Fethullah Gulen by Jon Pahl

Author:Jon Pahl
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Blue Dome Press
Published: 2019-04-05T13:50:40+00:00

The 5th Floor—sources and methods in Gülen’s teaching

But most of Gülen’s time on the 5th Floor was spent in teaching. A very helpful article by Ergün Çapan listed the range of texts and methods that Gülen honed during these years in Istanbul.357 Not surprisingly, Gülen’s teaching followed the six classical disciplines of Islamic inquiry: Arabic grammar, Qur’anic exegesis (tafsir), Hadith study (which included attention to stories about the Prophet’s life, his companions, and his relations with non-Muslims), jurisprudence (fiqh), systematic theology (kalam), and Islamic mysticism (tasawwuf). A few words about how Hodjaefendi approached each of these disciplines can clarify how Gülen interacted with students during his days on the 5th Floor. Understanding those interactions can also help make manifest how Gülen’s withdrawal from public life paved the way for his embrace by The City. Lessons with Gülen ran from two to four hours. They were generally held between morning (dawn) and noon prayers. Sometimes students would gather before breakfast, start a lesson, take a break to eat, and then resume for the remainder of the morning. Sometimes lessons would start after breakfast and run longer into the morning. On occasion, lessons would happen in the afternoon, and sometimes they would even begin an hour before the dawn prayer. That Gülen slept little is a well-attributed fact about him.

Gülen himself once described his general teaching method with the modest sentence: “I discuss books with my friends.” In fact, Gülen tailored his teaching to the needs of students. He lectured frequently early in a student’s progression, then engaged in greater dialogue over questions as a student matured. Throughout, Gülen taught with what Çapan identified as a “culture of presence,” where “his students personally experience and benefit from his presence; they witness the vastness of his horizons and enthusiasm and are colored by his influence. The degree to which one benefits from that atmosphere depends on a person’s capacity, intention, concentration, and abilities.” It is no doubt the case, on the one hand, that learning of any kind depended on an individual’s intention, concentration, and capacity. Exactly what a “culture of presence” meant, on the other hand, was less quantifiable. It might convey charisma, gravitas, energy, even hüzün, perhaps. In any event, lessons with Gülen began “with mentioning the name of God, praising and glorifying Him, and praying for and sending greetings to the Prophet.” For instance, one of these opening prayers began sensibly with “Our Lord, increase our knowledge.” But it then went on to ask also for increase in a long list of attributes: “faith, certainty, trust, surrender, entrustment, reliability, tranquility, sincerity, loyalty, faithfulness, ingenuity, affection, decency, chastity, intelligence, wisdom, memory, and our trust in You and our love and desire for meeting You. My God,” it then went on, “we ask You for perfect and permanent health and well-being and a [tranquil] heart. Bestow your power and might on us, O most compassionate of the merciful.”358 Although God was merciful, Gülen expected students to come to lessons prepared. That meant

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