We keep hearing that "all deaths are too soon." To think of death as something alien to life – an unwelcome guest with no regard for time that disrupts one’s plans – has become one of the most obvious signs of modern life’s detachment from reality. In contrast, a dervish, who thinks of death as life’s mirror image and a stage of the journey from antiquity to eternity, could very well think of all deaths as overdue. They might await the Angel of Death while complaining to themselves. Ömer Tuğrul Inançer – who, to the best of my knowledge, lived in line with an approach to Tasawwuf, or Sufism, rooted in invocation, argued that no death was too soon or overdue and that each and every death took place right on time – viewed it as a cornerstone of morality to know one’s place in the face of the divine will. Indeed, of all the events in one’s life, what, if not death, could have a certain time and place?

Two principles

It is not difficult to talk about someone with plenty of skills – someone who never stopped trying at any point in their life. One could reflect on any of their qualities without exaggeration and give the text its due. Focusing on Ömer Tuğrul Inançer’s skills and areas of interest, however, tends to drift one away from the man. It could build a wall between oneself and his identity as veiled by his abilities. Upon hearing Inançer’s name, one ought to immediately think of his devotion to Allah and his love of the Prophet Muhammad. Like many others, his life should be remembered as a life "from Allah, toward Allah and with Allah."

I assume that almost everyone that could bear witness would agree with that fact. He took an interest and talked about all relevant things due to their links to those two principles. He tracked down those two principles and thought of life as a state of being away from one’s home, where one must live based on those two principles. The famous line from Turkish poet Sheikh Galib, "You are my Lord and if I am esteemed in this world, it comes from You," encapsulates Ömer Tuğrul Inançer’s notion of the Prophet. Indeed, all of his speeches, whether openly or indirectly, concentrated on those two principles. Whereas he made occasional references to metaphysical matters like the ideas of Tasawwuf (e.g. the Muhammedan Truth and the eternal prophet) while talking about the Prophet, he would have rather discussed the historical Prophet as a moral principle that interests far more people.

That approach is noteworthy for the history of Tasawwuf. For one of the problems, which metaphysical thought has engendered, relates to the contradiction that everyone seems to turn to metaphysical issues to neglect their duties. It would seem that talking about Al-Hallaj must have been more convenient than becoming Al-Hallaj. Indeed, all the dervish orders are filled with the likes of Yunus Emre, Al-Hallaj and Rumi who have made absolutely no effort to become them. Metaphysical issues and the conceptual language caused the dervish orders to deteriorate, dragging those people, who ought to uphold a lack of ambition, into rhetoric over reality and, later, fantasy and ambition. Judging by what I could detect at many points, Inançer’s attitude was rooted in preventing moral deformation to encourage people to carry out their duties. That is why he rather talked about the Prophet’s moral life, family, trade, relationship with his companions and grace than metaphysical matters. That the tone of his speeches generally became somewhat strong was rooted in his love for the Prophet, which, in turn, entailed the love of humans: "I am unsure how many people actually realized that he got mad out of his love and respect for humans."

Humble Servant

Inançer was the post-nishin of the Cerrahi order. As I repeatedly witnessed, he did not deem titles like Sufi suitable for himself. Instead, he declared himself to be a humble servant. Notwithstanding, he used to honor and talk about the legacy of his order and his own masters. One of the great qualities, which Inançer certainly had, was his tendency to honor all dervishes and Sufis with the same attitude. As Yunus Emre once said: "One hundred thousand dervishes are but one / There is no need to distinguish." Regardless of their approaches and backgrounds, he respectfully commemorated all Sufis, dervishes and scholars, and he could think of them all as servants of that same path.

Among them, Rumi had a special and important place. Inançer was among the most knowledgeable people when it came to Mevlevi customs and notables. Together with Ahmet Özhan, he promoted a certain seriousness and order around the annual Şeb-i Arus ceremony, ensuring that the idea of Rumi attained a reasonable and realistic basis through his speeches. Stressing that Rumi was a "mujtahid" and "scholar," Inançer highlighted the links between Tasawwuf and the religious sciences, morality and rules, and mentors and scholars. As such, he was among those people that prevented a dangerous game from being played using Rumi’s name.