Imitative belief may be swiftly overcome bydoubts. Being much more powerful and comprehen­sive, certain, affirmative belief contains numerous degrees. One of these is the degree of knowledge of certainty,^[19] which may withstand thousands of doubts with the strength of its many proofs, whereas imita­tive belief may sometimes defeated by a single doubt.

There is also a degree of certain, affirmative belief known as the vision of certainty, and that con­tains numerous degrees. Indeed, it contains degrees to the number of manifestations of the divine names; it reaches the degree at which the whole universe may be read as though it were a Qur'an.

Another of its degrees is absolute certainty, which also contains numerous degrees. If troops of doubts assail individuals with belief such as that, they can­not provoke any confusion. The thousands of books written by the scholars of the science of kalam

(theology) based on reason and logic have demon­strated only one way, based on proofs and reason­ing, of that belief and knowledge of God. And the hundreds of books, based on illumination and spiri­tual unfolding, of the people of reality have depicted another aspect of that belief and knowledge of God. However, the truths of belief and sacred knowledge of God that the miraculous highway of the Qur'an points out, far surpasses in strength and loftiness those of the scholars and saints.

The Risale-i Nur, then, expounds the latter all-embracing, universal, and elevated highway of knowledge, and replies in the name of the Qur'an and belief to the general destructive currents which for a thousand years have acted against the Qur'an on account of the worlds of non-existence to the det­riment of Islam and humanity. It defends against them. It therefore certainly needs to muster innumer­able forces so that, through the light of the Qur'an, it may be the means of withstanding those innumera­ble enemies, and of preserving the faith of believers.
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[19](i) Certainty al the degree of knowledge or knowledge of certainty (al-yaqin) is certainty gained through knowledge. That is, to know that a thing exists through signs of it. (ii) Cer­tainty at the degree of witnessing or the vision of certainty {'Ayn al-yaqin) is to gain certainty through seeing a thing. That is, to know a thing by seeing it with one's eyes, (in) Absolute certainty (Haqq al-yaqin) is to gain certainty through the reality of a thing. That is, to know-it by entering into it.

We explain these three phrases as follows as they were taught to us by our beloved Master. Bediuzzaman Said Nursi. For exam­ple, we saw some smoke in the distance, so we knew there was a fire burning. That is called certainty at the degree of knowledge. We approached the smoke and saw the fire with our own eyes. That is called certainty at the degree of witnessing. Entering into the fire's light, we understood its intensity. This is known as abso­lute certainty.