ABSTRACT
We should like to point out at the very outset that Nursi regards justice (al-‘adālah) as one of the four principal objectives (al-makasid al-arba‘a) and essential teachings of the Qur’an; the other three being tawhid [monotheism], al-nubuwwah [prophethood], and al-Hashr [the resurrection in afterlife].1 He also believed that these four objectives prevail and penetrate the whole content of the Qur’an; so much so that, if looked at carefully, one can notice their manifestations almost in every chapter and their hints almost in every phrase and word. Moreover, every part of the Qur’an is considered by him as a mirror to the whole of the Qur’an. Because of that, even in the formula of Bismillah, “In the Name of God, AllMerciful and All-Compassionate,” as prefixed to every sura except that of alTawba, these objectives can be discerned. The word al-Rahman [All-Merciful], for instance, is an obvious indication, according to Nursi’s analysis, to the existence of the order and balance of justice (nizām al-‘adālah) in the universe.2
