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My dear new brothers and old prisoners,

I have been convinced that Divine Favor made you an important reason for our entering here. That is, with its consolation and the truths of belief, the Risale-i Nur is to save you from the distress of imprisonment and much of the worldly harm thereof, and to save your life, which would otherwise be wasting in grief and sorrow, from being wasted. It is also to save you from moaning both in this world and the next.

If this is so, then evidently you should be brothers to one another as the Denizli prisoners and the students of the Risale-i Nur are. You see with your own eyes that they search through everything-food, bread and other things-which comes to you from outside so that a knife should not be brought in with which you may attack each other. Besides, the guards who faithfully serve you suffer much trouble, and you do not go out to have fresh air, as they think that you may attack one another like wild beasts. Now, you new friends, who are by nature heroic and courageous, should display an example of spiritual valor and say to the administrative board of the prison:

“Even if, instead of knives, we were given guns and revolvers and ordered to use them, we would not hurt these unfortunate friends of ours who suffer the same as we do. As a requirement of belief and Islamic brotherhood and our interests, and as the Qur’an commands, we are determined to forgive them and to try not to offend them, even if formerly there were a hundred reasons for our hostility.” And by this means and attitude, you may transform this prison into a blessed place of study.

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Site Navigation Bismillah (In thename of God) Thinking Straight and How to Achieve It Religion & Its Relation with Humanity Islam & Humanity (Revised) Virtues of Belief God's Existence and Unity The Holy Quran Divine Destiny & Man's Free Will Questions Concerning Death Life, Its Meaning, Degrees & Worth Questions Concerning Paradise Prophethood, Its Meaning & Functions The Prophet Muhammad Sunna in Islamic Legislation The Ascension of the Prophet Miracles of the Prophet Companions of the Prophet The Prescribed Prayers Worshipping God Prayer and Supplication Ramadan and Fasting Jihad in Islam The Duty of Thanksgiving Invisible Dimension of Existence Reliance on God Emerald Hills of the Heart The Spiritual Life in Islam: Sufism Criteria or Lights of the Way (Pearls of Wisdom)