The Methodology of Faith-Based Argumentation in the Risale-i Nur (The Epistles of Light)

Abstract

This article examines the concept of faith-based dialectics in Risale-i Nur by Bediuzzaman Said Nursi, presenting it as a comprehensive epistemological vision that transcends the materialist dialectics of Hegel and Marx. The article argues that dialectics in the Qur’anic and Nursian perspective is not limited to contradiction or verbal disputation; rather, it is a purposeful cosmic and human movement that connects worldly life with the Hereafter, and the visible world with the unseen. The study shows that Risale-i Nur offers a faith-centered interpretation of the interaction between opposites such as good and evil, truth and falsehood, beauty and ugliness. The results of this interaction are ultimately manifested in the Hereafter: righteous deeds and good words become forms of construction and bliss in Paradise, whereas evil deeds and corrupt words are embodied as punishment and suffering in Hell. The article further emphasizes that the movement of the universe and human life is neither random nor purely material, but operates within divine wisdom, power, and destiny, revealing the manifestations of God’s names and attributes. It concludes that Risale-i Nur provides an integrated faith-based theory of knowledge that unites the cosmos, the Qur’an, human existence, and life, while recommending further comparative studies between Nursi’s vision, Western philosophies, and other Islamic intellectual traditions.