PART THREE:
BIOGRAPHIES
9
— THE BIOGRAPHY OF
SAYYID[25]
’ABDULHAKÎM-I ARWÂSÎ
(A disciple of Sayyid Fahîm-i Arwâsî)
He was the greatest ’âlim[26] during the reign of the last Khalîfat-ul-Muslimîn Sultân Muhammad Wahîd ad-dîn Khan. He was born in the town of Başkal’a near Van in 1281 (1865) and passed away in Ankara in 1362 (1943). During the time when communists, freemasons, Wahhâbîs, apostates, Rafidîs, Jews and Christians were attacking Islam with all their publications, propaganda, imperial powers and wealth in order to deprive Muslim children of their faith, he protected the Ahl as-Sunnat[27] with his lectures, sermons and books against annihilation and, with his appropriate expertise, he cleared away the poisonous lies that had been imposed upon the youth. He suffered terrible difficulties and oppressions for this way (rahima-hullâhu ta’âlâ). ’Abdulhakîm Effendi’s father, Khalîfe Mustafa Effendi, was from Sâkitan village of Yüksekova, a town of Hakkârî (an Eastern Anatolian city).
Sayyid ’Abdurrahmân, the great grandfather of ’Abdulhakîm Effendi, was the son of Sayyid ’Abdullah. Sayyid ’Abdullah is (buried) at the head-side of Sayyid Fahîm in Arvas. When Sayyid ’Abdullah died, for continuation of the Arvâsî family, Sayyid ’Abdurrahmân’s mother persuaded him to get married. He had five sons namely Tâhir, ’Abdurrahîm, Lutfî, ’Abdulhamîd and Muhammad. Sayyid Tâhir was the governor of Basra. Sayyid ’Abdurrahîm died in 1200 [1786]. He, his son Hâcı İbrâhîm and his grandson ’Abdul’azîz are (buried) at Ahmed Hânî tomb in Doğu Bâyazîd. Three children of ’Abdul’azîz Effendi are Muhammad Amîn and ’Omar Effendis and Sayyidat Khadîjah. The children and grandons of each of them were a treasure enriched with religious and worldly lore. Muhammad Amîn Effendi had four sons. Their names were Abdul’azîz, ’Abdulqadîr, ’Abdulhakîm and Mahmûd Effendis. Ahmad Effendi, son of ’Abdulhakîm Effendi, died in Istanbul on the last day of 1988 [1409] when he was a columnist of Türkiye daily newspaper.
Sayyid ’Abdurrahmân was the murshid-i akmal (perfect murshid) of his time. Thousands of lovers of Allahu ta’âlâ would attend his sohba (preaching) and attain faid. He would send letters of advice to far countries. His letters in the Persian language to amîr Sharafaddîn ’Abbâsî, one of Irisân amîrs, are very valuable. In one of these letters he conveys his salâms and makes duâs (prayer) for Muhammad Karîm Khan, Mustafa and Faizullah begs. Sharafaddîn Beg added the following lines to another letter of his: (Mawlânâ sent this letter to this faqir [he means himself] in 1192 [1778]. He states that patience is necessary against troubles and explains the value of patience. After a couple of months, my father ’Abdullah hân beg died. Mawlânâ’s karamat should be understood from this.) Sayyid ’Abdurrahmân is burried in Hoshâb.
Sayyid Lutfî Effendi had eleven sons.
Sayyid Lutfî Effendi’s first son was ’Abdulghanî, whose son was Mîr Hâc, whose son was ’Abdurrahmân, whose son was Muhammad sa’îd Effendi. Second son of Lutfullah Effendi was ’Abdulghaffâr Effendi, whose son was Sharîf, whose son was Muhammad Shafîq Effendi. Third son of Lütfullah Effendi was Muhammad, who was step father of Hadrat Sayyid Fahim. His son was Tâhir, whose son was Resûl, whose son was ’Abdullah Effendi.
Fourth son of Lütfullah Effendi was Rasûl Effendi. His fifth son Sayyid Sibghatullah Effendi was a disciple of Sayyid Tâhâ-i Hakkârî. His son was Jalal-ad-dîn, whose son was ’Ali, whose son was Salahaddîn Effendi. His two sons Kâmuran İnan and Zeynel’âbidîn İnan became Bitlis Senators and parliamentarians.
His sixth son was Jamâluddîn, whose son was Abdulmajîd, whose son was Sa’dullah, whose son was Muhyiddîn, whose son was ’Abdurrahman, whose son was Lütfullah, whose son was Nûrullah Effendi.
Abdulhamîd Effendi had two sons, one of them was molla Safî, whose grandson was Abdulhamîd Effendi. His second son was hadrat Sayyid Fahîm-i Arwâsî, “quddisa sirruh”.
Sayyid Muhammad had seven sons and a daughter named Hamîda Hânım. Hamîda Hânım was the wife of Hurrem Beg of Timur[28] descent. She had three sons named Sâlih, Mamduh and Sa’îd. Sa’îd Beg’s two descendants were Tawfiq Beg and Amîna Hanım. Amîna Hanım is the first wife of Makkî Effendi. His second wife was Afîfa Hanım. First son of Sayyid Muhammad was Mahmûd Effendi. He had three doughters named Zubayda, Maryam and Asmâ. Asmâ Hanım was the first wife of ’Abdulhakîm Effendi and was very devout and pious. Hissecond wife was Âisha Hanım who was the granddaughter of Sayyid Fahîm-i Arwâsî “quddissa sirruh”. She was the mother of Ahmad Makkî and Munir Effendis. His third wife was Â’isha Hanım who was called Nine (grandma) Hanım and the forth wife was Badriya Hanım. His fifth wife Mâida Hanım died in Istanbul in May 1396 [1976].
Sayyid Muhammad’s second son was Muhyiddîn Effendi. He had two sons and two daughters. Of his daughters, Beyaz Hanım was Faruq Beg’s mother and Zalîha Hânım was ’Abdurrahim Zapsu’s mother. The sons were Hasan and Mustafa Effendis. Hasan Effendi had seven sons and seven daughters, of them four sons died as children. The fifth son Mazhar Effendi was the husband of Nasîbe Hânım. The sixh son Muhyiddîn Effendi died in Ankara. The seventh son Najmaddîn Effendi was a member of the Court of Appeal. He was the husband of Na’îma Hânım and son-in-law of Ahmad Effendi. His daughters, Nine (grandma) Â’ishâ Hânım was Abdulhakîm Effendi’s wife; Dilbar Hânım was Tâhâ Effendi’s wife; Fatima Hânım was Sayyid Ibrâhîm Effendi’s and Sabîha Hanım was Abdullah Beg’s wive.
Mustafa Effendi had nine sons and two daughters. The first son was Sayyid Abdulhakîm Effendi. The second was Ibrâhîm Effendi, the third Tâhâ effendi, the fourth Abdulqâdir Effendi, the fifth Shamsaddîn Effendi, the sixth Ziyâaddîn Effendi, the seventh Yusûf Effendi, the eighth Mahmûd Effendi, the ninth Kâsım Effendi. Abdulhakîm Effendi was the eldest and died the latest. Three grandsons of Abdulqâdir Effendi, Zaynal’âbidîn, Badraddîn and Fahraddîn are alive. Shamsaddîn Effendi had one son and two daughters. One of them, Afîfa Hanım, was the wife of Makkî Effendi. The other daughter, Nazîfa Hanım, died in March 1986. Her son, virtuous Jamâl Effendi, was the imâm and hatîb (preacher) in Kirazlı mosque in Istanbul and had a deep and unequelled learning on Jalâladdîn-i Rûmî’s Mesnevî. He died in Istanbul in 1396 [1976]. Son of Yusûf Effendi, Sayyid Fârûq Ishıq, was the head of Court of Accounts and a Senator of Van province. He died in Ankara in 1972. Two sons of Fârûq Beg, Sayyid Nawzad and Sayyid Ruchan are alive and have sons. Sayyid Ruchan was appointed to the counsellorship of Labor ministry in 1391 [1971]. Mahmûd Effendi’s mother was Maryam Hanım. All of his other brothers and sisters are the children of Hano Hanım.
Mahmûd Effendi’s daughter is Ruqâyya Hânım. The first daughter of Mustafâ Effendi, Mu’tabar Hânım, was the wife of Sa’îd Beg of Timur descent and was both paternal aunt and mother-in-law of Ahmad Makkî Effendi. She died in 1341 and was buried in Edirnekapıcemetery. His second daughter was Râbi’a Hânım.
The third son of Sayyid Muhammad was Nuraddîn Effendi. He had two sons named Ma’jîd Effendi and Alî Effendi. Majîd Effendi’s son Izzat Beg was the husband of Nâfiya Hânım and he died in Van in 1981. He had four children.
Sayyid Muhammad’s fourth son was Ahmad Effendi. He had three sons named Ubayd, Shawkat and Shihâbuddîn.
Sayyid Muhammad’s fifth son was Hamîd Pasha. He had four sons, Ahmad, Abdullah, Fahmî and Ibrâhîm, and three daughters, Nâfiya, Nasîba and Âisha. Of them Sayyid Ibrâhîm Arwâs was the son-in-law of Abdulhakîm Effendi and served as
M.P. of Van for years. He died in Ankara in 1965. His son was Sayyid Sıddîq and daughters were Gulsum and Hamiyyat. Sayyid Ahmad was the son-in-law of Muhammad Sıddîq Effendi and was the father of Na’îma Hânım. Muhammad Sıddîq Effendi was a grandson of hadrat Sayyid Tâhâ, that is, the son of Sayyid ’Ubaydullah and a brother of Abdulqâdir Effendi a martyr. Nâfiye Hânım was the wife of Izzat Beg, Nasîba Hânım of Mazhar Effendi, Â’ishâ Hânım of Muhammad Ma’sûm Effendi.
Sayyid Muhammad’s sixth son was Husain Effendi. He had four sons, Jalâl, Alâ’uddîn, Sayyid Ghâzî and Bahâaddîn. Sayfaddîn Beg, son of Jalâl Effendi, was the husband of Ruqayye Hânım and the father of Aydın and Jalâl Effendies and Laylâ Hânım. Aydın Beg was elected M.P. of Van from Anavatan Party in 1983. His sons Junaid, Malih Ruchan, Fâtih and Murâd Effendis are being raised as worthy successors.
The seventh son of Sayyid Mohammad is Yusûf Effendi.
Sayyid ’Abdulhakîm Effendi had three sons and two daughters. Of them Anwar and Shafî’a was of Asmâ Hânım. Shafî’a Hanım was Sâlih Beg’s wife and died in Musul during migration. Also, Anwar died in Eskishehir in 1336 [1918] while migrating. His second son virtuous Ahmad Makkî Uchishik (Üçışık) Effendi, deeply learned in religious knowledge from Arabic and Persian books and from his father, died in Istanbul in 1387 [1967]. He was buried in Bağlum cemetery. With his dependable fatwâs, he was a blessed personage whose equal is hard to find all over the world. He educated many mature and valuable religious men. He used to provide medicine for ilnesses of the seekers of science and the spiritual realm. Allâhu ta’âlâ honoured and blessed the city of Istanbul and the whole Islamic world with his sacred presence. Sayyid Ahmed Makkî Effendi had four sons, Bahik, Bahâ, Madanî and Hikmat and a daughter, Zâhida. Each is archetype of conscience and virtue. His grandsons, Tâhâ Uchıshık (Üçışık), Fahîm and Muhammad Effendis and his daughter Shafî’a Hanım are being raised as gems. The third son of Abdulhakîm Effendi “quddisa sirruh”, Sayyid Munir Effendi worked for years in the sales department in the Istanbul municipality and attracted the respect and love of his fellow associates with his honesty, studiousness and beautiful manners. He passed away in 1399 [1979]. He was buried in Baglum cemetery.
In the Rajab month of 1332 [1914], Sayyid ’Abdulhakîm Effendi migrated from Bashkala. He came to Istanbul in 1337. He first settled in the Yazılı Madrasa at Ayyûb Sultân and later in the Murtadâ Effendi Tekkesi on Gümüşsuyu Hill. While giving sermons at various mosques and teaching at the Vefâ High School and the Sulaimâniyya Madrasa in the Sultân Selîm Mosque, he began propagating Islam, silencing and subduing the enemies of Islam. In the firman (Sultan’s order) dated-8th-of Dhu’l-Qa’da, 1337 [August 5, 1919], he was appointed a mudarris (senior professor) at the highest madrasa, the University-level Madrasa of Sulaimâniyya. The firman said: “Appointed for the following vacant posts at Dâr al-Khilâfat al-’aliyya Sulaimâniyya Madrasa are Dabralı Wildân Fâ’iq Effendi for the mudarris-ship of al-Hadith ash-Sherîf; ’Abdulhakîm Effendi, one of the ’ulamâ’ of Hakkârî, for the mudarris-ship of Tasawwuf; ..... and the former Hakkârî representative Sayyid Tâhâ Effendi for the mudarris-ship of alfiqh ash-Shafi’î. For the fulfillment of this al-’irâdat as-saniyya (imperial rescript), the Mashîkkat al-Islâmiyya (the Religious Affairs Office) is charged. Muhammad Wahîd ad-dîn.”
This firman is written on page 1484 of the Jarida-i ’Ilmiyya, 48th issue.
Murtadâ Effendi, who received fayd from Ahmad Yakdast in Makka al-Murarrama, retired from the shipyard accounting department as head of diaries. He built a mosque in Gumushsuyu near Idris kiosk facing the sea in 1158. He died in 1160 and was buried in the wall facing the sea. His sons were also buried there. After the first imâm of this mosque Abdullah-i Kashgârî, his son Ubaydullah Effendi was imam for ten years. Îsâ Effendi, the next imâm died in 1206. Salîm Khan had a tomb built for him. Later the son-in-law of Abdullah Effendi, Chalabî Ubaydullah Effendi, died in 1208. At last, Sayyid ’Abdulhakîm Effendi, who was the treasure of visible and invisible knowledges, was appointed as imâm and hatîb (preacher). Till his death in 1362 [1943] he propagated Islam in this and other mosques and schools.
Hüseyin Hilmi Effendi[29] said, “Starting from 1347 [1929], after maintaining continuous companionship for seven years and after frequently visiting him for another seven years while I was in Ankara, did I manage to accumulate from that door [of ’Abdulhakîm Effendi] all of what I possess for this world and the next. Although I was unable to study Islamic knowledge and was unaware of Islamic virtues and excellences, I attained the honour of understanding something of ’ilm (knowledge) and ikhlâs (sincerity in faithfulness) with the patronage, kindness and compassion of that great Walî. I saw many conscientious and curious people from all parts of the country and from abroad come and ask many things concerning knowledge and science and leave with full satisfaction concerning the answers. However, there were also those base people who came for worldly advantages or for perpetrating enmity. With his keen insight, he would immediately perceive their intentions, but, because he was gentle, compassionate and long-sighted, he would not discriminate between a friend and an enemy, treating everybody with modesty and mudârâ (dissimulation). Those who visited with their pure hearts and received faid[30] from scholars of Islam for the sake of Allah have continued in their footsteps and lived up to the rules of Islam. Those who said that they had received faid from their doors but avoided worshipping and busied themselves with the harâms[31] and evils, however, are to be regarded as hypocrites and exploiters.”
The abovesaid Idrîs kiosk was built by Idrâs Hakîm bin Husamaddîn. A deeply learned ’âlim of the Bâyezid and Yâvuz era, this person caused the submission of twenty five tribes living along the Iranian border to the Ottoman rule. Thus he contributed greatly to the Chaldıran victory. He was buried on a bank near the fountain which he had built near Bulbul rill. He died in [932]. His wife Zaynab Hâtun had a masjid built near Idris Kiosk known with her name. There is Karyagdı tekke (dervish lodge) which is located in the same area as the masjid. At the back of it is Gumushsuyu fountain. Karyagdı tekke is also called (Colak Huseyn tekke). It was built by Mustafâ III. Dolancı dervish Muhammad had built a mawlawihâne behind this tekke in 1230.
Sayyid ’Abdulhakîm Effendi was very profound in religious knowledge and in ma’ârif[32] of Tasawwuf. University members, scientists and statesmen would come to ask difficult questions that they thought to be unanswerable but would go out in contentment because they would find the answers -before they would ask for them- within an hour of his suhba (company, preaching). Those who won his tawajjuh (attention, patronage) and love would see innumerable karâmât.[33] He was extremely modest and unperentious. He was never heard to say, “I personally...” He said, “We would not be taken into account... We cannot understand what those superiors have written. We read them only to get blessed with them.” However, he, too, was an expert in the same knowledge. Hüseyn Hilmi Effendi’s father-in-law, Yûsuf Ziyâ’ Akışık, one of his intimates and the Director of the Karamürsel Textile Factory, said, “I kissed the palm of ’Abdulhakîm Effendi in a dream and went to his house at Ayyûb Sultân to tell him about my dream the following day, I bowed to kiss his hand as we always did when we met him. He stretched forward his blessed hand, the palm facing upward, and said, ‘Kiss it the way you did last night,’ and, as an act of kindness, he explained many facts.”
Hüseyn Hilmi Effendi, one of those who loved ’Abdulhakîm Effendi very much, narrated, “I and Rifqî Effendi, a Turkish teacher at Dârûşşafaqa High School, went to ’Abdulhakîm Effendi’s house. After night prayer, he sat in silence, thinking pensively. He looked worried. After some time he said abruptly, ‘Get up and leave here!’ It was very unusual and we used to leave after asking permission. We wanted to kiss his hand as it was the custom when leaving, but he said, ‘Hurry up! Go at once!’ Rifqî Effendi ran out into the garden and then into the street. I stopped in the garden to tie my shoelaces. Someone approached me and said, ‘Why you’re still here! Go at once!’ I looked up and saw it to be ’Abdulhakîm Effendi. I said I was tying my shoelaces. He said I should do it in the street. I jumped out and tied them in the street. The following morning we heard that, a few minutes after we had left the front gate, the police entered the garden through the back gate and searched the house and took ’Abdulhakîm Effendi to the police station.”
In 1349 [1931], ’Abdulhakîm Effendi was taken from his house to a court-martial in Menemen. The daily papers, which were famous for their enmity against Islam, reported the news as “Shaikh ’Abdulhakîm, the active commander of the Akhisar branch of the Reaction Gang, has been arrested!” As if a mountain guerilla chieftain had been captured after a long fight. These papers had been filling the people all over the country with terrorism and had been spitting fire at Muslims. The concept of crime had become uncertain: The houses of the teachers of Qur’ân were searched; Qur’ânic booklets and religious books were collected and burnt. Muslims had to hide them in attics and wells. At drinking parties, the enemies of Islam yelled, “I’ll pull the camel shepherd Arab Muhammad out of his grave and cut his legs off!” They were applauded enthusiastically by flatterers and sychophants. When they used up the thousand-lira notes in their pockets by sticking them on the breasts of dancing Russian girls, they began sticking bank bills. With Armenians as intermediators, they brought beautiful boys from Romania to watch them swim in covered pools. In this regard, excessive efforts were made and much confusion was caused. Because the adhan[34] interrupted their pleasure, which was accompanied by music, they said that minarets should be demolished. Allâhu ta’âlâ’s commandments were trodden under foot. For example, they forced people out of Islam with such words as “My daughter! Open up your hair! Don’t sit like an ogre!” The drunkards expected from one another the creation of a new religion and miracles. A document revealing how terrorism upset wisdom and hardened consciences was reported, with the purpose of educating the youth, in the daily paper Hakîkat (2 Ramadân, 1390; Nov. 2, 1970, No. 195), under the heading “Our Distressful Days.”
On one of those days, when the enemies of Islam had gone too far in persecuting Muslims, the daily papers wrote the following report about those who had been hung on the preceding day: “The court’s decision about ’Abdulhakîm and his accomplices will be announced tomorrow.” Hüseyn Hilmi Effendi wrote the following about that day:
“I made dhikr and prayed much that night. In fear and worry I fell asleep.. I dreamt that ’Abdulhakîm Effendi and I were sitting face-to-face in the balustrade on the left side of the middle gate of the Eyyûb Mosque. He was smiling. He took a white package out of the right inside pocket of his overcoat, opened it and gave me a candy. I ate it and woke up. I still feel the taste of that dream and candy. I joyfully waited for the morning to come. I bought a newspaper early and saw in large-point letters the headline: “Attorney General demanded execution, court acquitted.” The court-martial’s February 12, 1931-dated sentence of acquittal of ’Abdulhakîm Effendi and the five people accompanying him was reported at length. I thanked Allâhu ta’âlâ. The good news symbolized by candy in my dream came true.”
On one of the visits Hüseyin Hilmi Effendi paid to ’Abdulhakîm Effendi, he found him talking with a man in a garden. He stood at a distance till the man left and ’Abdulhakîm Effendi called him. Hilmi Effendi explains what happened afterwards:
“I went to him and sat down respectfully. I always looked before me. I could not look at him in the face, and never moved my eyes. He said, ‘Dou you know this man? He is called Mazhar Tobur. He likes us, and we like him. But he does not listen to us. He teaches chemistry at a high school in Ankara. I advise him and tell him to do so and so. But he does not do what we say. He acts according to his own opinions. Therefore, he tires himself very much preparing the lessons beforehand and reading examination papers. His students, their parents and the school administration do not like him. If he would listen to us, he would be at ease and would be liked by everybody.’ After explaining his advice, he looked at my face and said, ‘Do not forget this advice of mine. When you become a teacher, remember us. Do what I say! It will be very useful for you.’ But I, in recompense for this kindness and fatherly advice, made a grave and disrespectful blunder, saying, ‘Sir, I am a pharmacist officer and I work in hospitals. Teacher officers are different from us. They teach. We do not teach.’ With this unnecessary and impolite answer, I seemed not to accept his advice. I still suffer from the harm of those words of mine. When I remember it, my eyes become tearful and my heart moans. Oh if only... I had behaved politely just for a moment, if only I had said: ‘With pleasure, sir!’ I wish I had not broken that blessed heart, which, no doubt, was loved much by Allâhu ta’âlâ, a fact He manifested every moment, and which was the treasure of the faid and ma’rifa that had emanated from Rasûlullah’s[35] heart and travelled to the hearts of Awliyâ! I even now feel shame and see my baseness.
“Fortunately, that great personage, who was filled with the attributes of mercy, patience, forgiveness and benevolence from Allâhu ta’âlâ, repeated pitifully, ‘When you become a teacher, do not forget these words of mine. You will benefit from them!’ Thanks to Allâhu ta’âlâ, I said, ‘With pleasure, sir!’ Allâhu ta’âlâ protected me against a second act of disrespect.
“I was appointed to teach chemistry at the Bursa Military High school in 1366 [1947]. Later, I was appointed Director of Teaching Staff. In front of the school, I remembered word by word all the advice of ’Abdulhakîm Effendi. Saying to myself, ‘He foretold that I would become a teacher. He also showed how I should work in order to achieve this task,’ my eyes got wet. I recited Qur’ân for his blessed soul and entered the school building. I worked according to his advice until I retired in 1379 [1960]. And I am still following his advice. I have been liked by everybody. I have always won. I have lived in ease and comfort.
“Abdulhakîm Effendi did not speak for a few days before his death. The day before he passed away, his eyes were gazing vacantly and he was continuously smiling. He abruptly looked at me and said, ‘I saw the ’Arsh al-ilâhî (the Divine Space). How beautiful, how beautiful! I have not lost my mind, my conscience. I am explaining these consciously.’ ”
’Abdulqâdir Bey of Kayseri, who was in the cotton trade and served ’Abdulhakîm Effendi for many years, told Hilmi Effendi:
“On a summer day, ’Abdulhakîm Effendi and I performed the noon salât[36] together in the blessed Eyyûb Mosque. Then we entered Hadrat Khâlid’s [a famous Sahâbî[37]] shrine. There was no one else. We sat on our knees on the foot-side of the sarcophagus. He told me to sit closer to him and to close my eyes. When I closed my eyes, I saw Hadrat Khâlid standing before us. He approached us. He was tall, well-built and loosely-bearded. ’Abdulhakîm Effendi told me to kiss his hand. I did as I was told. They talked to each other silently. I could not hear them. I respectfully watched them. ’Abdulhakîm Effendi told me to open my eyes. When I opened them, I saw both of us sitting by the side of the sarcophagus. We went out. The adhân was being called for the late afternoon prayer. He asked me what I had seen. After I told him, He said I should not tell anybody about it until after he passed away. Now twenty-four years have passed since his death. I am explaining it to you because you have inquired!”
10 — THE BIOGRAPHY OF
SAYYID FAHÎM-I ARWÂSÎ
(A disciple of Sayyid Tâhâ al-Hakkârî)
Sayyid Muhammad Fahîm bin ’Abdulhamîd Effendi was born in 1241 and passed away in 1393 [1895]. His mother was Âmine Hânım. He was from the Arwas village of Muks, a district of Van. He was tall and thin. His beard was neither short nor long. His nose was a little high in the middle. His forehead was broad. He had a white-complexion. His teeth were not incomplete. His turban was large. He wore a white dress made of three pieces of cloth, a green or blue robe, wool socks and leather slippers. He used eyeglasses during his last years. He had black eyes. His hair was white for the most part. His eyebrows were connected in the middle. When he travelled, he did so only on horseback until his death. He became so weak during his last days that he carried his turban with great difficulty. He wrapped an âbânî[38] on his turban when he performed salât. He passed away on the fourteenth of Shawwâl. Because he was tall, a tall gravestone was erected by his grave, which was later destroyed by Armenians. He had an awe-inspiring look. People would fear his shadow. Those who saw his shadow could see that he was a beloved slave of Allâhu ta’âlâ. He was matchless in Van and during his time. He was profound in every branch of knowledge, even in agriculture, arts and political sciences. His knowledge was an endowment from Allâhu ta’âlâ. The Governor of Van used to solve his problems by asking him. He missed no congregational salât and no tahajjud (supererogatory midnight salât) throughout his life.
While studying religious and scientific knowledge at a madrasa, he also attained the honour of receiving the tawajjuh of al-murshid al-kâmil[39] Hadrat Sayyid Tâhâ al-Hakkârî, who was the qutb[40] of Eastern Anatolia.
While he was leaving Shamdinân, where his murshîd lived,for the village of Âbirî, Bulanik, Muş, to study Mutawwal, his murshid said to him, “When you have difficulty in understanding a point in the book, remember (râbita) me! Visualize me!” Later while he was learning Mutawwal from his master Molla Rasûl as-Sıbkî, he could not understand a sentence. His master re-explained it. He asked his master to explain it further in detail. Molla Rasûl read the sentence several times and said, “I am tired t