Ismail TURAN

(Translated from Anilarla Mehmed Zahid Kotku (RhA) Hazretleri, Dr. Metin Erkaya, Istanbul, Seha:1996, pp. 155 http://meckitap.8m.com/anmzk/yuksekilm.html)

Mehmed Zahid Kotku Khawaja Effendi was someone we loved very much. I met him in Bursa when I was visiting Uftade Mosque. I saw him as an attractive and beautiful person. I had never met him before.

Abdulaziz Effendi resided in Istanbul. When I attended Istanbul Technical University, I would visit him every now and then. My visits continued until I graduated from the University in 1949. Before Aziz Effendi died, Mehmed Effendi associated closely with him. After his death, everybody wondered who would replace him. Then Mehmed Effendi replaced him. Abdulaziz Effendi had pointed in that direction.

With the arrival of Mehmed Effendi, a shake-up occurred among the congregation. Some members left the Dargah. Yet, more disciples gathered around Mehmed Effendi. Especially engineers came to him.

I used to visit Mehmed Effendi at the Ummugulsum Mosque. Later, we were told that the mosque was to be demolished. Then Mehmed Effendi moved to Iskenderpasha mosque.

Iskenderpasha Mosque was a place where the Janissaries gathered with the intention of starting a rebellion against the Ottoman rulers. It did not have a good reputation. However, after Mehmed Effendi moved there, the Mosque became illuminated. It lost its rebellious nature.

Mehmed Effendi was a man of knowledge and action. He had knowledge, and he practiced what he knew. He had the best of manners. That is why we loved him very much.

He would be engaged in dhikr most of the night. He would then do dhikr after the Fajr prayer until the sun rose above the horizon. Doing these extensive dhikrs everyday was not an easy task. Then, he would perform the Ishraq prayer and go home. Yet a long line of people would be waiting for him outside. All kinds of people visited him, their access to him made easier because Mehmed Effendi avoided all formality that created difficulty for people around other spiritual teachers.

Mehmed Effendi's disciples were appointed to important positions in the government administration. They worked for both the country and for Islam. Mehmed Effendi trained them spiritually.

I must point out that there was a movement that I did not take any part in. There were some people who wanted to influence him in certain directions. Yet he was aware of it and would complain about it to me. He was disappointed: "They do not listen any more."

He was complaining about some dervishes among which there were professors. Mehmed Effendi had been troubled because of them. For instance, it was in 1960's when the military took over. They were making plans for the future, with the attitude: "Could we get into politics and get something for ourselves?"

There is a place in Madina that is called Menâha Square. I designed it, supervised the construction and did the opening ceremony. When I was in Ankara, I dreamed about that square. We had set up large caldrons and were preparing food for all kinds of people. At that time (May 1973), Mehmed Effendi was visiting Ankara. Everybody among my friends wanted to invite him home, yet he did not have time. I sent a message to Mehmed Effendi and asked him to be my guest. The next day he visited us. I invited everybody I knew. We slaughtered two lambs and prepared food.

Our house was small; it could only accommodate 40-50 people. When Mehmed Effendi arrived, a large number of people came to see him in our house. We counted the shoes: 150-170 pairs! We could not believe how that many people fit in the house. It looked as though the floor got expanded.

After the discourse, we served them food. They ate and ate until they all were full. We realized that hardly any food was consumed. We saved the food to eat later. It lasted months. That was the dream I had in the Menâha Square coming true.

I moved to Libya in 1974 for work and lived there many years. In 1980 I had a dream about Mehmed Zahid Effendi. He was doing his salat. Es'ad Effendi was next to him. It was obvious that Mehmed Effendi was handing the trust over to Es'ad Effendi. I woke up.

The next morning I told my wife, "I cannot get the permission from my employer to leave, but you can go and visit." She went to Turkey and found out that Mehmed Effendi passed away on the day I had the dream, and the guidance duty was on the shoulders of Es'ad Effendi.

Later I realized that some people did not accept Es'ad Effendi and left the Dargah.

To sum up, I will mention another dream I had--I know we cannot base our deeds on dreams, yet there are signs in them. I saw five people who were being shown their stages by the throne of Allah on the Day of Judgment. Their minds were being shown. One of them was Mehmed Effendi, the second one Sâmi Effendi, the third one Behçet Baba. Then the fourth one was our crazy imam Zekâi Effendi. The fifth person I saw is probably alive, so I will not give his name.

Kadin ve Aile, October 15, 1990