Bediuzzaman Said Nursi
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Said-i Nursi Üstad Bediüzzaman |
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| Born | 1877 Nurs,Bitlis Vilayet, Ottoman Empire |
| Died | 23 March 1960 (aged 82–83) Urfa, Turkey |
| Ethnicity | Kurdish |
| Era | 19th–20th century |
| Region | Anatolia |
| Religion | Islam |
| Denomination | Sunni |
| Jurisprudence | Shafi`i |
| Creed | Ash'ari |
| Main interest(s) | Theology,Theosophy, Tafsir, Revival of Faith |
| Notable work(s) | Risale-i Nur |
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Aziz Üstad Bediüzzaman Said Nur (Ottoman Turkish: سعيد النُّورسی / Central Kurdish: سەعید نوورسی; 1877 – 23 March 1960), also spelled Said-i Nursî, officially Said Okur and commonly known with the honorific Bediüzzaman (بديع الزّمان, Badī' al-Zamān), meaning "wonder of the age"; or simply Üstad, "master") was a Kurdish Sunni Muslim theologian. He wrote the Risale-i Nur Collection, a body of Qur'anic commentary exceeding six thousand pages. 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. 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, often known as the "Nurcu movement" or the "Nur cemaati", often call him by the venerating mononymic Üstad ("the Master").
Nursi displayed an unusual ability to learn from an early age, completing the normal course of Madrasa (religious school) education at the early age of fourteen, when he obtained his diploma. He became famous for both his prodigious memory and his unbeaten record in debating with other religious scholars. Another characteristic Nursi displayed from an early age was a dissatisfaction with the existing education system, which when older he formulated into comprehensive proposals for its reform.
He was able to recite many books from memory. For instance "... So then he [Molla Fethullah] 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 Fethullah expressed his amazement."
Said Nursi was born in Nurs, a Turkish village in the Bitlis Vilayet (province) of the Ottoman Empire, in eastern Anatolia. He received his early education from scholars of his hometown, where he showed mastery in theological debates. After developing a reputation for Islamic knowledge, he was nicknamed "Bediuzzaman", meaning "The most unique and superior person of the time". He was invited by the governor of the Vilayet of Van to stay within his residency. In the governor's library, Nursi gained access to an archive of scientific knowledge he had not had access to previously. Said Nursi also learned the Ottoman Turkish language there. During this time, he developed a plan for university education for the Eastern provinces of the Ottoman Empire. By combining scientific and religious (Islamic) education, the university was expected to advance the philosophical thoughts of these regions. However, he was put on trial in 1909 for his apparent involvement in the Ottoman countercoup of 1909 against the liberal reform movement named the Committee of Union and Progress, but he was acquitted and released. He was active during the late Ottoman Caliphate as an educational reformer and advocate of the unity of the peoples of the Caliphate. He proposed educational reforms to the Ottoman Sultan Abdul Hamid aiming to put the traditional Madrasah (seminary) training, Sufism (tasawwuf) and the modern sciences in dialogue with each other. During World War I, Nursî was a member of the Ottoman Empire's "Special Organization". In January 1916 he was captured by Russian forces and taken to Russia as a prisoner of war, where he spent over 2 years. He escaped in the spring of 1918 and made his way to Constantinople. His return was welcomed and he was chosen to be a member of Dar-al Hikmat al-Islamiye, an Islamic academy seeking solution for growing problems of ummah
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