The translator, known as Hasan Hoca Efendi of Gaziantep, is the Qadirī and Shādhilī shaykh Hasan Arslan Hoca Efendi, who was born in 1928 in the Büyük Şahinbey (formerly Körkün) town of Gaziantep.
Hasan Hoca Efendi, due to his love for religious and spiritual sciences, went to the late Ali Bilici Hoca Efendi in the town. From this figure, he took lessons in the Qur'an, tajwīd (proper recitation), inshāʾ (composition), and Ottoman Turkish script. Shaykh Hasan Hoca Efendi studied with many scholars of Gaziantep, and also tried to complete his studies in ṣarf (morphology) and naḥw (syntax) with Muhammed Salih İlhan Hoca Efendi, from whom he received a madrasa diploma (ijazah).
Hasan Hoca Efendi entered a search for a murshid (spiritual guide) who would show him the spiritual path; this search continued until he found the late Shaykh Muhammed Mukarrem Safi of Kilis. His services in the tariqa (Sufi path/order) elevated him to the rank of deputy (nāʾib), and after the death of his shaykh, he affiliated himself with Shaykh Muhammed Siddiq Teylanī, who resided in the village of Teylan, attached to Kurtalan in Siirt. As a result of eight years of service to this figure, he received the ijazah (authorization) of the Qadirī tariqa and continued to serve. Meanwhile, he expanded his knowledge of Arabic through lessons from his shaykh's son, Sayyid Faik Efendi. After receiving the authorization for spiritual guidance (irshād ijazah), he met with many shaykhs and benefited from them. One of these shaykhs was the Shādhilī shaykh Sayyid Abdulkadir Isa al-Halabī. Shaykh Hasan Hoca Efendi describes his first meeting with his shaykh Abdulkadir Isa (may Allah have mercy on him) and his affiliation with his tariqa as follows: “I myself had first served Qadirī shaykhs. One day, Maraşlı Ahmet Cami Efendi and Shaykh Abdulkadir Isa Efendi honored my home as guests. Shaykh Abdulkadir Isa Efendi asked me to also affiliate myself with his tariqa. I told him that I was a khalīfa (deputy) of the Qadirī tariqa. The shaykh replied that he himself had previously been a Qadirī and Naqshī khalīfa, but after meeting Shaykh Muhammed Hashimī, he had affiliated himself with the Shādhilī tariqa. Continuing his words, he described his first encounter with Shaykh Hashimī as follows:
One day, while I was in Damascus, I went to the Umayyad Mosque to perform prayer. After the prayer, I saw a congregation gathered around a man, listening to him silently. I joined this congregation. That man was giving a religious sohbet (spiritual discourse). After the sohbet, he called me to his side and asked me where I was from. I told him I was from Aleppo. Then he asked which tariqa I belonged to. I said I was Qadirī and Naqshī. He asked, 'Is your shaykh alive?' I said, 'Yes, he is alive.' He said, 'Then convey my greetings to your shaykh, tell him my name is Muhammed Hashimī, and if he permits, I would like you to also enter my tariqa.'
Upon this, I returned to Aleppo. I did not know how to tell my shaykh Hasan Hasenī, who was in the village, about this matter. This troubled me and occupied my mind. Gathering my resolve, I told Shaykh Efendi that I had met Shaykh Muhammed Hashimī and conveyed his greetings and request. Shaykh Efendi said, 'Very well, my son, if possible, take me to that shaykh as well, so that I too may affiliate myself with him.' Thus, we went to Shaykh Hashimī and I affiliated myself with him.
Upon this, Abdulkadir Isa Efendi said to me: 'If your shaykh Muhammed Siddiq Efendi were alive, I would send you to him and ask you to request permission to take the tariqa from me as a blessing.' Upon this insistent offer, I also affiliated myself with the Shādhilī tariqa and he gave me the 'ijazat-i ʿāmma' (general authorization) of this tariqa. After the death of the shaykh, I received the 'ijazat-i khassa' (special authorization) from his khalīfa, the scholar, God-fearing, virtuous Shaykh Sayyid Sadullah Murad Efendi, who now lives in Jeddah, in accordance with the will of Shaykh Abdulkadir Isa.”
Shaykh Hasan Hoca Efendi currently leads both tariqas simultaneously. He retired in 1987 from his 35-year post as imam-hatip at Shaykh Fetullah Mosque.
In 1997, Shaykh Hasan Hoca Efendi founded the Hasan Hoca İlim Yayma Foundation. As president of the foundation, he continues his services. Hoca Efendi has a poetry book titled “Hasan Hoca Dīwānı,” a translation under the title “Truths from Sufism,” and two small treatises titled “The Creed of Ahl al-Sunnah” and “The Treatise on Sacrifice.”