True Belief and Trust in God

Risale-i Nur (many years ago), although I was indeed a believer, I didn’t know the extent of the power of belief. Bediuzzaman puts belief into such a perspective that we understand the enormous importance of belief in God. When you learn the real power of belief, it gives you indescribable joy and greatly eases the pressures of life. With my belief, I always try to remember God and act accordingly which makes me feel very happy. It’s just an incredible experience to learn and appreciate the value of belief in God. Until the Risale-i Nur, I didn’t have such a deep understanding of the importance of belief. I really enjoy reading the section of the Risale-i Nur quoted below. Each time I read it I get more out of it, and although I’ve read it more than 100 times, I am still looking forward to reading it again and again. I just can’t get enough of it…. And here is the part I am talking about from Bediuzzaman Said Nursi’s Masterpiece: Belief and Man from the Risale-i Nur Collection: “Belief is both light and strength. Yes, the person who acquires true belief may challenge the whole universe and be saved from the pressure of events in accordance with the strength of his belief. Saying, “I place my trust in God,” he travels through the mountainous waves of events in the ship of life in complete safety. He entrusts all his burdens to the hand of power of the Absolutely Powerful One, voyages through the world in ease, then takes his rest in the Intermediate Realm. Later he may fly up to Paradise in order to enter eternal happiness. But if he does not rely on God, rather than flying, the burdens of the world will drag him down to the lowest of the low. That is to say, belief necessitates affirmation of divine unity, affirmation of divine unity necessitates submission to God, submission to God necessitates trust in God, and trust in God necessarily leads to happiness in this world and the next. But do not misunderstand this, trust in God is not to reject causes altogether; it is to know that causes are a veil to the hand of power and have recourse to them. It is to know that to attempt causes is a sort of active prayer and to seek the effects only from Almighty God; to recognize that the results are from Him alone, and to be thankful to Him.” -Bediuzzaman Said Nursi (Belief and Man) Dr. Osman Birgeoglu ]]>