الموقف الديني والعقلي من الكوارث الكونية: بديع الزمان النورسي وفولتير نموذجًا

Natural Calamaties between Reason and Religion: A case Stuy of Badi' uz Zaman Nursi and Voltaire

Authors

  • Nabil Fouly Mohamed Professor in Theology, Faculty of Islamic Studies, Sultan Muhammad Fatih University, Istanbul, Turkey

Abstract

This paper intends to study views and positions of two intellectual figures regarding natural calamities, taking two earthquakes as reference and example (Izmeir earth quake of 1953 and earthquake of Erzincan of 1939, and the great Lisbon earth quake of 1755). The two intellectuals this paper intends to study are Turkish intellectual Badi' uz Zaman Nursi and French philosopher Voltaire. It is noteworthy that the difference between the two personalities is not restricted only to the time period they belong to i.e., the 20th and the 18th century of CE respectively. Rather, it extends to the very nature of both intellectuals and their culture and intellectual heritage. For example, Voltaire was an encyclopedic philosopher who had studied variety of cultures and thoughts. He sought to persuade his people to break all the shackles of thoughts which went against or are contradictory to reason and rational thought. As a possessor of a free soul, he aspired to break away from the realities of his time. Nursi, on the other hand, was a Muslim preacher and intellectual who strongly believed in his religion, and its customs and culture and wanted to preserve that for his nation. For this very reason and difference, the comparison between the two turns out to be an enriching and healthy one, a comparison which reflects the psychology, cultural and social orientation and inclinations of both thinkers, both of whom share depth and strength in their thoughts and views, though they might sometimes have reached at contradictory results.

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Published

2022-04-07

How to Cite

Nabil Fouly Mohamed. (2022). الموقف الديني والعقلي من الكوارث الكونية: بديع الزمان النورسي وفولتير نموذجًا: Natural Calamaties between Reason and Religion: A case Stuy of Badi’ uz Zaman Nursi and Voltaire. Al-Milal: Journal of Religion and Thought, 3(2). Retrieved from http://al-milal.org/journal/index.php/almilal/article/view/240