SECOND SIGN

The second of the dominical favours pertaining to the service of the Qur’an is this: Almighty God bestowed on someone like me who has difficulty in writing, is semi-literate, alone, in exile, and barred from mixing with people, brothers as helpers who are strong, earnest, sincere, enterprising, and self-sacrificing, and whose pens are each like diamond swords. He placed on their powerful shoulders the Qur’anic duty that  weighed   heavily  on  my  weak  and  powerless   ones.   Out  of  His  perfect munificence, He lightened my load. In Hulûsi’s words, that blessed community is like a collection of wireless and telegraph receivers, and in Sabri’s, like the machines producing the electricity of the light factory. With their different virtues and worthy qualities, again in Sabri’s words, manifesting a sort of coincidence proceeding from the Unseen, they spread the mysteries of the Qur’an and lights of faith all around reflecting each other’s enthusiasm, effort, enterprise, and seriousness, making them reach everywhere. At this time, that is, when the alphabet has been changed, and there are no printing-presses, and everyone is in need of the lights of belief, and there are numerous  things  to dispirit  a person and  destroy  his enthusiasm,  their  unflagging service and sheer fervour and endeavour are directly a wonder of the Qur’an and a clear divine favour. Yes, just as sainthood has its wonders, so does a pure intention. So does sincerity. Especially serious, sincere solidarity between brothers and brotherhood purely for God’s sake – they produce numerous wonders. In fact, the collective personality of such a community may achieve the perfection of a saint and manifest divine favours.

My brothers and my friends in the service of the Qur’an! Just as it is unjust and wrong  to  give  all the  glory and  all the  booty to  the  sergeant  of a  company  that conquers a citadel, so you should not ascribe the divine favours in the victories won through the strength of your collective personality and your pens to an unfortunate like myself! In fact, there is another indication  of  the  Unseen  in  such  a  blessed  community,  more  powerful  than  the ‘coincidences’ proceeding from the Unseen and I can see it, but I may not point it out to everyone at large.