We visited Sri Lanka as a group of four people during September 4-12 , as a result of the decision made by Turkish Nur Community’s Foreign Affairs Council. This council had decided that Amasya Province would be responsible for Sri Lanka services.
Sri Lanka is told in Risale-i Nur in some places. Our visit went on eight days. We are very happy as we share our Sri Lanka memories here in this website.
Sri Lanka’s official name is Sri Lanka Democratic Socialist Republic. It is in the Southern Asia, 31 kilometers away from Southern India. Sri Lanka is an Island located in Indian Ocean. It has a population of 21 million people. It’s other names are Sarandib and Saylan.
It’s population’s 69.1% are buddhist, 7.6% are Muslim, 7.1% are Hindu, 6.2% are Christian, 10% are unknown. Saylan language is 74%, Tamil language is 18%, other languages are 8%. Most people speak English in Sri Lanka.
It is believed that Prophet Adam has first reached here when he was dismissed from the Paradise. There is a footprint which is believed belongs to Prophet Adam. The Muslims, Christians and Jews believe that this footprint belongs to Prophet Adam while the buddhists believe it belongs to Buddha. It takes five hours by walking to reach the footprint.
We arrived in capital Colombo after a four-hours long flight of Istanbul-Abu Dabi and four-hours long flight of Abu Dabi-Colombo. Mr. Asim Alavi, a citizen of Sri Lanka, welcomed us in Colombo. Mr. Asim Alavi has translated three books of Risale-i Nur into Tamil language. These three books are Short Words, Damascus Sermon and Sincerity & Brotherhood. His translations have been going on.
We have gone to Mavanella City after Colombo. Aısha Siddika Islamic Girl School was the first place which we visited. We saw a written article on the wall of the school; “ Mother looks like an institution. That you educate a mother well means you educate the society well.”
We talked to the manager of the school. We gave him some books of Risale-i Nur. The School is giving the students İslamic Sciences. Besides this, home affairs, garden affairs, cookery, English and some other lessons are also being taught. The school has completely an Islamic athmosphere suh as İslamic woman clothing.
The Muslim society in Sri Lanka has an extremely free social atmosphere even though they are in minority. They have their own schools, even courts. They have no problem with buddhists. The muslims are very active in Sri Lanka’s social life.
We have gone to the centre of Sri Lanka’s most prevalent Islamic Community in Mavanella City named ‘ Islamic Community’ in the evening. We had a meeting . Bediuzzaman’s political ideas were very fantastic to them. Then we talked about Risale-i Nur and risale-i nur community in English. There were about 100 people at the meeting.
We came back to Capital Colombo in the second day. We visited a technological institute named “ Insight Institute”. We talked to the managers of the institute first. Then we talked to the students of the institute about risale-i nur during three hours. We gave them books, brochures and turkish delight ( To have turkish delight when someone goes abroad is very useful !).
Then we went to the center of Islamic Community. We told them the method of Risale-i Nur’s positive activation.
Then we visited Sardovaya Foundation which is Buddhists’ greatest NGO. Sardovaya means to wake everybody. It has one million members and one hundred thousand young volunteers. They aim to teach Buddhism philosophy to everybody. They are active in 18 000 villages of total 38 000 villages. They open libraries and education centers in villages.
Mr. Ariyaratne is the Chairman of the Sardovaya Foundation. He has dedicated his life to Buddhism since 1958. Their basic philosophy says ‘ Humanbeing has to change himself first. Then he has to help his society.’ Their philosophies are similar to Islamic rules and Nur Community’s principles. As we know, Risale-i Nur says:” To say that people’s hunger is not a problem if I am full and work so that I will eat are the sources of bad morals.” When we said these words to him, he shook hands with Mr. Arif and said that he agreed with us. Then he said that he was opposed to interest.
We gave him some books of Risale-i Nur.
Mr. Ariyaratne and Sardovaya Foundation’s members’ works are good examples for today’s muslims. Even though they do not have a way as good as ours, they are doing best!
Then we visited Sri Lanka’s Chairman of Religious Affairs. We talked about Risale-i Nur services and goals. He said that he was very happy as we visited him and he would do his best for the friendship of Muslims.
Then we went to Bervala City. Bervala is the first place in Sri Lanka where Muslim pioneers came. There is a nice Kadiri dervish lodge at the Ocean coast. There is a tomb of a muslim who came in the years of 900’s. Mr. Asim’s father is the leader of this Kadiri dervish lodge. He is a very nice person. We talked about Risale-i Nur and connection between Bediuzzaman and Abdulkadir Gaylani.
We visited dean of Nazimiya University in Bervala City. He is author of a book which tells Sri Lanka Islam History. He said that he read Arabic Risale-i Nur. Then he said that he would co-operate with us.
We visited Colombo University and gave some books of Risale-i Nur to its library.
We visited Justice Minister Mr. Rauff Hakeem. We told him that we came from Turkey, Risale-i Nur, Bediuzzaman and nur service. There was a buddhist Minister at the meeting. He said that he would help us about everything. A Sri Lanka television channel has shown the meeting.
A person has desired to talk to us in the last evening. We told him Risale-i Nur, Bediuzzaman and service. He did not want to give us his identity firstly. But then we learned that he was leader of Justice Party of Maldiv Islands.He told us that he knew Bediuzzaman, read some parts of Risale-i Nur while he was in Malaysia, Turkey would look like Ottoman Empire, he desired us to bring service to Maldive Islands.
We searched flats to rent for nur madrassah. We desire to open a madrassah in Sri Lanka as soon as possible.
There are three Sri Lanka students who study university in Turkey. They live in nur madrassah. We hope the number will rise in the future.
The muslims in Sri Lanka are very hospitable. We visited about twenty places at the area of approximately 500 kilometers square.We gave people risale-i nur in Arabic and English.
To sum up, Sri Lanka is extremely suitable for nur service. We hope there will be many good activities in the future.
Leadership Lessons from the Life of Imam Bediuzzaman
“Calm Personality”
Maintaining calmness in tense situations has been identified as an important trait of a leader. Calmness is an important trait in decision making. A leader’s charisma is not found in firing inflammatory orations and mobilizing followers through provocative actions. A responsible leader is always moderately cautious in driving his followers in the desired direction.
Our beloved Prophet (PBUH) had accomplished marvellous tasks by leading a great revolution. He led many successful battles and conquered Makka in a bloodless encounter. Notwithstanding all these he was a calm personality. The following Hadeeth depicts this clearly:
‘..Narrated ‘Aisha: (the wife of the Prophet) A group of Jews entered upon the Prophet and said, “As-Samu-Alaikum.” (i.e. death be upon you). I understood it and said, “Wa-Alaikum As-Samu wal-la’n. (death and the curse of Allah be Upon you).” Allah’s Apostle said “Be calm, O ‘Aisha! Allah loves that one should be kind and lenient in all matters.” I said, “O Allah’s Apostle! Haven’t you heard what they (the Jews) have said?” Allah’s Apostle said “I have (already) said (to them) “And upon you!(W Alaikum) ‘[1].
This calmness should not be misunderstood as pessimism at all. Pessimism is equal to laziness not calmness. A leader’s true calmness comes to light when he responds to tense and volatile situations. A truly brave leader displays the quality of calmness whereas an emotional leader displays the quality of frantic desperation. One should not misconstrue that a calm person would not get angry or get into quick actions. He certainly possesses the ability to manage emotions and judge different situations, but what he does not is rash action.
In all provocative and tense situations, Imam Bediuzzaman had behaved with utmost calmness. Even during his court cases, he took it to handle with calmness. In later years, a chief judge who used to hear one of his cases said:
‘He was an intelligent person. He foresaw the result of the trial from the way it was going. He did not display the slightest trace of anxiety or excitement, and was relaxed and at ease as though speaking with his friends in his house…..’[2]
The following is only one out of many incidents on how he used to handle tense situations with complete calmness. This is related with the famous ‘Sheikh Said Revolt’. It was a popular revolt against the radical anti-Islamic moves orchestrated by Kemalist secular republic of Turkey around the year 1925. It was led by Sheikh Said Isyani, a popular figure in the Eastern Turkey. The rebellion failed to achieve what it desired and eventually Sheikh Said was captured and ruthlessly executed by the authorities.
‘……Although the government of the time knew very well, he (Imam Bediuzzaman) did not have any role in the (Sheikh Said) revolt, he was arrested along with other tribal leaders and prominent figures in the eastern province and exiled together to Western Anatolia….. an army detachment raided the cave which Imam Bediuzzaman used as a place for prayers and contemplation. Leader of the detachment behaved in a very rude manner with Imam Bediuzzaman. However, his reaction to this rude behaviour was somewhat courageous and similar to electrifying the entire area all of a sudden. When they began marching with him and walked a few yards, some of his disciples and the village folks approached him and talked in Kurdish language (which the officers did not understand). They pleaded with him not to go with the army assuring him to sacrifice everything in their disposal to save him and take him to any unknown place or any other Muslim country. But he did not agree with them and said, he is going with the army with complete willingness; further, he advised them to return to their homes quietly, saying there is no need for anxiety….[3]
Imam Bediuzzaman believed that ultimately it’s the Truth that’s going to win, hence he didn’t find any need for haste or revolt. One beauty of his personality was his ability to maintain calmness of mind even amidst the chaos of war. One can imagine the degree of calmness and peace of mind he was endowed with for writing a marvellous Tafsir of the Qur’an as Isharatul I’jaz inside the bunker and on horseback while fighting was raging on with great intensity!
Calmness of mind is a very important contributory factor for sound decision making.
(Excerpt from the author’s book, ‘The Positive Warrior’–
Thrilling Leadership Lessons from the Life of Imam Bediuzzaman Said Nursi – Asım Alavi)
‘……O you who have believed, fear Allah as He should be feared
and do not die except as Muslims…..’(Surah Ale Imran:102)
In the life of a person moulded with Taqwa (Piety) extraordinary events occur, which are incomprehensible by ordinary people. It was during the First World War, when the Ottoman army was facing the invading Russians in the Eastern Front, Imam Bediuzzaman raised a volunteer force of his disciples to encounter the enemy at the battle front. They fought with stunningly exceptional heroism. In the war the Armenians actively collaborated with the Russians and committed immeasurable crimes against innocent people slaughtering women, children and elderly Muslim subjects of the Ottoman Empire. An incident in the life of Imam Bediuzzaman in the year 1916, which depicts his highest level of Taqwa is recorded by Sukran Vahide as follows:
‘When the Armenians massacre the Muslim women and children as well as the men, Armenian children would sometimes be killed in retaliation. But to a degree Bediuzzaman was able to put a stop to this barbaric practice through his exemplary true Islamic conduct and was able to bring some humanity to the chaos of war. One time thousands of Armenian women and children had been gathered together in the place where Bediuzzaman was. He issued an order that none of them were to be touched. Then later he released them and they returned to their families in Russian-held territories. The Armenians were so impressed at this example of Muslim morality that from then on they themselves refrained from slaughtering Muslim children. In this way, many innocent lives were saved’[1]
Taqwa breeds exceptional human virtues in a person. These virtues are fundamental pre-requisites for success in life.
Risale Nur has defined Taqwa in a beautiful manner. It says: ‘Taqwa is to abstain from prohibitions and giving up of sinful acts and evils….. in the present era which is characterized by destruction of moral and spiritual values and dominance of egotism, the unleashing of lust from its roots, Taqwa becomes a very essential fundamental of life, nay it is the centre of such a fundamental. It occupies an extremely higher position due to its ability to deter the spread of evil and major sins among people, as prevention of evil takes precedence over promotion of virtue. This is a firm principle applicable to all times’. [2]
Coming back to the incident quoted above, of Imam Bediuzzaman’s should not be interpreted in a secular sense as a calculated manoeuvre in expectation of reciprocation by the Armenians. Such an interpretation is totally wrong and unacceptable in this context, as it’s a normal occurrence in the life of pious Muslims in war situations. A person with Taqwa would never engage in an act forbidden by Allah and His Prophet. Islamic history possesses rich numbers of such incidents. Imam Bediuzzaman did simply discharge the requirement of his Taqwa and the Armenian reciprocation was only its natural consequence. This is a clear proof of Islam conquering the hearts and minds of people before conquering their lands.
We often read the story of an elderly woman, who had adopted the habit of pouring heaps of garbage at our beloved Prophet (PBUH) in a street of Makkah. One day, when he found the usual garbage did not fall on him, the baffled Prophet (PBUH) enquired from people around on the situation of the woman. On being informed that she had fallen sick, he rushed to visit her, which resulted in her accepting Islam. Indeed, the intention of the ‘mercy to mankind’ (Rahmatun Lil Aalameen) was very clear. It was his highest level of Taqwa that pushed him to visit her.
Hence, Imam Bediuzzaman’s behaviour with the Armenians should be viewed on the basis of the above incident of our beloved Prophet (PBUH).
(Excerpt from the author’s book, ‘The Positive Warrior’– Thrilling Leadership Lessons from the Life of Imam Bediuzzaman Said Nursi)
We met Sudanese Assistant Professor Mr. Tarık Muhammed Nour at private Sema Hospital in Istanbul. He is an Assistant Professor of the Hartoum Islamic Researches Faculty. Meanwhile, Mr. Tarık Muhammed Nour is the assistant rector of Hartoum University. They have come to Turkey in order to take medical care because of his son’s traffic accident. Medical Doctor Mr. Ali Seyhan attended our conversation, too.
– Dear Assistant Professor, how did you first meet Risale-i Nur ?
– Right, at the end of 1990’s. I found Ihsan Kasim’s Arabic Risale Nur translations in Sudan and started to read. Then, I met to Professor Faris Kaya from Istanbul Science & Culture Foundation at an International Bediuzzaman Congress. I learned many things from him about Risale-i Nur and Bediuzzaman. In the coming years, I went to Istanbul for academic searches. I learned Turkish. I read Risale-i Nur in Turkish language.
– Are the Risale Nur and Bediuzzaman known in Sudan?
– Sure. Sudan State Council declared Risale Nur as a reference book in 1968. This means that Sudan State, especially Religious Affairs Chairmanship officially uses Risale Nur as a reference guide. In these days, many Sudanese Professors use Risale Nur as a reference guide in their books. Risale Nur is well-known especially in beliefe topics. Ordinary people in Sudan know these books by attending the risale nur lessons in nur medrassahs( medrassah means house where people study risale nur lessons).
– What about current Sudan-Turkey relationships?
– Although it is not as We desire, it has become better during the last decade. Students who travel for university education achieved it . On the other hand, Ruba Foundation, Istanbul Science & Culture Foundation, Hayrat Foundation and many other NGOs spent much efforts about bilateral relations.Besides this, Sudan Government is very sensitive about Turkey and Risale Nur. Assistant President and Technology Minister of Sudan have recently sponsored an international Risale Nur congress held in Sudan.
In the month of Ramadan, Muslims try to improve their spiritual faculties through fasting. But how can depriving yourself of food and drink help one’s spiritual progress? Surely deliberate starvation is a sign of craziness, not spiritual development! Hopefully, this pamphlet will help answer some of the questions which those who are outside of Islam must be asking with regard to issues such as the annual Ramadan fast.
Discipline of Life
Another of the many instances of wisdom in fasting is this: the month of Ramadan is a kind of physical and spiritual therapy of the most important kind. When people eat and drink with no restriction, it is harmful from a medical point of view; and when they hurls themselves on everything they encounter without considering whether it is detrimental or not, it is harmful from the spiritual perspective.
It is difficult for such souls to obey the spirit and the conscience. They think that they are in control, but in fact their instinctual souls have taken the reins and are riding them wherever they please.
The Ramadan fast provides human with a kind of physical and spiritual diet – one directed at disciplining the instinctual soul and training it to listen rather than to dictate.
When we fast, we are not attracting illness to our poor, weak stomachs by cramming them with food before the previous consignment has been digested. And by abandoning even daily actions like eating, as it is commanded, we acquire the ability to listen to the commands of the reason and the Divine Law, thereby avoiding wrong actions which may harm us spiritually.
Furthermore, millions of people frequently suffer from hunger. Enforced hunger, therefore, and the discipline which goes with it, are needed in order to develop our patience and endurance. Fasting in Ramadan is the patient endurance of a period of hunger and thirst that continues for an average of sixteen hours – more if the pre-dawn meal is not eaten – and it is a discipline and form or training. That is to say, fasting is also a cure for impatience and lack of endurance, which tend to double people’s afflictions.
Moreover, the stomach is like a factory that has many workers. And many of the human organs are connected to it. If we do not allow ourselves a rest from activity during the day for a month, we makes the factory’s workers and those organs forget their particular duties. We make them busy with our needs so that they remain under our tyranny. Also, we confuse the rest of the organs in the human body with the rumbling and steam of the factory’s machinery. We continuously attract their attention to our needs, making them temporarily forget their own exalted duties.
It is because of this that for centuries those closest to God have accustomed themselves to discipline and to eating and drinking little in order to achieve spiritual enlightenment and perfection.
To give the workers in the factory of the stomach a much-needed rest during this month is to allow them to carry out their own duties of worship. The stomach, together with our other organs, has not been created solely for our own benefit and gratification, and the Ramadan fast not only allows our organs to carry out their natural God-given duties but it also helps us to understand that our bodies do not answer to us alone, and that they too are engaged in the worship of God.
Gratitude to the true source
One of the many instances of wisdom in the Ramadan fast is the opportunity for human to give gratitude to the One who really deserves it.
Although human has been given innumerable bounties, he often forgets their true source. Now if you were to dine at a restaurant, it is obvious that you are going to thank the waiter for bringing your food to the table and the chef for cooking it. But to tip the waiter and to congratulate the chef, while ignoring the One Who actually made your food possible in the first place, is to act with ingratitude, to say the least.
God has spread countless kinds of bounties over the face of the earth for humankind, in return for which He wishes human to express gratitude, which is really a very small price to pay. But while most of us are grateful for what we receive, for the most part we attribute those bounties to causes other than God. As a result, we tend to feel indebted to them in a way that they do not deserve, for they are only means whereby God’s bounties are delivered to us. Material or ‘natural’ causes have a part to play, but the One Who truly deserves our gratitude is the true Source of those bounties, namely God Almighty. It is to Him that our gratitude should be directed, and Ramadan helps us to focus on this more intently than we do at other times.
However, the gratitude we are supposed to show to Him is given not because He needs it, but because we do. To thank God is to recognise that bounties come directly from Him; it is to appreciate their worth and to perceive our own need – a need that God alone can satisfy. To show gratitude to God is to recognise that while material causes play a part, they are ultimately not the giver of Bounties. To thank God, then, is to help us sever our connection to material causes and strengthen our connection to God, the Causer of all causes.
Fasting in Ramadan, then, is the key to true gratitude. For at other times of the year, most of us who are not in difficult circumstances do not realize the value of many bounties since they we not experience real hunger. Those of us whose stomachs are full do not understand the degree of bounty there is in a piece of dry bread. But when it is time to break the fast during Ramadan, the sense of taste testifies that even dry bread is a most valuable Divine bounty in the eyes of a believer. During Ramadan, everyone, however poor or wealthy, expresses a sort of gratitude through simply understanding the value of those bounties.
Furthermore, since eating is prohibited during the day, those fasting will say: “These bounties do not belong to me. I am not free to eat them, for they belong to another and they are His gift to give. I will wait for His command before I touch them.” In this way, those fasting will recognize the bounty as bounty and so will be giving thanks. Thus, fasting in this way is in many respects like a key to gratitude, and gratitude is one of human’s fundamental duties.
Hunger and compassion
Another of the many instances of wisdom in fasting from the point of view of humankind’s social life is as follows.
Human beings have been created differently with regard to their livelihoods. As a consequence of this difference, God Almighty invites the rich to assist the poor, so that through the hunger experienced in fasting, the rich can truly understand the pains and hunger which the poor suffer. If there were no fasting, there would be many self-indulgent rich people unable to perceive just how hard it is to be poor and hungry, and just how in need of compassion the poor and the hungry really are.
Compassion for one’s fellow man is an essential of true thankfulness. Whoever you are, there will always be someone poorer than you in some respect. As human beings, we are enjoined to be compassionate towards those less fortunate than ourselves. If we never know how hunger feels, how are we able to have true compassion for those who are always hungry? By allowing us to feel real hunger, Ramadan also gives us the opportunity to understand the plight of those worse off than ourselves, and in so doing, develop our sense of empathy and compassion.
True Duty
Another instance of wisdom in the Ramadan fast concerns the opportunity it provides for man to curb his baser tendencies.
Human’s instinctual soul – the part of his being which looks to selfgratification rather than spiritual enlightenment – wants to be free and independent, and considers itself to be autonomous. According to the dictates of its nature, it even imagines it has the power to act as it pleases. It does not want to admit that it is being sustained and trained through innumerable bounties. Especially if it possesses wealth and power in this world, and if ignorance also encourages it, it will devour God’s bounties like a thieving animal.
Thus during Ramadan, the instinctual soul of everyone who fasts, from the richest to the poorest, may understand that it does not own itself, but that is totally owned; it may understand that it is not free, but that it is in servitude. During the fast, it will come to understand that unless it is commanded, it is unable to do the simplest of things, for until it is given permission, it cannot even stretch out its handtowards water. Its imaginary power is therefore shattered and instead of worshipping itself, it begins to worship its True Source and begins to express gratitude, which is its true duty.
Awakening from Negligence
Another of the many instances of wisdom in the Ramadan fast concerns the training of the instinctual soul and the abandonment of harmful and rebellious habits.
The human soul tends to forgets its true nature most easily. Prone to negligence, it either will not or cannot see the utter powerlessness, want and deficiency within itself; indeed, it would prefer never to see them. It refuses to consider just how weak it is, and how subject to transience and to disasters; it wishes to forget that it consists merely of flesh and bones, which quickly decline and eventually go to nothing.
Instead, it takes on the world as though it possessed a body made of steel, imagining itself to be undying and eternal. It hurls itself onto the world with intense greed and rapaciousness, captivated by anything that gives its pleasure or that benefits it. Furthermore, it forgets the Creator Who sustains it with perfect compassion, and it does not think of the results of its life and its life in the hereafter. Indeed, it wallows in misconduct and dissipation.
However, fasting in the month of Ramadan awakens even the most mindless and ignorant to their weakness, impotence and need. Hunger makes them think of their stomachs, thus helping them to realise how needy they are. They realize how unsound their weak bodies really are, and how much they stand in need of kindness and compassion. The soul, which is like a small Pharaoh in its tyranny, gradually comes to realise that it is has no real power of its own at all. Gradually, through realising their utter impotence, the arrogant become less so, and perceive a desire to take refuge in God Almighty. And so, if ignorance has not already destroyed their hearts, they knock at the door of mercy with the hands of thankfulness.
Who are we?
So who are we? We are a Turkish foundation called RUBA, which aims to introduce what we believe is the true heart of Islam. We are just starting up in London, trying to portray Islam in a new light.
RUBA is here to change the popular view of Islam and clear up some of the misunderstandings associated with the religion. This is especially important in a multi-cultural, multi-faith country such as Britain, with a growing Muslim population; to raise awareness on some of the misconceptions related with Islam can only be to everyone’s advantage.
Regarding our philosophy, although we make use of many sources, our understanding of Islam is based on the renowned work known as the Risale-i Nur by Bediuzzaman Said Nursi. Thus most of the points we make are derived from his work. So let us share our thoughts on the Ramadan fast with you; hopefully it will help us all understand better why we do what we do in this particular month of the year.
