Abstract
Bediuzzaman Said Nursi dedicated his life to the safeguarding and strengthening of faith in God, which for him was the most important issue of the time and was at the heart of religion and the societal system. He believed religious conviction faced severe and combined attacks and was being weakened by unreligious ideologies. Nursi sought to strengthen belief by transforming it from imitation to certainty. He maintained that to be occupied with the fundamentals of belief over and above everything was an absolute necessity and compelling need. This definition of the problem gave direction to his discourse, and in all his writings Nursi pursued the renewal, revival, and strengthening of the truths of creed, rather than trying to rebuild Islamic political authority and Islamic institutions or expounding Islamic Shariah rules. This is the most important single issue that distinguishes Nursi from his contemporaries. This paper, in this backdrop, anticipates to discuss the significance of Nursi’s thoughts, teachings and also explains the importance of Nursi in the formation of ideology that helped the society of Turkey to neutralize anti-religious systems. The aim of this research paper is to explain Nursi’s contributions that proved him to be a faith revivalist and whose works are one of the most ubiquitous read materials in Turkey. This essay is primarily a theoretical one and the methodology adopted for this paper is analytical-historical and descriptive.
Highlights
Said Nursi (1876-1960) was a profound Kurdish Sunni Muslim thinker and revivalist, whose teachings and ideology are still being followed today in modern Turkey. His life was full of enthusiasm and energy. He encountered problems similar to those faced by other Muslim scholars and thinkers in other parts of the Islamic world in the 20th century
The strong opposition of the government to religion as opposed to Nursi’s firm stand against any irreligiousness certainly made him a symbol of faithfulness in Turkey. He sacrificed his whole life for the cause of Islam and fought against the corruption of society caused by enemies like atheism, materialism and colonialism through his writings collectively known as Risale-i Nur, whose teachings form the basis of one of the largest and rather influential religious movement
Nursi filled a gap left by the Kemalist Republican regime which neglected and suppressed the importance of religion in the everyday life of the people
Summary
Said Nursi (1876-1960) was a profound Kurdish Sunni Muslim thinker and revivalist, whose teachings and ideology are still being followed today in modern Turkey. The strong opposition of the government to religion as opposed to Nursi’s firm stand against any irreligiousness certainly made him a symbol of faithfulness in Turkey He sacrificed his whole life for the cause of Islam and fought against the corruption of society caused by enemies like atheism, materialism and colonialism through his writings collectively known as Risale-i Nur, whose teachings form the basis of one of the largest and rather influential religious movement. Nursi filled a gap left by the Kemalist Republican regime which neglected and suppressed the importance of religion in the everyday life of the people He provided his followers with a map that directed them in their daily lives by reviving a religious idiom (Mardin 1989: 227). Nursi’s unifying goal was to provide a Qur'an answer to the materialist challenge as he gave more emphasis on faith matters His spirit of struggling for Islamic revival remained live throughout his life. Humanity, nature, and the destiny of the world, and his interpretations of Qur'an verses in the light of modern science, powerfully impress his disciples in particular
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