The Fifth Ray had originated over forty years previously, from when Bediuzzaman came to Istanbul before the Constitutional Revolution in 1907. At that time, when that "prodigy from the East" had put a notice on his door saying "Here all questions are answered, but none are asked", the Istanbul ulema put some questions to him about some allegorical Hadith referring to the end of time, which had been asked them by the visiting Japanese Commander-in-Chief. Then, when a member of the Darü’l-Hikmeti’I-Islamiye after the First World War, in reply to some further questions on the same subject, Bediuzzaman arranged these replies roughly in the form of a treatise, the purpose of which was to save believers from doubts about the allegorical Hadiths, which superficially appeared to be unconformable with reason. Then, in 1922 he was invited to Ankara by Mustafa Kemal, and as is described in the relevant chapter above, Bediuzzaman saw part of what these Hadiths foretold "in someone there", and for that reason felt compelled to refuse the offers made to him by Mustafa Kemal of various important posts, and withdrew from politics and the world to eastern Anatolia in order to work "solely on the way of saving belief." And again on being asked questions on these allegorical Hadiths foretelling events at the end of time when in exile in Kastamonu in 1938, Bediuzzaman arranged this treatise in its final form and it was incorporated into the Risale-i Nur as the Fifth Ray. That is to say, as time unfolded, the interpretations of some of these Hadiths which Bediuzzaman had given as far back as 1907 became realized; what they prophesied became realized in fact.
For example, one of these Hadiths says: "A fearsome individual at the end of time will rise in the morning and on his forehead will be written: `This is a kafir '." In 1907, the meaning Bediuzzaman had given this was: "This extraordinary individual will come to lead this nation. He will rise in the morning and put on a hat, and he will make others wear hats." ..."That Sufyan will put on a European hat, and make others wear (similar hats). But because this will be by compulsion and force of law, the hat will made to prostrate [before God] and God willing will be rightly-guided, and by wearing it –