14
"Whose art am I? The chests and shops in which I am found are also His property."
15
"Even if I had as many heads as the number of my hairs, and one was cut off each day, I would not bow this head, which is sacrificed for the reality of the Qur'an, to irreligion and absolute kufr, nor would I abandon or be able to abandon this service of iman and nur."
16
"Were you created solely for this world, that you spend all your time on it!"
17
"He who arranges the stomach of the flea is the same One who arranges the solar system."
18
"In Islam, after iman, the highest reality is prayer (ṣalāh)."
19
"The aim of the Risale-i Nur is directly the hereafter. It has no dealings with the world."
20
"Islam is like the sun; it cannot be extinguished by blowing! It is like the day; closing one's eyes does not make it night! He who closes his eyes makes it night only for himself!"
21
"Man is an enemy to what he does not know and cannot reach."
22
"Helpless truths become worthless in worthless hands."
23
"Even if one of us is in the east, another in the west, one in the past, one in the future, one in this world, one in the hereafter, we are together with each other."
24
"Within every sin there is a path leading to kufr. If that sin is not quickly destroyed through seeking forgiveness, it bites the qalb not as a worm, but as a small spiritual snake."
25
"In the near future, a wrathful hand will give you your full punishment and will take the revenge of the innocent."
26
"There is a terrible fire before me. Its flames rise to the skies. My child is burning within it, my iman is burning. I am running to extinguish that fire, to save my iman."
27
"The Qur'an is strength and nourishment for the qalbs, and healing for the ruhs (ruhs—the spirits). The repetition of nourishment increases strength."
28
"O my nafs! Weep and cry out like my qalb, and say: 'I am mortal, I do not want what is mortal; I am weak, I do not want what is weak. I have entrusted my ruh to the All-Merciful, I want nothing else.'"
29
"O Lord, forgive our faults. Accept us as Your servants. Until the time comes to take Your trust, make us trustworthy in Your trust. Amin!"
30
"What most fulfills a person's need is the presence of a qalb to match his own, so that both sides may exchange their love, passion, and enthusiasm, be partners in pleasures, and helpers to each other in sorrow and distress."
31
"Every plant, tree, and herb, with their roots and veins as soft as silk, say 'Bismillah' (In the name of Allah), and pierce through hard stone and earth."
32
"He who admires his nafs and trusts in it is wretched. He who sees the faults of his nafs is fortunate."
33
"Delegation in the arrangement of preliminaries is laziness; in the occurrence of results, it is tawakkul (tawakkul—reliance upon God)."
34
"Remaining silent in the face of injustice is disrespect to the truth."
35
"Looking at what is forbidden causes forgetfulness."
36
"Allah is sufficient for the one who relies on Him."
37
"Thus, kufr destroys the human essence, transforming it from diamond to coal."
38
"He who sees the faults of his nafs is fortunate."
39
"Since we possess a blessing as infinitely precious as iman; old age is pleasant, illness is pleasant, and even death is pleasant."
40
"To the one who is a servant and slave to Allah, everything becomes a servant."
41
"Kufr is an evil, a destruction, a denial of affirmation."
42
"The fast of the Noble Ramadan is the key to a true, pure, magnificent, and universal gratitude."
43
"A thing is either beautiful in itself, or beautiful in its results."
44
"If you seek advice, death suffices. Indeed, one who contemplates death is saved from love of the world and works seriously for his hereafter."
45
"Another's fault cannot be a justification or excuse for one's own fault."
46
"He who has iman in destiny is safe from sorrow."
47
"As the world grows old, the Qur'an grows young."
48
"Since the appointed time of death is hidden; death can come at any time to cut off one's head, and there is no difference between young and old."
49
"Indeed, affairs related to the world are like glass destined to break."
50
"Indeed, be hopeful; within this coming revolution of the future, the loudest and highest voice will be the voice of Islam."
51
"The highest truth in the universe is iman, and after iman is prayer."
52
"O my nafs! Do not say the times have changed, for death does not change."
53
"The greater one's passion, the greater his test."
54
"He who creates the eye of the mosquito is the same One who creates the sun."
55
"He who finds the Exalted One, what does he lose? And he who loses Him, what does he gain?"
56
"Do not call me to the world; I came to it and found it to be perishing."
57
"O Allah, since You exist and are everlasting, let those who depart depart, You suffice for me."
58
"Prepare yourselves; you will go to another, eternal land. Such a land that, compared to it, this land is like a dungeon."
59
"He who sees beautifully, thinks beautifully. He who thinks beautifully, takes pleasure in his life."
60
"Beneath veils that appear ugly outwardly, there are extremely beautiful results."
61
"We love religion. We also love the world, but for the sake of religion. There is no good in a world without religion."
62
"We are responsible for service. The results and success belong to the Exalted One."
63
"Since death can come at any time; if it catches a person in heedlessness, it can greatly harm his eternal life."
64
"He who has iman in destiny is safe from sorrow and grief."
65
"You are being invited to Paradise, your eternal place of visitation. Therefore, enter the door of the grave not weeping, but laughing."
66
"The Exalted One is not in need of your worship, nor of anything else. But you are in need of worship, you are spiritually ill."
67
"I can live without bread. I cannot live without freedom."
68
"The capital of life is very little. The necessary tasks are very many."
69
"An artistic work requires an Artist."
70
"Everyone has a world of his own in this universe. Its pillar is his own life."
71
"The Qur'an is both dhikr (dhikr—remembrance of God), and reflection, and wisdom, and knowledge, and reality, and sharia (sharia—the sacred law), and healing for the breasts, and hudā (hudā—guidance) and mercy for the believers."
72
"Be hopeful; within this coming revolution of the future, the loudest and highest voice will be that of Islam."