Life and Education
Eşşeyh Esseyyid Hacı Hafız Mustafa ÖZGÜR was born on 1 January 1938 in Kayalık, also known as Bendivan, a village of Susuz district in Kars. His father was Hacı Ruşen Efendi and his mother was Şehriye Hanım. He was the youngest of seven siblings.
He began memorizing the Qur’an at the age of twelve and completed his hifz at the age of fourteen. He studied fiqh, hadith and Arabic from the respected scholars Oflu Hacı Muhammet Sula and his son Hacı Hüseyin Sula.
At the age of sixteen and seventeen, while continuing his religious studies, he began serving as a deputy imam in surrounding villages. After military service, he passed the qualification exams of the Kars Mufti Office and continued his official religious service.
He served in various mosques in Kars as muezzin and imam-hatip, and also worked as a Qur’an course teacher. During this period, he helped raise many hafiz, imams and religious teachers.
Spiritual Service
In 1961, through Hacı Nazım Efendi, one of the disciples of Hacı Mustafa Hayri Baba in Kars, he entered the Qadiri Halisiyye path by correspondence.
In 1972, with the permission of his sheikh, he moved to Istanbul and began serving at Üsküdar Örnek Mahallesi Mosque.
He served at Üsküdar Örnek Mahallesi Mosque, Bakırköy Dârusselam Mosque, Bakırköy Kartaltepe Mosque and Bakırköy Ali Osman Mosque.
Shortly before the passing of Hacı Mustafa Hayri Baba in 1979, he was granted full authorization and became one of the principal khalifas of the Qadiri Halisiyye path.
Legacy
He established dhikr circles and spiritual service centers in many regions of Turkey and abroad.
In 1993, he founded Özgür Vakfı. He passed away on 25 October 2014 and was buried in Merdivenköy Cemetery in Göztepe, İstanbul.
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