Page 117 - The Importance of the Ahl Al-Sunnah

ADNAN OKTAR

preacher in the Sultanahmet, Yenicami, Sehzadebasi, and
Kasimpasa mosques.
Judicial inquiries were opened against him several times;
each time he was acquitted. During this period when people
started to forget the Qur’an, he dedicated himself to educating
young people. His work is clear indication of the importance
he attached to teaching of the Qur’an.
He continuously advised his students to follow the Qur’an
and our Prophet (saas) and protect young people from hereti-
cal movements. He died in 1959.
Suleyman Hilmi Tunahan and his followers were affiliated to
Imam al-Maturidi in theology and Imam Abu Hanifah in fiqh.
Suleyman Effendi followed the path of tasawwuf established by
Imam Rabbani.
Kemal Kacar, his son-in-law and student, explains his superi-
or personality as follows:
“Suleyman Effendi’s spiritual aspect in the knowledge of
the inner and the hidden, that is in tasawwuf, is known to
who possess it. External and apparent intelligence cannot
appreciate it. Indeed, a person, who may be Muslim, edu-
cated and intelligent, may come across such a person hav-
ing the knowledge of tasawwuf and the ability to guide,
but still, under no circumstances, can be aware of his
blessings unless that person informs him about himself via
the Divine will. We, on the other hand, have not a speck
of doubt about his [Suleyman Effendi’s] spiritual aspect.
We have acknowledged it not by way of knowledge but by
experiencing it.” (Hizir Yilmaz, Suleymancilik Hakkinda
Bir Inceleme [An Examination on the Phenomena of
Suleymancilik], p. 11)

115