Merzifonludur. Orada tekke şeyhi olan Ali Sırrı Efendi’nin mahdûmudur. Pederi İstanbul’da iken ulemâdan tahsîl-i ulûm edib 1058’de silk-i müderrisîne girdi. Mu’ahharan Merzifon’a gelip 1062’de pederinin irtihâlinde yaptırdığı Sırrı Dede tekkesi şeyhi oldu.
Diğer taraftan İstanbul’da silsile yürüdükçe medâris-i mu’tadeyi devredib 1066 saferinde Tokat, 1071 şevvâlinde Mar’aş mollası oldu. 1072’de vazife-i tekâ’üd verilip müreffeh bir hayat içinde imrâr-ı evkât ederek 1080 senesi rebiülahirinde vefât etdi.
“Zeyl-i zeyl-i Şakâyık”da Mehmed Şeyhî Efendi bu tercemeyi yazdıktan sonra “âlim, sâlih, afîf idi.” diyor. Mahdûmu kudât ve meşâyîhten Sun’ullah Efendi ve bunun mahdûmu İbrâhim Efendi marûf olup bunlara “Molla Şeyh oğulları” [544]denirdi.
In Modern English
He was from Merzifon. He was the son of Ali Sırrı Efendi, who was sheikh of a tekke there. While his father was in Istanbul he acquired learning from scholars and in 1058 [1648] entered the company of müderrises. Later he came to Merzifon and in 1062 [1651-52], on his father's death, became sheikh of the Sırrı Dede Tekke that his father had built.
Meanwhile, as the ilmiye ladder advanced in Istanbul, going through the usual madrasas, in Safer 1066 he became mulla (kadı) of Tokat, and in Şevval 1071 mulla of Maraş. In 1072 he was given a retirement post; spending his time in a comfortable life, he died in Rebiülâhir 1080.
In the work called "Zeyl-i zeyl-i Şakâyık", after writing this biography, Mehmed Şeyhî Efendi says: "He was learned, pious and chaste." His son, Sun'ullah Efendi, one of the kadıs and sheikhs, and the latter's son İbrahim Efendi are well known; these were called "Molla Şeyh oğulları".
Notes and Research
Old Words in the Text
- mahdûm: son
- silk-i müderrisîn: the company of müderrises (madrasa teachers)
- silsile: the series of steps by which madrasa teachers rise grade by grade
- mu'ahharan: afterward
- irtihâl: death, departure
- vazife-i tekâ'üd: retirement stipend
- imrâr-ı evkât: passing the time
- tercüme: in this book, a person's biography, that is, a short account of his life
- afîf: chaste, of pure morals
- marûf: well known
Şeyhî Mehmed Efendi as a Source
The "Zeyl-i zeyl-i Şakâyık" that Hüsameddin cites is Şeyhî Mehmed Efendi's work called Vekâyiü'l-fuzalâ. Şeyhî Mehmed Efendi was born in Istanbul at the end of Receb 1078 (January 1668) and died on 15 Muharrem 1144 (20 July 1731). The work is a continuation (zeyl) of Nev'îzâde Atâî's book Hadâiku'l-hakāik; that is, it continues from where he left off, and describes the scholars and sheikhs who lived between 1042 and 1144 (1632-1731) together with the poets of the period. The book speaks of 2058 persons. The author used mainly the registers of the şeyhülislam as sources. For this reason the dates of appointment in the life of a middle-ranking müderris and kadı like Molla Şeyh must have come from registers of this kind. This connection is an inference; which page Hüsameddin relies on directly is not stated.
The Family's Place in Merzifon
In the Merzifon section of the same book, describing the Sırrı Baba Tekke in the Adil Neighborhood, Hüsameddin writes that Şeyh Sırrî Ali Efendi, one of the Naqshbandi sheikhs, had this zawiya built in 1035 (1625-26). Here, however, the same tekke appears under the name "Sırrı Dede Tekke", and it is said that the son Ahmed Efendi became sheikh on his father's death in 1062. The text is not entirely clear on who had the tekke built: the expression "built at his father's death" can describe both the son's having it built upon his father's death and his succeeding to the sheikhship of the tekke his father had built. There is a difference between the information in the two places, and no other source was found that would resolve it.
No information was found in other sources about this person. The order of posts that Hüsameddin gives (Tokat, Maraş, retirement) could not be verified with an independent document.
Bibliography
Primary sources
- Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar, Amasya Tarihi, Amasya Belediyesi Kültür Yayınları, 2022, vol. 6, p. 170–170. amasya.bel.tr
- Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar, Amasya Tarihi, vol. 1, Merzifon section (record of the Sırrı Baba Tekke).
Academic studies