conditions, constantly under supervision and subject to arbitrary and unlawful treatment by government officials. He arrived in Burdur in the mulberry season, that is, June, and stayed in the Haci Abdullah Mosque in the Degirmenler district of the town. We learn from another neighbour that he used to hold `ders', or teach, every day in the mosque after the afternoon prayers, and that this attracted many people. It is probable that as material for these `derses' he used what was later entitled `The First Door of the Risale-i Nur' (Nur'un IIk Kapisi). This was a collection of thirteen short sections, called `derses', which he wrote while in Burdur and had put together secretly into book form. This was then duplicated by hand by people who felt the need for the basic truths of belief that it teaches. Bediuzzaman described it as "an index, list, and seed of the Risale-i Nur" and as "the Qur'an's first lesson to the New Said."
Of those who came to visit Bediuzzaman in Burdur was A. Hamdi Kasaboglu, a member of the Consultative Council of the Department of Religious Affairs. He related the following to Necmeddin Sahiner:
"One day, I went to visit Bediuzzaman in Burdur. I took a page of Arabic with me wondering if he knew Arabic. During the visit, I said to him, ‘ Would you read this for me please ?’ , and I handed it to him. He took it, cast an eye over it, and handed it back to me. And saying, `Now let's see if I can remember it', he read by heart the whole page..."
Field Marshal Fevzi Çakmak, the Head of General Staff, came to Burdur while Bediuzzaman was there. He knew Bediuzzaman of old, and when the Governor complained to him about Bediuzzaman, saying that he, and a number of his students, declined to report to the Police Station every evening as was required of them, and that he was giving religious instruction to those who came to him, Fevzi Pasa told him: "No harm will come from Bediuzzaman. Treat him with respect and don't bother him."