Frugality is nothing other than the tafsir and elucidation of the sufficiency mentioned above. And to enter the palace of frugality, one must first enter through the door of sufficiency. For this reason frugality and sufficiency necessitate one another.

The frugality of mujahids who follow the path of sufficiency taken by the Prophets is a natural characteristic, one that is second nature. After which for him a dish of soup, a glass of water and a piece of bread will suffice for a given day. What can be said of this great man, in line with the saying of the French poet Lamartine that “He did not live to eat, but rather ate to live.”

After having completely understood the path of Ustad, I am reluctant to equate his frugal lifestyle with such mundane things as eating and drinking. It is necessary to measure the frugality of this great man by applying it on spiritual planes and by using non-material criteria.

For example, Ustad did not measure the power of this elevated frugality by simple things such as eating, drinking and dress. On the contrary, his was a genius that would apply it to avoiding wastefulness in spiritual and abstract values such as thinking, expending the mind, potentials, moments, times, the nafs and breathing. And this careful method of evaluation which he made integral to his character, he also instilled this in his students.

Hence it is not easy to ask a Nur student to read random works and listen to every word that is said. For the inscription in the focal point of their hearts, saying “Careful!” acts as a most sensitive control mechanism.

Thus, Bediuzzaman is a rare jewel of creation that rose an immaculate generation. He has actively proven himself as powerful reformer and a most extraordinary ‘pedagogue’ and has added yet another marvellous page shining with nur in the history of frugality.

Source: Ali Ulvi Kurucu, Preface of “Bediuzzaman Said Nursi: The Authorised Biography”