part is the officials who were the actual means. In the face of this share, it is an act of magnanimity to forgive them in accordance with the rule,
Those who suppress their anger and forgive people—verily God loves those who do good,(3:134)
for whether they wanted to or not they may have benefited from the Risale-i Nur in respect of belief, although they looked at with the intention of criticizing it.
I felt such happiness and gratitude at this veracious warning that I decided to commit some harmless offence and incur a prison sentence, so that I might remain in this new School of Joseph and perhaps even help those who were opposed to me. For someone like me who was seventy-five years old, without attachment, and only five out of the seventy people he loved in this world remained alive, the grave was a hundred times preferable to this prison. For seventy thousand copies of the treatises of the Risale-i Nur were in free circulation and would perform my duties connected with the Risale-i Nur, and I had brothers and heirs who would continue to serve belief with thousands of tongues in place of my one tongue. This prison too was a hundred times more comfortable and more beneficial than the unfree liberty outside subject to that tyranny and oppression. For in place of having to suffer all alone outside the arbitrary treatment of hundreds of officials, in prison, together with hundreds of other prisoners one only has to suffer the slight arbitrariness of one or two people like the prison governor and chief warder, which will yield benefits. And in the face of this, one receives the brotherly kindness and consolation of many fellow-prisoners. With the thought that the compassion of Islam and human nature are shown as kindness to the elderly in such a position, thus turning the hardship of prison into mercy, I became resigned to prison.
At the time I attended this third trial, because of my difficulty in remaining on my feet due to weakness, old age, and illness, I sat on a chair outside the door of the court. The judge suddenly appeared and angrily asked in insulting manner: “Why isn’t he waiting on his feet?” I was angry at this unkindness in the face of my old age. Then I looked and saw that a large number of Muslims had gathered around us and were watching in most kind and brotherly fashion, and not dispersing. I was suddenly warned of the following two truths:
T h e F i r s t : The covert enemies of myself and the Risale-i Nur had deceived certain ingenuous officials with the intention of putting a stop to the Risale-i Nur’s conquests by destroying the public’s good opinion of me, which in any event I did not want, and of destroying my character in