Lights of Reality | Lights of Reality | 71
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O God! Grant blessings and peace to Your Mes­senger, who said: "Do not insult my Companions! By He in Whose hand is my self, if one of you were to spend gold equivalent to Mount Uhud, it would not be equal to two liandfids that one of them spent, or even halftlmt."[18]

A Rule  Risale-i Nur students should not seek light outside the circle of the Risale-i Niir, and they cannot seek it. If they do so, they will find a lamp in place of the immaterial sun giving light through the window of the Risale-i Nur, and perhaps lose the sun.

Also, the pure and powerful way of friendship and brotherhood within the circle of the Risale-i Nur, which gains numerous spirits for each individ­ual and through the mystery of the legacy of pro-phethood shows the Companions' way of brother­hood, leaves no need for seeking a spiritual guide or father outside that sphere, in a way that is harmful to them in three respects; it provides many agabeys that is, elder brothers, in place of a single father. The joint compassion of elder brothers reduces a father's compassion to nothing.

Someone who has a shaikh before entering the Risale-i Nur circle may keep his shaikh or guide after entering it. But someone who does not have one beforehand, may only seek a guide within the circle. Moreover, the knowledge of reality taught within the circle of the Risale-i Nur, which gives the effulgence of the legacy of prophethood, the greater sainthood, leaves no need for the Sufi orders outside that circle. Unless of course they are self-indulgent people who misunderstand the way of Sufism, are addicted to pleasant dreams and imaginings, lights and spiritual pleasures, desire worldly, fanciful pleasures, which are different to the virtues of the hereafter, and want a rank whereby people have recourse to them.

This world is the domain of labour and service; recompense is commensurate with hardship and dif­ficulty; it is not the place of reward. It is because of this that the people of reality attach no importance to the pleasures and lights of illuminations and won­der-working. Indeed, they sometimes flee them and want to conceal them.

Furthermore, the Risale-i Nur's circle is very broad, and its students, very numerous. It does not pursue anyone who leaves it. It gives them no importance and perhaps will not admit them again. Everyone has one heart, and a single heart cannot be both within the circle and outside it.

Also, persons desirous for guidance outside should not busy themselves with the Risale-i Nur students, for it is possible that they will receive harm in three respects. Just as students within the bounds of fear of God are not in need of guidance, outside it there are abundant people who do not perform the five daily prayers. To leave aside the latter and busy oneself with the former is not guidance. If such a person loves these students, let him firstly enter the circle and be not a father, but a brother, and if he is very virtuous, an elder brother.
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[18]Bukhâri, Fada'il Ashâb al-Nabï, 5: Muslim, Fada'il al-Sahaba, 221,222.

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