In the contemporary Muslim world, when describing the advancement of Islam, historians can’t ignore Mahmut Ustaosmanoglu, also known as Sheikh Mahmud Effendi, in fact, the first figure, not only in Turkey but also in the whole Islamic world, who propagated the Sunnah and Taqwa in its real sense and through practical ways because he was ‘the man of Taqwa’ in the 21stcentury.

Mahmud Effendi lived in Istanbul and spent his whole life in the service of Islam, humanity, and peace. He worked so ambitiously and enthusiastically that it was almost impossible for others to keep pace with him. He was born in 1929 C.E. in a village called Mico (Tavsanli) in the province of Trabzon Turkey. His father, Ali Effendi, the son of Mustafa Effendi, and his mother, Fatima Hanim Effendi the daughter of Tufan Effendi, were highly respected people who were known for their spirituality and piety. Mahmud Effendi under the guidance of his parents memorized the Qur’an when he was just six years old, although he was still a young boy, he used to perform prayers in the mosque and gave great importance to extra worship and non-obligatory prayers. From his childhood, he was such an influential and inspirational person that the people in his village named their children “Mahmud” in the hope that they, too, would be like him.
After receiving primary education from his parents Mahmud Effendi travelled to Kayseri for the sake of Islamic studies and learned the basic rules of Arabic language like Sarf and Nahv and Persian, from Tesbihcizade Ahmet Hodja Effendi, who was an esteemed scholar in that region. After remaining in Kayseri for a year, he returned to his home village and studied Qira’at from the most renowned Qira’at scholar of that period Mehmed Rusdu Asikkutlu Hodja Effendi. He learned the sciences of Balaghah, Ilm al-Kalam,Tafsir, Ilmul-Hadith,Usul al-Fiqh, and other Islamic sciences from CalekliHaci Dursun Feyzi Effendi, the senior Professor of Sulaymaniyah Madrasah, and a distinguished and specialized scholar of intellectual and rational sciences. Mahmud Effendi completed his studies with appreciation when he was just sixteen years old. After the compilation of his studies, he married Zehra Hanim (d.1993) and was blessed with three children, Ahmad, Abdullah, and Fatima. He also married Muserref Hanim in 1993 C.E.after the death of Zehra Hanim, the daughter of Sheikh Mansur Baydemir Effendi, a notable and highly-esteemed person from Qahramanmarash.
In June 1952C.E., Mahmud Effendi went to Bandirma for his military service; it was during this time that he met his spiritual teacher(Murshid) Sheikh Ali Haydar Ahiskhavi al-Naqshbandi al-Khaledi(d. 1960) who was one of the great scholars of Turkey, and spiritually a sound person and was knowledgeable about the four main sects and was capable of delivering Fatwa for each of them.Ali Haydar Effendi used to tell his followers who had surrounded him regarding Mahmud Effendi, that ‘there is a soldier here in Bandirma, find him, and bring him to me’. Heeding this call, they began to search for the soldier in Bandirma. But this was a very difficult task, as this soldier had no name, surname, or address. Mahmud Effendi himself explains that “I always had, from a very young age, great affection to visiting scholars and Sheikhs. Whenever I hear of a scholar or one of Auliyyah, I visited them”, and on one occasion he finally met Sheikh Ali Haydar.Sheikh Ali Haydar Effendi had shown a great deal of interest in Mahmud Effendi and he had great affection and respect for him. Those around Sheikh Ali Haydar Effendi, occasionally they would ask: “Why do you give such value to a soldier you do not even know?” Sheikh Ali Haydar Effendi replied: “By the protection of Allah no sin has yet been recorded in his book of deeds.”
After completing his military service in 1954 C.E. Mahmud Effendi was appointed as an official Imam of the Ismail Agha Mosque in Istanbul, where he remained until he retired in 1996 C.E. in 1960 C.E. after the death of Sheikh Ali Haydar Effendi,a new era with glorious responsibilities began in Sheikh Mahmud Effendi’s life. He was busy working with the community as an Imam, as well as being involved in the Islamic education of the students and duties of spiritual guidance. Many scholars of the Muslim world took lessons and guidance from him. During the continuous conflicts between the right and left-wing groups, before the coup of 12 September 1980C.E., Sheikh Mahmud Effendi told the people, who came to him, “Let’s perform Jihad, and it is our duty to revive people by enjoining the good and preventing the misdeeds, it is not our duty to kill people”. He tried to calm the people and was successful to a great extent. ( To Be Continued)

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