“Why does an artificial letter written in the form of a town by the hand of man, who is a guest on the page of Van’s plain, being wiped out by a calamitous torrent called the Russian invasion sadden you to this extent? Consider the Pre-Eternal Inscriber, everything’s True Owner and Sustainer, for His missives on this page continue to be written in glittering fashion, in the way you used to see. Your weeping over those desolate ruins arises from the error of forgetting their True Owner, not thinking that men are guests and imagining them to be owner.”
A door to reality opened up from my error, from that searing sight, and my soul was prepared to accept the reality completely. Like iron is plunged in the fire so that it softens and may be profited from, that grievous sight and terrible state were fire which softened my soul. Through the reality of the above verses, the Qur’an of Miraculous Exposition showed my soul the effulgence of the truths of belief, causing it to accept it.
Yes, all thanks be to God, as is proved conclusively in such parts of the Risale-i Nur as the Twentieth Letter, through the effulgence of belief in God, the truth of the verses becomes a source of strength for the spirit and heart which unfolds proportionately to the firmness of each person’s belief. This was so powerful it afforded me the strength to confront calamities even a hundred times more dreadful than the situation I beheld. It uttered this reminder: “Everything is subjected to the command of this country’s True Owner, your Creator. He holds the reins of all things. Your relation with Him should be sufficient.”
On recognizing my Creator and relying on Him, all the things that had appeared hostile gave up their enmity, and the grievous things that had made me weep started to make me happy. As we have demonstrated with certain proofs in many places in the Risale-i Nur, through the light proceeding from belief in the hereafter, that recognition and reliance afforded such assistance in the face of my endless desires that it was sufficient not only for my attachment to and desire for insignificant, temporary, brief worldly friendships, but for my innumerable far-reaching desires in the world of permanence, for everlasting happiness through all eternity. For through one manifestation of His mercy, the All-Merciful and Compassionate One every spring lays on the table of that season incalculable numbers of delightful, artful bounties in order to please His guests of one or two hours. Then after providing them with these, which are a sort of snack or appetizer, He prepares for His servants innumerable varieties of bounties, and for an unending time fills eight permanent Paradises with them from among His everlasting dwelling-places. The person who relies on the mercy of such an All-Merciful and Compassionate One through belief and