1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:03,000 Mehmed Zahid Kotku 2 00:00:03,000 --> 00:00:08,000 Mehmed Zahid Kotku was one of the greatest Islamic scholars of the 20th century, 3 00:00:08,000 --> 00:00:11,000 who spent many years helping to spread Islamic moral values 4 00:00:11,000 --> 00:00:15,000 and was a blessed individual who illuminated our age. 5 00:00:15,000 --> 00:00:19,000 He was born in Bursa, Turkey, in 1897. 6 00:00:19,000 --> 00:00:24,000 His family came from Nuha, an old Khanate center attached to Shirvan. 7 00:00:24,000 --> 00:00:28,000 They migrated to Anatolia from this region, at the foot of a mountain in the Caucasus, 8 00:00:28,000 --> 00:00:30,000 during the Ottoman-Russian War. 9 00:00:30,000 --> 00:00:36,000 Mehmed Zahid Kotku entered the Gümüşhane Dervish Lodge in 1917, 10 00:00:36,000 --> 00:00:39,000 attaching himself to Sheikh Umar Ziyadin Effendi. 11 00:00:39,000 --> 00:00:44,000 Upon his death, Mehmed Zahid Kotku continued his spiritual instruction 12 00:00:44,000 --> 00:00:50,000 with Mustafa Fevzi Effendi of Tirkiddal, the Sheikh of the Gümüşhanevi Tervish Convent, 13 00:00:50,000 --> 00:00:53,000 and became one of his leading students. 14 00:00:53,000 --> 00:00:57,000 During his discourses, which were instrumental in the guidance of many people, 15 00:00:57,000 --> 00:01:02,000 he expounded classical, catechistic knowledge, using new and contemporary evidence, 16 00:01:02,000 --> 00:01:08,000 and also related verses of the Qur'an and hadiths of our Prophet . 17 00:01:08,000 --> 00:01:10,000 Zahid Kotku had a prodigious memory. 18 00:01:10,000 --> 00:01:14,000 His language was very moderate and had a strong emotional impact. 19 00:01:14,000 --> 00:01:17,000 He spoke to the public in a highly effective manner. 20 00:01:17,000 --> 00:01:20,000 He always allowed the other person to put forward his point of view, 21 00:01:20,000 --> 00:01:26,000 and he listened to them as if he heard them for the first time, even if he certainly knew them all, 22 00:01:26,000 --> 00:01:30,000 and he always gave thoughtful, meaningful, and accessible replies. 23 00:01:30,000 --> 00:01:36,000 His conversation was very pleasant, and his sermons were extraordinarily awe-inspiring. 24 00:01:36,000 --> 00:01:43,000 He used to give improvised speeches, raise his voice when preaching, and spoke with great fervor and excitement. 25 00:01:43,000 --> 00:01:48,000 There is a certain kind of light in that remembrance of Allah, of those who remember him. 26 00:01:48,000 --> 00:01:50,000 There is might in that remembrance of Allah. 27 00:01:50,000 --> 00:01:53,000 It cleanses all the filth in hearts. 28 00:01:53,000 --> 00:01:57,000 The heart of that servant who remembers him with his name, Allah, fills with light. 29 00:01:57,000 --> 00:02:00,000 Cruelty finds no place where there is light. 30 00:02:00,000 --> 00:02:03,000 Wickedness finds no place where there is no cruelty. 31 00:02:03,000 --> 00:02:10,000 In various passages, he refers to the need not just to know, but to apply the knowledge one has to life. 32 00:02:10,000 --> 00:02:16,000 Mehmed Zahid Kotku described how it is only possible to cleanse the soul, to rid it of dirt and rust, 33 00:02:16,000 --> 00:02:21,000 by self-sacrifice, in short, by spending on the path of Allah. 34 00:02:21,000 --> 00:02:30,000 He led the way to the founding of the Hakkul, True Path, Education, Charity, and Friendship Foundation, for that very purpose. 35 00:02:30,000 --> 00:02:35,000 The fact that Muslims are brothers constituted the essence of his advice. 36 00:02:35,000 --> 00:02:40,000 As a requirement of that brotherhood, he wanted to see service fully implemented. 37 00:02:40,000 --> 00:02:44,000 Muslims' most important hope is the foundation of an Islamic union. 38 00:02:44,000 --> 00:02:47,000 The master expressed that hope as follows. 39 00:02:47,000 --> 00:02:51,000 Inshallah, very soon, other Muslims will also attain their freedom, 40 00:02:51,000 --> 00:02:58,000 after which they will all come together, help one another, and become the greatest and most indestructible state. 41 00:03:00,000 --> 00:03:06,000 The worthy scholar Mehmed Zahid Kotku passed away on the 13th of November, 1980. 42 00:03:06,000 --> 00:03:13,000 In one of his discourses, he said the following regarding the subject matter of the Hazrat Mahdi, peace be upon him. 43 00:03:13,000 --> 00:03:17,000 Oh, my people, I tell you the good news of a Mahdi. 44 00:03:17,000 --> 00:03:23,000 There will be terrible days in your times, but I tell you the good news of a better day after those terrible times. 45 00:03:23,000 --> 00:03:32,000 Listen well. This individual will appear when people have fallen into dispute, in a time of earthquakes, disasters, rebellions and revolts. 46 00:03:32,000 --> 00:03:38,000 This individual will come. With the coming of this person, the world will overflow with justice. 47 00:03:38,000 --> 00:03:47,000 Everywhere will be filled with justice. Everyone will enjoy justice, comfort and peace of mind, as in the time of Hazrat Umar. 48 00:03:47,000 --> 00:03:54,000 In the same way you suffer cruelty, oppression and disasters, so there will be the opposite, his justice. 49 00:03:54,000 --> 00:03:58,000 The angels in the sky will be pleased with him. The saints will be pleased with him. 50 00:03:58,000 --> 00:04:03,000 And everyone in the world will be pleased with him. Goods will be distributed justly, with equity. 51 00:04:03,000 --> 00:04:04,000 With equity.