A Comparison Between the Discourse of Ahmad Sirhindī and Saīd Nursi (PDF)
(1564-1624) and the discourse of Bediüzzaman Saīd Nursi (1877-1960) of Turkey.
Sirhindī, also widely known as Imām Rabbānī in Sufi circles, is among few historical
figures who still has substantial influence in Turkish society. Nursi, who passed away
more than half a century ago, is the founder of Nur Movement who is claimed to have
several million followers in Turkey. This study first analyses the socio-political
context where these two important figures lived and then attempts to demonstrate the
to fundamentalist approach of it and developed their respective life philosophies
around it.
Key words: Imām Rabbānī Ahmad Sirhindī, Bediüzzaman Saīd Nursi, Sufism
(tasawwuf), renewer (mujaddīd), Unity of Being (Wahdat al-Wujūd), Unity of Vision
(Wahdat al- Shuhūd)
Introduction
Despite the geographical distances, there are few commonalities between Turkey and
India. Arguably, any well-lettered person in Turkey would mention the name of Imām
Rabbānī when they are asked about India. The person known as Imām Rabbānī in
Turkey and in the wider Islamic world is actually Ahmad al-Farūqī al-Sirhindī. His
given name was Ahmad. Since he was born in Sirhind in Indian province of Punjab he
is also called Sirhindi. Owing to the fact that he was the direct descendent of `Umar
ibn Al-Khattāb Al-Farūq (577-644), the second caliph after Prophet Mu ammad, heḥ
became known as Ahmad al-Farūqī al-Sirhindī.
[1] Letters (Maktūbāt) is the collection of his 536 letters written to his students,
followers, friends and officials. Originally written in Farsi, Sirhindī expounds on
Islamic faith and creed emphasizing on Ahl al-Sunnah. It is in Letters he discusses the
existence and entities. His letters to his students and friends has a dominant theme of
Sufism whilst his letters to officials have a general religious and social content.
Sirhindī’s other books are [2] Mabda’ wa Ma ādʿ, which is about the stations of a
Sufis’s spiritual journey; [3] Ma ārif Ladunniyyaʿ, which explains the existence,
entities, names and attributes of God; [4] Mukāshafāt-i Ghaybiyyah contains similar
themes as in the previous books; [5] Ithbāt al-nubuwwah compares philosophy and
prophethood; [6] Radd-i Shī aʿ is a rebuff to Mu ammad b. Fahr al-dīn Rustamdārīḥ
who criticize Prophet’s Friends (a hābṣ); [7] Risāla-i Tahīliyyah expounds on the
meaning of ‘There is no god but Allāh (lā ilāha illa Allāh)’; and finally [8] T alīqātʿ
bar Shar -i Rubā‘iyyāt-i Hāja Bāqī Billāhḥ is the notes on Bāqi Billāh’s poetry.
Perhaps the same person would mention the name of Bediüzzaman Said Nursi
when asked about one of the most influential people in Turkey in the twentieth
cenury.1 Therefore certain academic attention needs to be given to these two
important figures who played great roles in shaping out our current world.
Like Sirhindī, Nursi spent the great majority of his adult life in prisons and
exiles. Great portion of his magnum opus called the Risāle-i Nur collection is the
product of his years in incarceration. The Words (Sözler), The Letters (Mektūbât), The
Flashes (Lemalar) and The Rays (Şualar) are all written during the republic years
after 1923. Nursi’s early books such as Reasoning (Mu ākamātḥ), Debates
(Munā arātẓ) and Signs of Miraculousness (Ishārāt al-I’jāz) are written during the last
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