Nursi

Said Nursi, also known as Bediuzzaman Said Nursi (1877–1960), was a Kurdish Islamic scholar and reformer who operated in the late Ottoman and early Republican periods. He is best known for the Risale-i Nur Collection, a comprehensive body of Qur’anic commentary and theological essays aimed at defending faith in a modern context.

Born in the village of Nurs near Bitlis in eastern Anatolia, he studied Islamic sciences and engaged with scholars across the region, absorbing philosophy, science, and religious knowledge. During the Turkish Republic, Nursi advocated a rational, God-centered Islam capable of responding to secular modernity. He traveled extensively to teach and write, but faced political repression, exile, and surveillance. The central work, Risale-i Nur, was composed largely during his time in Barla and later compiled by his students; it emphasizes the oneness of God, the prophethood, the immortality of the soul, and the harmony of faith with reason.

After his death in 1960 in Isparta, his followers organized the Nur movement, which emphasizes Qur’anic study, education, and charitable activity. The movement has grown within Turkey and abroad, and Nursi’s writings have been published in numerous languages and studied by scholars and lay readers interested in Islamic modernism, spiritual renewal, and ethical reform. Nursi is often given the honorific Bediuzzaman, meaning “Wonder of the Age.”