We are born anew every moment. Who could ever tire of us?
1989 was a year of rebirth for us as well. After meeting a beloved servant of Allah, the Exalted, we realized that life is not confined to this worldly prison we find ourselves in.
Whenever we heard the voice that said, “Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror, Sultan Selim the Grim and others like them are mirrors of the Qur’an madrasas, and today’s rulers are mirrors of today’s schools,” “Value the ijazah, not the diploma. Who knows, perhaps one day the ijazah will be accepted and not the diploma,” and “Keep studying in the madrasa; very soon you will become antiques,” we came to understand that the madrasas are the true schools of knowledge and wisdom that will change the ill fate of the Ummah.
Each time he said, “I want from you a madrasa for girls and one for boys in every neighborhood,” sleep left us, and in our sleepless nights we searched for the secret and the key to fulfilling this command. With the excitement of a mother who has found her orphan, we were setting up and equipping madrasas on one hand, and on the other we were looking for ways to let our teachers, each as precious as an antique and armed with knowledge, action and sincerity, serve the sciences of the Qur’an for a lifetime, so that no graduate would be lost.
Thanks to the glad tidings of our Master, who said, “Listen to me! Soon people like the Noble Companions will rise from these madrasas,” we could not stay still. Before long, we were blessed to graduate our first students at our madrasa in the garden of the Ismailaga Mosque.
After receiving our Master’s prayer, “May Allah grant you more than you hope for,” we sent our graduate teachers, first to the Thrace region and then to different parts of Turkey and the world, to inoculate the Ummah with the vaccine of Islam, and we prepared the ground for their service.
In 1997, we took the step toward institutionalization by establishing the Erenler Foundation for Knowledge and Service.
On this meaningful journey with many companions of the heart, our educational activities, which began in basements and haylofts because of the conditions of the time, have by the grace of Allah grown with new branches and continue to serve with steadfastness today.
Our students who receive an ijazah in the Islamic sciences go on to our one-year Tekamul (Maturation) Madrasa. After that, some continue to our Specialization Madrasa to specialize in fields such as Creed, Fiqh and Hadith, while others are employed in Turkey and abroad and continue to serve the Qur’an.
When we visited our Master, Mahmud Efendi (may Allah sanctify his secret), at the founding stage and asked, “What do you advise us so that we may succeed?”, he said: “Take an interest in your work, and do not betray the trust!”
We take this counsel as our guiding principle, and we ask our brothers and sisters for their prayers, that Allah, the Exalted, may soon grant us success in services worthy of Him and His Messenger (peace be upon him).
Our Mission
To raise teachers and individuals of character who hold the sacred in esteem, who are loyal, generous, respected, courteous, caring and high-minded, in line with the understanding of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), the noble Companions, the scholars of Ahl al-Sunnah wa’l-Jama‘ah, and the golden chain.
Our Vision
To be the most esteemed and exemplary educational institution in our field, an institution that has completed its institutionalization with a distinguished staff of people of character, and that will continue to serve for centuries.
Our Values
Accountability: Striving for full transparency, we carry out every task in accordance with our religious, ethical and legal obligations. We avoid with piety whatever appears religiously impermissible, while also fulfilling our legal responsibilities. Where there is no clear religious or legal obligation, we hold all our work to an inner accounting of ethics and conscience.
Reputation: As an institution engaged in scholarly work, we avoid any conduct, work or activity that would harm the dignity of knowledge and of scholars.
Integrity: Knowing that the most valuable quality a teacher can instill in a student is character, we always and everywhere strive to raise teachers and individuals who are steeped in knowledge and wisdom, who never compromise their character, and who walk the straight path.
Brotherhood and Loyalty: We remain loyal to our predecessors and elders, who leavened us with the cause of truth, and we strive to ensure that the people of knowledge we raise remain loyal to Allah, to His cause and to our foundation.
Student Focus: While offering our students the most effective education, we create the care and the means that make them feel more valued than they would at home.
Trustworthiness: Together with our teachers, students, parents and staff, we carry out all our activities openly and clearly, mindful of mutual trust and with no regard for personal or worldly gain.