H. Abdullah Zëmblaku, Islamic Scholar and Distinguished Patriot

Abstract

The patriotic figure of Hafiz Abdullah Zëmblaku becomes of a special importance these days as a teacher, preacher of Islamic faith, poet, and social activist.
This beloved figure across Albanian language speakers, particularly those of Islamic faith, stands on a pair with his distinguished friend Hafiz Ali Korça, whom Zëmblaku himself called his spiritual brother. While something has been written about H. A. Korça, and a madrasah is named after him in the town of Kavaja alongside a written monograph about his life, little do we know about Zëmblaku? We all know him because of his famous translation of “Mevlud,” which is sung occasionally at remembrances or celebrations or because of his poetry and books, valuable even today, a century after their publication.

Hafiz Zëmblaku was a scholar, an example of patience, a model of persistence working to spread the real faith and education in the Albanian language, promoting love for the country, knowledge, and science, as well as love for the truth, peace, and good to all mankind.
He proudly called himself: “Servant of Albanian Nation” as well as “Missionary and teacher of Islamic Religion.” Those good qualities he tried to fulfill with hard work throughout his fruitful life, writing about thirty books and visiting up and down the country towns and villages preaching for free, the real faith, knowledge, and love for the country, peace, truth, and progress. He is among the first compiler and organizer of the publication of books in the Albanian language with religious content. The books used to be distributed for free during different activities that Zëmblaku very often organized to the north or south of the country. You could easily find in those books the names of the sponsors as well as of believers with good intentions.
Having mastered several languages with large expressive possibilities such as Arabic, Turkish, Persian, Slavic, French, etc., he formed a complete culture not only religious but also literary and scientific. He collaborated with magazines and newspapers of the time, such as the magazines "High Voice," "Islamic Culture," "Man," etc., where he published various articles. He also translated religious, philosophical, and mystical works, some of which were published and distributed.

Why scholars, researchers, even clerics and heads of religious institutions yesterday and today unfairly kept silent about Hafiz Abdullah Zëmblaku?!
Perhaps this has happened because H. Abdullah belonged to a special tariqa. As he says about himself in the book "The Nightingale Peace: Best Poems of 1940," Islamic missionary and teacher of Islam for the soul (strolling), and caliphate of tariqa Nakshi and Hayati as well as author of religious books in Albanian, Hafiz Abdullah Zëmblaku (Fatih), who studied at Darulhilafe madrasah and from the university of Darulfununi Sherijje in Istanbul. It seems like nowadays there are little or no followers, supporters, or scholars at all of these tariqas. Zëmblaku perhaps is the last of pop literature who tried to understand the danger of easy entering in Albanian language from Turkish, Arabic, or Persian language without any meaning whatsoever for ordinary Albanians causing distortion to Albanian language (Xh.Spahiu, “The Pearl,” 2005/1 p.17).
His teachings are an excellent model of understandings of Koran and Hadiths, an example of reasoning and interlacing with problems of that time as well as the state of real life among us. He preached religious harmony in our country, requesting from religious followers to respect each other's religion on their own right while admiring their own, through deepening their knowledge of the Holy Book of Koran.
In memorial of his name and his works, a lot of activities have been organized lately. He was given the title “Honorary Citizen” in Pojan of Korça initiated by me and the Mayor of Pojan, Alfred Berberi. Korça’s new madrasah is named after his honorable name Abdullah Zëmblaku. Maybe a special monograph could have been appropriate and welcomed by everyone.