Page 178 - Self-Sacrifice in the Qur'an's Moral Teachings

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

Exile in Emirdag

After Kastamonu, Said Nursi was taken to Emirdag and installed in
a room opposite the government building. He was not allowed to go the
mosque and was always followed and watched. The conditions there
were even worse than those he had faced in Denizli prison. He was not
allowed to have visitors and was almost poisoned three times. When his
opponents saw that he could not be silenced by legal means, they sought
to kill him. But each time, he was saved from death by Allah's help. As a
result of these attempts, he suffered serious difficulties.

Afyon Prison

At the beginning of 1948, Said Nursi and 15 of his students were
taken from their homes and workplaces and removed to Afyon's
provincial center. They were held there for a week before being ques-
tioned, and then were sent to Afyon prison for the duration of their tri-
als. As had happened before, they were mistreated. At this time, even
though he was 70 years old and ill, he was left by himself in a dormi-

tory big enough for 60 people. In spite of the ice on the broken win-
dows on cold winter nights, he was not moved to other quarters. To
make matters even worse, he was poisoned several times. On the pre-
text of protecting him from contagious diseases, the prison doctor in-
jected him with a very strong poison that caused him to develop a
dangerous fever. Despite his condition, he was left alone in the dormi-
tory and forbidden to speak to anyone. His students in prison were not
even allowed to visit him. However, they were able to turn the prison
into a madrasa (religious school) where they taught the other inmates
about the Qur'an and the Risale-i Nur. Some of the prisoners embraced
belief in this way. In spite of his terrible living conditions, Said Nursi

176