And for example, if a peahen lays one hundred eggs, and they are worth five hundred kurush. If the hen sits on the hundred eggs and eighty are spoilt and twenty hatch into peacocks, can it be said that there was a high loss and the affair was evil; that it was bad to put the broody hen on the eggs and an evil occurred? No, it is not thus, it is rather a good. For the peacock species and egg family lost eighty eggs worth four hundred kurush, but gained twenty peacocks worth eighty liras.

Thus, through the sending of prophets and the mystery of man’s responsibility, and through striving, and fighting with satans, in return for the hundreds of thousands of prophets and millions of saints and thousands of millions of purified scholars they have gained, who are like the suns, moons, and stars of the world of humanity mankind has lost the unbelievers and dissemblers, who are numerous in regard to quantity, insignificant in regard to quantity, and like harmful beasts.

(The Twelfth Letter- Risale-i Nur Collection)

13. The true Muslim believes that in human nature, which God created, there is more good than evil, and the probability of successful reform is greater than the probability of hopeless failure.

This belief is derived from the fact that God has tasked man with certain signments and sent messengers with revelations for his guidance. If man were by nature a hopeless case, impossible to reform, how could God with His absolute wisdom assign him responsibilities and invite him to do or shun certain things? How could God do that, if it were all in vain? The fact that God cares for man and takes a stand in his interest proves that man in neither helpless nor hopeless, but is more appreciative of and inclined to good than otherwise. Surely with sound Faith in God and due confidence in man miracles can be worked out, even in our own times.

To understand this properly, one has to carefully study the relevant passages in the Qur’an and reflect on their meanings.

14. The true Muslim believes that Faith is not complete when it is followed blindly or accepted unquestioningly unless the believer is reasonable satisfied.

If Faith is to inspire action, and if Faith and action are to lead to salvation, then Faith must be founded on unshakable convictions without any deception or compulsion. In other words, the person who calls himself a Muslim because of his family traditions, or accepts Islam under coercion or blind imitation is not a complete Muslim in the sight of God. A Muslim must build his Faith on well-grounded convictions beyond any reasonable doubt and above uncertainty. If he is not certain about his Faith, he is invited by God to search in the open book of Nature, to use his reasoning powers, and to reflect on the teachings of the Qur’an. He must search for the indisputable truth until he finds it, and he will certainly find it, if he is capable and serious enough (see, for example, the Qur’an, 2:170; 43:22-24).