Muzaffer Ozak (formally: Sheikh Muzaffer Özak Âșkî al-Jerrahi) (1916 – 12 February 1985) was a Turkish

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

spiritual author,

imam Imam (; , '; : , ') is an Islamic leadership position. For Sunni Islam, Sunni Muslims, Imam is most commonly used as the title of a prayer leader of a mosque. In this context, imams may lead Salah, Islamic prayers, serve as community leaders, ...

, and the 19th Grand

Sheikh Sheikh ( , , , , ''shuyūkh'' ) is an honorific title in the Arabic language, literally meaning "elder (administrative title), elder". It commonly designates a tribal chief or a Muslim ulama, scholar. Though this title generally refers to me ...

of the Halveti- Jerrahi Order of

Dervish Dervish, Darvesh, or Darwīsh (from ) in Islam can refer broadly to members of a Sufi fraternity (''tariqah''), or more narrowly to a religious mendicant, who chose or accepted material poverty. The latter usage is found particularly in Persi ...

es, a traditional Ottoman

Sufi 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 ...

order Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * A socio-political or established or existing order, e.g. World order, Ancien Regime, Pax Britannica * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood ...

based 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 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 ...

. He served the position from 1966 to 1985, becoming revered in Western countries because of his visits through

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and the

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, where he celebrated public zikr ceremonies with his dervishes. He is also well known in Turkey for his ''ilahis'', Sufi religious hymns. Ozak also ran a small shop in the historic book bazaar, Sahaflar Çarşısı, that still serves the community today. Ozak's most prominent disciples and successors in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

were Tosun Bayrak,

Lex Hixon Lex Hixon (born Alexander Paul Hixon Junior, also known as Nur al-Anwar al-Jerrahi in the Sufi community; 1941–1995) was an American Sufi author, poet, and spiritual teacher. He practiced and held membership in several religious traditions. He ...

, and Philippa de Menil. Following Ozak's death, the

tariqa A ''tariqa'' () is a religious order of Sufism, or specifically a concept for the mystical teaching and spiritual practices of such an order with the aim of seeking , which translates as "ultimate truth". A tariqa has a (guide) who plays the ...

was split into the Nur Ashki Jerrahi Sufi Order and the Jerrahi Order of America, with the former reflecting a more "universalistic" orientation, and the latter a more "traditional" one. Ozak consciously fostered different interpretations of his teachings while also showing it was not his intention to have the Halveti-Jerrahi Order separated. Moreover, he grew to embrace the more adaptive interpretations of his message over the more conservative, yet still legitimate perspective of traditionalists. Kasperski, J. G. (2021). The Halveti-Jerrahis & the Legacy of Sheikh Muzaffer in North America. Canada: University of Lethbridge. Ozak's immediate predecessor as Grand Sheikh was Ibrahim Fahreddin (1885–1966), who was the 18th Grand Sheikh of the Order from 1914 to 1966. His immediate successor as Grand Sheikh was Sefer Dal (1926–1999), who was the 20th Grand Sheikh of the Order from 1985 to 1999. Ozak's most prominent disciple and successor in Turkey was Ömer Tuğrul İnançer (1946–2022), who had been the 21st Grand Sheikh of the Halveti-Jerrahi Order since 1999 where he oversaw activities of the community from their three hundred year old tekke in

Fatih Fatih () is a municipality and district of Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its area is 15 km2, and its population is 368,227 (2022). It is home to almost all of the provincial authorities (including the mayor's office, police headquarters, metro ...

, Istanbul.

Works

* ''Irşad'' ** English: ''Irshad – Wisdom of a Sufi Master'' * ''Aşk Yolu Vuslat Tariki'' ** English: ''The Unveiling of Love'' ** Spanish: ''La Develación del Amor'' * ''Envar-ül-Kulub'' ** English: ''Lights of the Hearts'' * ''Ziynet-ül-Kulub'' ** English: ''Adornment of Hearts'' * ''Gülsar-i Arifan'' * ''Hazret-i Meryem'' (not published in Turkish) ** English: ''Blessed Virgin Mary'' ** German: ''Die gesegnete Jungfrau Maria im Islam'' ** Spanish: ''Mariam'' * ''Sofiyye Sohbetleri'' (not published in Turkish) ** English: ''Garden of Dervishes'' * ''Love is the Wine'' (edited by Robert Frager) ** German: ''Der Wein der Sufis'' (zusammengestellt von Robert Frager) *** (Title of first edition: ''Liebe ist der Wein'') ** Spanish: ''El Amor es el Vino'' (recompilado por R. Frager)

Audiorecordings

* LP ''Halveti-Jerrahi-Dhikr'' ** Journey To The Lord Of Power * CD ''Chant des Derviches de Turquie'' ** La Cérémonie du Zikr ** (5. Festival des Arts Traditionnels 1978, Rennes, France) * CD ''Garden of Paradise'' ** Sufi Ceremony of Remembrance ** (recorded April 5, 1983 in Istanbul, Turkey) * CD ''Reunion'' ** Ceremonial Music of the Sufis ** (recorded April 16, 1984 in New York City, USA)

References

External links

The Unveiling of Love Sufism and the Remembrance of God By Sheikh Muzaffer Ozak

* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060525003831/http://www.fonsvitae.com/gardenceremony.html Garden of Paradise - Sufi Ceremony of Remembrance - Music CD Sheikh Muzzafer Ozak and the Halveti-Jerrahi Order of Dervishes]
Lifting the Boundaries: Muzaffer Efendi and the Transmission of Sufism to the West by Gregory Blann

Sheikh Muzaffer Ashki

Muzaffer Ozak
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ozak, Muzaffer 1916 births 1985 deaths Turkish Sufis Sufi poets 20th-century Muslim scholars of Islam Turkish composers 20th-century poets 20th-century composers

Works

Audiorecordings

See also

References

External links