Prof. Dr. Mahmud Es'ad COSAN

(Translated from Anilarla Mehmed Zahid Kotku (RhA) Hazretleri, Dr. Metin Erkaya, Istanbul, Seha:1996, pp. 347-389, http://meckitap.8m.com/anmzk/tasavvuf.html)

Bismillâhir rahmânir rahîm.

Alhamdu lillâhi rabbil àlemîn... Hamden kathîran tayyiben mubâraken fîh... Kemâ yenbaghî lijalâli wajhihî wa li'azîmi sultànih... Was salâtu was salâmu alâ seyyidinâ muhammadin wa âlihî wa sahbihî wa men tabiahû bi-ihsânin ajmaîn...

Our topic for the talk has been assigned as "As-Sayyid ash-Shaikh Muhammed Zâhid Kotku al-Burûsevî and Tasawwuf (Sufism) in Islam." We will be talking about Tasawwuf with an example, a true Sûfî. We have been around him and observed his life. We will be talking about an exemplary human being. The description of the topic with an example is preferred from a pedagogic view. It will be understood better.

I would like to thank the organizing committee and the participants from various cities.

Mehmed Zahid Kotku Khawaja is a well known person both in Turkey and in Germany. He is the kind of person about whom conferences could be organized. He had a significant impact on the Islamic and political life in Turkey. He had a very interesting personality.

Primarily, Mehmed Zahid Kotku belongs to the Khalidi branch of the Naqshbandi tariqa, which came to Middle East from India via Mawlana Khâlid-i Baghdâdî. The branch continued in Istanbul as the Gumush-khanewi sub-branch. One of the deputies of Hadrat Khâlid-i Baghdâdî, the Mufti of Trablus Sham, Ahmed ibn-i Suleyman al-Arwâdî, came to Istanbul just for Gumush-khanewi Ahmed Ziyauddîn Effendi. He found Gumush-khanewi and took him to a retreat and taught him the manners and secrets of Tasawwuf.

[I would like to briefly recount the history of the tariqa.] Hadrat Khâlid-i Baghdâdî went to India and became a disciple of Hadrat Abdullah-i Dahlawi who belonged to the Mujaddiya branch of Naqshbandi tariqa of Ahmed al-Fârûqî as-Sirhindî. With the consent and blessings of his master, he came to Baghdad and spread the tariqa throughout the Middle East. Thus, the Naqshi tariqa came to Istanbul and continued with Gumush-khanewi Dargah.

About four years ago, I traveled in the Southeastern Region of Turkey. I visited Urfa, Mardin, Diyarbakir, Batman, Bitlis, Siirt, Tatvan and other cities. I am truly convinced that the Southeastern Region of Turkey can be named as Naqshbandistan because I observed at almost every hill a grave of a Naqshi shaikh. I saw the followers of Naqshi-Khalidi tariqa everywhere.

May Almighty Allah elevate his rank in Paradise, Hadrat Khâlid-i Baghdâdî came to Urfa, too. His grandchild died there and was buried in the cemetery of Urfa Ulu Camii (Grand Mosque). He spread the tariqa in that region through his deputies, and then the Naqshi tariqa reached Istanbul.

The Naqshi tariqa has been known in Asia Minor (Turkey) since Molla Ilâhî of the 15th Century. However, the Khalidiyya branch brought a new zeal to the tariqa.

Ahmed Ziyauddîn Gumush-khanewi was a great hadith scholar who died in 1311 Hegira year (1893 CE). In various books, he is mentioned as a great jurisprudence and hadith scholar. He had very sound knowledge of Islamic Studies and the Sharia. Then, of course, he became a Sufi while he was equipped with knowledge. It is a very important phenomenon for such scholars who adhere to the Sharia to become Sufis and to teach Sufism.

Hadrat Gumush-khanewi followed the Khalidiyya path and raised 114 deputies. He lived three years in Egypt. He sent deputies to all parts of Turkey, Caucasus, Middle East and Egypt. With his efforts, the Naqshi tariqa underwent significant advancement. He and his deputies took part in various wars in defense of the Ottoman State.

After Ahmed Ziyauddîn Effendi, the Gumush-khanewi sub-branch continued with his deputies [Hasan Hilmi Effendi, Ismail Nejâti Effendi, Omar Ziyauddin Effendi]. Mehmed Zahid Kotku Khawaja Effendi, while doing his military service in Istanbul, was initiated to the tariqa by Hadrat Omar Ziyauddîn Ad-Daghistani. I am sure researchers know about Omar Ziyauddîn Effendi. He had memorized the entire Qur'an and the Sahih Bukhari, which was uncommon. He could recite the entire Qur'an in six hours.

Omar Ziyauddîn Effendi left very valuable works. One of them is the Zubdetul Bukhari, which is an abridged form of Sahih al-Bukhari. He also had a son--among other children--Professor Yusuf Ziya Binatli. You may remember him for he served as the dean of the Theology College in Bursa.

The first shaikh of our Khawaja Mehmed Zahid Kotku was Hadrat Omar Ziyauddîn Daghistanî. Mehmed Zahid Effendi, too, had origins in Daghistan; he belong to a sayyid family that came to Bursa from the town Nuhâ (Shaki) of Daghistan. Today this town is on the border of Azerbaijan, on the hills of grand mountains of Dagistan; it was as green as Bursa. People used to make a living with production of silk. I have never been there. His grandfather moved to Bursa and settled there. That is why our Khawaja was identified as Muhammed Zâhid-i Bursevî. [The word Muhammad was pronounced as Mehemmed and later abbreviated as Mehmed among Turkish speaking people. Today, a misspelled version "Mehmet" is a common name in Turkey.]

In the introduction to his books, you can find his biography; so I will skip the details. We also published the presentations given at the anniversaries of his death. There are two books consisting of such presentations. The first one is Tanimi, Kaynaklari ve Tesirleriyle Tasavvuf--The Definition, Sources and Effects of Tasawwuf. The second book is the proceedings of a symposium held in Eskisehir [Mehmed Zâhid Kotku KS ve Tasawwuf].

Mehmed Zahid Kotku Effendi was born in 1315 Hegira year (1897 CE). He completed his elementary and secondary level schooling. He planned to attend a technical school, yet he was drafted to the military and sent to the fronts in Jerusalem and Çanakkale. His, older brother, too, was drafted. Khawaja Effendi loved his brother very much and grew sad when he talked about him. [Later Mehmed Zahid Kotku served as a military clerk in Istanbul.  After the service, he attended madrasa in Istanbul.]

Khawaja Effendi, along with Abdulaziz Effendi and Hasib Effendi, completed his spiritual training under the supervision of Mustafa Feyzî Effendi of Tekirdagh and received authorization to guide disciples in tariqa.

Hasib Effendi became the shaikh of the Dargah after Mustafa Feyzî Effendi. After Hasib Effendi, Abdulaziz Effendi was in charge of the Dargah. Abdulaziz Effendi is the translator of the book Ramuz-ul Ahadith; that is how you might know him. There is also a book about him written by his disciples. After Abdulaziz Effendi, our Khawaja, Mehmed Zahid Kotku Effendi, became the postnishin (the residing shaikh) of the Dargah in December 1952.

Mehmed Zahid Effendi served as an imam at Ummugulsum Mosque on the Boulevard [leading to the Unkapani Bridge on the Golden Horn]. I used to go there when I was a student in Junior high school. Later he was appointed to Iskenderpasha Mosque in 1958 because there were rumors that the Ummugulsum Mosque was to be demolished to widen the Boulevard. He was moved to Iskenderpasha, yet the Ummugulsum Mosque was not destroyed. His tekke became famous with the Iskenderpasha mosque.

Our Khawaja Mehmed Zahid Kotku had many deputies whom he trained in the spiritual path. He recorded their names in a notebook that I have.

In compliance with the Naqshi tradition, Mehmed Zahid Kotku Effendi was concerned with every matter that Muslims faced. For instance, he played the leading role in the establishment of Gümüs Motor, the largest diesel motor factory established in Turkey. I was present during the discussions concerning the factory. How it will be established, what kinds of engines would be produced, and other matters were discussed in his presence. It is an important fact that a factory that is needed the most in Turkey was established with the orders of a shaikh effendi. That is one of the interesting points about Mehmed Zahid Effendi.

He was also involved in guiding Turkish politics. Without following a political leader blindly, he maintained contacts with most political leaders. We know that they would visit him every now and then. I do not want to give any names, but many leaders from parties and various walks of life visited him. Naturally, he advised them in the truth. He attracted around him many people from different backgrounds.

Interestingly, there were people who were always with him and invited him to their houses. I thought they belonged to our tariqa. To my surprise, I found out that they were disciples of another shaikh. I found out this amazing fact when I went to visit them in their illness. Mehmed Zahid Kotku Effendi had this characteristic of attracting people. His love encompassed a large circle; he would not alienate anybody.

He was very handsome. It is not my word, I heard from my landlord in Ankara. When Khawaja Effendi came to visit us in Ankara when I was an assistant at the University, my landlord --who had no formal schooling-- saw me in the yard and asked: "Who is that handsome man who came to your house?" That was the first impression our Khawaja left on ordinary people.

Mehmed Zahid Effendi was a handsome, sympathetic and lovable person. We visited many places in Turkey. When people saw him, they would come to me and ask, “Who was that person?” He would attract people’s attention. He was an exceptional person.

He was tall and somehow fat. He explained how he got fat: "I grew up as an orphan. There wasn’t any food at home. I would go to the hen house and get a few eggs and drink them. That is how I got fat." He was rather slim in the beginning of his initiation to the tariqa.

Professor Yusuf Ziya Binatli, son of shaikh Omar Ziyauddîn Effendi, says: "The cook of the tekke would feel sorry for Mehmed from Bursa because he was so slim like a twig. He used to hide meat in the rice and place it where Mehmed Effendi sat." However, Mehmed Effendi would soon realize it and turn the tray so other disciples could get the meat. The cook would observe him and lament, "I wanted him to eat the meat, yet he offers it to others."

He was skinny in the beginning. When he got out of the khalwet (retreat), his face was so yellow that everybody thought he was going to die soon.

He used to invoke respect and love in people. He had a very good memory. He had already memorized the Qur'an. It was amazing to see him remembering the details. For instance, once we went to the Friday prayer with him in Etlik section of Ankara. In the evening, we had a gathering in the house of a friend in the Tandogan section of the town. Our Khawaja asked, "What did the imam say in the Friday sermon?"

All present there had attended the Friday prayer in the same mosque. None of us could remember the sermon. A few of us remembered some sentences, yet we failed to summarize the sermon. Then he started to tell us what the sermon was about. He spoke like a tape recorder and described everything.

His sermons would be awesome. We would be amazed: "How could a calm, lovable, sweet and meek person become so tough? How can he be like a roaring lion?" When I read the books, I realized that the Prophet at the pulpit was like that, too.

He would deliver excellent sermons. He would not take notes for the sermons; he would recite the verses and the ahadith from his memory. His sermons were great.

There is a famous scholar named Ali Riza Sagman. He used to teach at Imam Khatib School. He also wrote a book on the proper pronunciation of the Qur'an. Once he said, "The sermons of Mehmed Zahid Effendi were so awesome that it would give goose bumps."

Khawaja Effendi was an extremely humble person. He never had any trace of haughtiness; on the contrary, he would refer to himself as "this powerless brother of yours."

He would address a person just as his friends would address the person. For instance, if friends called a college professor "Osman Abi" (Abi = Elder brother), he would call him "Osman Abi," too, even if the person was young enough to be his own child. He would use the title everybody else used.

It is certain that his words and his days were full of miracles. He was a true friend of Allah with his obvious miracles.

Once he decided to train a person, he would not give up. I remember a rich man. He had a negative attitude in all aspects. If it were up to me, I would not even look in his direction. He was the opposite of our friends, opposing everything we said and arguing with us. He had a different set of values. Our Khawaja kept in touch with him and turned him into a good person. He even initiated him to the tariqa. He became a useful member of the society.

Khawaja Effendi was like that. There was a man in Ankara who would make statements against Khawaja Effendi. We had some transactions with him in the past. Our brothers, too, had some business with him in the past. When our Khawaja came to Ankara, he suggested visiting him. I said, "Father, this person makes improper statements about you." He ignored my comments and visited the person at his house. Later on, the person became a supporter of Khawaja Effendi.

Mehmed Zahid Effendi was very loyal to his friends. He would follow the issues that involved his disciples. For instance, he would call me up and say: "Es'ad, go to Maras and visit such person to convey my condolences." He would do what the Islamic brotherhood required in the best way. His loyalty would amaze me.

He was a witty person at home. We know from the ahadith that the Prophet SAS was, too, witty towards his family members. He followed the Sunnah in that aspect, too.

Mehmed Zahid Effendi was very generous. When he gave something to somebody, he would give it in plenty. I would object in my heart sometimes, "How could he give so much to one person at once?" We know that the Prophet SAS was like that, too.

Most of the time, he would have some guest at the table. He would not eat without a guest. He would look at people in the mosque and tell our friends: "Call such and such persons!" He would offer them food. We, too, had food at his table many times even before I became his son-in-law. I would shy away and not go to his house, yet he would specifically have me called. He had guests at his table, which was the tradition of Prophet Abraham. Prophet Abraham would not eat food without a guest; Mehmed Zahid Effendi maintained his tradition.

He was very observant of the night prayers and morning prayers. He would be awake at dawn, and he would stay in the mosque after the Fajr prayer until the Ishraq time [time when sun rises above the horizon, 30-40 minutes after sunrise]. That was a Sunnah of the Prophet and I had never seen it practiced by anybody.

As you know, the Prophet SAS would stay in the Mosque after the Fajr prayer. If there was no activity like jihad, funeral, or visiting a sick person, he would prefer staying in the mosque until the sun rose above the horizon. He would offer the Ishraq prayer. Hadith books indicate that it is very rewarding.

I saw this Sunnah practiced by our Khawaja Effendi. I had not seen it in any other mosque. Later, when I traveled in Turkey, I saw the same practice in Urfa Dargah Mosque. The congregation there, too, reads the same prayer book that we read on a daily bases. I suspect that it is the tradition of the Khalidiyya branch.

Khawaja Effendi had an influence over people’s hearts and dreams. Some persons have a hard time accepting this fact. It is natural for those who are not aware of the state of the beloved servants of Allah to object such extraordinary phenomenon. If they had seen such holy ones closely, they would not object. I would like to give you an example. There was a famous scholar, Jalal Khawaja, in Istanbul. You must have heard of his son, Professor Saadettin Öktem, a good architect. Jalal Khawaja was a specialist in Ilm-i Kalâm (Qur'anic Theology). He was an Ottoman scholar. He came to visit Khawaja Effendi. He was older than our Khawaja, and once I kissed his hand when he came to visit Khawaja.

While visiting, Jalal Khawaja complained: "Effendi, I wanted to go for the Pilgrimage. I have applied for a passport, yet they haven't issued one for me despite the months having passed. They do not let me go for Hajj."

At that time going for Pilgrimage was banned in Turkey. People would go to Syria, and the Syrian government would issue travel documents for them. Then they could manage performing Hajj illegally. Jalal Khawaja knew many people in administrative posts and wanted to use their influence in the passport office. It was still fruitless. He complained that his passport had not been issued yet.

Khawaja Effendi responded: "Allah willing, it will come."

Our Khawaja had a floor pillow that would extend from one wall to the opposite in the hall. He would sit on one end. There was a framed calligraphy on the wall above him. It would read "Edeb yâ hû!" [which means "watch your manners!"] It also had the lines:

"Edeb bir tâj imish nûr-u khudâdan/Giy ol tâji, emin ol her belâdan!" [Manners are like a crown from the Light of Allah/Wear that crown and be saved from all calamities.]

Khawaja Effendi used to sit below that frame. Jalal Khawaja was sitting on the pillow on his knees. All of a sudden he felt sleepy. He dozed for a short time while he was sitting there and conversing. He had a dream. In the dream, he was in Ankara Passport Office. Somebody handed him a passport, "Sir, here is your passport." He was very pleased to receive it. Then he woke up. He realized that he dozed off on the pillow in the presence of Khawaja Effendi. He felt embarrassed for falling asleep in the presence of a great scholar. He blamed himself and his old age for that. While he was having these thoughts, Khawaja Effendi asked him with a smile: "Did you get your passport?" The next day Jalal Khawaja received his passport.

Jalal Khawaja was a great scholar, and he knew how great a shaikh Mehmed Effendi was. He became a dervish of our Khawaja Effendi.

Another time, two of our friends took Jalal Khawaja to his house in Bayazit Soganaga. He turned to them at the door and said: "Kids, I am going to tell you something." Here, "kids" were associate and full professors at Istanbul Technical University. He continued: "You must appreciate your Khawaja Effendi. His spiritual stage is very high; he can even influence dreams. I dozed off for a while and he knew what happened in my dreams. He was the one to make me have that dream. Or, it is a miracle for him to know my dream. You must appreciate your Khawaja Effendi. Yet this is a secret that we have to keep. You shall not tell anybody about this before I die." They agreed and left.

Months passed after the incident. One day several famous figures came to our Khawaja Effendi to consult him on various matters including some political issues. Khawaja Effendi was sitting in his corner, and the others were sitting across from him on their knees. Then the mailman arrived. Among the mail items there was a large envelope. It was an invitation to a ceremony for breaking the ground and laying the foundation for a building in Uskudar for the Higher Islamic Institute. They invited Khawaja Effendi to the ceremony.

The place was in Uskudar, on the Asian side of Istanbul, where the College of Theology is located now. Khawaja Effendi turned to one of the persons sitting across from him: "I cannot go there. You shall go there on my behalf!" He handed the invitation to this engineer. He continued, “You can give them a talk, too.”

Our engineer friend got some courage and asked, "Effendi, there will be many famous scholars from Istanbul. There will be the Mufti of Istanbul and other important personage, too. I am a powerless, ignorant engineer. What would I tell them?"

Khawaja Effendi smiled, "Tell them what Jalal Khawaja told you at the door."

What did Jalal Khawaja tell him at the door? "Appreciate your Khawaja Effendi. Learned knowledge is not sufficient. I have accumulated this much knowledge, but it is not sufficient. You have to acquire spiritual knowledge, too. Spiritual knowledge is very valuable. Appreciate your Khawaja Effendi."

How nice it is that our Khawaja Effendi suggested such a talk at the ceremony of the Higher Islamic Institute. If a person studies the religious sciences and neglects taqwa, his religion will not be complete. It is not really difficult to acquire the religious sciences; even the Orientalists learn it. The researchers from Europe and Japan as well as from other countries can study and learn it. What is important is to acquire taqwa and knowledge together. That was the message to be conveyed through the testimony of Jalal Khawaja.

Jalal Khawaja was an instructor at Imam Khatip School and a professor at the Higher Islamic Institute. Well qualified, his words were greatly respected. If the engineer brother spoke there, he would be delivering this message: "O people, students and instructors of Higher Islamic Institute! Studied knowledge is not sufficient alone. You need to acquire the spiritual knowledge and Tasawwuf, too."

Our brother was taken aback upon hearing the words of Khawaja Effendi. He went to his professor friend and asked: "Remember, Jalal Khawaja had told us something at the door. It was a secret. He had requested that it would be kept as a secret. Did you tell anybody?"

He responded, "No. I had forgotten about it. I did not tell anybody."

"Have you mentioned anything about it to Khawaja Effendi?"

"No!"

"Well, I haven't either."

Neither of the two friends mentioned anything about the incident to Khawaja Effendi. How would he know what happened?

Our Khawaja Effendi possessed this ability to follow what was happening somewhere else. It was one of his miracles.

As I talk about Mehmed Zahid Kotku Effendi, I would like to express another point: As you know, there is spirituality, Tasawwuf, in Islam. There was spirituality in religions before Islam, too. It is often called mysticism. There is Christian mysticism and there are mystics. There are mystics among Brahmans and Hindus in India. There were spiritual people among the nations of the previous prophets. The beliefs and practices of such people can be studied by historians. Tasawwuf in Islam originated from the life of Prophet Muhammad. People in a tariqa practice what the Prophet did or suggested. In other words, the works of people who wanted to live a life in accordance with the Qur'an and to follow the path of Prophet Muhammad and live as he lived formed the Tasawwuf in Islam. Today we call it Sunnî Tasawwuf, i.e., a path that does not contradict the Sunnah and the Qur'an.

Throughout the past 1400 some years, Islam spread over five continents, and Muslims faced other cultures and beliefs. When they went to Middle Asia, they saw the religions practiced among the Chinese. As they conquered India, they saw Hindus and Brahmans. They went to Africa and saw African cultures and beliefs. They saw Christian mystics in Egypt. They came to Asia Minor and saw Christian mystics of Asia Minor. They had seen Jewish mystics, too. In Iran they saw the Zoroastrians. It is possible that some Muslims were affected by the non-Muslim beliefs. Consequently, variations took place in the paths of Tasawwuf. In general we can classify the tariqas into two groups:

1. Sunnî Tariqas: These are the ones that uphold the Sunnah of the Prophet and follow the path of the Qur'an.

2. Heterodox Tariqas: These are the ones that deviated from the Sunnah and accepted elements from the non-Islamic sources, beliefs, and practices.

Our Khawaja, Mehmed Zahid Kotku, was a representative of the Sunnî Tariqa. He always wanted to follow the Qur'an to the letter, and practice the sunnah of the Prophet to the letter, too. And he did. There are other tariqas that I do not want to name. Our Khawaja Effendi's tariqa was a Sunnî tariqa which had links to Naqshbandi, Qàdirî, Suhrawardî, Cheshtî, and Kubrawî tariqas and their branches. His path was a straight path that upheld the Qur'an and the authentic knowledge of Islam; it was in accordance with the Sunnah and free of any innovations (bid'ah). He represented such a tariqa.

Centuries ago, Junaid-i Baghdadî was about to leave for studying ahadith. His teacher asked, "Where are you going?" Junaid responded: "I am going to attend a hadith course." Then his teacher commented: "Good! Becoming a hadith scholar first and then being initiated to the tariqa is better than becoming a Sufi first and then acquiring the religious sciences."

If a person acquires the religious sciences first, he will have the proper knowledge to discern what is good and preferable and what is not. Then when he faces an issue, he can make the correct decision in compliance with the Shariah. If a person becomes a Sufi first, if he lacks knowledge on jurisprudence (fiqh) and other Islamic sciences, then he is prone to go against the Shariah. For this reason, our elderly in the tariqa said: (men tasawwafa bighayri fiqhin fazendeka) "If a person enters the path of Tasawwuf without the knowledge of Jurisprudence, he will slip and become a disbeliever." He may deny some principles of Islam and his belief will have voids. He may commit offenses.

Our Khawaja followed a tariqa that came through Imam Rabbânî, a path that upholds the Sunnah of the Prophet. The way he dressed, the way he ate food, the way he lived his life was in accordance with the Sunnah of the Prophet.

In the tariqa, there is a stage called fanâ-fish-shaikh (annihilation within the shaikh). As the disciple follows his shaikh, he reaches this stage. The character of his shaikh manifests in him. The next stage in the progress is called fanâ-fir-rasûl (annihilation within the Prophet). Would it be possible to acquire the character of the Prophet without following his path and upholding the Sunnah? That is why everything in the tariqa should comply with the Sunnah of the Prophet and the Qur'an.

Whenever somebody offered me some perfume (essence, attar), I used to extend my right hand because we start everything from the right. Once we visited an old person in Madina-i Munawwarah. He used to be a general in the Saudi army. He was a practicing Muslim. When I extended my right hand to receive the perfume offered, he insisted that I open the palm of my left hand. He was old; his hands were shaking. I kept my right hand extended, yet I did not want to upset him, either. He repeated, "Extend your left hand!" I opened the palm of my left hand. He rubbed the perfume container on the palm of my left hand and said:

"Our beloved Prophet SAS used to put the perfume on the palm of the left hand, and then use the index finger of his right hand to rub and transfer it other places. That is the Sunnah."

Later on I realized that our Khawaja wrote the same thing in his books. He was aware of that and practiced it.

We started with the Gumush-khanewi Dargah where our Khawaja received spiritual training. The most important work of Hadrat Gumush-khanewi is the hadith collection Râmûzul Ahadith. It is similar to Al-Jâmi-us Saghîr of Imam Suyûtî. Hadrat Gumush-khanewi made an interesting statement about his book:

"Read this book, Râmûzul Ahadith, again and again. I expect that you become a true scholar in a short time as you study this book."

This is a very important statement. Imagine a tekke that trains the dervishes with a hadith book. This is a method to strengthen the ties to the tradition of the Prophet.

Our Khawaja was a representative of such a path. He kept a beard and wore a long cloak, loose treasures. He preferred to be an ordinary person. He did not like to attract attention and would act as though he did not know anything. He would give the impression that he had no schooling despite his deep knowledge.

Sometimes people would tell him things. They would talk about various matters. I know that Khawaja Effendi had a detailed knowledge about the matters they talked about because I was present when he explained those issues to another group of people. Yet he would listen to them until they finished what they had to say. He would make them feel that they were informing Khawaja Effendi.

Our Khawaja also had some technical skills. Perhaps it was something he had acquired in the technical high school he had attended. He had a particular interest in antique clocks. If he saw a broken clock, he would take it and soon have it working. He had so many clocks in his house. Some were very old with old numbers on them. He would make them function. Sometimes he would see broken clocks at other people's houses, take them, repair them and return them to the owners. If they wanted him to keep the clock, he would keep them.

I would like to tell you a miracle about these clocks. The living room of his house was at the same level as the yard, and there were no bars at the window. A burglar could cut the window glass, extend his hand to the latch and open the window. Some friends suggested putting bars on the window. He kept silent. They installed the bars. On the day the bars were installed, a burglar got into that living room. I was in Ankara and found out about it later on. The thief took all of the antique clocks.

As the thief was walking down on the Horhor Street, which is two blocks from the Iskenderpasha Mosque, he ran into a police officer. The thief was in a three-piece suit with a tie and a felt hat--nothing like we would imagine. The police officer had a rubber truncheon in his hand. He lifted his head to see who this well-dressed man was. The police officer recognized this ex-convicted felon. He could not restrain himself but hit the thief on his hat. The thief had a hard time keeping the hat on his head because it was full of clocks. Nobody would suspect anything like that.

The officer took him to the police station and interrogated him. The thief confessed that he took them from the house of Khawaja Effendi. How can anybody dare to steel clocks from a walî?

[Some people have a hard time accepting the phenomenon of miracles. They say there is no room for such things in Islam.] Since I mentioned miracles and classified our Khawaja as one of awliyâ, I thought I should also say few things about miracles. This would be informative for the young students who are attending colleges in Germany. I brought a copy of the Qur'an with me.

In Islam, there are the miracles of awliya. We believe in that. The Ahl-i Sunnah schools of thought have agreed on that because there are verses of the Qur'an and the traditions about it.

You must have heard the incident from the tradition. When Hadrat Omar was delivering his sermon, he screamed to his commander in Iran: "Oh, Sâriya! Watch out for the mountain side!" There were miracles of Hadrat Abu Bakr as-Siddiq, Hadrat Othman, and Hadrat Ali.

I will tell you two of the miracles mentioned in the Qur'an because some people are unaware of these miracles and they object. The first one is about our beloved mother, Mary, the mother of Hadrat Jesus AS. Before she was born, her mother said, "I will give my child to the service of religion."

Our beloved Mother, Mary, was born, a girl. Her mother kept her words and kept Mary in a house of worship. They had a drawing to determine who would take care of her. Hadrat Zakariyya AS was responsible for her. A place was prepared for Mary.

Our beloved Mother Mary was a beloved servant of Allah. We love her, respect her and name our girls after her. We also name our children "Îsâ" after Prophet Jesus AS, and "Mûsâ" after Prophet Moses AS. They are the crowns on our heads; we love and respect them.

The family of Mary allocated a room for Mary. It was locked. Only Zakariyya AS was admitted to the room. The Qur'an describes to us as follows:

(Kullemâ dakhala alayhâ zakariyyal mihrâb, wajada 'indehà rizqà.) "Whenever Zakariyya AS entered her room, he saw sustenance, food, and fruits there." (Qàla: Yâ Maryamu ennâ leki hâdhâ?) Zakariyya AS was a prophet, too. He was not an ordinary person. He had received revelations from Almighty Allah. He would be amazed to see the fruits and food there. He asked, "O Mary! Where is this coming from?" (Qàlet: Huwa min 'indillâh) She said, "It is from Allah. (Innallàha yarzuqu men yeshâ-u bighayri hisâb) Verily, Almighty Allah provides sustenance beyond measure to whom He wills."

This is a miracle described in the Qur'an. Our beloved mother Mary was a blessed woman and it was her miracle.

I would like to say a few things about the word mihrâb. By the word mihrâb, we often mean the place where the imam stands in the mosque when he leads the prayer. It is often a cavity on the wall, like a dead-end door opening. In fact the word mihrâb has the measure mif'al and it is ism-i âlet. Miftah (key) is the tool of the word fataha (open); likewise, mihrâb is the tool of the word harb (battle). Here mihrâb is the tool form of the battle. A person may have a battle, a tool of battle, a place of battle, the environment of the battle. Here mihrâb means the place a person makes a battle against his nafs.

We know this from Tasawwuf. In Islamic Tasawwuf, this is called jihad with nafs. The jihad with nafs is the greatest of all battles. The place our mother Mary stayed was called mihrâb to indicate a struggle against the nafs. One who enters mihrâb struggles against his own nafs, Satan, and negative feelings in the heart. The person struggles to overcome all of these.

This is also called khalwet (retreat). When it is forty days, it is called khalwet or chila. Chil or chihil means forty in Persian. Chila means the retreat into a place for forty days to busy oneself with worship. It is called arba'în in Arabic. Putting up arba'în and putting up chila means the same thing: retreat into a place for forty days for worship.

We understand that our mother Mary retreated into a room called mihrâb to struggle against her nafs, Satan and negative feelings. It is a miracle described in the Qur'an. She experienced extraordinary events there. Would it be possible? Of course.

The second example of a miracle from the Qur'an is from the 40th verse of Sura Naml. These verses describe the events between Prophet Solomon and the Queen of Sheba (Sabâ) Balkis. Let me summarize it for you.

Sheba was a country in the southern part of Yemen. There was a queen named Balkis ruling the country. They used to worship the Sun. When Prophet Solomon was informed, by a bird (plover) named Hudhud, that they worshipped Sun, he wrote them a letter. The letter started in the Name of Allah the Mercy-giving, The Merciful. That means Prophet Solomon AS, too, used the phrase "bismillâhir-rahmânir-rahîm."

When the letter was delivered to the Queen, she gathered her councilmen and told them about the letter:

(Innehû min sulaymâna wa innehû bismillâhir-rahmânir-rahîm) "Verily it is from Solomon and it is written in the Name of Allah the Mercy-giving, the Merciful." Prophet Solomon said, (Ellâ ta'lû 'alayya wa'tunî muslimîn) "Do not act haughtily towards me, and come to me committed to live at peace. Stop worshipping the Sun, abandon wrong beliefs, be good servants of Allah. Come to the true religion of Allah."

She asked the opinion of her councilmen. They said, (Nahnu ulû quwwatin wa ulû ba'sin shadîdin . . . ) "We posses strength and can be extremely violent, while authority rests with you; so attend to whatever you will command."

The Queen was in control and she had experience. She said, (Innel mulûka idhâ dakhalû qaryatan afsadûhâ) "Whenever any kings enter a town and plunder it, they turn the most important men among its people into the lowest." She suggested sending gifts, and they send emissaries to Prophet Solomon.

Prophet Solomon did not accept the gifts. He said, "Will you furnish me with wealth? What Allah has given me is better than what he has given you. What is important to me is that you become Muslims." The emissaries returned to Sheba. This time the Queen herself decided to go to Prophet Solomon. With a group of her councilmen, she left Yemen towards Palestine.

While the Queen was on her journey, which would last months, Prophet Solomon asked his councilmen, "Which of you will bring me her throne before they come to me committed to live at peace?"

[An imp among the jinn said, "I'll bring it to you before you even rise up from your place. I am strong enough to be entrusted with it."] Then someone who had some knowledge about the Book said, "I shall bring you it in the twinkling of an eye!"

This person is referred as a person who was given knowledge. No name is mentioned; however, he was believed to be one of his ministers named Asaf. He brought the throne to Prophet Solomon through a miracle.

(Falammâ raâhu mustaqirran 'indehû) Solomon AS realized that the throne was there. The miracle was not performed by the Prophet Solomon, but by one of his ministers. It means he was a walî. It was not an illusion; it was real. The throne was there.

Days passed and the Queen of Sheba arrived there. Prophet Solomon pointed to the throne and asked her if it was like hers. The Queen was surprised. She said it looked like hers. Then she realized that it was her own throne. Then she realized that her belief was false and she accepted the religion of Prophet Solomon.

This was the second example of a miracle mentioned in the Qur'an.

There are other examples in the Qur'an, but I would like to read you a hadith. It is reported from our beloved mother Hadrat Aisha, and included in the collections of Ahmad ibn-i Hanbal, Ibn-i Abdulber, Tayâlisî, Ibn-i Asâkir, Bayhakî, and Hakîm-i Tirdmidhî. It is a Hadith-i Qudsi:

(Qàlallàhu azza wa jalla) "Almighty Allah, may He be honored and glorified, said," stated the Prophet. When the Prophet states in a hadith what Almighty Allah, that hadith is called a Hadith-i Qudsi. What did Almighty Allah say?

(Men azâli waliyyan faqad lstehalle muhârabatî) "Whoever inflicts pain or disturbance on a walî, any of My beloved servants, he engages in a battle against Me." Disturbing a beloved servant of Allah is tantamount to declaring war against Almighty Allah. It is such a serious offense. We must avoid disturbing the saints.

The Hadith-i Qudsi continues: (Wa mâ taqarraba ilayya abdî bimisli adâil farâidh) "My servant could not come closer to me with anything as much as he could with performing the obligatory worship." That means the obligatory worship (farâidh), including the daily prayers, fasting in Ramadhan, paying Zakah and performing Hajj, have unmatched rewards. They bring a servant closer to Almighty Allah. There is nothing more effective to bringing a person closer to Allah.

(Wa mâ yazâlul abdu yataqarrabu ilayya min nawâfil) ["As My servant continues performing voluntary worship, he gets closer to Me."] In addition to the obligatory worship, there is the voluntary worship (nawâfil) that the Prophet practiced. For instance, he used to pray two units before he performed the obligatory Fajr prayer of two units. Likewise, he used to pray four units before the four units of obligatory Dhuhr (Noon) prayer. He would also offer two units after the obligatory Dhuhr prayer. Likewise he used to offer voluntary prayers before the obligatory prayer of Asr and Ish'a. we call these forms of worship (nawâfil) voluntary prayers. They are not obligatory, yet they will bring rewards if performed. Our beloved Prophet used to offer these prayers in plenty because he loved them. He said, (qurratu 'aynî fis salâh) "My tranquillity and happiness of my eyes are in formal prayers (salât)." He loved the prayers.

We should check ourselves: Do we perform the prayers because we love doing them or because they are an obligation? Our beloved Prophet loved offering prayers and he would pray at every opportunity. He said, (qurratu 'aynî fis salâh) "My tranquillity and happiness of my eyes are in prayers." The prophet made that statement because prayer is the Mi'raj (Ascension) of the believer. In prayer, the servant is before Almighty Allah. It is such a delightful state. That is why he loved it so much.

How come we do not love it? How come our children do not love it? It is because of the ignorance on our part. We have not realized the true meaning of prayer, so we fail to love it.

Going back to the Hadith-i Qudsi, Almighty Allah said, "My servant draws nearer to Me through voluntary worship." Here, "mâ yazâlu" means "non-stop." (Wa mâ yazâlul abdu yataqarrabu ilayya min nawâfil) "As My servant continues performing voluntary worship, he gets closer to Me." This is called as-sayru ilallah, i.e., advancement towards Almighty Allah. (Hattâ uhibbahû) "It continues like that until I love My servant."

It is clear that as a servant performs obligatory worship, he gets closer to Almighty Allah and continues to get closer through voluntary worship, (Fa-idhâ ahbabtu) "When I love that servant, (kuntu 'aynetulletî yabsuru bihâ) I become the seeing eye (wa uzunahulletî yasma'u bihâ) and the hearing ear of My servant."

Almighty Allah says that! "I become the seeing eye and the hearing ear of My servant. (Wa yadahulletî yabtishu bihâ) I become the grasping hand, (wa rijlahulletî yashî bihâ) the walking feet, (wa fuâdehulledhî ya'qilu bihî) the comprehending heart and mind, (wa lisânehulledhî yatakallamu bihî) and the talking tongue for My servant."

What is the meaning of these statements? This hadith was reported by other companions and recorded in some variations. It is clear from all of the reports that the statement, "I become the seeing eye of My servant" means, "My servant receives an extraordinary ability of sight." Since Almighty Allah sees everything, the servant could see everything, too. Almighty Allah becomes "the seeing eye of the servant." He removes the limitations from the eyes of His beloved servant. That is how the beloved servant could see Jalal Khawaja talking to the two friends at the door.

The beloved servant can hear everything because Almighty Allah becomes his hearing ear. Then Almighty Allah becomes his grasping hand. Since Almighty Allah can do anything He wills, the servant can do anything he wants by the grace of Allah. Also, when Almighty Allah becomes the walking feet of a servant, that servant can travel great distances in no time. While he is with you here, he can go to Makkah and perform his prayer and come back in zero time.

When Almighty Allah becomes the comprehending mind and heart of a person, the person will have an unlimited comprehension. His knowledge will be boundless. When Almighty Allah becomes the talking tongue of a servant, the servant speaks fluently, clearly and effectively. He becomes somebody like Yunus Emre or Mawlâna Jalâleddîn Rumî.

The number of verses Hadrat Mawlâna wrote is awesomely great. He had the Diwan, and Mathnawî, full of beautiful expressions and rhymes written in a definite meter. That is possible with the ability granted by Allah.

The Hadith-i Qudsi continues: (In deânî ajabtehû) "When this servant of Mine asks anything from Me, I accept his prayers."

I read an item on a calendar page few days ago. While mounted on a horse, somebody was using quite improper language about Hadrat Ali. There was a crowd around him. Sa'd ibn-i abî Waqqas saw what was happening and went there. He saw that some injustice was being committed. Since it is an obligation to correct if something is wrong, he told the man on the horse: "Alas! Isn't he one of the persons who accepted Islam first? Does he not have such and such virtues? How dare you utter improper words about him." [Obviously, the man on the horse kept his foul language.] Then, Sa'd ibn-i Abî Waqqas raised his hands: "My Lord! Give this man who lacks any manners what he deserves. Punish him here for the false accusations and let us see his punishment."

Sa'd ibn-i Abî Waqqas was one of the ten people who were told by the Prophet that they will enter Paradise. His prayers were answered. The eyewitnesses reported that all of a sudden, the horse got out of control and the man fell on the ground. He hit his head on a rock and died right there. When Almighty Allah loves a person, that person's prayers are accepted.

The hadith continues: (Wa in se-elenî a'taytuhû) "If he wants anything from Me, I grant it. (Wa mâ taraddadtu an shay'in ana fâ-iluhû taraddudî an wafâtihî) I never hesitate over anything as I would hesitate on the death of this servant. (Wa zâke li-ennehû yakrahul mawt) I hesitate to take his soul because people are afraid of death. (Wa ana akrahû mesâetehû) I would not like to do anything he would not like."

This is the Hadith-i Qudsi about the beloved servants of Allah. Based on this hadith, I would like to tell you some anecdotes of Mehmed Zahid Kotku Khawaja Effendi. I can provide you with the names of people who witnessed the events. These would be the "experimental work" related to the study of Tasawwuf.

There is a brother who is an Associate Professor in Bursa. I can give you his name if you must know. He told us the following:

"I used to perform my daily prayers since I attended the junior high school. I was not a devout religious child, but I would pray regularly. One day, I was upset at something. I decided to imagine a sweet, saintly person like Nasruddin Khawaja and talk to him about my problems. Whenever I had any problems, I would close my eyes and imagine that person to talk to him. It was quite effective to handle my problems.

"I finished the high school and was admitted to Istanbul Technical University. I moved to Istanbul. Some friends from school took me to Mehmed Zahid Kotku Khawaja Effendi. I could not believe that he was the person I had been imagining throughout the years."

This was an exceptional miracle. I have never read anything like that in books. It was quite different. The person thought that he was imagining somebody, in fact he was communicating with Khawaja Effendi. Obviously, Khawaja Effendi was aware of him and affected his imagination to establish a communication.

As another instance, we have a physician brother [Dr. Sedat Apaydin] who gave information to myself and others. He is a serious person, a good doctor. He would not exaggerate events. He is not the type of person who would make things up or sweet-talk somebody for some meager gains. He is a realistic person, as am I. I would not add anything to make the anecdotes more interesting. Sometimes "I would split a piece of hair into forty slices" to reveal the truth. I respect doubt because it is the key to take a person to the truth. Scientific doubt is necessary to find the truth.

This is the story of Dr. Sedat Bey. He had some dreams that a bearded person would ask him, "Son, come to me!" He had no idea who this person was or where he lived. He graduated from high school and was admitted to the medical school in Istanbul. He lived in Kadirga Dormitory close to Kumkapi section of Istanbul. There was a masjid [mosque] in the dormitory. Some practicing Muslim students from the Technical University, Medical School, Law School, and Economics School would perform Maghrib, Isha and Fajr prayers in congregation in the masjid. Sedat Bey noticed that some friends would disappear certain evenings. He asked: "I noticed you disappear some evenings. I do not see you in the masjid for the prayer. Where do you go?"

They responded, "It is not a secret. We have a Khawaja Effendi. We love him, we pledged allegiance to him, we go to him. You can join us if you want."

Sedat Bey decided to go with them. They went to the Zeyrek Ummugulsum Mosque, the first mosque of our Khawaja Effendi. Sedat Bey prayed the Isha in the mosque at the last row. When the imam completed the prayer and turned to the congregation, Sedat Bey realized that he was the person who appeared in his dreams. He was amazed and confused. He could not move.

After the congregation left the mosque, Khawaja Effendi came to him and said, "You had us waiting for so long." Then, he sat in front of him. Khawaja Effendi initiated him to the tariqa and described to him the duties.

This could be a case study for those who want to do research about Tasawwuf. Those who doubt the anecdotes in old books can go and find Dr. Sedat Bey and study him. I can provide you the address.

I will tell you another anecdote. One of the brothers who is present here told me that his wife dreamed about an old person on three different nights. It was when Khawaja Effendi passed away. She had never met Khawaja Effendi before. In her dream, he told her, "One who comes after me is this person," and pointed a man with a black beard. She did not know who that person was, either. Some time later, she saw a picture of Khawaja Effendi. She recognized him as the old man she saw in her dreams. Then she saw a picture of me in a newspaper and recognized me as the second man in the dreams.

This is something that happened after Khawaja Effendi passed away. It is the manifestation of his special powers after his death. I give you this example because it is not a fairy tale; those who witnessed it are present here.

I was told about another person who is a resident here. He opened his house for tekke activities. Then he told our friends how that night Mehmed Zahid Effendi was with him [in his dreams] until the morning and praised him very much. This brother is present here, too.

I saw another living example in Düzce--those who are studying Tasawwuf can go and verify it. There was a Shaikh Muhiddin Effendi RhA in Bolu. Our Khawaja loved him very much. He was one of the personages with whom Khawaja Effendi kept in touch. I must add that Khawaja Effendi was in touch with some special persons in Turkey, in Syria and in other countries. It was an interesting bond and connection that existed. I am not sure how it was; I suspect it was like something that existed among the "threes, sevens and forties" [of the epics.]

Khawaja Effendi loved Muhiddin Effendi very much. May Allah elevate their ranks. Two of the disciples of Muhiddin Effendi visited the grave of Khawaja Effendi sometime after he passed away. I had never met them until I prayed in a roadside mosque in Duzce. One of the disciples is the imam of that mosque. He asked me who I was and told me about himself. He said that he and one of his friends from Izmir visited the grave of Khawaja Effendi. I wrote down their names. He said he dreamed about Khawaja Efendi after he visited the grave. Khawaja Effendi thanked him for the visit. One may say that there is nothing special about it. A person may have something in his subconscious, and it could turn to dreams after visiting the grave. Perhaps Khawaja Effendi in the spiritual world liked it and appeared to him.

What is more interesting is yet to come. He called his friend and said, "Mehmed Zahid Kotku Effendi appeared in my dream and thanked me for visiting him." His friend responded, "He appeared in my dream and thanked me, too." This could not be a coincidence! It is obvious that there is a spiritual power. Although he left this world, his spiritual influence continues. He thanked people who visited him.

This incident reminds me a poem. It was in the beginning of a book titled Ottoman Authors. It goes:
 

Iki cihanda tasarruf ehlidir rûh-u velî,
Deme kim bu mürdedir, bundan nice derman ola?..

"The spirit of a walî has the ability to do things in two worlds.
Do not say, "He is dead what good is he?"

Here "two worlds" means this life and the hereafter. It means, a walî has miracles while he is alive as well as after he passes away.
 

Ruh shemshîr-i hüdâdir, ten gilâf olmu? ona,
Daha âlâ kâr eder, bir tigh ki uryan ola!..

The spirit is the sword of Allah; the body, its case.
A sword is more effective when it is naked.

Here there is the similitude. The spirit is like a sword and the body is its case. When the sword is taken out of its case, it will be more effective. That is, a walî servant of Allah may avoid miracles for the fear of ostentation (riyâ). He hides himself to avoid the fame. However, after he dies, he can display more miracles because it will be free of pomposity.

I will give you another example. We have a rich friend from Siirt. He is descendent of Shaikh Ismâil Fakîrullah of Tillo--the shaikh of Hadrat Ibrâhim Hakki Erzurûmî. He invited Khawaja Effendi to his house. I had never met him before. During one of my trips to Istanbul, Khawaja Effendi took me to this rich person from Siirt. He had a beautiful house with a great view of the Bosphorus.

Almighty Allah knows and I will not hide it from the servants that I did not like that visit at all. The man had a bar in the corner of the living room. A large counter was full of drinks. I was taken aback by the sight. Why would our Khawaja Effendi visit such a place? There was a large television set in the living room. There were other television sets in other rooms, in the bathroom and in the kitchen, too. There were 8-9 television sets in the house. I was against the television at that time, too. I did not like it at all. I was curious why our Khawaja Effendi was nice to him.

Later I realized that he was a descendent of Hadrat Ismâil Fakîrullah. That was the reason Khawaja Effendi visited him. Once our Khawaja Effendi decided to save a person, he would not give up.

This person became a disciple of Khawaja Effendi. After Khawaja Effendi passed away, he noticed an imam in a mosque who had an excellent way of reciting the Qur'an. He told the imam: "I had a Khawaja who passed away. I noticed that you recite the Qur'an well. I liked it very much. Is it possible that I come here every morning and you recite and I will follow you, so we can read the entire Qur'an?"

The response was positive. Every morning he went to the mosque and listened to the Qur'an. They completed reading the entire Qur'an. The last day of the recitation, there was an unusual crowd in the mosque. The mosque was full of people. It was amazing. How did they know that the recitation would be completed on that day?

He told me later that he also took the imam to a restaurant and had lunch together. He did not forget to put some money into the pocket of the imam. That night he had a dream. In his dream, he was at the skirt of a mountain. There were a cave on the mountain and a long line of people at its entrance. He got into the back of the line. All of a sudden he found himself in the beginning of the line. He entered the cave and saw three blessed men. He did not know who two of them were, but the third one was Mehmed Zahid Effendi. Khawaja Effendi gave him a hug that delighted him completely. That was a reward for his good deed.

Since he was so happy in his dream, he said, "Effendi, I would like to come here all the time." Khawaja Effendi responded, "They would not let you come here all the time."

This was also a form of thanks. Our Khawaja Effendi thanked people who have done something good for him.

Here is another important example of his influence on the dreams. After Khawaja Effendi passed away, there were questions in the minds: "What is going to happen from now on? Who is going to lead the tekke?" Because of the martial law imposed by the military, we did not announce the answers in public. Khawaja Effendi had ordered me to take over after him saying, "Son, you shall shoulder this responsibility after me." We could not announce this fact to our brothers and sisters in the tariqa.

We even heard that the military rulers wanted to arrest Khawaja Effendi along with the politicians, but they did not do it because of his illness. We had delayed the announcement for this reason. We have some brothers and sisters in tariqa living in Geyve, Pamukova. They did not know who was the shaikh of the Dargah after Khawaja Effendi passed away. They decided to take the hand of another Shaikh Effendi. Khawaja Effendi appeared in their dream and told them to come back to our Dargah. Later, they found us, and we visited them.

I would like to give you another example. Vehbi Vakkasoglu is an author in Turkey who had published a book on the spiritual leaders of Turkey who lived in the Republican Era. He started his book with a list of the shaikhs. He dedicated several pages to Mehmed Zahid Kotku Effendi. I have seen the book after it was printed. While he was preparing the manuscript, a friend of his who was an officer in the military offered some help with typing. However, as the time for typing approached, the friend called him: "I am sorry, I cannot help you with the typing because our supervisor canceled all leaves until a problem in the base is resolved. I cannot use my vacation time."

The officer was on duty in the military base in Alemdag, Istanbul. They had a missile air-defense system including various warheads. They could even fire nuclear warheads with missiles. It was an important base in the defense of the country. In the preparation for a routine inspection, they figured out that the missile system would not function. They could not figure out what was the problem. They tried so hard to find the problem, yet it was inconclusive. They decided to call in an expert from the United States. There was the possibility that inspectors would arrive before the expert. A high ranking officer could visit the base any time. That is why the supervisor of the base canceled all leaves until the problem was solved.

Our officer who was going to help with typing had a dream. In his dream, a white-bearded man told him: "Son, the problem of the missile is located at such and such place." He pinpointed the problem for him. The next day he went to his supervisor and told him: "Sir! I will find the problem of the missile system and fix it. However, I would like to use my vacation time if I succeed because I had promised a friend to help him." The supervisor responded, "If you fix the problem, I will give you twice as much time off among other things."

Our friend went to the missile system and located the problem as he was shown in the dream. He fixed it and made the system functional again. He got his leave and helped with the manuscript.

Later on our officer saw a picture of Khawaja Effendi and recognized him as the person who showed him the problem of the missile in his dream. He had never seen Khawaja Effendi before.

While typing the manuscript, he experienced many extraordinary events. For instance, one night he left for home late. [He had just enough money to hire a taxi. To save money, he decided to walk from Bahçelievler section of Istanbul to Haznedar section. There he would take the minibus or walk further and get a cab.] As he left the building, a taxi cab came towards him. He moved away, yet the driver told him to get in. [He was scared at first and told the driver he would not take the cab. The driver insisted that he get in. In the cab, he noticed that the driver did not turn the taximeter on. He did not ask where he was going, either. They started to talk on religious matters.] When they were in front of the military housing complex in Yesilyurt, the driver told him to get off. He did not ask for any money. He experienced other interesting events, too.

Brothers and sisters, these are very important examples for me. I am a faculty member at the university. I did academic work for a doctoral degree and became associate and full professor. I am aware how scientific research is carried out. I do not like nonsense and made-up stories. There are many people who know me well. [You can confirm with them.]

I have been close to Mehmed Zahid Kotku Effendi, I have taught at various colleges including engineering and architecture. I have been among people who had technical professions. I lived in the twentieth century; I am familiar with the modern life. I have a skeptical eye and a spirit of research. With all of these qualifications, I presented you some of these examples from our Khawaja Effendi. I must also point out that I am not saying these just because he was my shaikh.

You will realize through these examples that there is another logic beside the materialist logic; there is another world besides our materialist world. There is the spiritual universe for man, and there are spiritual powers in that universe. These examples are the proofs.

Tasawwuf has power. I have pointed to its origin in the Qur'an. Those who are unaware may be suspicious. Nevertheless, these things happen. I have told them from my own experience.

If I am to summarize what I said, Almighty Allah grants some superhuman abilities to individuals whom He loves. These individuals are those who obey Allah, fulfill the obligations and do voluntary worship. Then they will be different from you and I. When Almighty Allah loves a person, He becomes his seeing eye, hearing ear, talking tongue, grasping hand, and walking feet. Because I witnessed many such phenomena, I can understand the examples in books. I can comprehend them with the mind of a researcher--not a simple mind.

As you know, if one attains the true knowledge of Allah, he will be aware that almighty Allah has endless, unlimited power over everything. He is omnipresent. Whenever He wants something, He says "Be!" and it is.

If a person is following the path of Allah, Almighty Allah helps him. Almighty Allah protects him and punishes those who disturb them. There were numerous examples in the life of the companions of the Prophet. I do not give examples from the lives of prophets because they were already special. I give examples from the lives of people so that it is understood better.

As a college professor, I provided you with examples on a topic that many people are interested in. I wanted to inform you all. That is the essence of the matter.

May Almighty Allah place you among those whom He loves. may He keep you on the path He favors. May He grant you opportunities for good deeds. May He give you honor and happiness both in this world and in the hereafter.

October 25, 1995 -- Braunschweigh/Germany