Biography of Bediüzzaman Said Nursi | PART ONE - The Old Said | 21
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was then known as Molla Said. Having received it, he donned the simple garb of a dervish and set out for Baghdad, intending to visit its famous religious scholars and the tomb of Seyh Abdulkadir Geylani. Avoiding roads, traveling at night over mountain and through forest, he came after some time to Bitlis. There, for two days he attended the lectures of Seyh Mehmed Emin Efendi. The Seyh proposed that he wear the dress of a scholar. In eastern Anatolia at that time the turban and scholar's robe were not worn by students, but only presented when the diploma (icazet) was obtained. The scholar's dress was the right only of teachers (muderris). But Molla Said did not accept the Seyh's proposal, answering that since he was not yet mature, he did not think it was fitting for him to wear the dress of a respected teacher. How could he be a teacher while still a child? And he put the gown and turban away in a corner of the mosque.
· Sirvan
Molla Said then travelled on to Sirvan to his elder brother, Molla Abdullah. The following exchange took place at their first meeting:
Molla Abdullah: "I have finished Serh-i Semsi since you were here. What have you read?"
Molla Said: "I have read eighty books."
"What do you mean?"
"Yes, I have finished eighty books. And I have read a lot of books not included in the syllabus."
Molla Abdullah found it hard to believe that his brother had read so many books in such a short time and wanted to test him. Molla Said agreed so Abdullah tested him and was left in admiration and astonishment. Then hiding it from his own students, he accepted his younger brother as his master who only eight months before had been his student, and started to take lessons from him. But peering through the keyhole, Abdullah's students finally discovered him being taught by Molla Said. However, in order not to let them learn the truth. Said told them that he was doing so in order to avert the
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Biography of Bediüzzaman Said Nursi