Twenty Years with Mehmed Zahid Kotku:
A Personal Story

KORKUT ÖZAL
[This is a computer-read version of the article from the book Naqshbandis in Western and Central Asia, Ed. Elisabeth Özdalga, Istanbul: Swedish Research Institute, 1999--posted with permission from the author.]
 

It has been an exceptional privilege in my life and wonderful experience to know His Eminence Mehmed Zahid Kotku (Hocaefendi) (K. S.) and to be counted among his brothers in this transitory world for what has been a duration of twenty years. I can hardly express my profound gratitude to Allah for granting me such a distinct honor.

I must admit that writing an article on him is far beyond both my native and acquired talents and capacities. However, circumstances beyond my control have led me to undertake the challenge of contributing such a paper. Taking courage in the saying, “it is the ignorant who are really bold,” I seek refuge in the forgiveness of the Almighty and in the ever-present tolerance of our beloved Hocaefendi.

This paper is not intended as scholarly research or as a comprehensive analysis. It is more a personal story designed to present some cross-sections from those twenty years of wonderful fraternity with His Eminence Mehmed Zahid Kotku (Hocaefendi) (K.S.).

However, in order to enable the reader to have some insight into the spiritual environment that prevailed during the earlier part of the author’s life, a descriptive biography of him, before he met Hocaefendi, is presented. Following that, glimpses from the personal spiritual and social aspects of Hocaefendi and a short narration of some of his writings is presented with the purpose of illustrating his profound and magnificent personality and the way he, our beloved teacher, has handled the training and refining of the inner worlds of his students.
 
 

A Concise Biography of the Author

When the early and later stages of the author’s life are compared, one cannot help but observe a rather striking change and transformation in his personality and attitudes. It would be difficult for the uninformed reader to have sufficient insight unless satisfactory coverage of the prevailing conditions that were responsible for the upbringing and education of the author, as well as the formation of his personality before he met Hocaefendi, is provided. This consists of a brief biography of the author in his own words.

I was born in Malatya in Eastern Turkey on May 29th, 1929 as the third child of my parents. Mehmed Siddik and Hafize Özal. Their first child was a girl, who died when she was 10 months old. Their second child was my elder brother Turgut Özal, whom I had the privilege of knowing for 64 years. Both my parents, who were employees of the government, received their education in the schools of the Ottoman Empire.

My mother started her education at the age of four and a half by attending the neighborhood Qur’an school. There she learned how to read and write and was also  given basic religious instruction. After receiving her primary school education, which lasted six years, she attended and graduated from a special course for primary school teachers—subsequently being appointed as a primary school teacher. She had a good understanding of the basics of Islam and was a devout Muslim.

My father, as the only surviving descendent of one of the oldest families of the town, received his education in one of the madrasahs (classical schools of advanced and applied theological teaching in the Ottoman Empire). After 16 years of intense schooling and after having mastered all the courses he was given, he was able to receive a certificate enabling him to teach, as well as to serve as an officer in religious institutions and services.

But the concept of secularism then adopted by the new republic eventually resulted in religion being distanced from the social and official spheres of the people. Attempts were made to minimize the state’s involvement in religion and religious affairs. This was done through the closing and banning of many religious institutions and activities that had formerly been undertaken and/or supported by the Ottoman State.

Consequently, my father had to find a new profession. He subsequently agreed to be a primary school teacher. After some time, he successfully passed the entrance examination of the State Credit and Investment Bank for Agriculture. Being found to be a capable and promising candidate, he was sent to a one-year vocational training school for future officers of the bank. He completed the school with high honors and was appointed as branch head.

We were given by each of our parents as much basic instruction in Islam as the circumstances then permitted. It was really difficult during those times to provide instruction in Islam and to attempt to live according to its precepts. Our religious upbringing, education and training were, to a certain extent, adversely affected by the abrupt and fracturing social changes that took place during the early years of the Turkish Republic. According to the official state ideology of the period, the state was to take a “secular” position, which had atheistic overtones in interpretation and application.

Accordingly, we were taught that religion belonged to the past. Since religion, progress and development were not compatible, there was no place for religion in a modern society. Furthermore, the concept of a Divine Being and Authority, or the even mention of His name, was absent in our school books. There was an attempt to fill the vacuum created by the disappearance of the concept of religion from the public sphere with nationalism. However, in its early version, the concept of nationalism was based on the idea of a superior race rather than a unified identity based on shared values and common ideals.

Since both my parents were government employees, they were frequently assigned to various duties around the country. Because of that, our formal schooling and education had to be received in five different towns and cities.

My first acquaintance with Islam as a social institution took place when we, my elder brother Turgut and myself, made some occasional visits to the small mescid (a small building for worship) at ITU (Istanbul Technical University) during our early student years, where we became acquainted with some of the elder brothers. We also attended some gatherings Thursday evenings, where we would attend discussions and presentations given by learned scholars on Islam, Islamic values and Islamic life.

In June 1951, I graduated from the Civil Engineering Department of Istanbul Technical University with an advanced degree in civil engineering. After my graduation, I was appointed to the DSI (State Water Works Department), where I worked in Eastern and Southeastern Turkey, handling the development of water and land resources. In the fall of 1955, I had the opportunity to take a language course in Ankara, which enabled me to go to the United States to specialize further in my profession. I went to the United States in the spring of 1956 and returned in the early fall of 1957. During my stay there, the last six months of which my wife joined me, I was able to acquire professional depth and insight into my fields of interest. Moreover, we were able to develop a somewhat deep and close understanding of the social, cultural and religious aspects of American life.

[Caption: Mehmed Zahid Kotku, Hocaefendi.]
 
 

Our most significant observation was that religion was one of the most important and deeply rooted elements of American society. Most social values originated in religion. The observance of religious rituals was widespread. Neither the state nor government denied the existence of a Divine Being. On the one dollar bills it is written, “In God we trust.” Article one of the first ten amendments to the American Constitution. clearly states that:
 

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

On Sunday morning, seeing all the members of the family put on their best suits and dress, to attend church services as well as Sunday school classes in a serious manner was a very unique and instructive experience for me. My most interesting experience took place when I met some Mormons in Utah. I first visited the town of Spanish Fork during the summer of 1956 for a two-week stay. My second visit was during the spring of 1957. My wife and I stayed there for six weeks.

During those visits, so far as we are concerned, two important things took place. Through our limited knowledge and practices, the people of the town had the opportunity to gain some first-hand information about Muslims and Islam, a religion they used to think of as consisting of idol-worship before they met us. Moreover, we had an opportunity to learn quite a lot about various aspects of their life, including the very vital element of religion. The more we learned about the importance and comprehensive place religion had in both their private and communal life and conduct, the wider and deeper was the change in our original concept of the role of religion in human life. The more details we accumulated, the more we came to the conclusion that the proposition that religion and progress were incompatible was founded on false premises.

While observing, studying and learning about their religion and its role in making and developing their society, and comparing it with our own religion, Islam, we observed two things: First, it became clear to us that the basic tenets and the creed of Islam were much more developed and refined. Second, after more detailed comparison and discussion, we discovered that we lacked the needed depth and understanding of our own religion and its institutions. It was then that my wife and I made a solemn vow to one another:

When we return home, God willing, we should not waste any time in starting to learn about our religion and living with it within our capacity.

But almost from the beginning I was faced with a difficulty. What I was attempting to do was to learn how the concepts and tenets of Islam could be applied in my own life. And it was very difficult for me to extract this from the Holy Book by myself. Therefore, I consulted the same colleague again and explained my difficulty to him. He answered in the following way:
 

My respected brother, you are like the one who is in need of and wishes to get his room illuminated. You can do it by simply lighting a lamp. But in achieving that you do not need to start from the beginning and establish power-houses, transmission lines, and distribution networks. Those are already established and made available for your utilization in your room. The electricity has been brought up to your room and is made ready for you to light it up. What you need to do is to turn the switch on.

I asked him about the switch. He referred me to a well-known catechism book on Islam. I got it and started reading it. That was what I needed. I got the answers to almost all my questions and discovered many things that I was looking for. Although later on I was able to extend my horizon and depth of understanding by studying much more comprehensive works, I still appreciate the value and role of that first catechism book in my life.
 

At the same time, I started attending training courses to learn how to read and recite the holy Qur’an in its original script. During those years, I also got acquainted with Imam Ghazali, one of the most outstanding scholars of Islam, both in Islamic sciences and Sufism. I was reading whatever I could get a hold of, learning and practicing. The more I learned and applied Islamic sciences and values, the higher and more refined was the flow of life to me.

Whatever we learned, we immediately put into practice. It was a really marvelous change. As we implemented what we learned, doors opened for us to learn and implement more. We were not aware of the effect these developments were having in our daily life. In fact, the observance of the duties and practices of Islam day by day completely restructured and reshaped our physical and spiritual being and life. Without even being aware of it, the evolutionary change that had taken place during our two and a half years in Elazığ had fully transformed and reformed our entire way of living, including our social relations. Most of those habits and manners that were incompatible with Islam, as well as the majority of those aspects of our social relations that were not in harmony with Islamic values gradually disappeared.

We also noticed a remarkable change in the structure of our social acquaintances and composition of our friends. We never distanced ourselves from them, but we began to have less and less in common, both personally and socially, with some of our former associates. However, while the intimacy we once shared with many of our former friends waned, we developed close, real and lasting friendships with many new friends, based on broadly and deeply shared values. In short, those guidelines and values shaping, directing, and giving meaning to our personal actions and taste were transforming our lives. They were no longer based on adherence to secularism but rather on expressing the aspirations of the faithful.

Nonetheless, in spite of all those transformations, we felt as if something was missing and that feeling began to bother our consciences. Those transformations were all taking place in our so-called external world and relations. But they were not being reflected in our internal and spiritual world and being. Although we were trying to do our best to perform all the rituals that we were supposed to perform as Muslims, we were not able to achieve the full moral satisfaction and peace of mind so far as our inner dynamics and spiritual stability were concerned. It was as if we had a body but were missing a spirit. The more we contemplated, the more we were convinced that we needed something else. Our restlessness grew. We began looking for something that we did not know much about. Then I remember reading the book by the famous Sufi, Mawlana Jalal al-Din Rumi, during my years as a student at university. That book was Masnawii. It had been translated into Turkish into six volumes. It was a beautiful book, full of wisdom. After reading it again, I drew the conclusion that if you wanted to achieve real and secured success in the difficult testing of this world, you had better look for a murshid, spiritual guide, and if you find one, hold tight. Then I remembered some lines from the poems of the famous Sufi, Yunus Emre:
 

Unless you approach the Truth
And reach the true Guide
And if not destined by God
You cannot be a seeker of the Truth
And you cannot arrive at the Truth

Yes, it was so simple. Find a teacher to guide you to the truth and bond yourself tightly and sincerely to him for your enlightenment and higher perfection of your nefs, inner self. I was sure about that but I did not have the insight that great men such as Mawlana or Emre, who enlightened the world like great spiritual lighthouses in the glorious past of Islam, could exist and be found in our contemporary world.

The subject kept me busy for months. Then I decided to discuss it with one of my close associates who had a much deeper experience and insight into the subject. After learning about my problem and desire, he talked about Hocaefendi. The more I learned about him, the more I became convinced that he was the one I was looking for. Taking advantage of a business trip and the New Year’s holiday, I went to the Iskenderpaşa mosque in Istanbul. After performing the final prayer of the night in the mosque, we visited Hocaefendi at his home. Following a short introduction and talk, we sat on our knees; taking my right hand between his hands, he described my lesson to me.
 

We perform our wudu (ablution) and try to be on wudu all the time. In performing the lesson, we prefer to sit in a secluded place facing Qibla. We begin the lesson by submitting our istighfars (asking God’s pardon) twenty-five times (Estaghfirullah El azeem). Then we recite Su’ra Al-Fatiha once, followed by Su’ra Al-Ihklas (Kulhuwallahu Ehad ...) three times.

After that, we say “I bestow God’s pure reward for those as a gift, to the blessed and noble soul of our Prophet (May Allah’s blessings and Peace be upon him), and to the glorious souls of all the other prophets (Peace be upon them and our Prophet), their sons, wives, households, companions and followers, as well as to the soul of Hazret Ebubekir (May Allah be pleased with him) and to the souls of our Eminent Great Sheiks, that came and passed till now, and to the souls of Muhammad Baha al-Din Naqshband and Mawlana Khalid-i Baghdadi in particular (May Allah’s mercy be upon them).

It was a set of instructions. (A translation of the full text of that lesson is given in Appendix A). He finished it with the following recommendation:

Don’t interfere in other people’s business. Keep away from places of gossip and backbiting. Do your best to make up for your undelivered prayers and fasts. Do your utmost to refrain from committing any sin. And do not forget us in your prayers. God bless you and may he keep you on the right path, the right order and the eternal truth. Amen.

After that, he prayed and completed his prayers with a verse from the holy book, the Qur’an:
 

Verily, those who give bai’a (pledge) to you (O Muhammed [p.b.u.h]), are giving it to Allah. The hand of Allah is over their hands. Then whosoever breaks his pledge, breaks it only to his own harm, and whosoever fulfills what he has covenanted with Allah, Allah will bestow a great reward.” (Al Qur’an Sura Al-Fath ayah 10)

A Short Biography of Hocaefendi

The following is an abridged translation of the biography of Hocaefendi, originally written in Turkish by his son-in-law, Professor Esad Coşan.
 

The Family

Hocaefendi’s family was among the Muslims who migrated to Bursa from the Caucuses in 1883. His ancestors were from Nuha (one of the capitals of the old Khanate). That city is now called Şeki and is situated in northern Azerbaijan.

[caption: The tombstone of Mehmed Zahid Kotku at Süleymaniye Camii Haziresi (special graveyard), Istanbul (Cengiz Kahraman 1999).

His mother, Sabire Hanim, passed away in 1900, in Bursa, and is buried in Pınarbaşı cemetery there; Hocaefendi was left an orphan at the age of three.

His father, Ibrahim Efendi, was a seyyid (a descendent of the Prophet [sav]). He came to Bursa at the age of 16. He completed his studies at the Hamza Bey Medresesi, and served as imam at various localities. He passed away in 1929 at the age of 76 and was buried in the village of Izvat in Bursa.

Short Life Story

Hocaefendi was born in 1897 in Bursa. He completed his primary school education at Oruç Bey primary school. He attended the junior high school at Maksem for one year. Then he continued his schooling at Bursa Trade School. While there, the First World War broke out. He joined the army on April 14th, 1916. He served on various fronts for three years and faced many dangerous situations. On July 10th, 1919 he was transferred to continue his military service in Istanbul as a military clerk.

Involvement in Sufism

While in Istanbul, he regularly attended various religious meetings, lectures, and sermons. Finally, on July 16th, 1920, after performing his Friday prayer at Hagia Sofia, he went to the tekke of Gümüşhaneli, next to Fatma Sultan mosque, across from the office of the governor of Istanbul. He joined the order there and took his duty lesson from sheikh Ömer Ziyaeddin Efendi. He made remarkable progress in his purification process. When his sheikh, Ömer Ziyaeddin Efendi, passed away on November 18th, 1921, he continued his lesson with the new teacher of the tekke, Mustafa Feyzi Efendi. He completed his seyr-i süluk (the spiritual process of achieving membership in a religious order).

In 1924, at the age of 27, he was given the Certificate of Deputation (permission to guide and teach). He also completed the conclusive memorization of the Holy Book. Moreover, he was given permission to teach certain important books used by the tekke for training and education purposes (i.e., Ramuzu’l-Ehadis, Delailu’l Hayrat, Hizb-i Azam and Kaside-i Bürde)

After the closure and banning of all Sufi institutions by the law enacted on November 30th, 1925, Hocaefendi returned to Bursa, where he married. When the post of imam at the village of Izvat in Bursa was vacated by the passing away of his father in 1929, he took over that post and lived there for about 16 years as the main of that village. In 1945, he was transferred to Uftade mosque in the city of Bursa, where he served as its imam-hatip until 1952.

After the demise of Abülaziz Bekkine Efendi (the 38th member of the Noble Lineage) and upon the insistent requests of his followers, he accepted a transfer to Istanbul as the imam-hatip of the Çivizade mosque. During that assignment, he also served as the imam-hatip of the Ummü Gülsüm Mescid in Zeyrek-Istanbul. On October 1st 1958, he was transferred to the post of imam-hatip of Iskenderpaşa mosque, where he served until his death on November 13th, 1980.

Noble Lineage (Spiritual Family Descent)
 

Hocaefendi is the 39th member of the Noble Lineage (Spiritual Family Descent) starting with the Holy Prophet (pbuh.). (The entire line of descent and some related information of the order as was made available to the author, is briefly presented in Appendix B).

His Personality

Our late Hocaefendi was of above medium height and weight. His appearance was both imposing and inspiring. His skin was white and his cheeks were rosy. He had a rather large head with a wide and alabaster forehead. His eyebrows were widely spaced. At first glance, his eyes appeared to be chestnut in color, but in reality his eyes were so profound in essence and so mysterious in appearance that a close look was almost impossible. There were some red specks in his eyes and a palm-size birthmark on his back and abdomen. His outer appearance was solemn, pleasant, and delightful. His face was always brightened by a rosy smile. Onlookers could not help but develop a deep sense of respect and a warm affection towards him. He greeted everybody by salutation and dealt with each of them cheerfully and in a pleasant manner.

He had an excellent memory, which enabled him to easily recall very fine details of past events and personalities. His conversations and talks were very pleasant and appealing. Most of the time, he used the dialect of the common people. He was an excellent and patient listener and never interrupted others while they spoke. When listening to others on subjects even very well known by him, he paid such close attention that it was possible to give the speaker the impression that Hocaefendi was hearing those things for the first time. His answers were full of meaning and niceties. When delivering the Friday khutba (official sermon delivered to the congregation from the podium in a mosque), the style of his address to the audience was awe-inspiring. He raised his voice considerably and talked extemporaneously to the audience, assuming the conciseness of an army commander addressing his troops.

On all the issues he was interested in, he contemplated deeply and at length. It was impossible not to be filled with admiration for the resourcefulness and colorful comparisons he incorporated to his addresses and conversations. Sometimes he used to dwell on the interpretation of a single verse from the Qur’an for months.

He was extremely modest and was never pretentious. Many examples can be given of this attitude. He lived among his followers as if he was one of them and let everybody have and maintain such an impression. He very carefully concealed his very high spiritual attainments. He was extremely respectful and bound to his teachers. His friends from the tekke used to tell how obedient and respectful he was in the presence of his masters.

As a spiritual guide and teacher, he exercised extreme patience and tolerance in training and educating his pupils. He could work on an individual for years and never get tired or let him down. He was able to probe and gain spiritual access to a person’s heart. Most of the time, it was possible for one to get the answers to the questions in one’s heart without raising them verbally. He used to bestow the needs of the needy without being asked. He had a certain control and dominance on the dreams and the hearts of people.

In family life, he was very affectionate and witty towards his household. He never ordered or asked for anything. In case of need, he preferred to express it through allusion, hint and allegory; and if not understood, he exercised patience.

He was extremely faithful to his friends. He frequently visited them as well as inquired about and looked after them. He also strictly observed his duties and obligations towards his relatives.

He was very generous, making unbelievably high donations. He was never afraid of being left without and always had guests and visitors for meals. He received them with a smiling face and pleasant manners and always left the door of his house open. He paid great attention to seeing to it that those serving him were fully content and happy. His attendance at evening and morning prayers and worships was extremely regular, urging his followers to do the same. The following recommendations are taken from his compiled evrad (recited portions of scripture) and illustrates his personality and style:
 
 

My most respected brother,

Try to wake up early in the morning. Proceed immediately to taking ablution (wudu) and try to maintain your cleanliness all the time. Read out the morning prayer (dua) in praise and gratitude to Allah, the Glorified and the Exalted for waking you up from a death-like state and for granting you a new life.

Do your best to perform all your prayers in the mosque with the congregation. As long as you have no important work to do, do not leave the mosque immediately after performing the morning prayer. Make use of the time by reading the Qur’an and glorifying Allah up to sunrise. Then perform prayers of two or four raka’ats of Ishraq(sunrise prayer). Before leaving the mosque, submit your supplications to Allah. Trust that you will get the complete reward of hajj and umre (minor pilgrimage to Mecca) in full. And let no shadow of doubt cross your heart that your sustenance, in abundance and ease, will be provided for you.

After you return to your house and before retiring to sleep, settle for some time in a quiet corner in the house and occupy yourself with reading the Qur’an, remembering Allah, the Glorified and the Exalted, and monitoring your own self even for an hour. Inspect yourself from time to time, better if you do that continuously and keep yourself under surveillance all the time. Try to find out how each and every breath of yours was inhaled and exhaled. Was it for the sake of satisfying Allah or otherwise? If you feel that you have breathed out the moments of your life for the satisfaction of Allah, the Exhalted Almighty, then you have a reason and a duty to thank Him. If otherwise, which causes the Anger (Gazab) of the Almighty, then you have a duty to seek forgiveness from him; return back to Him forthright with repentance, with supplication for forgiveness, and with true resolve for non-recurrence.

After you have gotten a fair share of sleep and your body has rested, at which point of time the stillness of night would have prevailed and most people are taken by sound sleep, wake up and leave your bed to make a good wudu. How lucky you will be if you enjoy the unmatched bliss of standing humbly before Allah, the Exhalted and Most High, our Lord and the Lord of all creations and making, at least four raka’ats of Tahajjud (deep night prayer), two by two, with your eyes flowing with tears of submission and love to Allah. Conclude your prayer with supplication and Qur’anic readings. Continue, if you can, up to the morning prayer (fair) with the dhikrullah.

Nevertheless, great attention should be given to awakening one’s heart by engaging it in “Dhikrullah” and supplication. Suleyman çelebi, the poet renowned for his panegyric on the Prophet’s birth, is quoted to have rightly said:

With deep heartfelt love for Allah given,
Even once to lingual utterance,
All wrongdoings are forgiven,
Indeed, no matter how numerous

Truly the heart is the center of all body organs. And uttering Allah with a heart wholly enveloped with ecstatic love for Allah means that each and every atom in the body is participating in the uttering. If you wonder how many cells there are in your body, then perhaps you should remember that your brain alone contains billions of cells. It would be more appropriate to say that only Allah knows how many atoms there are in the whole body. There, concentrate on engaging the heart in continued dhikr of Allah the Most Exalted and the Highest in Glory, while not forgetting Him for a single moment.

 On Sufism and Sufi Orders
(This part is a summary of Wahid Bakhsh Rabbani: Islamic Sufism, Koala Lumpur, 1992.)

Islam consists of two aspects—an outer and an inner. The former is called shari’a (outward law), and the latter tariqa (the spiritual purification). Shari’a is divided into two categories: ibadet (acts of worship), which deal with fundamental belief and forms of worship, and muamelat (activities), which pertain to man’s outer relations and cover social, economic and political fields of human activities and relations. Tariqa (the paths) deals with the purification of the inner self and keeps in view the spiritual emancipation of mankind. Since body and soul are intertwined, tariqa cannot remain independent of shari’a; the two work in cooperation.

There is a third component, called haqiqat (the truth), which refers to the realities of this life as well as the life to come, including marifet, knowledge about the nature of God and the secrets of His Attributes and Essence. It is realization (i.e., actual vision and experience) of what you see, feel and realize in the light furnished to you by both shari’a and tariqa combined.

The combination of shari’a, tariqa and haqiqat is termed tasawwuf or Sufism. It is, in fact, the science and art of developing the spiritual faculties of mind and trying to understand, as far as possible, the Deity, Divine Attributes, Divine Works and Divine Mysteries. It is theory and practice combined.

The knowledge necessary for a beginner is supplied by shari’a, and administered by the Holy Prophet (p.b.u.h.). Since the passing away of the Prophet, this duty has been carried on by his deputies, called sheiks, pirs or murshids, who are endowed with exoteric and esoteric knowledge, and enjoy the distinction of being recognized as heirs to the Holy Prophet.

This personal element is an important factor in the dissemination and purification process of Sufism. Mere book knowledge leads one nowhere. The Holy Qur’an without the Holy Prophet would not have brought about that miraculous and marvellous change of human history. The functions of the Holy Prophet have been described in the Holy Book as follows:
 

“It is He who hath been raised up amidst the unlettered, an Apostle from among themselves who reads out to them passages of the Qur’an and purifies their souls and teaches them the Scripture and Wisdom.” (LXII-2)

Accordingly, the duties of the Holy Prophet, so far as the believers are concerned, consist of the following:
 

1- To recite the Qur’an to his people (i.e., to communicate to them the message of God).

2- To purify their souls (which is quite a different thing from communicating to them the message of God).

3- To teach them the Holy Book (i.e., explaining to the people the meaning and the real significance of the passages of the Qur’an and training them in the proper method of observance of Qur’anic Ordinances. Such teaching can only be effective and useful when a man passes through the process of purification.

4- Finally, to bring them face-to-face with the wisdom (hikmet) which follows from the knowledge and action as stated above.

The personal element in the affairs relating to the amelioration of mankind has been handed down to us in the form of a spiritual teacher (sheikh, pir, murshid) and its vital importance can hardly be disputed.

Some Excerpts from Hocaefendi
(The excerpts that follow were all taken from Hocaefendis five-volume book, Tasavvufi Ahlak)

— Tasawwuf, from beginning to end, consists of nothing but two things: progress towards God the Almighty by La Ilahe Illallah, and descending to this world by Muhammed-ur Resulallah.

— The ultimate aim of tasawwuf is to bring mankind to spiritual perfection. Adherence to a murshid in order to save oneself from such evil habits and manners, keeps one from attaining bondage and serenity of divine audience, has been considered an obligation by the consensus of the scholars.

— Those desiring to follow the path to God should realize that the limited human intellect may not be enough solely to enable the seeker of the Truth to safely arrive at his or her objective and there is a necessity for a mürshid-i kamil (perfect guide) and mürebbi-i hazık (skilled teacher) as clearly indicated by the saying of the Holy Prophet: “Allah has educated me and he made my education completely perfect.”

— There is no doubt that human beings must look for their treatment against the moral diseases originating from conceit, self-complacency, envy, hypocrisy and materialism. As witnessed by many sayings of the Prophet, non-adherence to a sheikh or a murshid as a pretext to emancipate oneself from those or similar bad attributes is a revolt against God and His Prophet. This is because one who is not following a true path cannot attain salvation unless he adheres to a perfect murshid. Regardless of how many books one may study or memorize, it does not help to refine one’s hearth and to purify ones nefs (self).

—Those suffering from illnesses and not getting the proper medical treatment on time may end up dead. Similarly, those suffering from moral illnesses because of non-treatment due to excessive occupation of their hands, hearts and souls with never-ending worldly affairs may end up with moral deaths. However, such a moral death may be much more dangerous than the physical death because while some deaths occurring after certain physical illnesses may be awarded martyrdom, there is no such reward for those who die of moral illnesses.

— Searching and finding a really perfect Spiritual Teacher is as important an obligation as performing prayers and fasting. When one finds such a teacher, it is of the utmost importance to maintain full obedience to him. This is because the real Teacher is an intermediary between the murid and his God. Turning aside from the real murshid is the same as turning aside from God the Almighty.

—  A real murshid should be trained and educated by a perfect and perfecting teacher. He should approach Allah and achieve the attainment of Divine Gnosis by having full insight of the shari’a by fully learning and complying with the manners of tariqa and by discovering the secrets of haqiqat. He should be fully informed and aware of the dangerous passages of tariqa. He should be able to treat and educate his pupils in accordance with their abilities. He should train them to be patient and to endure heavy burdens. He should know very well the tricks of the Devil and persisting passions of the self. He should be able to protect any perversion of his pupils regardless of geographical proximity. He should be able to train and educate his pupils while absent and living in faraway places as if they were living in close proximity and getting their education and training face-to-face with him. The sayings, manners and all the deeds of the murshid should be fully in compliance with the shari’a and tariqa. He should avoid all heresy as he would wild lions. He should renounce all things that produce passion or personal taste. He should be able to bear difficulties, burdens, and misery. He should prefer and accept modesty and poverty. On matters of religion and tasawwuf he should demonstrate perfect exemplary conduct for his pupils. He should never transgress the border of the Book and Traditions because tariqa is strictly bound by the Book and the Traditions. The accomplishment of a rank in the seven attainments of the nefs is to be made under the guidance and in the presence of a perfect Teacher. This is done by performing seyr-i süluk (the process of proceeding in the Divine Path). The seven levels of attainment are as follows: 1- Emmare, 2-Lewwame, 3- Mulhimme, 4- Mutma'inne, 5- Radiye, 6-Merdiyye, and 7- Kamile. (See Appendix C).

— Those false murshids, who claim to obtain permission to perform spiritual guidance through dreams, have by our great elders been called “Bandits of Tariqa.”

— The Son of Eshref (a famous Turkish Sufi) said: I have known eighteen sheikhs, and found only four of them to be perfect; and I have accomplished my perfection through one of them. The Perfects cannot give permission for guidance unless the murid attains perfection. The permission for guidance of the imitators cannot be honored. The genuine permission for guidance is given in the spiritual world by Allah Himself. The real Master is therefore the perfect teacher himself. Permission from those is the same as the permission from God. Spiritual guidance and education is not based on visible knowledge.

— O my brother! Just for the sake of saving you from the real calamity I earnestly recommend you to look for a perfect and perfecting murshid and fully submit yourself to him when you do so. Refrain from saying that “There is no implication in the Holy Book or in the Authentic Traditions about tariqas (the paths of Sufism)” since underlying such a statement lies disbelief. The totality of Sufism is based on the laudable moral qualities of the Prophet Muhammed (pbuh).

— All the good moral qualities such as asceticism, piety, being God-fearing, modesty, forbearance, patience and submission are, after all, the products of tasawwuf. It is therefore necessary for everybody, especially for those engaged in religious sciences and teachings, to be actively engaged in tasawwuf.

— After reading so many authentic Traditions of the Prophet, one must consider the dhikrullah as the most important duty and should look for a true Spiritual Guide among the followers of the Holy Book and Traditions. If this may not become possible, this book many satisfy all his needs for a perfect teacher and skillful Guide.

— Mornings, evenings and before retiring for sleep, make sure that you are engaged in dhikrullah. But do not perform it at a minimum since Allah, the most Exalted and the most High asks and expects an abundance of it. Less dhikr cannot provide enough spiritual nourishmcnt; it is at the same lime considered as an indicator of hypocrisy. Just as too small a fire cannot heat our homes in winter, too small a loaf of bread cannot satisfy our hunger, nor can too little an amount of water quench our thirst.

— Attending to the daily duties of rosary is not enough. Those who are the travellers on the Sufi Path should emancipate themselves from all the bad and evil attitudes from sins. There are many of those who are intensely engaged in the performance of the rosary and who do not show any progress; they continue skidding and spend all their valuable life for nothing, leaving this world before attaining the perfection of themselves and of their faith.

— Many years ago, there were dergahs (dervish convents) called tekke, which provided spiritual training and education to the people. Since there were perfect and perfecting teachers available then, those attending these places could attain as good moral and spiritual progress as their destiny permitted. At the same time, dergahs were community schools of social and personal training. Many moral and spiritual practices, as well as teaching, to enlighten the inner world of people and to develop in them beautiful attitudes, manners and virtues, used to be carried out there. Through the grace of Allah, people attending those activities and taking part in the teaching and duty lessons in a serious and submissive manner may achieve enlightenment in their heart and purification of their nefs to gain and illustrate beautiful manners and high virtues. In time, some of those tekkes have lost their originality and have become degraded. Considering the defective ones as having undesirable social effects, they were all banned. The vacuum created by their physical disappearance has been filled by cafés, discos and tavernas.

On Divine Attributes of Allah
(Syed Ali Hujweri-Kashf-ul)

— God is one without any equal in His Essence and Attributes.

— His unity is not a number that can be turned into two by the predication of another number. He is not finite so as to have six directions. He has no space. He is not in space so as to require the existence of space. He is neither contingent so as to need substance, nor a substance which cannot exist without another like itself, nor a natural constitution (tabbi) in which motion and rest originate. He is neither a spirit so as to need a frame, nor a body so as to be composed of limbs. He is free from all imperfections and exalted above all defects. He has no likeness so that He and His creatures should make two. He has no child whose begetting would necessarily cause Him to be of a family, or stock (asil). His essence and attributes are unchangeable. He is endowed with those attributes of perfection which Islam affirms, and which He had described Himself as possessing. He is exempt from those attributes which heretics impute to Him. He is Living, Knowing, Forgiving, Merciful, Willing, Powerful, Hearing, Seeing, Speaking, and Subsistent. He, together with His Attributes, exists from eternity and lasts to eternity. He does that which He has willed and wills that which He has known. He is the sole predestinator of good and evil. He is the only worthy of hope and fear. He creates all benefits and injury. He alone gives judgement and His judgement is all wisdom. The inhabitants of Paradise shall behold Him. His saints may enjoy the mushahadat (visions) of Him in this world. Those who do not acknowledge Him to be so are guilty of impiety in Islam. (A complete list of the Esma-ul Hüsna in Arabic, Turkish and English is given in Appendix D).

Memoirs of Hocaefendi

Recounting the incidents and memoirs of deceased persons can sometimes provide a very clear and vivid description of their personality and spiritual portrait to interested readers. A few of the many interesting incidents and memoirs of my twenty years of fraternity with Hocaefendi are presented below.
 

Spiritual Bondage from a Plane

It was the year 1970. I was on my way home from an official business visit to the USA. Our plane had taken off from Kennedy Airport. After climbing to its normal cruising height and flying in an eastwardly direction, the plane suddenly started to tremble and shake. After a while, the shaking became so violent that even I, an experienced and frequent flier, became rather anxious. To have some relaxation and peace of mind, I performed in my heart the operation that is called “the bondage to the spiritual teacher.” After a while, the shaking subsided and all became quiet. After transferring to another plane in Frankfurt, I flew to Ankara and arrived there late in the afternoon. A friend who met me at the airport informed me that Hocaefendi was in Ankara and there was going to be a dinner at another friend’s home the same evening. We went there together. When we entered the guest-room, I saw Hocaefendi sitting in an easy-chair. I kneeled down and kissed his hand. The first thing he said to me in a voice so low that only I could hear was, “Was the shaking of the plane so violent?”
 

Good Manners for Family Conduct

This story was narrated to me by our late, and beloved brother Muammer Dolmaci. Sometime during the late sixties, our brothers were having a dinner party in a friend’s home in Istanbul. After dinner, during the course of a conversation, one of the persons attending the party started talking about his family problems to Hocaefendi. He referred to many incidents where the bad manners of and mistreatment by his wife had become really unbearable. We came to the conclusion that he was having a real miserable life. The more he talked and told us about the incidents with his wife, the more we were convinced that he might get permission from Hocaefendi for a divorce. But Hocaefendi’s recipe was short and clear: I wouldn’t characterize a man as a real man if he cannot be successful in managing the conduct of his wife and family.
 

Losers in a Divorce

I remember on another occasion being told the following story: One of the real spiritual teachers was having difficulties with his wife and her bad manners. The situation had become so tense and hopeless that friends recommended him to divorce her. But his approach reflected another perspective. His answer was:

yes, sometimes I think of doing it. It may appear that I might get some peace of mind and relaxation if I were to divorce her. But when I look at the situation from a broader perspective, it doesn’t appear to be the case. If I divorce her, three people may end up being losers: firstly, I may be a loser because of failing the Divine test of carrying out such a family life with her to the end; secondly, she may also be a loser because she may be left alone and become helpless; and thirdly, if someone happens to marry her and become her husband, he, too, may also become a loser by undertaking such an unbearable test. So by exercising patience and carrying the burden by myself without divorcing her, I may be able to save those three.

It was the fall of 1963. In the company of Hocaefendi, we made a trip to Southeast Turkey, where there were many outstanding students of Hocaefendi. On our way from Diyarbakir to Malatya (my home town) we visited Hulusi Yahyagil in Elazığ. In the afternoon, we left Elazığ for Malatya by car. There were five of us in the car: Hocaefendi, three friends and myself. We were planning to be the guest of an old friend but a small car accident on the way kept us busy for several hours. Consequently, we reached Malatya at a very late hour. Since my mother, then a primary school teacher, was living with one of her relatives in a house on the way to the city, I invited all the company to be our guests for the night. My mother, seeing me at the door, was very happy and excited. When I told her that we had some guests, she became even happier and went to the kitchen to prepare dinner. While the guests were relaxing in our guest-room, I went to the kitchen to help her. She asked me who our guests were, which was very unusual for her to do since we always used to have guests and she never had bothered about their identities. Until then I had not informed her about Hocaefendi and our relationship. She kept asking the question: “Korkut, who are your guests?” Then I asked her why she was so insistent. She replied, saying “Korkut, since you entered the house, a whisper in my heart has been telling me that “a treasure has just entered your house.” Then I told her about our guests, including Hocaefendi, whom she wanted to see. We went to the door of our guest-room, and I gradually opened the door just to enable her to see the guests. First, she saw one of the guests, wearing a black beard, who was also a religious scholar. She whispered to me that he wasn’t the one she was looking for. Then Hocaefendi became visible through the narrow opening of the door. She immediately told me, “This is him.” Then she asked me whether he gave spiritual training. When I acknowledged that he did, she indicated that she wanted to be one of his students. After having dinner and performing evening prayers, she took her first lesson from Hocaefendi. That probably was one of the most important incidents of her life. A year later, she retired and moved to Istanbul, where she spent the remainder of her life in close proximity to Hocaefendi, until he died in 1980. She was a student who was active and serious in carrying out her spiritual duties and participating in all the related activities.

[Photo caption: The tombstone of Hafize OzaI, next by the graveyard of Mehmed Zahid Kotku (Cengiz Kahraman 1 999).]
 

Visitors from Spanish Fork, Utah

My acquaintance with the Mormon community of Spanish Fork, Utah goes back to early fall of 1956 and late spring of 1957. Over the years, my wife and I had developed and maintained a good friendship with Parley R. Neeley and his wife, Josephine. They visited us in 1965 and became our guests, both in Ankara and Istanbul. While in Istanbul, I took Parley to Hocaefendi and they talked for about 45 minutes. Then the call for afternoon prayer was recited and we went to the mosque for prayer. Hocaefendi asked Parley to climb up to the balcony of the mosque and watch the congregation from there while we prayed. He recorded his observations on an 8-mm movie camera. Three years later, while I was on my way to San Francisco, I passed through Utah and was hosted by Parley and Josephine Neeley for the weekend. Parley, taking my presence as an opportunity to invite his folks and neighbors to talk about Turkey and what they remembered from their trip there, presented a slide show and showed us an 8-mm movie of what he filmed in Turkey. When Hocaefendi’s face appeared on the screen, he froze the picture and remarked, “This is the holiest man I have ever seen.”
 

How an Accident that Seemed Inevitable Was Avoided

It was the month of February 1967. Hocaefendi and some friends were about to start their pilgrimage. They were to fly from Ankara to Jeddah by a chartered plane. I invited him and our friends to a dinner party at my home before their departure. Late in the evening, there was a phone call from the airport asking us to bring the passengers to the airport immediately. The group, about forty altogether, formed a convoy consisting of a total of seven private automobiles to the airport. My car was second after that of Hocaefendi. After reaching the main road, about 30 km from the airport, I suddenly noticed that the fuel indicator of the car had lighted up, warning me that very little fuel was left. Since we were in a hurry and had no time to stop for gas, I decided to stop the engine on the downslopes to save some fuel. On the first long downslope, I did that by first increasing the speed of the car to 100 km/h and then turning the ignition off. It was a new model car with an anti-theft mechanism that was activated when the ignition key turned the engine off. The result was that the steering wheel was locked into place. We were travelling straight down an incline at a speed of 100 km/h. We then approached a part of the road that turned left, across a creek surrounded by earth ten meters high on both sides. The banks were covered with snow and ice. I turned the steering wheel to the left but the safety catch locked the system, which caused me to lose control of the car. I thought about attempting to unlock the wheel, but the curve was too short and the car too fast. The only thing I could do was to slam on the breaks, which I did instinctively. The curve came to an end but the car continued turning to the left, so we started to reach a position lateral to the road, which closed it to traffic. We must have been driving at about 50-60 km/h and the situation seemed hopeless. We were either going to fall from a height of ten meters or, if by chance we could stop the car on the road, be hit by the on-coming cars in the convoy, thereby causing a big accident. The road could no longer be seen; there was nothing but a void in front of me. I felt the front wheels on the bank. All of a sudden, a miracle occurred. Ignoring the law of inertia, the car suddenly stopped. As if a hand was holding and moving our car like a toy it rotated and skidded towards the road banks and peacefully parked with its front facing Ankara. The road was fully cleared for on-coming traffic. Sitting in the driver’s seat and facing the road, I saw the five cars that were following from behind safely pass by. A car accident that seemed inevitable had been avoided.
 

How I Got Involved in Party Politics

It was the end of the summer of 1973. We were celebrating the night feast of Mi’raj (the ascension of the Holy Prophet to the heavens for the Divine Audience). General elections for the Turkish Parliament were one and a half months away. Three prominent members of the National Salvation Party were there. They invited me to accept the candidacy of the Party to run for the membership of the Lower House of Parliament from the Erzurum electoral district. They told me that I had only 12 hours to make a decision. By neither accepting nor rejecting their offer, I told them that I would carefully consider their offer. After the festivities of Mi’raj were over, I invited some of my close friends for consultation. I solicited their views, whereupon we discussed the offer at length late into the night. None of them seemed to be in favor of the offer. They stated several reasons (about seven) why I shouldn’t accept the offer. I noted them down. In the morning I went to the mosque for Morning Prayer. After finishing the prayer and other activities, Hocaefendi left the mosque to go to his home next to the mosque. I followed him. He invited me to his house for breakfast, at which we had the following conversation:
 

“—What is the matter you want to consult me about?”

“— I have just received an offer from NSP to run as a candidate for the lower house of parliament from Erzurum.”

“—What is your personal opinion?”

“— I’ve consulted my friends.”

“— What do they say?”

Then I took my notes and started reading comments made by my friends.

“— They think that since I am not a native of Erzurum, I may not be favored by the people in the elections.

His answer was very brief and clear.

“— Muslims will vote for you.”

Then I read the second comment.

“— They think that Erzurum is a very large province with very rough terrain; so the time available for campaigning is too short to make myself understood and to create a positive impression on the people.”

“— It is not propaganda, but rather Allah the Almighty, that governs and turns hearts.”

“— My friends say that I do not like playing dirty politics.”

“— Play politics by telling and spreading the truth and realities of the country.”

I didn’t inquire about the remaining issues. In asking his permission, he gave me two more policy issues to be followed with the utmost care:

“— Maintain a good and open dialog with all the people. And be open to their dialogs; be a uniting and unifying factor in politics.”

That was all. The style and content of his answers were very clear. Hocaefendi wanted me to accept the offer. So I accepted the offer. The next day, I went to Erzurum to campaign and worked there until election day.

To many learned observers and friends, winning the elections looked really hopeless. In the last election, the majority party opposing us had won 8 out of 9 seats. They appeared to be the favored contenders. But as instructed by our beloved Hocaefendi, we did not pay attention to these claims. We carried out our campaign in a modest but enthusiastic fashion.

On October 14, 1973 the general elections were held. Our team and party were the favorites in Erzurum. We received 30 percent of the votes cast and became the leading party. We won three members in the Lower House and one in the Senate. The deep foresight of Hocaefendi had come true — the hearts of the people were governed and turned by God, the Almighty.
 
 

Appendix A
Lessons in the rules and methods used in performing the sacred duties
(Free translation by the author of advise given by Mehmed Zahid Kotku Hocaefendi)

We perform our wudu (ablution), and try to be on wudu all the time. In performing the exercise we prefer to sit in a lonely place facing Qibla.

We begin by submitting our istighfars (asking God’s pardon) 25 times (Estaghfirullah El azeem).

Then we recite Su’ra Al-Fatiha once, followed by Su’ra Al-Ikhlas (Qulhuwallahu Ahad...) three times.

After that we say:  “I bestow God’s pure reward for those as a gift, to the blessed and noble soul of our Prophet (May Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him), and to the glorious souls of all the other prophets (Peace be upon them and our Prophet), their sons, wives, households, companions and followers, as well as to the soul of Hazret Ebubekir (May Allah be pleased with him) and to the souls of all our Eminent Great Masters that came and passed in succession till now, and explicitly to the souls of our Eminent Great Sheiks Muhammed Bahaeddin Nakshibend and Mevlana Khalid-i Baghdadi in particular (May Allah’s mercy be upon them).”

Then we reflect on the ending of our life and meditate on our death. This exercise is called “The bondage to death” and is carried out as follows:

We close our eyes. As if this were our last rest we envisage ourselves lying down in our bed facing Qibla. Being in full fear and anxiety we wonder and ask ourselves “what is going to happen to us?” Just at this moment the Divine Help arrives and enables us to utter the words of bearing witness to the Unity of the God and to the Prophethood of our Prophet Muhammed (May Allah’s blessings and Peace be upon him): “Eshedu en-la Ilahe Illallah ye Eshedu enne Muhamn’ieden abduhu ve Rasuluhu.” Right after that instant our soul has been taken away by Azrail (Peace be upon Him), the angel of death, and has been shown its eternal resting place in the world hereafter. And then it has been returned back and set at the head-end of the bed on-looking our dead body.

The soul says to the dead body: “Throughout all those years, we were united and lived together. Now we are separated. Let us see what is going to happen to you?” The soul waits there. Realizing that we have passed away, relatives and friends gather around our dead body. They cry, lament and moan with grief. They inform neighbors and send for washers. They prepare for ablution and wrapping in a shroud. First they start to undress the body. Try to fully visualize and envision that very moment! Look.. and see.. .They undress you.. .Your body is put on the bench.. .Washers come.. .They first clean the body.. .Then wash it... Ghusul (full ablution) is performed... Then the body is wrapped in a shroud and placed in the coffin... The coffin is then taken to the mosque and put on the bier... The funeral prayer is performed by the cemaat... The coffin is then carried to the graveyard ... and is lowered and laid to its resting place in the grave. Then the grave is filled and covered with the earth’s soil...After finishing the burial ceremony, all the people go back to their homes leaving you there all alone... Allah, the Highest and most Exalted, meantime sends two of His angels for interrogations. They ask the questions: “Who is your Lord?” “What is your Religion?” “Who is your Prophet?” “What is your Holy Book?” “Where is your Qibla?” Let Allah, the Compassionate enable all the followers of our Prophet, including us as His humble servants, to easily answer those questions in the following: “Allah is my God, Islam is my Religion, Muhammed Mustafa (p.b.h) is my Prophet, the Glorious Qur’an is my Holy Book, and the Sacred Ka’ba is my Qibla.” Upon receiving these answers the angels declare “May Allah give blessings to you and your place” and leave.

And your graves, God’s willing, are converted into a garden of the Heaven by God the Almighty. Our Spiritual Teachers in the world hereafter are informed that this and that of their children have arrived. They come and take us to their place, where we engage in the dhikrullah. The corpses remain in the graves.

Before daily engaging yourself in the exercise “bondage to death,” do your best to perform this duty most properly. The better the performance is, the higher is the divine reward and the more abundant becomes your spiritual enlightenment (10-15 minutes).

After that we perform the second bondage, “The bondage to the spiritual leader.” Observe the following:

Our spiritual leader is Hazret-i Khalid. He was born in Baghdad and buried in Damascus. He had a large chest, broad shoulders, a straight and handsome nose, black beard (with some grey hairs), benevolent looks and a respectful personality. In this exercise we envisage him and our Spiritual Guide (Hocaefendi) as sitting next to each other in front of us. We contemplate that the divine spiritual enlightenment will be flowing from their hearts to ours and wait for the divine enlightenment and blessing to come. (By disassociating your imagination and perceptions from the world and the world hereafter as well as from any internal states, try hard to direct all your spiritual concentration to the spiritual master and to a point between his two eyebrows... After a while, try to encompass and transfer the spirituality of your spiritual master to the place between your own two eyebrows. And from there transpose it gradually to your heart and to the profound depths of your heart and maintain that mental picture all the time).

The third bondage is “The bondage to the Divine Audience.” Think of and imagine the heart. The heart is two inches below the left nipple. It is a place to which the Divine looks and attention is directed and concentrated. Allah, the Highest and most Exalted, observes deep into the hearts of His servants and manifests Himself there. The heart is the place of spiritual illumination, and we join that place of bright glow. Our surroundings are all illuminated with that bright light... And we imagine that there, in front of us and written in brilliant letters, stands the name of ALLAH. May His glory be exalted. We then recollect the most beautiful attributes of Allah. He is the Almighty and the Omnipotent. He is the Omnipresent. He determines good and evil. He is free from all imperfections and exalted above all defects. He is not in need of, nor bound to the dimensions of time and space. He is endowed with all attributes of perfection. Then we turn to ourselves and think of our limitations, our incapacity and inability. By realizing that our Lord is fully aware of all our positions, hidden or open, we reduce ourselves to a mere nothing at His presence. After meditating for a while in such a mood we say: “O Allah.. .The earth belongs to you... The heavens belong to you. ..Whatever there is in heaven and on earth is yours... Whatever in existence is yours... I am your impotent, incapable and helpless servant... Please forgive me, o Allah. ..Please forgive me all my sins... Please accept me and place me among those servants of yours who always praise you and thank you for your bounties and are rewarded with your contentment.”

After saying these from our inner selves, in a state of supplication and entreaty, we take our rosary, and give utterance to the following phrases, while deeply thinking over their meanings:
 

1-100 times Istighfar: “Estaghfirullah el-azim...”

2-100 times Kelime-i Tevhid: “La Ilahe Illallah”

3-100 times Lafza-i Jalal: “Allah” (Allah, the word of Majesty, can, on the part of those having time available, be increased up to 5000 times. At the end of every hundred we say, while thinking of its meaning, “Ilahi ente maksudi ye rizake matlubi” — O my God, You are my aim and it is Your consent that I ask for).

4-100 times “Salavat-i Sherife” (Prayers of God’s Blessings on our Prophet, p.b.u.h) and “Allahumme Salli...  .Allahumme Barik” (The one we read during the sittings of our prayers is preferred. But in case of shortage of time saying “O God, bestow your prayers and blessings on our Master Muhammed (s.a.s) and his relatives, companions and followers” will suffice).

5-100 times Su’ra Al-Ikhlas: (Starting in the name of Allah)

Other duties are:

1- Do your best to perform all your prayers together with others. Remain in the mosque after the morning prayers and be occupied with praising Allah and/or reading Qur’an and reciting your evrad until 45 minutes after sun-rise, and then perform two rik’ats as ishrak (after sun-rise) prayers.

2- Between ishrak and not later than 45 minutes before noon perform 4 (or 4+4+4) rik’ats of doha prayers.

3- After sun-set prayer perform 2 (better 2+2+2) nik’ats of awwabin prayers

4- Before retiring to your bed renew your ablution and perform at least 4 rik’ats of night prayer.

5- Do your best to perform tahajjud (2+2+2) (after mid-night) prayers.

6- Try to keep voluntary fasting of Monday-Thursday as well other voluntary fasts.

7- Don’t interfere with other peoples’ business and issues. Keep away from the places of gossip and backbiting. Do your best to make up for your undelivered prayers and fasts. Do your utmost to refrain from committing any sin. And do not forget us (Hocaefendi and other spiritual teachers) in your prayers. God bless you and may he keep you on the right path, for the right order and the eternal truth. Amen.

“Verily, those who give bai’a (pledge) to you (O Muhammed [p.b.u.h]), are giving it to Allah. The hand of Allah is over their hands. Then whosoever breaks his pledge, breaks only to his own harm, and to whosoever fulfils what he has covenanted with Allah, Allah will bestow a great reward.” (Al Qur’an Sur’a Al-Feth ayah 10).