The Thirteenth Letter

In His Name!

And there is nothing but it glorifies Him with praise.(17:44)

Peace on those who follow guidance, and may those who follow their own desires be censured!

My Dear Brothers!

You frequently ask about my situation and how I am, and why I have not applied for my release papers, and concerning my indifference towards politics and the state of the world. Since you have asked these questions on numerous occasions, and also ask them implicitly, I am compelled to reply not as the New Said, but in the language of the Old Said.

YOUR FIRST QUESTION

Are you comfortable? How are you?

T h e  A n s w e r :  I offer endless thanks to the Most Merciful of the Merciful that He has transformed the various wrongs the worldly[1] perpetrate against me into various forms of mercy. It is like this:

Having  given  up  politics  and  withdrawn  from  the  world,  I  was  living  in  a mountain cave and thinking of the hereafter when the worldly wrongfully plucked me from it and sent me into exile. The All-Compassionate  and Wise Creator turned the exile into mercy; He transformed the solitude on the mountain, which was unsafe and exposed to factors that would harm sincerity, into a retreat in the safe and sincere mountains  of  Barla.  While  a  prisoner-of-war  in  Russia  I  made  up  my  mind  to withdraw into a cave towards the end of my life and prayed for it. The Most Merciful of the Merciful made Barla the cave and bestowed the benefits without burdening my weak self with the difficulties and troubles of a cave.  

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          [1] ‘The worldly’ (ehl-i dünya): those people whose view is restricted to the life of this world and who disregard the hereafter, or those who sell religion for this world. (Tr.)