Süleyman Hilmi Tunahan

Part of a series on Sunni Islam
Beliefs Monotheism Prophethood  / Messengership Holy books Angels Judgement Day Predestination
Five Pillars Declaration of Faith Prayer Charity Fasting Pilgrimage
Rightly-Guided Caliphs Abu Bakr Umar ibn al-Khattab Uthman ibn Affan Ali ibn Abi Talib
Sunni schools of law Hanafi Maliki Shafi'i Hanbali Others Zahiri Awza'i Thawri Laythi Jariri
Sunni schools of theology Ash'ari Maturidi Traditionalist Others: Mu'tazila Murji'ah
Movements Islamic Modernism Al-Ahbash Deobandi Barelvi Salafi movement Wahhabism
Holy sites Jerusalem Mecca Medina Mount Sinai
Lists Literature Kutub al-Sittah
Islam portal

Part of a series on Islam Sufism and Tariqat
Ideas Abdal Al-Insān al-Kāmil Baqaa Dervish Dhawq Fakir Fanaa Haal Haqiqa Ihsan Irfan Ishq Keramat Kashf Lataif Manzil Marifa Nafs Nūr Qalandar Qutb Silsila Sufi cosmology Sufi metaphysics Sufi philosophy Sufi poetry Sufi psychology Salik Tazkiah Wali Yaqeen
Practices Anasheed Dhikr Haḍra Muraqaba Qawwali Sama Whirling Ziyarat
Sufi orders Akbari Alians Ashrafia Azeemia Ba 'Alawi Bayrami Bektashi Burhaniyya Chishti Galibi Gulshani Haqqani Anjuman Hurufi Idrisi Issawiyya Jelveti Jerrahi Khalidi İskenderpaşa İsmailağa Khalwati Kubrawi Madari Malamati Mevlevi Mouridi Noorbakshia Naqshbandi Naqshbandi Haqqani Nasuhi Ni'matullāhī Nuqtavi Qadiri Qalandari Rifa'i Safavi Sarwari Qadiri Shadhili Shattari Suhrawardi Sunbuli Sülaymaniyya Tijani Ussaki Uwaisi Zahedi Zikris
List of sufis Notable early Notable modern Singers
Topics in Sufism Tawhid Sharia Tariqa Haqiqa Ma'rifa Art History Music Shrines Texts
Portal

Süleyman Hilmi Tunahan, (1888 – September 16, 1959), was a 20th-century Islamic scholar born in the small Ottoman village of Ferhatlar, also known as Varatlar and today Delchevo in the Razgrad Province, Bulgaria. Süleyman later became a Sufi Master in the tradition of the Naqshbandi Order.

Biography

Süleyman's father, Osman, was a hafız ("one who has memorized the whole Qur'an") and a renowned Islamic teacher of his time. Osman had finished his education in Istanbul before becoming a professor at the well-known Satirli Madrasah (theological school attached to a mosque) in Silistre. Süleyman's ancestors include Idris who was appointed by Mehmet II (r. 1451–81) as the "Tuna Khan". The young Süleyman was educated at Silistra Middle School and the Satirli Madrasah. Afterwards he went to Istanbul to finish his studies, enrolling in the Sahn Madrasah where he took lessons from Bafra born Ahmet Hamdi. He graduated in 1916 as valedictorian of his class then enrolled at the Süleymaniye Mosque Madrasah in Medresetü'l-Mütehassisin where he studied the tafsir (commentary on the Quran) and hadith (narrations concerning the words and deeds of the prophet Muhammad). Süleyman graduated again as valedictorian from Medresetü'l-Mütehassisin in 1919 and in the same year graduated from Medresetü'l-Kuzat law school, coming first in exams. On informing his father of this ranking he was told: "I didn't send you to Istanbul to go to hell", reminding him of Muhammad's saying: "Two out of three (unrighteous) judges will go to hell." Süleyman explained that his goal was not to become a judge but to learn both religious and common knowledge. He then began work as an Islamic teacher in Istanbul until its madrasahs were closed whereupon he was assigned to work as an Islamic preacher. For some time he preached Islamic sermons in Istanbul's large Ottoman era Selatin mosques such as Sultan Ahmed, Süleymaniye, Şehzâdebaşı, Yeni Cami and Piyâle Paşa Mosque. While working as an Islamic preacher he also taught Muslim children, first in his own home then in madrasahs after they received government permission to reopen in 1946–1947. Süleyman also started to teach the principles of Islam. Many of his students graduated from the madrasas and received permission from the Diyanet İşleri Başkanlığı (Presidency of Religious Affairs) to work as muftis (officials learned in Islamic law who is in charge of Islamic affairs for a province or district), imams (prayer leaders), muezzins (individuals who call five times a day to announce prayers), Islamic preachers and madrasah teachers.^[1]

Süleyman's practice of Islam followed the Hanafi (school of Islamic law), while his firm belief in God stemmed from the Maturidi school of Islam. He was also connected to the Ahl al-Sunnah wa'l Jama'ah. He told his students that: "They should hold tight to the creed of Ahl al-Sunnah wa'l Jama'ah". Süleyman died in Kisikli, Istanbul on September 16, 1959. He is buried in the Karacaahmet cemetery.

Süleyman’s silsila

His Naqshbandiyyah silsila goes back to Khwaja Shah Ahmed Sā‘īd Fāruqī Mujaddidī.

References

External links

• United American Muslim Org