“What deceives those who attribute everything to apparent means or agents or causes are two things—the bounty and the means or agent in our example—coming together; this is called ‘accompaniment’ [or conjunction]. They suppose that as the two things exist together, they cause one another. Also, since the non- existence of a part may be the cause of the non- existence of the whole, the non-existence of one thing is the cause of the other thing being non-existent, and thus they suppose that a single part is the cause of the existence of a whole, or that one thing’s existence is the real agent or essential cause of the other thing. This incorrect supposition causes people to attribute the bounty that comes to them to apparent, material causes, or to its apparent agent, and thus they feel ingratitude and offer thanks to them. However, the existence of a bounty depends on the existence of many other things, while its non- existence is possible through the non- existence of one of those things. For example, one who does not open the irrigation channels to water a garden becomes the cause of the garden drying up and the nonexistence of the bounties that come through the garden. But the existence of those bounties depends on the existence of many other requirements, and the main cause for their existence, as well as that of everything else, is the Divine Will and Power. So understand just how manifest is the error of supposing the two things being together to be the real cause of each other’s existence, and know how mistaken are those who attribute everything to material causes or agents in heedlessness of their Creator or real Agent.

Accompaniment is one thing, and the ultimate cause for the existence of something is another. A bounty comes to you; the intention of a person to do you some good accompanies the bounty, but it is not the real cause of its coming to you. The real cause is the Divine Mercy. It is true that if the person had not intended to do you some good, that bounty would not have come to you; the absence of their intention would have been the cause of the bounty not reaching you. But the person’s intention is never the ultimate cause of the bounty’s existence or coming to you. It can only be one of the conditions or requirements for its existence. For example, some of the students of the Risale-i Nur, such as Husrev and Rafet, who are honored with many Divine favors, confuse accompaniment with the real or ultimate cause, and show great gratitude to their teacher. However, God Almighty has caused the favor of benefiting from the Qur’an lessons which He has bestowed on them to accompany or concur with the favor of explaining the meanings of the Qur’an which He has bestowed on their teacher. They say, ‘If our teacher had not come here, we would not have been able to receive these lessons, so his teaching is the ultimate cause of our benefit.’ However, I say:

My brothers! God Almighty’s favors on me and you have concurred; the ultimate cause of both is Divine Mercy. Like you, I too confused accompaniment or concurrence with the real cause, and felt great indebtedness to hundreds of Risale-i Nur students like you who have diamond-like pens. I would say, ‘Had it not been for them, how could a poor, semi-literate one like me have done this service?’ But later I came to understand that God Almighty has made the favor of serving His cause that He has bestowed on you to accompany the favor of causing me to serve His cause. Therefore, my and your activities cannot be the ultimate cause of one another. Rather than thanking you, I congratulate you on His favor to you; and you, instead of feeling indebted to me, should pray for me.

Unfortunately, there are many degrees of heedlessness in this matter.”¹⁾

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