Hulûsi’s heart was certainly unshakeable, but his situation drove him to slackness and he  received a slap from divine compassion. For one or two years a number of dissemblers were set to pester him, which drove away all his worldly pleasure. They made both the world  vexed  at  him,  and  him  vexed  at  the world.  So  in the true meaning of the word he embraced his duty earnestly.

THE FOURTH

This is Muhâjir Hâfız Ahmed.8  He himself said the following:

“Yes, I confess that I made a mistake when interpretating the question of my life in the hereafter and its connection with my service of the Qur’an. I had a wish that would  cause   me  to  be  lax  in  my  service,  and  I  received  a  blow  that  was compassionate,  but  also  severe  and  was  atonement.  It  was  like  this:  my Master (Ustad) was not in favour of the new measures.9  My mosque was next to his house and the Three Months10  were drawing close. If I had abandoned my mosque, both I would have forfeited much reward, and the district would have grown accustomed to not praying. If I had not carried out the new practices, I would have been barred. So according to my interpretation I wanted my Master, whom I loved more than my life, to temporarily move to another village. I did not know that if he moved, or went to another region, it would cause a temporary lapse in my service of the Qur’an. Just at that  juncture I  received a blow. It was compassionate but so awesome that three months  later  I  still  have  not  regained  my  senses.  However,  praise  be  to  God, according to what my Master  says, it was imparted to him that we may hope from divine mercy that each minute of the calamity is equivalent to a day’s worship. For the mistake was not due to enmity; the wish  occurred to me only because I was thinking of my life in the hereafter.”

THE FIFTH

This is Hakkı Efendi.11 Since he is not here now, I am deputizing for him as I did for  Hulûsi Bey, and say this: while Hakkı Efendi was carrying out to the letter his duties as student, an immoral Kaymakam12 came to the district. So he hid what he had written so that harm should come neither to his Master, nor to himself.

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8   See note 4, page 24. (Tr.)

9   That is, innovations opposed to the marks of Islam, like the Turkish call to prayer.

10 Şuhûr-u selâse (Ar. al-Shuhur al-Thalatha): The three holy months of Rajab, Sha‘ban, and

Ramadan. (Tr.)

11 See note 4, page 58. (Tr.)

12 The head official of a district (Tr.)