Self-sacrifice

“Self-sacrifice is one of the important characteristics of a person of service. Those who do not, or cannot, risk sacrifice from the start can never be a person of cause. People who do not have a cause cannot be successful. The leader of a cause must be ready to abandon his property, position, or fame at the drop of a hat.”¹⁾

“There is not only material sacrifice in the feeling and thought of service, but when necessary, a person should be able to make sacrifices even from the spiritual pleasures.

Material benefits are related to one’s lawful desires to attain pleasure and contentment. Eating and drinking without going into extremes and benefitting from what is made lawful by God and consuming His blessings and bounties is a right granted to human beings. Moreover, they are a necessity of being human. However, there is a limit to this benefit; it is not right for a person to take advantage of what he or she does not deserve or what religion does not allow; because there is no God’s consent in such a behavior. It is the right of the servant to benefit from what God Almighty has made it permissible to benefit from. He uses this right if he wants, or does not use it, and delivers it to the future generations.

The spiritual pleasures are the desire for sublime pleasures that a person can attain through belief of God, knowledge of God, love of God, and the spiritual faculty sensing God directly. It means living with the hope of entering Paradise and dreaming of the blessings of Paradise. Having faith in God and learning His Divine Names and Attributes provides a deep pleasure for the heart and the spirit. There are unique pleasures in being close to God that can never be attained from worldly pleasures. On the road that begins with belief in God and continues with His love, there are surprises in every step. The pleasures experienced on this path are called spiritual pleasures.”²⁾

“Since one of the most essential principles of the Risale-i Nur is compassion and women are heroes of compassion, they are by nature more closely connected with the Risale-i Nur than others. All praise be to God, this natural connection displays itself in many places. And since the self-sacrifice contained in this compassion means true sincerity and demands nothing in return, it is of great importance, particularly at this time. The fact that as demanded by her nature, a mother sacrifices her life in order to save her child from danger without demanding anything in return shows that women are capable of great heroism. By developing this heroism, they can save both their worldly and other-worldly life. However, this powerful and valuable characteristic may not develop or may be misused because of some evil trends.”³⁾

Altruism

Devotion

Having No Expectation in Return

Sincerity

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