Lâdik’de medfûn sâhibü’l-hâl es-Seyyid Ahmed Kebîr er-Rifâî evlâd-ı kirâmından Alevî Köyünde Alevî Câmii imâmı es-Seyyid Mustafa Efendi’nin mahdûmudur. Amasya’da Alevî Köylü el-Hâc Bayram Efendi’den tahsîl-i ulûm edib Kutbü’ş-şeyh Ahmed Efendi’nin sohbetinden istifâzâ etdi.
Bir müddet Pervâne Bey Câmii Kürsü Şeyhi olup kutb-ı müşârün-ileyhden ahz-ı hilâfetle Âhi Darbhâneci Tekkesi şeyhi, mükerreren Amasya nakîbü’l-eşrâf kâ’im-makâmı oldu. 1037’de Üftâdi Bey’in vak’asında Amasya a’yânıyla beraber İstanbul’a i’zâm ve Yedi Kule’de hapsedildi.
1038’de Hüsrev Paşa’nın himmetiyle afv u ıtlâk edilerek Amasya’ya geldi. 1043’de yine nakîbü’l-eşrâf kâ’im-makâmı olup 1044 senesi ramazânında dâr-ı na’îme irtihâl etdi. Âlim, sâlih, sâhib-i hayr ve hasenât, şerîf-i sâdât bir pîr-i muhterem idi.
Uzun Mustafa Mahallesi’nde Pervâne Bey Câmii civârında bir çeşme ve Alevî Köyündeki câmi-i şerîfin ittisâlinde bir [498] mektep yaptırdı. Bunların mesâlihine Alevî Köyündeki emlâk ve arazisini vakfetdi. Mahdûmları es-Seyyid Mustafa, Ali Efendilerdir. Es-Seyyid Mustafa Efendizâde es-Seyyid Ali, Ahmed Efendiler ve es-Seyyid Ali Efendizâde es-seyyid Mustafa Paşazâde vüzerâdandır.
In Modern English
He was the son of es-Seyyid Mustafa Efendi, imam of the Alevî Mosque in Alevî Village, and a descendant of the noble line of es-Seyyid Ahmed Kebîr er-Rifâî, the sâhibü'l-hâl buried in Lâdik. In Amasya he acquired learning from el-Hâc Bayram Efendi of Alevî Village and drew spiritual benefit from the company of Kutbü'ş-şeyh Ahmed Efendi.
For a time he was Kürsü Şeyhi (pulpit sheikh) of the Pervâne Bey Mosque, and having received the caliphate (hilâfet) from the said pole, he became sheikh of the Âhi Darbhâneci Lodge, and several times deputy naqib al-ashraf of Amasya. In 1037 [1627-28], in the affair of Üftâdi Bey, he was sent to Istanbul together with the notables of Amasya and imprisoned at Yedikule.
In 1038, through the favor of Hüsrev Pasha, he was pardoned and released and came to Amasya. In 1043 he again became deputy naqib al-ashraf, and in Ramazan 1044 [1635] he passed to the hereafter. He was a scholar, pious, a man of charity and goodness, a noble elder of the seyyids, a venerable pir.
He had a fountain built in the Uzun Mustafa quarter near the Pervâne Bey Mosque and a mekteb adjoining the mosque in Alevî Village. For their expenses he endowed his property and land in Alevî Village as a waqf. His sons are es-Seyyid Mustafa Efendi and Ali Efendi. Among the sons of es-Seyyid Mustafa Efendi are es-Seyyid Ali Efendi and Ahmed Efendi, and es-Seyyid Mustafa Paşazâde, the son of es-Seyyid Ali Efendi, is among the viziers.
Notes and Research
Old Words in the Text
- sâhibü'l-hâl: one possessed of a spiritual state, regarded as a saint
- evlâd-ı kirâm: noble line, noble children
- kutbü'ş-şeyh: spiritual leader regarded as the head of the sheikhs
- istifâzâ: drawing spiritual benefit, profiting
- kürsü şeyhi: sheikh who teaches and preaches from the pulpit of a mosque
- ahz-ı hilâfet: receiving a sheikh's deputyship, that is, the authority of caliph
- nakîbü'l-eşrâf: official who keeps the registers of the seyyids and sharifs and represents them
- a'yân: the notables of a city
- i'zâm: being sent
- afv u ıtlâk: being pardoned and set free
- dâr-ı na'îm: paradise, that is, an expression used for death
- şerîf-i sâdât: among the leading descendants of the Prophet
Ahmed Kebîr in Lâdik
Seyyid Ahmed Kebîr er-Rifâî, to whom Ahmed Efendi traces his lineage, is a Rifâî sheikh whose tomb in Lâdik is still visited today. He should not be confused with Ahmed er-Rifâî, the founder of the Rifâî order. An article published in the Amasya İlahiyat Dergisi argues that Ahmed Kebîr of Lâdik is the same person as the Rifâî sheikh called "Ahmed-i Kûçek" in fourteenth-century sources. According to the article, this figure was the son of Seyyid Tâceddin, who lived in Basra, studied in Baghdad, came to Anatolia in 706 [1306-07], returned to Amasya in 713 [1313-14] and settled in the Mesûdî Hankah, then moved to his lodge in Lâdik, and died in 759 [1358]. The article states that the information in Hüsameddin's Amasya Tarihi also contributed to establishing this identity. The lodge, tomb and waqfs continued in later centuries; a study on Lâdik writes that the tomb had waqfs, a soup kitchen (imarethane) and a lodge, and that his descendants spread to Anatolia and Arabia. That Alevîköylü Ahmed Efendi descended from this line is information given by Hüsameddin; it could not be compared with another document.
The Delegation to Yedikule
The most striking piece of information in the text is that in 1037 the notables of Amasya were taken to Istanbul and imprisoned at Yedikule. The details of the event called "the affair of Üftâdi Bey" are not given in this entry; the event was not found in any other source. Hüsrev Pasha came to Tokat in 1628 as grand vizier to suppress the movement of Abaza Mehmed Pasha (Halil İnalcık's TDV entry); that Ahmed Efendi was pardoned through his mediation in 1038 falls in the same years. Linking these two events is an inference; the text says nothing of the kind.
His Works and Lineage
The mosque called Pervâne Bey is associated in some studies with the Burmalı Minare Mosque, and its waqf is linked to İzzeddin Mehmed Pervâne Bey (d. 1300). The fountain Ahmed Efendi had built was near this mosque. No information could be found about the present condition of the mosque and mekteb in Alevî Village. The office of deputy naqib al-ashraf is one in which the records of the seyyid lineage were kept; that Ahmed Efendi held this office several times shows that he was accepted as a seyyid in his surroundings. The last sentence of the text is ambiguous; which viziers of the family are meant could not be verified.
Bibliography
Primary sources
- Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar, Amasya Tarihi, Amasya Belediyesi Kültür Yayınları, 2022, vol. 6, p. 157–158. amasya.bel.tr
Academic studies
- "Rifâîliğin Anadolu'daki Tarihine Bir Katkı: 'Ahmed-i Kebîr er-Rifâî' 'Ahmed-i Kûçek' mi?", Amasya İlahiyat Dergisi.
- "İzzeddin Mehmet Pervâne Bey (ö. 1300) ve Amasya Burmalı Minare Camii Vakfı", Selçuk Üniversitesi Selçuklu Araştırmaları Dergisi.
- Halil İnalcık, "Hüsrev Paşa", TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi. https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/husrev-pasa
Other sources
- Sadi Bayram, "Samsun-Ladik ve Seyyid Ahmed-i Kebir Hazretleri".