Fatma Sultan Mosque / Gumushanawi Lodge

Ismail Necati Efendi, one of the sheikhs of the Gümüşhâneli Dervish Lodge, was born in the Ogulveren village of Safranbolu, a district in Kastamonu in the north-western Black Sea region of Turkey. He was the son of Haji Mehmet Efendi, a member of the Omeroglu  lineage.

Ismail Necati Efendi resembled his sheikh, Ahmed Ziyâüddîn-i Gümüşhânevî, with his thick  white beard, splendor and grandness.

He began his initial  education with lessons from Mufti Mehmet Hilmi Efendi in Safranbolu. Then he moved to Istanbul where he studied under various scholars of his time, and was later awarded diplomas for these studies.

On completion of his studies under Aksekili Ibrahim Efendi, a mudarris (teacher) in the Bayezid Madrasa, Ismail Necati Efendi completed his exams in theology in 1876 with great success and started to teach  in the Bayezid Madrasa when he was around 35 years old, and  began to issue teaching diplomas  to his students in 1892. Ismail Necati Efendi also taught  in the presence of the Sultan (Huzur Dersleri) between 1897 and 1909, and continued his work as an author between 1909-1910.

Following his progress in positive sciences, Ismail Necati Efendi began to follow  the religious order of Gümüşhânevî. He dedicated himself entirely to the education required for spiritual perfection and as in positive sciences, he was also successful in religious sciences. In fact, he was so successful that he assumed the status of spiritual guide in 1916 as the second highest khalifa (deputy guide) of Gümüşhânevî, after Hasan Hilmi Efendi, and continued this duty until his death. In the same year, he was also appointed as professor in the  hadith department of the Dârü’l-Hilâfeti’l-Aliyye Madrasa.

Ismail Necati Efendi taught  many scholars and students during his ten-year position as a guide(irsat), and taught the book called Râmûzü’l-ehâdîs (collection of hadiths) for many years.

Hafız Mehmed Fehmi (Ülgener) Efendi from Safranbolu, who was the first mufti of Istanbul after the declaration of the Turkish republic; the teacher of Sultan Abdülaziz’s son Şevket Efendi, a teacher  in Usul al-Fiqh (Principles of Islamic Law) in the Suleymaniye Madrasa, and also  a teacher in the presence of the Sultan (Huzur Dersleri), was the son of Ismail Necati Efendi, and Prof. Dr. Sabri Fuat Ülgener, former dean of the Istanbul University Faculty of Economics, was his grandson.

Ismail Necati Efendi, the second khalifa of Gümüşhânevî after Hasan Hilmi Efendi, continued his duty as khilafa (deputy guide) in the Dervish Lodge for 9 years. Ibrahim Hakkı Efendi from Of (A district in Trabzon) , a student of Ismail Necati Efendi,  also known as Ferşad by his disciples, narrates the following events:

“One day while in seclusion, Ibrahim Hakkı Efendi suffered a serious heart attack. Ismail Necati Efendi was informed of this. He told them to call Doctor Emin Pasha, who was a member of the Gümüşhanevî Dervish Lodge, and also  a doctor from the palace. When he examined the patient, Emin Pasha left  the  lodge and his face was as white as ashes. The next day he returned and gave tidings to his colleagues in the lodge saying: ‘After the examination, I realized that  no one has recovered from the heart disease which succumbed Ibrahim Hakkı Efendi. But I never gave up hope from Allah (SWT). I related his situation  to the Prophet Muhammed (PBUH) in my supplications saying: ‘he is one of the Ulema (Muslim scholars) of the last days. We expect great services from him.’ And I received the tidings  of  his recovery. All praise to Allah (SWT)” Following this, Ibrahim Hakkı Efendi, also known as Haji Ferşad Efendi, served for many years for the spread of knowledge and the tariqa(sufi order) in Of, Trabzon, Samsun and neighboring regions, and his works still contribute to the services that exist at the present.