A Spiritual Prescription for the Sick
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.61166/maklumat.v4i1.111Keywords:
the Passalama’ Banua Tradition, Local Culture, IslamAbstract
This review examines Message for the Sick, drawn from the Twenty-Fifth Flash of Said Nursi’s Risale-i Nur, highlighting its theological depth and pastoral sensitivity. Nursi reframes illness as spiritually meaningful states rooted in divine wisdom, presenting suffering not as punishment but as a pathway to understanding God’s attributes. His remedies for the sick offer a Qur’an-centred lens through which vulnerability becomes a source of insight, patience, and inner transformation. Through close textual analysis, this review demonstrates how Nursi’s reflections integrate Islamic spirituality, ethical psychology, and metaphysical reasoning. The treatise ultimately provides a holistic and timeless model of spiritual care relevant for clinicians, caregivers, and readers seeking to understand hardship through faith.
Downloads
References
Abu-Rabi‘, I. M. (2003). Islam at the crossroads: On the life and thought of Bediuzzaman Said Nursi. SUNY Press.
Açıkgenç, A. (2018). Said Nursi (1878-1960). The late Ottoman scholar and the founder of the Nurculuk movement (in Turkish). Turkish Religious Foundation.Encyclopedia of Islam.Istanbul: TDV Publishing, Printing and Trading Business. https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/said-nursi [Retrieved 12 April 2024].
Aydin, N. (2019). Said Nursi and human values: Spirituality, morality, and social reform in the Risale-i Nur. Routledge.
Bilici, M. (2012). Muslim subjectivity in Nursi’s writings. The Muslim World, 102(3), 491–508.
Celik, H. (2017). Perspectives on illness and divine compassion in Islamic theology: Insights from Said Nursi. Journal of Islamic Thought and Civilization, 7(1), 55–72.
Erdem, M. (2004). The concept of patience (sabr) in Islamic moral psychology. Islamic Studies, 43(3), 317–333.
Farooqi, B. A. (1982). The ethics of suffering in Islamic spirituality. Lahore: Islamic Book Service.
Güngör, Ö. (2015). Aging and spirituality in Islamic thought: A thematic analysis of classical and contemporary texts. Journal of Religion & Spirituality in Social Work, 34(4), 367–384.
Haque, A. (2004). Psychology from Islamic perspective: Contributions of early Muslim scholars and challenges to contemporary Muslim psychologists. Journal of Religion and Health, 43(4), 357–377.
Horkuc, H. (2011). Said Nursi’s approach to spiritual and moral education. The Islamic Foundation.
Hussain, K. (2020). Spirituality in Islam. In Essentials of Islamic Sciences, Adam Publishers & Distributors, 469–490.
Kadioglu, S. (2019). Concepts of suffering and healing in the Risale-i Nur. Ilahiyat Studies, 10(2), 171–198.
Keskin, T. (2011). The sociology of the Risale-i Nur: Islam, politics, and Turkish modernity. Tughra Books.
Khan, L. (2018). Islamic theological perspectives on old age: A comparative analysis. Journal of Islamic Ethics, 3(2), 201–223.
Markham, I. S. (2008). Nursi’s theological response to modernity. The Muslim World, 98(3), 359–376.
Markham, I. S., &Ozalp, O. (2015). Said Nursi: Makers of Islamic Civilization. Oneworld Publications.
Nursi, B. S. (2012). From the Risale-i Nur Collection. The Flashes. The Twenty-Fifth Flash. Message for the Sick. Istanbul: Söz. http://www.erisale.com/index.jsp?locale=en#content.en.203.265[Retrieved 12 April 2024].
Nursi, B. S. (2012). From the Risale-i Nur Collection. The Flashes. The Twenty-Sixth Flash.
ÖzervarlI, M. S. (2006). Tradition, reason, and revelation in modern Muslim thought: A study of Nursi’s hermeneutics. Islamic Studies, 45(4), 471–494.
Sarac, M. (2014). Divine mercy and theodicy in the writings of Said Nursi. Journal of Qur’anic Studies, 16(1), 85–108.
Subhani, S. (2010). Psychological resilience and patience in Islamic spirituality. Journal of Religious Health, 49(3), 355–364.
Syed, S. B. (2018). Ageing with dignity in Islamic ethics: Scriptural foundations and contemporary implications. Studies in Religion, 47(4), 524–542.
Topbas, O. (2013). Healing and mercy in the Qur’an and Sunnah. Erkam Publications.
Treatise For The Elderly Istanbul: Söz. http://www.erisale.com/index.jsp?locale=en#content.en.203.285[Retrieved 12 April 2024].
Turner, C. (2009). The Risale-i Nur: A Qur’anic commentary for modern times. Journal of Qur’anic Studies, 11(2), 77–95.
Vahide, Ş. (2005). Islam in modern Turkey: An intellectual biography of Bediuzzaman Said Nursi. SUNY Press.
Yavuz, M. H. (1999). The matrix of modern Turkish Islamic movements: The case of the Nur movement. The Muslim World, 89(3–4), 306–332.
Zaid, A. (2015). Human suffering and the Divine in Islamic discourse. American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences, 32(2), 47–70.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Khalid Hussain, Hüseyin Çaksen
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
