In Service to the Quran: Sheikh Hassan Çelebi

Meeting Hassan Çelebi

"Unquestionably, for the friends of Allah, there will be no fear concerning them, nor will they grieve."(Translation of Quran, Chapter Younus 10:62). I mentioned this verse because to sum up the meeting with Sheikh Hassan Çelebi; it felt like we met a خليل الله  (KhalilAllah/ friend of Allah) and of course, Allah knows best.

We met him on Jumu'a at Çamlıca Cami (Chamlica Mosque located on the Asian side of Istanbul) which was an experience of awe in itself from its intricate architecture, large beautiful spaces, spectacular views of the country from the elevated place this masjid sits on and a heavenly adthan that gave me chills. My husband and I didn't know what Sheikh Hassan Çelebi looked like, we only knew of his reputation. When we walked up to the meeting area in the masjid, there were a few people in the area but we didn't know which one he was. We noticed a very tall, older man, quite serene, as if he just melted into the walls of the masjid. My husband whispered to me, "Is that him?" This humble giant mentioned to us later that the calligraphy work done in the Çamlıca masjid is his own.

A month later after meeting Sheikh Hasan Çelebi, I'm still bewildered, in awe and inspired. Others with me were shocked at the effect he had over us. It isn't his title, decades of experience, world-wide reputation nor status as a living legend because this was the humblest man I've ever met. It was his soul. The best way I can explain this to myself is that he must have sincerely lived the life he was telling us to live, a life in service to the Quran, and as a result, نور الله (NoorAllah/ Allah's Light) is on him and shining out to the rest of us. I know how it sounds but, the other people with me felt it as well. If you've experienced Umrah, you know بركات الله (the Barakah or Blessing of Allah) is real and it really can be felt in places like in Mecca and Madinah. But for the first time, I'm realizing it can also be strongly felt with some people.

Çamlıca Cami (Chamlica Mosque)

It wasn't just the puruity of what emanated from him that affected me so deeply. I became acutely aware of the contradiction between that powerful light and the state of my own soul. As he spoke, I felt confronted with how great his spirit is and how low mine is. Something good exuded from him like flowers on vines reaching out to us. These simultaneous experiences brought me to tears right then and there. It was overwhelming to feel how I didn't measured up in my own spirit, but his advice was so inspiring, so humble and clear. I left me uplifted and hopeful for future growth. So I'm left pondering how can I change my life so that it is in service to Allah and His Word. In this post, I'm including a video of the talk he gave us as but the sound quality is poor so I've written all his advice verbatim as well.

The shaytan is doing a fantastic job of exhausting and distracting us on matters of the الدنيويه (dunya /worldly life) that we find ourselves lucky to have a few sincere moments in the day to truly be present in our worship of Allah. Sheikh Hassan Çelebi showed us that practicing خط (khat /Islamic calligraphy) is a way to become present in عباده (ibadah /worship) as we are writing and contemplating كلمات الله (KallamAllah /the Words of Allah). He inspired me to get serious with خط (calligraphy) and I hope sharing his advice with you will also inspire and benefit you on your on your journey toward Allah.

Afterward, my husband Jibreel and I, overwhelmed with emotion, were attempting to make sense of the experience. Jibreel thought for a while and said to me, "You know, there are no more رسول (rasools/messengers) but there are people who are خليل الله Khalil-Allah, or friends of Allah. That was the first thing that came to my mind when I heard Sheikh Hassan Çelebi speak."

Our Picture With Sheikh Hassan Çelebi at Camlica Masjid Summer of 2019

Over our two trips to Turkey, we've spent a total of nearly two months in Turkey. We visited Bursa, Konya, and spent a week  on  the beaches of Alanya. I explored the Asian and European sides of  Istanbul. But by far, the  highest peak of my time in Turkey was being advised by Sheikh Hasan Çelebi.

I think light exudes from us like a breath of fresh air from the consistent good we do just as something dark and heavy exudes from those who consistently do wrong. Most of us have felt that as well from people.  I believe the actions we do, and the sincerity or intentions with which we do with them affect us in ways that we can't see or quantify.

Allah knows best  but from what we gathered from our senses and from his life's work, Hassan Çelebi may be one of those people. Whether he is or not, becoming a Friend of Allah, KhalilAllah is a designation for all of us to strive for and following Sheikh Çelebi's advice is a clear path to get near to Allah swt.




Advice of Sheikh Hassan Çelebi

Celebi taught us that this work will refine your soul, your personality and mind. The Ottoman Sultans/ Khalifahs would have the children of the state study calligraphy so they can learn sabr (patience). He explained that whether we are a Muslim or not, a human or a stone, we are a servant to Allah  سبحانه  وتعالي (glorified and high). He added that even if we don't believe it or acknowledge Allah, He still is.  He told us we should be in such a submissive state that our heart should beat, "Allah, Allah, Allah." 

It is difficult to relate how deeply touching this was to hear coming from a man who has literally spent his entire lifetime in service to Allah in one way or another and reached the heights of those careers as a hafidth of Quran, an Imam and the greatest living master calligrapher. Hearing these words come through his feeble, trembling voice knowing that he is near the end of his life, hit everyone within earshot very hard. Below is all quoted from what he said to us during our meeting.

"One must understand, the true meaning of being a slave to Allah سبحانه وتعالي (glorified and high) It doesn't matter if you are at work, at home, outside, making wudu, if you're very stressed or calm, you must never disconnect your heart from the remembrance of Allah. This is what it means to be a slave and servant of Allah سبحانه وتعالي (glorified and high). Perhaps you know this already, but you must keep reminding yourself, that this-is-not-the-life. Life begins after you leave this place. This is preparation for that. Because the moment you enter in your grave, life begins at that time. Why? Because your accounting and reckoning begins at that moment. When a person dies, how he fares, depends on his responses (to):

"How did you live your life. Did you do the right thing or did you do the wrong thing. Where did you spend each and every penny that Allah gave you. Did you spend on things Allah dislikes or did you invest it in things Allah likes. Did you spend it to accumulate property that is used for things that Allah loves, that are useful, or did you spend it on things that are used for things Allah dislikes. Allah سبحانه وتعالي (glorified and high) knows these things but you will know the reality of these things in the end, the reality of how you spend your time and wealth. So you must be mindful of these things, now."

"So because of this, all of this boils down to one fact, the necessity of realizing the importance of being the slave of Allah سبحانه وتعالي (glorified and high).  Islam teaches us, through art, that we should be a slave of Allah through the service of the Quran by writing the Quran, and also through reading the Quran and also through memorizing the Quran and also through pondering the deeper spiritual and practical meaning of the Quran. So whatever Allah has asked us to do, we should learn that, and then do it."

"And all messages and guidance are found in the Quran and solutions for our problems. Of course, to learn the language of the Quran and to learn how to write the Quran, this is an entirely different vocation. So I spent 27 years of my life memorizing the Quran then I worked as an imam also for twenty something years. So for 70 something years, I was trying to be in the service of the Quran. After memorizing the Quran, I spent a considerable period of time trying to ponder and understand the meanings of the Quran. Then I entered into the profession and field of writing the Quran, then I expended my time, spent my time in that area."

"Now I'm a very old man, I'm not able to write as  I used to write before. But now I work on publishing / printing the works. Now I'm focusing on this, in this my later stage in my life. I've worked in calligraphy for 55 years and I have not yet learned it yet. It is an extremely, extremely, profoundly deep art.  100 years of your life is not enough to master this art. I hope Allah gives me enough life and energy to continue being in service to the Quran. My request is for all of you to pray for me and I pray for the success of all of you."

"I've given more than 100 students ijazzah. About 50 of those are from other places, like Japan, USA, South Africa, North Africa. Even there are students that are not Muslim that have come to learn as well, from Germany, France. One has come to stay with me and studied with me for 2 and half months. It doesn't matter if they are Muslim, it matters if they have a true intention to learn. There was a man who was a psychologist and had a psychological problem who came to learn for his psychological health. He was a professor from Germany and used to teach psychology."

"I am not able now to keep the pen straight in my hand. I receive the work from my top students and edit the work. What I do now, is  I assign my (top) students to teach individual students. I take the work they bring to me and edit the work. I do not take any more personal students."

"When he (calligraphy student) writes one letter, if he has any attachment in his heart to the anything in the world, its wrong. Only when he dissociates himself from duniya (worldly life), does it come out right. This is the best way I can express."

"This discipline, the art of khat (Islamic calligraphy), is an extremely and sensitive fine art and discipline and it requires that you be that way. The analogy I give is the fineness and the thinness of the leg of a flea. However fine that is, your sensitivity as a calligrapher is more than that.  So you develop a type of  sensitivity to detail that is more sensitive than the fineness of the leg of a flea.

"This is the level that you train students such that they notice any fine detail...  any excess or neglect in the work. This is part of the work in the training of students to notice those details that are not visible to the eye. Our old teachers had this talent and were quite observant of these things."

"Now Istanbul is the center, the last bastion of the science of calligraphy, khat. All masters, men and women, who have reached the highest pinnacle of calligraphy, khat,in the world have all been trained here in this center (Istanbul). Advanced teachers must come here for 2 to 3 years for consistent updates and training then they can return back."

"I had an Egyptian student who was 80 year sold. I was 70 at that time. He came to me and said he wants his ijjazah. I took a look at his work and said, no you might have to work harder on this. You might want to work another 2 to 3 years more on that. He went and worked for a few more years then came back and he took his ijjazah. 7 years after getting his ijazzah, he died."

"Muhammad Zakaria is an extremely intelligent person, the first time he came here, he learned his lessons he wrote his lessons and comments in English. I couldn't understand English. I could understand some Arabic. so then he wrote it in Arabic. My Arabic wasn't good enough so I couldn't answer. So I told him (Muhammad Zakaria) to learn Turkish. So he learned Turkish and wrote in Turkish. He wanted to learn khat (Islamic calligraphy)."

"He (Muhammad Zakaria) has a lot of students in America but right now he is not well. He not only knows calligraphy but also knows the art of embellishment of calligraphy and sciences of water colors of calligraphy and has his own workshops so you should now go and visit him,ان شاء الله (inshAllah/Allah willing) and he may give you advice. Please, I beg your forgiveness I could not do anything for you because I am so sick. May Allah give you a  life full of barakah. Don't make dua (supplication) for a long life make dua for a life full of barakah. If life is too long, you lose your kids and everything else around you you're alone and you live long enough to see yourself lose everything. So it is necessary for you to leave."

A few last notes about Çelebi

He would visit the sick and is a  is a humble soul and a true gentleman. An interesting note on that is his name Çelebi literaly means gentleman. Hasaan Çelebi refuses to take money from his students. After meeting Hasan Çelebi, a friend of mine told me she met one of his former students who is a master calligrapher and recieved his ijjazah from Sheikh Hasaan Çelebi. This Master Calligrapher, Ustadh Hisam Selmo in Istanbul, accepted us both as students of his but said he refused to take money from his student because his teacher never took money from him. What a pure, sincere, genuine gift passed down from Sheikh Hasaan Çelebi.

This is a huge responsibility the calligrapher has upon their shoulders because mastering the art and teaching it properly, is the only way to keep it alive. His gentleness, patience and inspiring manner has left a life long impression on his students and others who have had the opportunity to engage him.

Whether or not someone has attained the status of becoming a friend of Allah is only known to Allah but is the goal we all should be striving for. So, how can we strive to become a friend of Allah?

أَلَآ إِنَّ أَوۡلِيَآءَ ٱللَّهِ لَا خَوۡفٌ عَلَيۡهِمۡ وَلَا هُمۡ يَحۡزَنُونَ (٦٢) ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ وَڪَانُواْ يَتَّقُونَ (٦٣)

لَهُمُ ٱلۡبُشۡرَىٰ فِى ٱلۡحَيَوٰةِ ٱلدُّنۡيَا وَفِى ٱلۡأَخِرَةِ‌ۚ لَا تَبۡدِيلَ لِڪَلِمَـٰتِ ٱللَّهِ‌ۚ ذَٲلِكَ هُوَ ٱلۡفَوۡزُ ٱلۡعَظِيمُ (٦٤)

“Unquestionably, [for] the allies of Allah there will be no fear concerning them, nor will they grieve. Those who believed and were fearing Allah. For them are good tidings in the worldly life and in the Hereafter. No change is there in the words of Allah. That is what is the great attainment.”

Ibn Jarir recorded that Abu Hurayrah said that Allah’s Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, “Among the servants of Allah there will be those whom the Prophets and the martyrs will consider fortunate.” It was said, “Who are these, O Messenger of Allah, so we may love them.” He said, “These are people who loved one another for the sake of Allah without any other interest like money or kinship. Their faces will be light, upon platforms of light. They shall have no fear (on that Day) when fear shall come upon people. Nor shall they grieve when others grieve.” Then he recited, “Behold!! Verily, the Awliya’ (friends and allies) of Allah, no fear shall come upon them nor shall they grieve.”

Ibn Jarir narrated from Ubadah bin As-Samit that he (recited) to Allah’s Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) “For them is good news, in the life of the present world, and in the Hereafter.” and said, “We know the good news of the Hereafter, it is Paradise. But what is the good news in this world?” He said, “It is the good dream that a servant may see or it is seen about him. This dream is one part from forty-four or seventy parts of Prophethood.”

Surah Yunus 10:62-64

Friends of Allah...

• Love Allah
• Love for the sake of Allah
• Remind others of Allah
• Remind themselves often of Allah
• Repent to Allah often
• They are humble in character
• They worship more than what is required
• They are God-conscious
• They are charitable 
• They don't eat too much 
• They don't talk too much
• They feel fear when they hear the Words of Allah so,
• They don't feel fear or grief of this world

In conclusion, our goal as Muslims is to refine ourselves. Born like diamonds in the rough, we all need to do the spiritual work to remove the dusty and hard exterior, refine the diamond inside and become a beautiful vessel for Allah's light. Calligraphy is an arduous, introspectivee pathway to this goal. I hope that this inspires some to experiment with it and see if it is the path to Allah for you. If not, I hope it has inspired you to find a method to move along your journey refining your soul and getting closer to Allah swt.

Sheikh Hassan Çelebi with Muhammad Hobe who received his Ijazzah from Çelebi. 

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