In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate.
Do not fall into dispute, lest you lose heart and your power depart. * And stand before God in a devout [frame of mind]. * Truly he succeeds that purifies it, * And he fails that corrupts it. * Nor sell my signs for a small price.
O my brothers of the Hereafter! And O my companions in the service of the Qur’an! You should know—and you do know—that in this world sincerity is the most important principle in works pertaining to the Hereafter in particular; it is the greatest strength, and the most acceptable intercessor, and the firmest point of support, and the shortest way to reality, and the most acceptable prayer, and the most wondrous means of achieving one’s goal, and the highest quality, and the purest worship. Since in sincerity lies much strength and many lights like those mentioned above; and since at this dreadful time, despite our few number aand weak, impoverished, and powerless state and our being confronted by terrible enemies and suffering severe oppression in the midst of aggressive innovations and misguidance, an extremely heavy, important, general, and sacred duty of serving belief and the Qur’an has been placed on our shoulders by Divine grace, we are certainly compelled more than anyone to work with all our strength to gain sincerity. We are in utter need of instilling sincerity in ourselves. Otherwise what we have achieved so far in our sacred service will in part be lost, and will not persist; and we shall be held responsible. We shall manifest the severe threat contained in the Divine prohibition,
Nor sell my signs for a small price,
and destroy sincerity, thus harming eternal happiness for the sake of meaningless, unnecessary, harmful, sad, self-centred, tedious, hypocritical base feelings and insignificant benefits. And in so doing we would violate all our brothers’ rights, transgress against the duty of service to the Qur’an, and be disrespectful towards the sacredness of the truths of belief.
My brothers! There are many obstacles before great works of good. Satans put up a powerful struggle against those who assist those works. One has to rely on the strength of sincerity in the face of these obstacles and satans. You should avoid things which harm sincerity the same as you avoid snakes and scorpions. In accordance with the words of Joseph (Upon whom be peace),
Nor do I absolve my own self [of blame]; the [human] soul is certainly prone to evil, unless my Sustainer do bestow His mercy,
the evil-commanding soul should not be relied on. Do not let egotism and the soul deceive you! You should take as your guide the following rules, in order to gain sincerity and preserve it:
YOUR FIRST RULE
You should seek Divine pleasure in your actions. If Almighty God is pleased, it is of no importance even should the whole world be displeased. If He accepts an action and everyone else rejects it, it has no effect. Once His pleasure has been gained and He has accepted an action, even if you do not ask it of Him, should He wish it and His wisdom requires it, He will make others accept it. He will make them consent to it too. For this reason, the sole aim in this service should be the direct seeking of Divine pleasure.
O God! For the sake of Sura al-Ikhlas, place us among Your sincere servants who are saved. Amen. Amen.
Glory be unto You! We have no knowledge save that which You have taught us; indeed, You are All-Knowing, All-Wise.
(Said Nursi. 21st Flash, Risale Nur Collection)
