A Comparison Between the Discourse of Ahmad Sirhindī and Saīd Nursi (PDF)

Abstract
This chapter looks into the role of the 16th  century Indian Scholar Ahmad  Sirhindī

(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

similarities and the differences between the discourse and methods of  Sirhindī  and

Nursi. It concludes that both Sirhindī and Nursi took the Sufi path of Islam as opposed

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.

Sirhindī was not only a Sufi sheikh but also a prolific writer. His major work,

[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

years of the Ottoman Empire. PDF LINK
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/292960088_A_Comparison_Between_the_Discourse_of_Ahmad_Sirhindi_and_Said_Nursihttps://www.researchgate.net/publication/292960088_A_Comparison_Between_the_Discourse_of_Ahmad_Sirhindi_and_Said_Nursi