الْعُلَمَاءَ وَرَثَةُ الأَنْبِيَاءِ

The meaning of this hadith is: “The scholars are the heirs of the Prophets”. The Noble Prophet expresses with great eloquence that being a scholar is no easy matter.

For since a scholar is heir to the Prophets; therefore in regards to conveying and spreading the truth and reality they must adhere exactly to their ways. No matter what kind of boulder, mountain, swamp, or abyss; or worse: surveillance, arrest, trials, jail, dungeons, exile, persecution, isolation, poisoning, execution; and the many other unimaginable forms of oppression and torment this path may bring.

Bediuzzaman was such that, he walked this difficult road with his sacred jihad for more than half a century, and overcame the thousands of obstacles he confronted. He has proven through his actions that he is a scholar, a true heir of the Prophets.

Amongst all his scholarly, moral, literary virtues and abilities, what captivates me the most is his iman, which was firmer than the mountains, deeper than the oceans, and broader than the skies.

O Lord, what magnificent iman! What enduring and inexhaustible patience! What determination, which was as strong as steel! What an unbowed head and unstoppable voice! This despite all the pressures, threats, torture and abuse that will send the shivers with just the thought and imagination!

…

See the pledges Almighty Allah makes to the mujahids in this ayah:

وَالَّذِينَ جَاهَدُوا فِينَا لَنَهْدِيَنَّهُمْ سُبُلَنَا وَإِنَّ اللهَ لَمَعَ المُحْسِنِينَ

Its sacred translation is: “And those who strive in our cause, We will certainly guide them to our path; for indeed, Allah is with those who are the muhsinun”; that is, with those mujahids who worship Allah as though seeing Him.

This means that: for those mujahids who have renounced themselves and the world, Almighty Allah promises to show the ways of truth and guidance. May Allah forbid, Almighty Allah does not turn back from a promise, so long as the conditions for inviting this divine promise are fulfilled.

In analysing Ustad’s character and personality, this ayah becomes a guide from nur; and now through its illuminating light we can perceive the finest lines and the subtlest points. For when a person is the recipient of such a bounty and is under the protection of Almighty Allah, there can no longer be such thing as fear, anxiety, sorrow, distress and fatigue for him.

What clouds can darken the skies of a heart illuminated by the light of Allah? What fleeting hopes and desires, what wretched favours and bounties, what vulgar aims and ambitions can satisfy, content and console the spirit of a servant of Allah who has the privilege of being constantly in His presence. Allah is his beloved sustainer and guardianHis senses and emotions become light as He is recalledContinuously rising to the heights of knowledgeSee what horizons in his spirit the Qur’an unfoldsThe Qur’an recalls to him the vow of “Am I not your Lord?”The lover is captivated from pre-eternity by its emanating light… 

Thus, Bediuzzaman was an exalted person who showed such grace. And it is because of this that the dungeons became rose gardens from where he could see the eternal sights of light on the horizon. The gallows would be a pulpit for offering sermons and guidance. From here he would deliver to humanity, lessons of patience and steadfastness, of courage and firmness in the pursuit of sublime objectives. Prisons would be transformed into the School of Joseph. When he entered them, he would do so as a professor would enter a university to teach. Those who are there are his students needing his effulgent guidance. For him saving the iman of a few people each day and transforming hardened criminals into angelic people was such a great pleasure that he would not exchange if the world was offered to him.

There is no doubt that someone possessing such heightened consciousness of belief and sincerity, leaves behind the denseness of the world, the glittering effects of time and space among mere mortals, and advances to the luminous horizons of the spiritual realm.

The lofty degree as defined and described by the great people of tasawwuf (ra) as ‘fana fillah, baqa billah’ (relinquish in Allah, permanence in Allah) is to attain precisely this sacred honour.

Yes all believers have for themselves a way of attaining a state of presence (hudhur), humility (khushu`), emanation (tafayyuz), seclusion (tajarrud) and cogitation (istighraq). And according to the level of faith and knowledge, righteousness and God consciousness, divine inspiration and spirituality, anyone can receive the benefits of this divine pleasure. Yet for those great mujahids who are masters of ihsan, as mentioned in the above ayah, this beautiful state, this sweet union, this unmatched pleasure is an on-going experience. And this is precisely the reason why they do not fall into ignorance and forget Allah. They expend all their lives battling their lower selves like lions. And through every breath of their lives they leave accounts of the highest levels of progress and perfection. And with all their being, they find themselves dissolved in attaining the pleasure of the Sustainer of all the Worlds, who carries the attributes of perfection (kamal) and glory (jalal).

May Almighty Allah also include us among that fortunate group. Amin!   

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