The error of the collective personality concerning the Prophet Jesus (as) and Hazrat Mahdi (as)
Harun YahyaIt is revealed in verses of the Qur’an that the Prophet Jesus (as) did not die but was taken into the Presence of Allah, and that he will return again to Earth to the accompaniment of various portents. Our Prophet (saas) has also revealed in great detail in the hadiths that the Prophet Jesus (as) will miraculously return to Earth in the final times and will bring peace, justice and felicity to the world by uniting Christians and Muslims in a common faith around Islam. These statements and signs in the Qur’an and the hadiths of our Prophet (saas) are to clear and detailed to leave any room for any doubts.
In his works, Bediuzzaman Said Nursi devoted considerable space to the subject of the second coming of the Prophet Jesus (as). However, the term collective personality employed by Bediuzzaman in discussing the issue may be interpreted rather differently or misinterpreted in our own time. The fact is, however, Bediuzzaman’s statements make it perfectly clear that the Prophet Jesus (as) will return not as a collective personality but as an individual, and will, together with Hazrat Mahdi (as), cause peace and security to rule the entire world.
In addition, a collective personality, the representation of his spiritual identity, forms around every prophet and emissary of Allah. This grouping and movement, consisting of people who follow the emissary, take him as a role model, and observe his message, constitute his collective identity. It is, however, evident that one cannot speak of an individual’s collective personality in the absence of the individual himself. The fact that every community of the faithful has a leader is a law of Allah revealed in the Qur’an. Therefore, in using the term collective personality, Bediuzzaman uses it in the sense of the law of Allah revealed in the Qur’an.
Indeed, in employing the term collective personality in reference to his own students and works, Bediuzzaman Said Nursi is again at the head of that collective personality. His works and students who observe them are part of the collective personality of the Risale-i Nur, although Bediuzzaman, leader of the Nur movement, cannot be regarded as distinct from the term.
When the Prophet Jesus (as) returns to Earth there will be a community that forms, consisting of those people close to him, and the Prophet Jesus (as) will be at its head. In the same way that there can be no collective personality in the absence of the individual with regard to all the other prophets, so neither can there be in the case of the Prophet Jesus (as) The words of Bediuzzaman quoted below are sufficiently clear as to leave no room for any debate over the issue.
1) representing the collective personality of Christianity, Jesus (Upon whom be peace) will kill the antichrist, who represents the collective personality of irreligion.
In this extract Bediuzzaman describes the collective personality of Christianity. As can be seen from his description, it does not represent an individual personality. This can be seen from the answers to these two questions:
One individual represents the collective personality of Christianity. Who is that? The Prophet Jesus (as).
Who does the Prophet Jesus (as) represent? The collective personality of Christianity.
The answers to these questions clearly reveal that Bediuzzaman refers to the Prophet Jesus (as) and the collective identity as separate concepts.
2) And that person will be Jesus (Peace be upon him), who is the prophet of the majority of mankind, and whom most people follow.
In this statement by Bediuzzaman the Prophet Jesus (as) is described as a person, not two or three people. And it is again emphasized that it is the Prophet Jesus (as) who will come as a person, not as a collective personality. These words all appear in the singular and all refer to “a single person,” not a collective entity.
Bediuzzaman also refers to someone possessing the miracles that can eliminate the deeds of the antichrist. He says that the Prophet Jesus (as) is the only person who can work these miracles. Since it is impossible for a collective personality to work miracles, this again is a clear reference to the Prophet Jesus (as) as an individual.
3) Then the person of Jesus (Upon whom be peace), who is present with his human body in the world of the heavens, will come to lead the current of true religion...
In this passage Bediuzzaman says that the Prophet Jesus (as) who is currently in the world of the heavens will return to Earth in his human body and will assume leadership of the true faith. It is clear that Bediuzzaman does not refer to a collective identity here, but rather to an individual. This is clear from his use of the term “human body.”
4) ...Christian community but worthy of being called "Muslim Christians," will recognize the reality of Islam, and will kill and rout that society of the antichrist, thus saving humanity from atheism.
In this passage the teacher reveals that a group of Muslims will strive against the antichrist under the leadership of the Prophet Jesus (as): he refers separately to the Prophet Jesus (as) and his community.
5) .... the spiritual community of mujahidên who will recognize Jesus (Peace be upon him) and follow him....
Bediuzzaman refers to the Prophet Jesus (as) being recognized by the radiance of his faith. This also shows that he is referring to the Prophet Jesus (as) as a person, not as a collective personality.
In addition, here, as in the above passage, the reference is to a community that will follow a person, the Prophet Jesus (as) in other words, and the matter is clarified by the community being referred to separately from the Prophet Jesus (as).
6) Jesus (Peace be upon him) will come and will perform the obligatory prayers behind the Mahdi and follow him,” alludes to this union, and to the sovereignty of the Qur’an and its being followed.
In this quotation Bediuzzaman describes how the Prophet Jesus (as) and Hazrat Mahdi (as) will perform the prayer (namaz) together. This reference, which appears in many completely reliable hadith, shows that the Prophet Jesus (as) and Hazrat Mahdi (as) will enjoy a dialogue between them and will lead personally, lead believers in their physical bodies. This is yet further evidence that the Prophet Jesus (as) and Hazrat Mahdi (as) are both individuals, not collective entities. By Allah’s will, when he returns the Prophet Jesus (as) will maintain the observance of the prayer (namaz) that he observed on his first time on Earth. This is revealed as follows in the Qur’an:
(Jesus)He said, ‘I am the slave of Allah, He has given me the Book and made me a Prophet. He has made me blessed wherever I am and directed me to perform prayer and give the alms as long as I live.” (Surah Maryam, 30-31)
The coming of Hazrat Mahdi (as), a holy and valuable individual whose coming in the End Times is foretold by our Prophet (saas), who will eliminate corruption on Earth, and who will bring peace, justice, plenty, security, happiness and well-being to all the world, is something that the Islamic community has been awaiting for hundreds of years. Indeed, the fact that the great majority of the events revealed as portents of the coming of Hazrat Mahdi (as) have taken place one after the other is a clear sign that his appearance is close at hand. Many of the hadith of our Prophet (saas) contain and figurative verses of the Qur’an alluding to the coming of Hazrat Mahdi (as) describe in detail his name, attributes and the actions he will perform. In the light of all this information, the subject of Hazrat Mahdi (as) is too certain to permit any discussion and can clearly be understood by any rational person of good conscience.
Bediuzzaman Said Nursi’s statements are also compatible with the signs in the Qur’an and the hadith of the Prophet (saas). However, there is a common misunderstanding regarding the concept of “collective personality” that Bediuzzaman employs in his works concerning the blessed Mahdi (as). It is very clear and certain from the accounts and the statements made by Islamic scholars that Hazrat Mahdi (as) will not be a collective personality, but a holy individual who has been described in great detail in terms of his physical characteristics, character and moral values and even family background. Like all the envoys before him, of course, Hazrat Mahdi (as) will also have a collective personality. It is even narrated trhat this collective personality will encapsulate the whole world. But Hazrat Mahdi (as) will also be an individual in charge of his own tasks. Therefore, Hazrat Mahdi (as) is the imam who will lead his collective personality and followers. Various statements by Bediuzzaman in his writings make this crystal clear. The passages taken from Bediuzzaman below are too evident and clear to permit any dispute on the subject of the Mahdi representing a holy individual, not a collective entity.
Bediuzzaman’s referral to Hazrat Mahdi (as) as “that person” or “that individual” makes the misunderstanding regarding the concept of “collective personality” perfectly clear.
1) And such great signs belonging a collective personality or community they represent are manifested in the persons of those people that He has formed those wondrous personages (the Prophet Jesus (as) and Hazrat Mahdi) in such a way that everyone will recognize them when they appear.
2) To oppose him, a luminous individual called Muhammad Mahdi of the Family of the Prophet will come to lead the people of sainthood and perfection, who are bound to the luminous chain of the Family of the Prophet, and he will kill the current of dissemblers, which will be the collective personality of the Sufyan, and scatter it....
3) ... YET THAT GREAT PERSONAGE OF THE END TIMES WILL BE FROM THE AHL AL-BAYT (descended from the Prophet (saas))…
4) …That person will make a program of research already conducted by that community and writing, by which he will have fulfilled his first duty. The force and spiritual host on which that duty depends consist of students who are in full possession of the qualities of purity and loyalty and solidarity. No matter how few in number, they are regarded as being as powerful and valuable as a spiritual army.
In this extract refers to Hazrat Mahdi (as) separately from his community by addressing him as “that person.”
5) … And I told them: "I am not a sayyid (descended from our Prophet (saas) .Descendants are unknown in this time. Whereas that great person of the End Times will be from the ahl al-bayt (be descended from the Prophet (saas)).
6) I believe I am a servant of this wondrous person who will appear in the future, a rear-guard to set a background for him, and a pioneering soldier of that great commander...
These descriptions by Bediuzzaman represent significant evidence that Hazrat Mahdi (as) is a person, not a collective personality. In the words “a wondrous person,” Bediuzzaman is making it clear that Hazrat Mahdi (as) is an individual.
In addition, Bediuzzaman draws attention to his quality of “commander.” There is no question of a collective personality being a commander.
Furthermore, Bediuzzaman Said Nursi also emphasized that Hazrat Mahdi (as) is a person by saying that this “wondrous person” who will assume this work of the Mahdi will also have a servant.
7) Since His custom has proceeded in this way, certainly, at the time of the greatest corruption at the end of time, He will send a luminous person as both the greatest interpreter of the Law, and the greatest renewer, and ruler, and the Mahdi, and as guide, and spiritual pole, and that person will be from the Family of the Prophet.
... luminous person
... greatest interpreter of the Law
... ruler
... Mahdi
... guide
... spiritual pole
... person
The attributes that Bediuzzaman uses in this passage are attributes referring to a single person, as is apparent from their meaning. In addition, Bediuzzaman Said Nursi refers to Hazrat Mahdi (as) as a luminous person. If Bediuzzaman had wanted to emphasize that Hazrat Mahdi (as) is a collective personality, he would have referred to a “luminous collective personality” and not to a “luminous person.” Moreover, the use of the word “a” here also makes the matter quite clear. The word “person” is in any case an expression of a singular concept. The term employed is “a person” not “two” or “people.”
Bediuzzaman use of the word “and” in referring to Hazrat Mahdi (as) and his community is further evidence he is dealing with two separate concepts.
8) In the broad sphere of life, its real owners, in other words, the Mahdi and his students come in the End Times, by Almighty Allah’s leave, and broaden that sphere and cause those seeds to flourish.[i]
Here, too, Bediuzzaman clearly states that Hazrat Mahdi (as) and his community are two distinct concepts. He refers to Hazrat Mahdi (as) and his students as separate concepts; Hazrat Mahdi (as) himself and his students. The word “and” puts the matter beyond a doubt. These two are distinct from one another and when they come together, then they constitute the collective personality of Hazrat Mahdi (as).
9) These three qualities being present at one time in one person or community, and their being perfect and not impairing one another seems very remote, or even impossible. In the End Times, they can only come together in the Great Mahdi and the collective personality of his community, who represent the luminous community of the ahl al-bayt (the line of our Prophet (saas)).[ii]
In this extract, too, Hazrat Mahdi (as) and the collective personality of his community are separated by the world “and.” This means that Hazrat Mahdi (as) and his collective personality represent two distinct concepts. Therefore, Hazrat Mahdi (as) and his collective personality are two different things.
10) … The collective personality of the holy community represented by the Mahdi, has three duties.[iii]
In this passage, Bediuzzaman refers to the collective personality of the community of Hazrat Mahdi (as) having three great duties to perform. Hazrat Mahdi (as) represents the collective personality of this community and is the person at their head. But it is the collective personality of this holy community that will perform this task. Bediuzzaman’s statement shows that Hazrat Mahdi’s (as) collective personality and his “person” are to be considered separately.
Conclusion
Many other examples could be added to these clarifications of the misinterpretations regarding the concept of the collective personality employed in his works by Bediuzzaman. However, just one of these is sufficient to see how the Prophet Jesus (as) and Hazrat Mahdi (as) will appear in the End Times with a collective personality of communities of believers, and how they will appear by assuming the leadership of these.
In all these extracts, Bediuzzaman refers to the Prophet Jesus (as) and the collective personality of his community and Hazrat Mahdi (as) and the collective personality of his community as two distinct concepts. He explains that the combination of the two constitutes the concept of the collective personality, but that these holy individuals will lead the believers alongside them with their collective personalities. Bediuzzaman has many times clearly stated that, like the caliphs, emirs and rulers who went before him, Hazrat Mahdi (as) will be a corporeal individual and will appear as a personage descended from the line of the Prophet (saas).
As can be seen from what has been set out so far, it would be a serious error to regard the concept of the collective personality as something separate, distinct and independent of the individual at its head. There has been either an emissary or a commander at the end of every community of believers referred to in the Qur’an. It is incompatible with the law of Allah revealed in the Qur’an for believers to be leaderless, left to their own devices as a society, in such an exceptional period in world history as the End Times, when Qur’anic moral values will come to rule the whole world. (Allah knows the truth.)
The Prophet Jesus (as) will come to Earth in the End Times, will lead believers and, together with Hazrat Mahdi (as), will be a means whereby the radiance of Islam illuminates all of mankind. Hazrat Mahdi (as) will also come in person, not as a collective personality, and lead Muslims in the End Times, and by Allah’s leave will rescue them from the troubles and difficulties in which they find themselves and enable them to attain peace, justice, blessings and plenty.
[i] Sikke-i Tasdik-i Gaybî, p. 172) (Kastamonu Addendum, p. 72
[ii] Bediuzzaman Said Nursi Kastamonu Addendum, p. 139, Sikke-i Tasdik-i Gaybi, p. 186
[iii] Bediuzzaman Said Nursi, Emirdağ Addendum-1 p. 265
And that person will be Jesus (Peace be upon him), who is the prophet of the majority of mankind, and whom most people follow.
Whereas that great person of the End Times will be from the ahl al-bayt (be descended from the Prophet (saas)).
… The collective personality of the holy community represented by the Mahdi, has three duties.
I believe I am a servant of this wondrous person who will appear in the future, a rear-guard to set a background for him, and a pioneering soldier of that great commander...
Sikke-i Tasdik-i Gaybî, p. 172) (Kastamonu Addendum, p. 72
Bediuzzaman Said Nursi Kastamonu Addendum, p. 139, Sikke-i Tasdik-i Gaybi, p. 186
Bediuzzaman Said Nursi, Emirdağ Addendum-1 p. 265
Bediuzzaman Said Nursi, Letters, First Letter, p. 23
Bediuzzaman Said Nursi, The Rays / The Fifth Ray - Second Station - p.109
Bediuzzaman Said Nursi, Emirdag Addendum-1, p. 267
Bediuzzaman Said Nursi, Emirdağ Addendum-1 p. 265
Bediuzzaman Said Nursi, Barla Addendum, p. 162
