Said Nursi (1877 – 23 March 1960), known also as Said-i Kurdî, was a Kurdish scholar of Islam from Turkey who wrote the Risale-i Nur Collection, a body of Qur'anic commentary exceeding six thousand pages. His focus was on a revival of personal Islamic faith "through study, self-reform and service of others".
Believing that modern science and logic was the way of the future, he advocated teaching religious sciences in secular schools and modern sciences in religious schools. He is commonly known with the honorifics Bediüzzaman (بدیعالزمان; lit. 'wonder of the age') and Üstad (استاد; lit. 'teacher') among his followers.
Nursi inspired a religious movement that has played a vital role in the revival of Islam in Turkey and now numbers several millions of followers worldwide. His followers are often known as the "Nurcu movement" or the Nurcu cemaati. A 2008 publication estimates Nurcu adherents at 5 to 6 million worldwide, and around 5500 dershanes (halls where adherents study Nursi’s writings).
Originally active in politics on behalf of Islam, after the fall of the Ottoman Empire Nursi abandoned political activity and devoted himself to writing about Islam.
Nursi divided his life into three periods:
The "Old Said" where he was actively involved in politics in the belief he could best serve Islam this way. This period lasted from his birth until early 1920's coinciding with the aftermath of World War I
The "New Said" period followed the upheaval of the fall of the Ottoman Empire and led Nursi to undergo a deep personal transformation. He abandoned politics and focused on writing his Risale-i Nur collection. In this he claimed to use reasoning to demonstrate truth of Islam. Most of this period was spent in jail and exile. This period ended when he was released from Afyon prison in 1949.
The "3rd Said" period lasted from 1949 till his death in 1960. During this time the first democratic elections in Turkey took place, and Nursi experienced relative freedom.
Early life ("Old Said" period)
Said Nursi was born Sait Okur in the Kurdish village of Nurs near Hizan in the Bitlis Vilayet of the Ottoman Empire. His father Mirza and his mother Nuriye both were said to be of the Ahl al-Bayt (lineage of the Islamic prophet Muhammad). They had seven children and modest means. As a young man he was affiliated with the Kadiri (Qadiriyya) Sufi order.
Nursi failed to earn an icâzetname (traditional diploma), but continued his education more informally through brief visits to madrasahs and notable local sheikhs.
He left Siirt to stay with his brother but returned after some time and went to the madrasa of Mullah Fathullah. He quickly impressed Fathullah with all the religious books he had read ("Süyûtî", "Mullah Jâmî", etc.) and his comprehension of them.
Said was said to be able to recite many books from memory.
"So then he [Molla Fathullah] decided to test his memory and handed him a copy of the work by Al-Hariri of Basra (1054–1122) — also famous for his intelligence and power of memory — called Maqamat al-Hariri. Said read one page once, memorized it, then repeated it by heart. Molla Fathullah expressed his amazement," and spread news of his talent throughout Siirt to other scholars. After this, scholars of Siirt gave him the title "Bediuzzaman" meaning "Wonder of the Age".
When he was 13–14 years old he was said to have completed the entire madrasa curriculum (of more than one hundred books) in three months, which normally takes 10–15 years to complete. Said’s approach was to rely on the teacher only for understanding of the key ideas of each book, and then to master whatever remained in the book with self-study.
Nursi gained the protection and patronage of the governor of Van, Tahir Pasha (1847-1913) and lived in Van from 1897 to 1907.
He was reportedly invited by the governor of the Vilayet of Van to stay within his residency. In the library of the governor, Nursi gained access to an archive of scientific knowledge he had not had access to previously. He is said to have studied the principles of history, geography, mathematics, geology, physics, chemistry, astronomy, and philosophy during his stay, besides Islamic sciences, and to have memorized the 90 books he studied.
Said Nursi is also said to have learned the Ottoman Turkish language there. During this time, he developed a plan to establish a university in the Eastern provinces of the Ottoman Empire, which he named as "Madrasat-uz Zahra" which would combine scientific and religious (Islamic) education, and expected to advance overall education of these regions. He was able to secure funding for this project from the Ottoman Sultan Mehmed V and the construction started in 1913, but after the World War I started the project became void.