Ahmed Hulusi (born 1945 in

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

, Turkey) is an

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

ic author from

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

, whose works focus on philosophical and religious ideas.

Biography

He was born on 21 January 1945 in Cerrahpaşa, Istanbul, and was named as Ahmed, meaning ‘highly praised’, by his mother and Hulusi, meaning ‘sincere’, by his father. He spent the first 18 years of his life not following any particular religion, believing only in ‘a Creator’. Since every time he inquired about religion, he was told “do not question, just do as you are told”, he lived a seemingly ‘irreligious’ life. Three days after his father's death, on 10 September 1963, unable to refuse his mother's wish, he attended

Friday prayer Friday prayer, or congregational prayer (), is the meeting together of Muslims for communal prayer and service at midday every Friday. In Islam, the day itself is called ''Yawm al-Jum'ah'' (shortened to ''Jum'ah''), which translated from Arabic me ...

, where he felt an inspiration and desire to understand religion. That same day he decided to always maintain a state of ritual purity by performing ablution and committed to performing the prescribed daily prayers (

salat ''Salah'' (, also spelled ''salat'') is the practice of formal ibadah, worship in Islam, consisting of a series of ritual prayers performed at prescribed times daily. These prayers, which consist of units known as rak'a, ''rak'ah'', include ...

). He commenced his religious education by studying the eleven volumes of

Sahih al-Bukhari () is the first hadith collection of the Six Books of Sunni Islam. Compiled by Islamic scholar al-Bukhari () in the format, the work is valued by Sunni Muslims, alongside , as the most authentic after the Qur'an. Al-Bukhari organized the bo ...

and the whole of the Al-Kutub al-Sittah, two collections of Sunni hadiths published by the Turkish Directorate for Religious Affairs, and a translation of the

Quran The Quran, also Romanization, romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a Waḥy, revelation directly from God in Islam, God (''Allah, Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which ...

by Elmalılı, one of Turkey's most eminent Quranic scholars. He then spent two years undertaking in-depth studies of the modern sciences. This was then followed by an interval of intensive spiritual diets and retreats, leading him in 1965 to write his first book, ''Revelations'' (''Tecelliyat''). This book is particularly significant for him, as it is an amalgamation of his unique ideas and theological viewpoints at the age of 21. Also in 1965, he journeyed alone to Mecca to fulfill his pilgrimage (

hajj Hajj (; ; also spelled Hadj, Haj or Haji) is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holiest city for Muslims. Hajj is a mandatory religious duty for capable Muslims that must be carried out at least once in their lifetim ...

). Ahmed Hulusi bases his understanding of religion on the system and order denoted in the Quran by the One named Allah and has committed himself to “reading” reality as disclosed by Muhammad. Hulusi focuses on the underlying unity of everything and the oneness of existence, which he refers to as Allah. He stresses understanding the spirit of the Qur'an and the

Sunnah is the body of traditions and practices of the Islamic prophet Muhammad that constitute a model for Muslims to follow. The sunnah is what all the Muslims of Muhammad's time supposedly saw, followed, and passed on to the next generations. Diff ...

rather than taking them out of context. He shares all of his perspectives through his writings on hi
website
Having studied preeminent collections of

Islamic law Sharia, Sharī'ah, Shari'a, or Shariah () is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition based on scriptures of Islam, particularly the Qur'an and hadith. In Islamic terminology ''sharīʿah'' refers to immutable, intan ...

and evaluated the works of many renowned Sufi saints (''

wali The term ''wali'' is most commonly used by Muslims to refer to a saint, or literally a "friend of God".John Renard, ''Friends of God: Islamic Images of Piety, Commitment, and Servanthood'' (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2008); John ...

'') and scholars, he synthesizes his findings with scientific truths and presents them as an integrated system of reality. In order to refrain from self-promotion, he has not put his surname on any of the books he has written over the last 40 years. He does not claim to be a guru or a teacher to anybody; he chooses to have very little contact with people. He was forced to put his photo in his books after a few impostors started claiming to be Ahmed Hulusi. He has never been a member of any political, social, religious organization, foundation, or establishment. He has spent his life as a journalist researching Islamic mysticism, or

Sufism Sufism ( or ) is a mysticism, mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic Tazkiyah, purification, spirituality, ritualism, and Asceticism#Islam, asceticism. Practitioners of Sufism are r ...

, and the modern sciences. Due to the 28 February 1997 ‘postmodern coup’ in Turkey, Ahmed Hulusi and his wife, Cemile, moved to London, where they lived for a year, before settling in the US, where they reside currently.

Perspective on Islam

He considers his teachings a spiritual understanding of Islam in a modern context. Based on

Muhammad Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. Muhammad in Islam, According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the tawhid, monotheistic teachings of A ...

's teachings and eminent Sufi authors like Abdul Karim Jili, Abdul-Qadir Gilani, Muhyiddin ibn-Arabi, Imami Ghazali, and İbrahim Hakkı Erzurumi, he denies the idea of a deity/god to worship, claiming there is no separate external god, there is only the One, referred to as Allah in the Qur'an. His principle has always been, “Do not be a blind follower of anyone. In the light of Muhammad’s teachings, choose and walk your own path in life independently.” He recommends that people re-evaluate the original teachings of Muhammad and the Quran in the light of science, without depending on any intermediary forces. Every individual has the right, indeed, is obliged, to directly interact with the teachings of the universal system through Muhammad and shape their lives accordingly. Due to the nature of the universal system revealed to Muhammad, jobs and positions of a religious nature are illegitimate. The only person one must follow is Muhammad. Because of this, Ahmed Hulusi does not encourage anyone to become his ‘follower’. He prefers to live a relatively reclusive life in his small town and advises people to question his teachings and to do their own research. He says, “Don’t believe me; find and verify the truth for yourself.”

Publications

Books

Decoding the Quran

Prologue to Decoding Quran
on the iBookstore

also available on th
iBookstore

also available on th
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also available on th
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also available on th
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also available on th
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also available on th
iBookstore

also available on th
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also available on th
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also available on th
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Videos

References

External links

/ Ahmed Hulusi's website
in English
/ scientific facts which support Ahmed Hulusi's books and thoughts
video links