were always speaking ill of Bediuzzaman to us, so that unavoidably I was influenced by what they said. Then one day I went and kissed his hand. He was a saintly old man, frail, and his hair quite long. His beard had grown a bit, since it had not been shaved. On my being cordial he embraced me. I was very touched and started to weep. He began to tell me about his life... He said: `I only want the Risale-i Nur. I won't give up these works of mine.' I was very moved and affected by his terse words, and was sorry at the injustice done to such a great person. I wondered to myself: `Why do they bother this elderly man so much?' Without letting it be known to anyone I kept on visiting him. One time Hoca Efendi drew two fingers over my forehead, and said to me: `Repent and seek forgiveness; provide food for sixty people and pay the blood-money.' This was extraordinary. I hadn't said I had killed someone, but with his saintly powers, he knew what I'd done. He was a great saint...
"I stayed in Hoca's students' ward, so of course I was in close contact with them. It was not possible to think of anything else in those cramped quarters. They held good talks there, the prayers were performed, and the Qur'an recited...
"That dark prison ward shone with the lights of the Qur'an. Everyone would rise early for the prayers, and take their sections (a thirtieth part) of the Qur'an, then the recitations of the whole Qur'an would begin. After the morning prayer, the prayer for a complete recitation of the Qur’an would be said. From time to time one of the hocas with a fine voice [Mehmed Gülirmak] would sing a `kaside'. He used to send us into raptures. Then they would start reciting the Qur'an again. The whole Qur'an was recited several times each day. Those innocent people were saved by the readings of the Qur'an and the prayers. Those were good days..... The prison became like a mosque. If only I had been able to be like them. There's another thing I witnessed in Eskisehir Prison which has stayed in my mind these fifty years; I always pray for Hoca Efendi's soul. I had plenty to eat, but he made do with tea and a few olives each day. God's grace was with him; just how great he was, I didn't know..."