Page 168 - Self-Sacrifice in the Qur'an's Moral Teachings

Self-Sacrifice in the Qur'an's Moral Teachings

and this made the government very uneasy. In January 1948, Said
Nursi and fifteen of his students were taken from their homes and
workplaces and jailed in Afyon. Despite such difficult and trying con-
ditions, Said Nursi continued to publish his works.
In December 1948, he was sentenced to 20 months in prison. On
appeal, this sentence was overturned by the Supreme Court of
Appeals. But despite this decree, the Criminal Court in Afyon ex-
tended the process for 20 months, all of which Said Nursi spent in
prison. He was released in September 1949. But on an order from
Ankara, he was held under house arrest in Afyon and was able to re-
turn to Emirdag only in December of the same year.
In 1951 in Emirdag and almost a year later in Istanbul, two more
court cases were opened because of his Genclik Rehberi (A Guide for
Youth). At the Istanbul hearing, the court brought the case to a conclu-
sion in his favor. In January 1960, the police did not allow Said Nursi to
go to Ankara. So, he went to Isparta. Now 83 and in very bad health, he
and his students eventually went to Urfa. Although he was too ill to
walk, the police nevertheless entered his hotel room on orders from the
Minister of Internal Affairs to return him to Isparta. Under this oppres-
sion, Said Nursi died.

His Self-Sacrificial Character

Bediuzzaman Said Nursi dedicated his whole life and all of his
possessions to winning Allah's approval, and always willingly under-
took every act of self-sacrifice that was necessary. He endured circum-
stances that would have broken most people and was oppressed until
the end of his life by those who feared his influence among the people.
Brought before various courts several times, he spent about 30 years ei-

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