Ahmet Kayhan Dede
Encyclopedia
Ahmet Kayhan Dede was a Turkish
Sufi master of the 20th century and an important figure in Islamic Mysticism.
village of Malatya Province
, Turkey
in either December 1890 or January 1891, although the Turkish government lists his official year of birth as 1903. In 1892 his father died, and although his mother remarried, she also died by the time Kayhan was seven. For the remainder of his childhood he reportedly stayed with an aunt.
Kayhan first met "Keko" (Ahmet efendi), the man that would become his master, when he was only four or five years old. Having lost his parents at an early age, he became deeply involved in the Islamic tradition partially because clerics took the place of parental figures.
, making routine trips to the city of Ankara
. Sometime in the 1930s he relocated to Ankara, where he met Hajar, who he would go on to marry on March 25, 1937. His longtime master Ahmet Efendi died in 1944, however, an older student of Efendi's, Musa Kazim, took Efendi's place until his death in 1966. It was at this point that Kayhan not only began his life as a master, but also gained the name "Dede", which actually means "grandpa" and is appended to the name as an expression of loving respect
as is custom towards elder relatives.
Ahmet spent the rest of his life, from the sixties on, teaching and enlightening those around him and the many pilgrims that came to visit him.
, his close associate Abu Bakr
, Abdul-Qadir Gilani, Baha-ud-Din Naqshband Bukhari
,
Ahmad Sirhindi
, Abdullah Dehlewi, Hadhrat Mawlânâ Khâlid-i Baghdâdî
, Sheikh Samini, Osman Badruddin and Ahmet Kayhan Dede.
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
Sufi master of the 20th century and an important figure in Islamic Mysticism.
Early history
Ahmet Kayhan was born in the Mako-AktarlarPütürge
Pütürge is a district of Malatya Province of Turkey. The mayor is Necdet Ayaydın ....
village of Malatya Province
Malatya Province
Malatya Province is a province of Turkey. It is part of a larger mountainous area. The capital of the province is Malatya , which has many residents. Malatya is famous for its apricots. The area of Malatya province is 12,313 km². Malatya Province has 740,643 inhabitants. The population was...
, Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
in either December 1890 or January 1891, although the Turkish government lists his official year of birth as 1903. In 1892 his father died, and although his mother remarried, she also died by the time Kayhan was seven. For the remainder of his childhood he reportedly stayed with an aunt.
Kayhan first met "Keko" (Ahmet efendi), the man that would become his master, when he was only four or five years old. Having lost his parents at an early age, he became deeply involved in the Islamic tradition partially because clerics took the place of parental figures.
Adult life
By 1922 Kayhan was living near IstanbulIstanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
, making routine trips to the city of Ankara
Ankara
Ankara is the capital of Turkey and the country's second largest city after Istanbul. The city has a mean elevation of , and as of 2010 the metropolitan area in the entire Ankara Province had a population of 4.4 million....
. Sometime in the 1930s he relocated to Ankara, where he met Hajar, who he would go on to marry on March 25, 1937. His longtime master Ahmet Efendi died in 1944, however, an older student of Efendi's, Musa Kazim, took Efendi's place until his death in 1966. It was at this point that Kayhan not only began his life as a master, but also gained the name "Dede", which actually means "grandpa" and is appended to the name as an expression of loving respect
Respect
Respect denotes both a positive feeling of esteem for a person or other entity , and also specific actions and conduct representative of that esteem. Respect can be a specific feeling of regard for the actual qualities of the one respected...
as is custom towards elder relatives.
Ahmet spent the rest of his life, from the sixties on, teaching and enlightening those around him and the many pilgrims that came to visit him.
Line of Descent
Master Kayhan's chain of transmission is traced through the Prophet MuhammadMuhammad
Muhammad |ligature]] at U+FDF4 ;Arabic pronunciation varies regionally; the first vowel ranges from ~~; the second and the last vowel: ~~~. There are dialects which have no stress. In Egypt, it is pronounced not in religious contexts...
, his close associate Abu Bakr
Abu Bakr
Abu Bakr was a senior companion and the father-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. He ruled over the Rashidun Caliphate from 632-634 CE when he became the first Muslim Caliph following Muhammad's death...
, Abdul-Qadir Gilani, Baha-ud-Din Naqshband Bukhari
Baha-ud-Din Naqshband Bukhari
Baha-ud-Din Naqshband Bukhari was the founder of what would become the Naqshbandi. He was born in Bukhara which is located in Uzbekistan...
,
Ahmad Sirhindi
Ahmad Sirhindi
Imām Rabbānī Shaykh Ahmad al-Farūqī al-Sirhindī was an Indian Islamic scholar from Punjab, a Hanafi jurist, and a prominent member of the Naqshbandī Sufi order. He is described as Mujaddid Alf Thānī, meaning the "reviver of the second millennium", for his work in rejuvenating Islam and opposing...
, Abdullah Dehlewi, Hadhrat Mawlânâ Khâlid-i Baghdâdî
Hadhrat Mawlânâ Khâlid-i Baghdâdî
Hadhrat Mawlânâ Khâlid-i Baghdâdî was an Iraqi sufist, the founder of a branch of the Naqshbandi Sufi order - named Khaledi after him - that has had a profound impact not only on his native Kurdistan but also on many other regions of the western Islamic world...
, Sheikh Samini, Osman Badruddin and Ahmet Kayhan Dede.
External links
- The Flawless Human Being English biography written by Henry Bayman
- NaqshbandiNaqshbandiNaqshbandi is one of the major Sufi spiritual orders of Sufi Islam. It is considered to be a "Potent" order.The Naqshbandi order is over 1,300 years old, and is active today...
- http://www.irfanokulu.net