Workings here are interpreted as ‘conditions, capabilities and abilities’, but taking them literally as divine truths might lead us to false ideas and void fancies.

There are two important explanations in the Risale-i Nur Collection on this topic:

First: creativity, sovereignty, possession… are called ‘workings’. In other words, God is possessive of the ability to create, to possess, to sustain, and of mercy and compassion. All these are from the ‘workings’ of God’.

An explanation to the creativity:

‘To create’ is a verb. ‘Creator’ is its noun. And creativity is the working, the attribute. Let us think about the hadith by God: “There was God and nothing else.” When there was no creature yet, there was again the attribute of creativity of God. But the name of Khaliq-the Creator- did manifest itself only with the creation of the creatures.

Even before the Universe was created, God was possessive of all His names; i.e. He was the Provider, the Giver of life, the Bringer of death… But He made these names apparent by creating the Universe.

For example, let us think about the name of Provider: God Almighty created plants as food for animals He would create later on; then He created the creatures in need of this food, and the name of Provider manifested itself in the nourishment of the latter with the former. If He created only the plants and not animals, the former would not be called food. On them, such names as the Creator, the Possessor, and the Fashioner of Forms would again show themselves, but the name Provider would not. Our Earth has undergone such a phase. The Earth was covered with plants but there were no animals to feed on these. The plants of that time were not food but just divine works.

Another piece of important information about the workings of God from the Risale-i Nur Collection is presented to us with the expressions ‘sacred pleasure, pure joy’. An example is given to make it easier for the mind to grasp: A sultan has all his needy and poor people mount on a ship and lets them travel on this ship and meets all their needs. And this Sultan takes pleasure in joys of his people. As in this example, God Almighty takes a pure joy peculiar to Himself above all the understandings of joys of creatures from feeding all creatures on this ship of world and from satisfying all their needs. And this pure joy is from the divine workings.

Such verses give us the lesson of this ‘divine workings.’

“God loves those who are devoted to doing good” (Al-Baqarah Surah, 2:195)

“God does not love the unbelievers” (Al-‘Imran Surah, 3:32)

“God does not love the wrongdoers” (Al-‘Imran Surah, 3:32)