Renowned as professor of the Sultâniye, the leading madrasa of Merzifon, Abdülgaffâr Efendi was also licensed to issue fatwas and preached; Hüsameddin calls him "a man of letters and a poet" as well. He spent his retirement in a post at the Çelebi Sultan Mosque in Merzifon and died around 1031 (1621-22). His son was the Naqshbandi sheikh Sırrî Ali Efendi, who gave his name to a dervish lodge in Merzifon. The two records of his life disagree over his father's name, and of his poetry no specimen is in hand.

The Entry in the History of Amasya

Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar's entry Abdülgaffâr Efendi-Şeyhî gives his father's name as Süleyman:

Merzifonludur. Süleyman'ın oğludur. Merzifon ve Amasya ulemâsından ikmâl-i tahsîl edib Merzifon'da ders-i âm ve Sultâniyye-i Merzifon müderrisi olarak iştihâr etdi. İftâya mezûn oldu. Ba'dehû Merzifon'da Çelebi Sultân Câmii vazîfesiyle tekâüd edilip 1031 sâline doğru vefât etdi. Mahdûmu Şeyh Ali Sırrî Efendi'dir. Âlim, kâmil, vâiz, edîb ve şâir idi.

What it says: he came from Merzifon, and Süleyman was his father. He completed his studies under the scholars of Merzifon and Amasya and became known as a licensed lecturer in Merzifon and as professor of the Merzifon Sultâniye. He was licensed to give fatwas. Later he was retired with a post at the Çelebi Sultan Mosque in Merzifon and died towards the year 1031. His son is Sheikh Ali Sırrî Efendi. He was a learned and accomplished preacher, a man of letters and a poet.

His Life

Abdülgaffâr's life was spent between two great buildings of Merzifon. The Merzifon Sultâniye was the madrasa of the complex Mehmed I built in Merzifon, founded in 1414-1417, and it stood at the centre of the town's learning. Hüsameddin says that Abdülgaffâr won renown, "iştihâr," as professor of this madrasa; he was a teacher whose name was known in the town.

Being "licensed to give fatwas" meant that a professor could also act with a mufti's authority in his town; in a district centre such as Merzifon this carried both scholarly and social weight. At the end of his life he left the madrasa and was retired with a post at the mosque of the same complex, most likely as preacher or as holder of the lecture chair; Hüsameddin does not name the post, but his calling him a "preacher" supports the guess.

His death is dated approximately, "towards the year 1031." The same year marked a turning point for his son Sırrî Ali Efendi. Sırrî had been trained in Istanbul under Ömer Efendi of Amasya, who rose to be the sultan's tutor (muallim-i sultânî), and had gained influence while his master held that office. After what Hüsameddin calls "the terrible event" of Receb 1031, the killing of Osman II in May 1622, he was sent away to Merzifon. The source does not connect the father's death with the son's return to Merzifon in the same year.

His Son Sırrî Ali Efendi

Back in Merzifon, Sırrî Ali Efendi became sheikh of the Devlet Hâtun lodge in 1033 (1623-24), and in 1035 (1625-26) he endowed the Naqshbandi lodge he had built, together with his property. The lodge came to be known in Merzifon as the Sırrı Baba Tekkesi. In 1045 (1635-36) he went to Istanbul again and died on 16 Muharrem 1063 (17 December 1652) as sheikh of the lodge beside the Atîk Ali Pasha Mosque. His son Ahmed Efendi, known as "Molla Şeyh," rose to the rank of the mevâlî.

Where the Sources Disagree

In his own entry Hüsameddin introduces Abdülgaffâr as "son of Süleyman." In the son's entry, however, he writes Sırrî Ali as "son of Abdülgaffâr Çelebi bin Zeynelâbidîn Âbidî Çelebi" and makes Ali Efendi, a secretary of the Imperial Council, his uncle. So Abdülgaffâr's father is Süleyman in one place and Zeynelâbidîn Âbidî Çelebi in the other. That the two entries describe the same man is clear: both speak of an Abdülgaffâr of Merzifon and his son Sırrî Ali. Whether the difference is a slip of writing or transmission, or whether Süleyman also bore the name "Zeynelâbidîn," cannot be settled from the source.

The word "Şeyhî" in the heading can also be read two ways. Hüsameddin arranges his entries as "Name-Surname," and here "Şeyhî" stands in the surname slot; the son's surname "Şeyh Çelebizâde" likewise suggests a family descended from an ancestor called "Şeyh Çelebi." On the other hand, "Şeyhî" could serve as a poet's pen name, and Hüsameddin does count him a poet. The source does not say whether the word is a pen name; the son's surname makes a family name the likelier reading.

His Poetry

In Hüsameddin's string of epithets the poet comes last, after the preacher and the man of letters: "vâiz, edîb ve şâir." It looks like a talent practised alongside a life spent in the pulpit and the madrasa, and valued in madrasa circles. Abdülgaffâr Efendi's verse has not been found; the entry gives neither a couplet nor the title of a work, and the entry on his son Sırrî Ali never touches on poetry.

Chronology

1414-1417: The Çelebi Sultan Mehmed madrasa (the Sultâniye) is founded in Merzifon.

c. 1031 (1621-22): Abdülgaffâr Efendi dies in Merzifon.

Receb 1031 (May 1622): After the killing of Osman II, his son Sırrî Ali Efendi is sent to Merzifon.

1035 (1625-26): Sırrî Ali Efendi endows his Naqshbandi lodge in Merzifon.

16 Muharrem 1063 (17 December 1652): Sırrî Ali Efendi dies in Istanbul.

Bibliography

Online sources