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Ahmad Husrev Effendi was born in Isparta on 1315 A.H, 1899 A.D, at a time when a glorious, but unfortunate government -the Ottoman Empire- was suffering in the throes of material and spiritual disaster.
Upon his birth, a virtuous man, dear to Allah, visited his house to name him and congratulate his family. The visitor, who was from Senirkent (a village near Isparta), wrote the following poem in honour of the birth of Ahmed Husrev:
May Husrev bring light and good destiny to the worlds,
May Allah make his life long; may Allah not make his destiny deviant,
Your origin is honourable and famous, Elhaj Edhemzadah;
May Allah make you the leader of the famous, learned men in your time;
May your parents reach The Goal by means of your goodness;
May they not see, due to you, any sorrow, any sense of vanity – like the skies,
These are my well-wishing prayers, always with sincere heart:
May the people of the world love you.. May you love the people of the world.
A jewel comes out of this poetry. His words, to become a perfect memory.
A garden of roses of The Mahdi, Ahmed Husrev has come into existence. ”
The poem introduced Ahmed Husrev Efendi to the flag-carrying nation of Islam while he was still an infant. It gives glad tidings concerning Ahmed Husrev as a great spiritual hero and self-sacrificing, sincere devotee of his nation in days of tuRmoil, when the nation shall be faced with many pitiless enemies, both external and internal.
The name of his father was Muhammad; his mother’s name was Aisha. He was the third-born among his six brothers and sisters. His father was the descendent of Hadhrat Abu Bakr (RadhiAllahu Anh) and belonged to a prestigious family of Isparta known as “The Green Turbans.” His mother was from a noble family, descended from the genealogy of Hadhrat Hussein (R.A), who was a descendant of the Messenger of Allah (PBUH). They were known as “ Hafiz Qurra” As a matter of fact, most of his close relatives were hafiz .
It is a known fact that, upon returning from their Meccan pilgrimage, the wealthy people of Isparta would bring along many orphans of the descendants of the Prophet (PBUH), the “innate” supporters of Islam. The grandfathers of Husrev Effendi were very rich, highly respected, and had large families. They preserved this blessed custom of returning with such orphans to increase the number of the descendants of the Prophet (PBUH) in their own homeland. It is clear that this custom has played an immense role in the extraordinary victories of the persevering heroes of Isparta in their service towards faith and the Qur’an.
During his childhood, A. Husrev Effendi was known as “Khidr” amongst his friends because of his exceptional behaviour, honesty, and graciousness. Even at the age of 5 and 6, he used to leave home very early virtually every morning to catch the congregational morning prayer and subsequent litanies of the remembrance of Allah. On those occasions when he was unable to go, a special space had been left for him.
Husrev Altinbasak graduated from high school upon having received a comprehensive education. He was drafted at the age of 17 when the Wars of The Dardanelle Strait (Canakkale Wars) had just begun. After military training for two years in Pendik, Istanbul, he was temporarily discharged from the military due to his youth. During the years 1919 and 1922, he was reinstated in the army once again, given the rank of lieutenant and commissioned to join the Turkish War of Independence. After long battles with Greek forces at the Aegean front, he fell prisoner to the opposition. Thereafter, he endured two years of tremendous suffering in a POW camp near the border of Albania. Only after the war was over, he was returned to Turkey via POW exchange.