We are a voluntary multilingual initiative dedicated to the translation, publication, preservation, and digital presentation of the Risale-i Nur Collection.
For nearly three decades, the work behind this library has sought to make the Risale-i Nur available beyond its original linguistic setting through translation, editorial preparation, publication, and international cooperation.
We work within the field of contemporary Islamic thought with the aim of making the collection available to readers of different languages, cultures, ages, and educational backgrounds.
The principal body of the collection was written in Turkish, in the language of its historical period. Its prose contains a substantial Ottoman Turkish vocabulary, Qur’anic expressions, Arabic theological terminology, and concepts whose meaning cannot always be carried adequately through a simple word-for-word translation. Some earlier works and individual texts were originally written in Arabic.
Translating the Risale-i Nur is therefore not merely a matter of replacing Turkish words with words from another language.
The translator must follow the structure of the argument, the relationship between Qur’anic concepts, the meaning of recurring terms, the movement of its comparisons, and the balance between intellectual explanation and spiritual address.
The purpose is to preserve the substance, reasoning, and character of the original while allowing the translated work to remain clear, natural, and readable in its new language.
This work is undertaken because the questions addressed by the collection are not limited to one language or one society. Faith, meaning, creation, suffering, death, responsibility, worship, and the human desire for eternity concern readers across cultures and generations.
In response to the intellectual uncertainty and spiritual confusion of the modern age, we seek to present this Qur’anic commentary in a form that is faithful to its substance, clear in its language, and suited to the conditions of contemporary reading.
The Risale-i Nur brings the truths of belief into dialogue with reason, observation, and the study of the created world. Its method addresses the human being as a whole, bringing together the intellect, the heart, the conscience, and the spirit rather than treating them as separate domains.
“What am I? Where have I come from? Where am I going?”
These questions express the intellectual and spiritual horizon of the project: the meaning of existence, the purpose of life, and the responsibility of the human being.
The digital library is the present continuation of this accumulated work. It brings translations together within a single reading environment and makes them accessible to readers throughout the world.
Our purpose is to support the careful translation, preparation, publication, and preservation of these works while providing a dependable digital environment through which they may be read and studied.
Our vision is to maintain a reliable and continuously developing multilingual library through which present and future readers may encounter the collection with clarity, confidence, and intellectual seriousness.