Ismail Fatih Ceylan wrote: Erbakan's three sheikhs

Some young people studying at Istanbul Technical University (ITU) were attending sohbets held at the Beyazıt Mosque and dervish lodges in 1944. Necmettin Erbakan was among those attending these sohbets. He had grown up with the Sufi order's upbringing, as his father had taken him to the dervish lodges during his lifetime. Therefore, he enjoyed attending the sohbets and never missed the hadith lessons of the Gümüşhanevi sheikh, Abdullah Hasip Yardımcı of Serez, an elderly man with a smiling face and clear speech. Among those attending Hasip Efendi's lectures were scholars like Nurettin Topçu.

Hasip Efendi received his caliphate authorization from his sheikh, Tekirdağlı Mustafa Feyzi Efendi. Mustafa Feyzi Efendi received his authorization from Ahmed Ziyâüddin Gümüşhanevi, who trained 118 caliphs. After Ahmed Ziyâüddin Efendi's death, the four greatest caliphs were Hasan Hilmi Efendi, İsmail Necati Efendi, Ömer Ziyâüddin Efendi, and Mustafa Feyzi Efendi. After Mustafa Feyzi Efendi, Abdullah Hasip Yardımcı took his place.

Hacı Hasip Efendi, who made the Hajj four times in his life, was a tall man with a white beard, a radiant face, and a very gentle demeanor. After completing his secondary education at Serez Junior High School, he came to Istanbul and continued his education at the Mahmud Ağa Madrasa in Çarşamba. After staying there for ten years, he received his teaching license from Tokatlı Hacı Şakir Efendi in 1893. Ahmed Ziyâüddin Gümüşhanevi was present at this licensing ceremony. Meanwhile, he became affiliated with Sandıklılı Hasan Hamdi Efendi.

Although he was among the elite of the religious profession and had first-degree qualifications, he preferred the service of imam, the most humble part of his profession, because he was afraid of fame and avoided it.

He returned to Serres and took office at the Atik Mosque, where his father had previously served as imam. There, he taught Bukhari and trained many students and hafiz.

He returned to Istanbul in 1924 and settled in the Eyüp Sultan district. During this time, he met Abdülaziz (Bekkine) Efendi and Mehmed Zahid Kotku Efendi. He later became a disciple of their spiritual guide, Tekirdağlı Mustafa Feyzi Efendi, and began taking lessons from them.

Hasip Efendi walked every morning from his home in the Eyüp district to the Fatma Sultan Mosque, located right next to the Istanbul Governor's Office, to attend Mustafa Feyzi Efendi's lectures. After a while, he took up a position at the same mosque and settled into its legatee. Following this position at the Fatma Sultan Mosque, he served as imam and preacher at the Şehzadebaşı Damat İbrahim Paşa Mosque. Meanwhile, he bought a house in the Mahmutpaşa district and moved there.

He began giving talks on the subject of Ramuz al-Ahadith at the Bayezid Mosque after the midday prayer on Wednesdays. His talks, delivered in his own local accent, deeply impressed his listeners and endeared him to them.

Erbakan, a regular at the Wednesday classes, also took a great liking to Hasip Efendi, and his devotion to him grew, becoming a member of his lodge at the age of 18. Hasip Efendi was fond of the young Necmettin Erbakan and showed great interest in him. The piety of such an intelligent young man, the most hardworking student in the school, greatly pleased Hacı Hasip Efendi.

Necmettin Erbakan was truly an exceptionally successful and hard-working student. Despite starting his secondary education a month late at Istanbul Boys' High School, his teachers earned him the title of "the hardest worker in the class" from the very first day due to the discussions that took place during the classes. In fact, during his sophomore year, his Natural Sciences and Physics teacher, a dentist, had Erbakan prepare and teach the classes he was too busy to attend. In his freshman year, he was the first student to receive a 10 from the physics teacher, known as "Sıfırcı Avni."

Erbakan passed every class in middle and high school with honors, graduating from Istanbul Boys' High School at the top of his class in 1943. Although high school students were admitted to universities without an entrance exam at the time, Erbakan rejected this privilege and placed in the top 10 out of two thousand students on the exam, thus beginning his higher education as a sophomore at Istanbul Technical University.

That's why he was in the same class as those two years older than him. One of these friends was Süleyman Demirel, who would later become leader of the Justice Party, Prime Minister, and President. He entered university a year later, graduating with honors before him.

Hasip Efendi and his successor, Abdülaziz Efendi, advised university students to "Stay at university and become a professor." Many who attended the lodge followed this advice and became professors and lecturers at universities. They particularly cherished Necmettin Erbakan, wishing him the most to remain at the university. He followed this advice, took the assistantship exam after graduation, passed, and began working as an assistant at the Istanbul Technical University Department of Motors. His university professors, in fact, encouraged him to become an assistant because he was a successful student.

When Hasip Efendi passed away in 1949, he was succeeded by Abdülaziz Bekkine Efendi. Born in the Mercan district of Istanbul, Abdülaziz Efendi was one of sixteen children of Halis Efendi, a merchant who had emigrated from Kazan and settled in Istanbul. After studying Arabic and religious studies with Halil Efendi, the imam of the Beyazıt Kaptanpaşa Mosque, he entered and graduated from the Darüttedrîs School. At the age of fifteen, he moved to Kazan with his family. He continued his education there for a time. Later, he went to Bukhara and studied religious sciences with renowned scholars of the time. When his father passed away, he returned to Kazan. Following the 1917 Soviet Revolution, he set out to return to Istanbul with his sixteen siblings. After a brief stay in Baku, he returned to Istanbul in 1921. To support himself, he ran a grocery store with his siblings. Later, he attended the Beyazıt Madrasa, now the Foundation Museum of Calligraphy. During these years, he and his madrasa friend Mehmet Zahid (Kotku) became followers of Tekirdağ's Sheikh Mustafa Feyzi Efendi, one of the caliphs of the renowned Naqshbandi-Khalidi sheikh Ahmed Ziyauddin Gümüşhanevi. He received his ijazah (certificate of instruction) and permission to teach Gümüşhanevi's work, Ramuzü'l-Ehadis (1922). After his sheikh's death, he spent many years under the tutelage of Hasip (Yardımcı) Efendi of Serez.

After receiving permission to teach, Abdülaziz Efendi began his duties as an imam. He served for a time at two mosques in Beykoz and Aksaray. He later continued this duty at the Yazıcı Baba and Kefevi mosques. With the enactment of the Surname Law, he took the surname Bekkine. In 1939, his duties were transferred to the Çivizâde Ümmü Gülsüm Mosque in Zeyrek, where he served for thirteen years.

The Zeyrek Ümmü Gülsüm Mosque, where Abdülaziz Bekkine Efendi served, was also a dervish lodge, and figures such as Necmettin Erbakan and Nurettin Topçu attended the mosque. It was during this period that they met Mehmed Zahid Kotku Efendi and simultaneously attended Abdülaziz Efendi's hadith classes. Necmettin Erbakan was deeply impressed by both Hasip Efendi and Abdülaziz Efendi's conversations and maintained his connection with the lodge.

In fact, such a fondness developed between him and Abdülaziz Efendi that Erbakan visited him daily and joined in their conversations. Some days, he would go in the evening and return after performing the morning prayer. Furthermore, he and Abdülaziz Efendi would occasionally visit the shrine of Prophet Joshua on the hills of Beykoz to pray and converse until dawn. Abdülaziz Bekkine Efendi placed greater importance on the young Erbakan than anyone else.

Immediately after graduating from ITU Faculty of Mechanical Engineering with distinction, Erbakan began working as an assistant in the Department of Engines at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering. During his assistantship between 1948 and 1951, he attracted attention with his proficiency thesis in exchange for his doctoral thesis.

Because he was so intelligent, hardworking, and popular, he was granted special permission to teach and teach as an assistant, even though teaching was the exclusive prerogative of associate professors and professors. Due to his outstanding performance in his qualifying thesis, the university decided to send him to Germany in 1951 to conduct scientific research at Aachen Technical University.

Necmettin Erbakan waited until he received permission from his teacher, Abdülaziz Bekkine, and when he did, he went to Germany. On his way, Abdülaziz Efendi came to the Karaköy pier and bid him a tearful farewell.

Erbakan went to Germany and carried out very successful work with Professor Schmit at the DVL Research Center, which conducted technological research for the German army. During his one and a half years at Aachen Technical University, he completed three theses, including a doctoral dissertation, and earned the hard-earned title of "doctor," a distinction recognized at German universities.

Following the publication of his thesis in leading journals, Prof. Dr. Flats, then the general manager of DEUTZ, Germany's largest engine manufacturer, invited him to the factory to conduct research on Leopard tank engines. Furthermore, the German Ministry of Economics specifically requested that Erbakan be included in the team it had assigned to conduct research on factories in the RUHR region, and he seized the opportunity to visit and examine all the heavy industry factories in the RUHR region for 15 days.

The trip lasted five days. We explored the Ruhr basin, the famous German industrial hub. Only after such a journey does one truly understand what an industrial country means, what an industrial hub is. As we strolled through the evenings, the glow of steel and iron factories on the horizon became increasingly apparent. We visited the renowned Krupp, Demag, Wagner, Fredrich, Wilhelm Hütte, Böhler, Guemverk-Wonheim, Bayer Schaurte, Siemens-Schurkert, and Ford factories. We also visited major industrial cities such as Cologne, Duesseldorf, Dortmund, Neura, Essen, Duisburg, and Mülheim.

Among these, the Wagner factory stood out as a rather interesting one. This factory had previously been used to manufacture heavy tanks during the war. After the war, the British dismantled all of its machinery. Its operation was prohibited under the terms of the armistice. So, the factory started operating under a different name. With no bank willing to lend, they purchased a few small machines from abroad for a pittance and began clearing the debris in March 1950. Within a year and a half, the factory was once again producing some of the world's largest lathes: lathes, milling machines...

When you see the Wagner factory, you can't believe how the world's largest factories are built in 1.5-2 years, without any money. There's a factory per step here.

For one thing, great rivers don't flow in their original natural beds. One has taken a little, the other has taken a little. To prevent a single drop of water from being lost, they've built special double concrete beds for the river in many places. They're letting it flow over them. I almost feel like saying, 'This is what we call expressing gratitude for God's blessing by holding it in our hands.'"

He decided to return to Türkiye and work for his country. Meanwhile, on November 2, 1952, Abdülaziz Bekkine passed away, but Erbakan, who was in Germany at the time, was not informed of his passing. Among those who welcomed him upon his return from Germany was Mehmed Zahid Kotku. Upon arrival, he inquired about Abdülaziz Efendi. When no one answered, he realized he had passed away. He would later describe the event to his close circle as follows:

"As we were leaving for Germany, I was waving from the deck of the ship, and our teacher, Abdulaziz Bekkine, was waving from the dock with his handkerchief. He was crying. Because our blessed teacher knew he would never see me again with the eyes of this world. That was the last time we saw each other."

Returning to Germany, Erbakan became the youngest Turkish scientist to earn a doctorate at a German university. He returned to Istanbul in 1953 to take the associate professorship exam. Having also become Türkiye's youngest associate professor at the age of 27, he was invited to conduct research at the DEUTZ factories in Germany. There, he served as "chief engineer of engine research" for six months, participating in research conducted for the German army.

After Abdülaziz Efendi's death in 1952, Erbakan maintained his devotion to Mehmed Zahid Kotku Efendi, who succeeded him. Born in Bursa in 1897, Mehmet Zahid Kotku was three or four years old when he lost his parents. After completing his primary and secondary education in Bursa, he was called up for military service at the age of 18 due to World War I and served for many years on the Syrian Front. After his return from military service, he began attending religious gatherings in Istanbul. He became a student of Ömer Ziyauddin al-Daghistani at the Gümüşhanevi Lodge. He served as an imam and preacher in various places. After the closure of the dervish lodges, zawiyas, and shrines, he returned to Bursa and remained there until 1952.

After returning to Istanbul, he served as imam at the Ümmü Gülsüm Mosque in Zeyrek. Sometime later, Cevat Akşit Hoca was also appointed muezzin at the same mosque. During their time together, he provided religious instruction to Cevat Akşit Hoca. Necmettin Erbakan, renowned as Türkiye's youngest associate professor at the time, was a regular at the Zeyrek mosque.

Cevat Akşit Hoca describes those days as follows:

"When Mehmet Zahid Kotku Efendi was stationed in Zeyrek before İskenderpaşa, Necmettin Erbakan Hoca would come almost every evening and join the conversation. Those conversations were always attended by university graduates, judges, and commanders. Erbakan was an associate professor at the Technical University at the time.

There were no carpets on the floor of Mehmet Zahid Kotku Efendi's house back then. The boards had scorched, curled, and pitted over time, and the nail heads had risen from being stepped on. You couldn't sit on them. The one I remember now, Erbakan Hoca, I'll never forget. Sometimes, the house was full, and he would find a place right on the doorstep. I remember him sitting perfectly still for two hours, even though the board was hollow, the nail heads were protruding, and he remained on that nail with his knees, never changing feet. I still marvel at his patience and endurance. He rarely interrupted, listened politely to the conversation, and if anyone asked him a question, he would give brief answers.

Mehmed Zahid Kotku Efendi was a charming man, a man who was like an adult to an adult and a child to a child. He was tall, stout, and imposing, with a fair complexion, full rosy cheeks, a long white beard, a broad forehead, parted eyebrows, a large head, a rosy face, always smiling, and a man who captivated those around him.

His congregation, unlike other communities, was composed of cultured and educated people. In his after-prayer conversations, he would advise, "My children, the cornerstones are in the hands of those who are not ours. Work hard and hold the cornerstones."

Mehmet Zahid Kotku believed that industrialization, which would meet our basic needs to develop our own culture and avoid being a market for the West, was a significant force in achieving economic and political independence. He argued that, in the years when Türkiye was seen and accepted as an agricultural country, industrialization was necessary to avoid external dependence economically, especially in defense and heavy industry.

Mehmet Zahid Kotku wanted Muslims to perceive unity for “development” as an act of worship and constantly expressed this in his conversations.

In a sermon in 1956, he lamented, “I took a box of pins at home and saw that they were foreign-made. Can’t we make another pin?”

Erbakan drove very fast, and because he was going so fast, he would hit potholes and not care. Mehmet Zahid Kotku Efendi asked him, "Why are we paying infidels? Why don't we build our own trucks and cars?"

Türkiye's engine orders from Europe also deeply distressed Erbakan. While in Germany, he was embarrassed and embarrassed by the situation. "A Turkish engineer is building a heavy tank engine for the German army," he said, "and orders are being placed in Europe as if these simple engines couldn't be made in Türkiye."

With Mehmet Zahid Kotku's encouragement, the idea of establishing a factory named Gümüş Motor, inspired by the name of the Gümüşhanevi Dervish Lodge, was put forward. With 200 partners, including Mehmet Zahid Kotku Efendi, Gümüş Motor Inc. was established and its foundation laid in 1956.

This factory, established under the spiritual leadership of Mehmet Zahid Kotku Efendi, was also one of the first serious attempts of believers who tried to open a living space for themselves economically and socially since the founding of the Republic.

On October 1, 1958, Mehmet Zahid Kotku was appointed to the Fatih İskenderpaşa Mosque. He and his congregation cleaned the dilapidated mosque and carried out various renovations. His talks there increased attendance, and it soon became known as the İskenderpaşa community. The community, which included professionals such as doctors, engineers, politicians, military officers, judges, writers, and academics, grew steadily, and some members held prominent positions in the bureaucracy, politics, and healthcare.

Gümüş Motor Inc. met a need and began supplying products to state institutions. However, subsequent developments such as the 1960 coup, the AP's rise to power, and the pressure exerted by foreign capital undermined this initiative. Following events such as Demirel's police forcible removal of Erbakan, who served as President of the Union of Chambers, and the AP's exclusion of conservatives, the idea of religious people entering politics emerged. These events made Erbakan a popular figure, and religious circles urged him to enter politics and form a party. Erbakan argued that he could not undertake such a venture without the permission of Mehmet Zahid Kotku, and that asking his own sheikh's permission would be contrary to the etiquette of the Sufi order. Intermediaries then approached Mehmet Zahid Kotku. Kotku granted permission, saying, "We have sacrificed Necmettin." With his sheikh's permission, Erbakan entered politics, first founding the MNP and then the MSP.

After the September 12 coup, Erbakan, like other party leaders, was imprisoned, and his party, the MSP, was shut down. Mehmet Zahid Kotku Efendi gifted the imprisoned Erbakan and his friends a skullcap. These gifts held great significance for Erbakan and his friends. When they wore these skullcaps during prayer, they felt as if they were in the company of their sheikh, Mehmet Zahid Kotku, at the İskenderpaşa Mosque.

Mehmet Zahid Kotku was ill at the time. His illness was known to Erbakan and his colleagues. Indeed, on November 13, 1980, they learned of his passing with the devastating news. This tragic news, compounded by the hardships of his detention, plunged all MSP members in the prison into mourning. Silent tears flowed from everyone's eyes.

Erbakan and Fehim Adak, however, were sobbing. Fehim Adak was so overcome with emotion that he even considered asking the authorities for permission to attend Erbakan Hoca's funeral. But there was nothing to be done.

Erbakan and his friends were unable to witness the grandeur of their beloved teacher's funeral prayer, but they tried to live with dreams and prayers. Even worse than the pain of being imprisoned, Erbakan sobbed because he couldn't attend his beloved sheikh's funeral.