Abstract:

Islam makes Hereafter one of the six pillars of belief (al-ʿaqāíd al-īmāniyyah), and the Qur’an eventually declares a life after death as the actual life, while calling worldly life nothing more rather than deception (Q. 29:64). It describes the Day of Resurrection as the Hour and the Day when the trumpet shall be blown, and everyone shall be brought before their Lord (Q. 50:20-22). Besides, the concept of Hereafter is inextricably intertwined with the question of good and evil (Q. 98:7-8, 27:91, 31:2-3). Said Nursi (1876-1960) was one of the significant Muslim intellectuals of the twentieth century who explained the reasoned ‘proofs’ of Hereafter by answering two main questions: why is the existence of Hereafter necessary corollary to the existing world; and how can the possibility of an unseen, unimaginable world, i.e., heaven and hell be proved rationally? In other words, Nursi put an effort to strengthen the belief in Hereafter on rational grounds. Hence, the paper deals with the concept of Hereafter from the standpoint of Said Nursi. Its main objective is to highlight the significance of the subject of Hereafter for a modern man in present times, who emphasizes the materialistic lifestyle and sees wealth and money as the only means to attain contentment. The idea of death and the existence of life after it, as Nursi explained, gives an account of the futility of a materialistic lifestyle for a believer. The relevance of Nursi’s thought to contemporary realities is based on the fact that he used rational arguments to prove the reality of Hereafter. He lived during the times when the Muslim societies started to follow blindly the Western ideals that seemed “modern.” Those who advocated Western ideas were eager to outlaw the Islamic fundamental principles that were impossible to explain rationally. In the treatise titled Haşir Bahsi (On Resurrection and the Hereafter), Said Nursi intended to prove the actuality of the phenomenon of life after death that will happen at a certain time specified by God, as well as he highlighted that similar occurrence happens in worldly life at every moment. Moreover, Nursi does not discuss the torment in the grave in his treatise, rather, he argues why and how Hereafter should be a reality that cannot be ignored even by non-believers. Hence, this work of Nursi is a perfect reading piece for those Muslims who find it difficult to accept the realities related to the existence of another life after death. The discussion on the grave torment is also out of the scope of this paper. Rather, the paper emphasizes that the language and argumentations used by Nursi in this treatise and throughout the Risale-i Nur are convincing and rational to prove the existence of life after death. The paper accordingly analyses Haşir Bahsi, the Tenth Word, by answering two focal questions. First, philosophically, how valid are Nursi’s proofs of Hereafter? Second, are his proofs rational enough for non-believers and atheists? To answer these questions, the study employs the analytical method. A brief survey of several classical Muslim scholars’ thoughts on Hereafter is also provided in the article. Besides, the views of modern Western philosophers who deny the possibility of Hereafter on rational grounds have been taken into account to verify how far Nursi has been successful in verifying the opposite on rational grounds.

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