a high rank —like people call ordinary persons they love “My lord! My benefactor!,”— and they think much better of him than is his due; and follow the old, acceptable custom practised between master and students, which is not objected to and has the meaning of thanks, and praise him excessively; and write exaggerated eulogies, which has long been the custom to write at the ends of acceptable books; if they do these things, can it in any way be considered a crime? For sure it is opposed to the truth in a way since it is exaggeration, but he is a stranger, alone, with numerous enemies, and there are numerous things to make him lose his helpers. So purely in order to strengthen their morale in the face of so many opponents and to prevent them fleeing and not to destroy the enthusiasm of those who praised him excessively, he changed part of what they had written so that it referred to the Risale-i Nur and did not reject it outright. It may be understood therefore just how far from the truth, the law, and fair-mindedness certain officials have fallen when they try to make the above person’s service of belief look to this world, despite his age and his being at the door of the grave. My last word is:

And for every calamity: we belong to God, and to Him is our return.22

S a i d N u r s i

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