WEBVTT 00:00.000 --> 00:03.000 Mehmed Zahid Kotku 00:03.000 --> 00:08.000 Mehmed Zahid Kotku was one of the greatest Islamic scholars of the 20th century, 00:08.000 --> 00:11.000 who spent many years helping to spread Islamic moral values 00:11.000 --> 00:15.000 and was a blessed individual who illuminated our age. 00:15.000 --> 00:19.000 He was born in Bursa, Turkey, in 1897. 00:19.000 --> 00:24.000 His family came from Nuha, an old Khanate center attached to Shirvan. 00:24.000 --> 00:28.000 They migrated to Anatolia from this region, at the foot of a mountain in the Caucasus, 00:28.000 --> 00:30.000 during the Ottoman-Russian War. 00:30.000 --> 00:36.000 Mehmed Zahid Kotku entered the Gümüşhane Dervish Lodge in 1917, 00:36.000 --> 00:39.000 attaching himself to Sheikh Umar Ziyadin Effendi. 00:39.000 --> 00:44.000 Upon his death, Mehmed Zahid Kotku continued his spiritual instruction 00:44.000 --> 00:50.000 with Mustafa Fevzi Effendi of Tirkiddal, the Sheikh of the Gümüşhanevi Tervish Convent, 00:50.000 --> 00:53.000 and became one of his leading students. 00:53.000 --> 00:57.000 During his discourses, which were instrumental in the guidance of many people, 00:57.000 --> 01:02.000 he expounded classical, catechistic knowledge, using new and contemporary evidence, 01:02.000 --> 01:08.000 and also related verses of the Qur'an and hadiths of our Prophet . 01:08.000 --> 01:10.000 Zahid Kotku had a prodigious memory. 01:10.000 --> 01:14.000 His language was very moderate and had a strong emotional impact. 01:14.000 --> 01:17.000 He spoke to the public in a highly effective manner. 01:17.000 --> 01:20.000 He always allowed the other person to put forward his point of view, 01:20.000 --> 01:26.000 and he listened to them as if he heard them for the first time, even if he certainly knew them all, 01:26.000 --> 01:30.000 and he always gave thoughtful, meaningful, and accessible replies. 01:30.000 --> 01:36.000 His conversation was very pleasant, and his sermons were extraordinarily awe-inspiring. 01:36.000 --> 01:43.000 He used to give improvised speeches, raise his voice when preaching, and spoke with great fervor and excitement. 01:43.000 --> 01:48.000 There is a certain kind of light in that remembrance of Allah, of those who remember him. 01:48.000 --> 01:50.000 There is might in that remembrance of Allah. 01:50.000 --> 01:53.000 It cleanses all the filth in hearts. 01:53.000 --> 01:57.000 The heart of that servant who remembers him with his name, Allah, fills with light. 01:57.000 --> 02:00.000 Cruelty finds no place where there is light. 02:00.000 --> 02:03.000 Wickedness finds no place where there is no cruelty. 02:03.000 --> 02:10.000 In various passages, he refers to the need not just to know, but to apply the knowledge one has to life. 02:10.000 --> 02:16.000 Mehmed Zahid Kotku described how it is only possible to cleanse the soul, to rid it of dirt and rust, 02:16.000 --> 02:21.000 by self-sacrifice, in short, by spending on the path of Allah. 02:21.000 --> 02:30.000 He led the way to the founding of the Hakkul, True Path, Education, Charity, and Friendship Foundation, for that very purpose. 02:30.000 --> 02:35.000 The fact that Muslims are brothers constituted the essence of his advice. 02:35.000 --> 02:40.000 As a requirement of that brotherhood, he wanted to see service fully implemented. 02:40.000 --> 02:44.000 Muslims' most important hope is the foundation of an Islamic union. 02:44.000 --> 02:47.000 The master expressed that hope as follows. 02:47.000 --> 02:51.000 Inshallah, very soon, other Muslims will also attain their freedom, 02:51.000 --> 02:58.000 after which they will all come together, help one another, and become the greatest and most indestructible state. 03:00.000 --> 03:06.000 The worthy scholar Mehmed Zahid Kotku passed away on the 13th of November, 1980. 03:06.000 --> 03:13.000 In one of his discourses, he said the following regarding the subject matter of the Hazrat Mahdi, peace be upon him. 03:13.000 --> 03:17.000 Oh, my people, I tell you the good news of a Mahdi. 03:17.000 --> 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. 03:23.000 --> 03:32.000 Listen well. This individual will appear when people have fallen into dispute, in a time of earthquakes, disasters, rebellions and revolts. 03:32.000 --> 03:38.000 This individual will come. With the coming of this person, the world will overflow with justice. 03:38.000 --> 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. 03:47.000 --> 03:54.000 In the same way you suffer cruelty, oppression and disasters, so there will be the opposite, his justice. 03:54.000 --> 03:58.000 The angels in the sky will be pleased with him. The saints will be pleased with him. 03:58.000 --> 04:03.000 And everyone in the world will be pleased with him. Goods will be distributed justly, with equity. 04:03.000 --> 04:04.000 With equity.