الرحلةThe Journey

بديع الزمان سعيد النورسي

Said Nursi (RH)

Bediüzzaman Said Nursi

Also known as: Badiuzzaman Said Nursi, Badi' al-Zaman al-Nursi, Said Nursî, Bediuzzaman

c. 1294–1379 AH · c. 1877–1960 CE

Sufism & Theology Shafi'i Theology

Kurdish-Turkish scholar whose Risale-i Nur explained the faith to a modern readership.

Said Nursi was born in a village near Bitlis in eastern Anatolia and studied in the Kurdish madrasas, where his quick learning earned him the title Bediüzzaman, the wonder of the age. In his early years he campaigned in Istanbul for a university in the east that would teach the religious and modern sciences together.

After the First World War he withdrew from public life. Exiled to the village of Barla in 1926, and later held in other towns and tried several times, he wrote the Risale-i Nur, a commentary in many volumes on the Quran's teaching about God, prophethood and the resurrection, aimed at believers facing modern doubts. Copied by hand by his students and later printed, it has been read by millions in Turkey and in translation.

Open on the map →

Life journey

  1. c. 1877 CE Nurs (Bitlis) نورس
    Born in the village of Nurs, near Bitlis in eastern Anatolia.
  2. 1897 CE Van وان
    Taught in Van; the year is approximate.
  3. 1907 CE Constantinople (Istanbul) القسطنطينية
    Lived in Istanbul, apart from the war years, when he fought in the Caucasus and was a prisoner in Russia (1916–1918).
  4. 1923 CE Van وان
    Withdrew to a life of worship near Van.
  5. 1926 CE Barla بارلا
    Exiled to the village of Barla, where he began the Risale-i Nur.
  6. 1936 CE Kastamonu قسطموني
    Held under watch in Kastamonu.
  7. 1944 CE Emirdağ أميرداغ
    Lived under watch in Emirdağ.
  8. 1953 CE Isparta إسبرطة
    Spent his last years mostly in Isparta.
  9. 1960 CE Urfa أورفة
    Died 1960 CE · 1379 AH
    Died in Urfa; his grave was later moved by the authorities to an unknown place.

Key works

  • Risale-i Nur رسائل النور
    The Epistles of Light
    A Turkish commentary in many volumes on the Quran's teaching about faith (1926–1950).

Places in their life

The Süleymaniye Mosque, Istanbul
The Süleymaniye Mosque, Istanbul
Photo: Myrabella, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Sources

  • Şükran Vahide, Islam in Modern Turkey: An Intellectual Biography of Bediuzzaman Said Nursi (2005)
Draft, awaiting scholarly review.
Birth year: 1877 or 1878 (1293–1294 AH). The years in Van are approximate. He was briefly involved in public affairs in his early years (the 'Old Said'); the entry focuses on his scholarship.