Gümüşlüdür.⁸⁵ Pederi Gümüş müftüsü iken azledilip İstanbul’a geldikte Gelibolu müftülüğüne tayin edilen Gümüşlü el-Hâc Mehmed Efendi bin Hasan’ın mahdûmudur. Pederinden ve İstanbul’da Amasyalı Büyük Hâfız Mehmed, Amedî Abdülkerîm, Ankaravî İsmâil Efendilerden tahsîl-i ulûm ederek 1151 şa’bânında müderris oldu.
Fatih Câmii şerîfinde ders-i âm olup hayli talebeye icâzet verdi. Ba’dehû kibâr-ı müderrisînden olarak vilâyet ve livâ niyâbetlerinde bulundu. Bu esnâda ikmâl-i devre-i medâris ederek [686] 1181 senesi zilka’desinde Galata mollası, ba’dehû Bursa nâibi, 1187 senesi muharreminde ordu-yu hümâyûn kadısı oldu. 1188 senesi şevvâlinin on beşinde Mekke-i mükerreme pâyesi ile taltîf edildi.
1192’de Rusya müsâlahasında mükâlemeye me’mûr olup 1196 senesi şa’bânında İstanbul kadısı, 1197 şa’bânında Anadolu kazaskerliği pâyesiyle mükerrem olarak zilka’desinde azledildi. 1199 şa’bânında Rumeli kazaskerliği pâyesi ile tebcil edilip ramâzânında Anadolu kazaskeri ve 1200 senesi rebîülahirinin on beşinci günü şeyhülislâm oldu.
İki yıl kadar makâm-ı fetvâda kalıp 1202 senesi saferinin on üçüncü günü Nemçe ve Rus muhârebesinin te’âkubuna ve kendinin de hastalandığına binâ’en azledilip Beylerbeyi sahîl-hânesinde ikâmete me’zûn oldu.
Fakat Hamîdîzâde Mustafa Efendi Şeyhülislâm oldukta 1204 senesi saferinde Ankara’ya gönderdiyse de ramazânında avdetine müsâ’ade buyuruldu. 1206 senesi rebîülevvelinin on üçüncü pazar günü sahîlhânesinde dâru’n-na’îme irtihâl etdi. Beylerbeyinde Havuz dibinde medfûndur. [687]
Gâyet fâzıl, müttakî, natûk, mütasallib, halîm, umûr-ı şer’iyyede zamanın müctehidi idi. Rus harbini açmağa hayli mu’âveneti oldu. “Tefsîr-i Beyzâvî”nin mevâkî-i müşkîlesine dâir resâ’ili vardır. Zaman-ı meşîhatinde Fas hükümdarı Mevlây Mehmed tarafından Türk ulemâsını imtihân için irsâl edilen dört mes’ele-i mu’dileye bilâ-tekellüf cevaplar verdi. Risâleler yazdı.
Mahdûmları Mehmed Sâlim, İbrâhim Selîm Efendilerdir. Mehmed Sâlim Efendi müderrisînden iken 1205’de vefât etdi. İbrâhim Selîm Efendi sudûr-ı ilmiyyeden olup 1228’de vefât etdi. Birâderleri mevâliden Abdullah, Abdurrahim Efendiler ve kethüdâsı da Gümüşlü Mustafa Nuri Efendi’dir.
In Modern English
He was from Gümüş. He is the son of Hasan's son, Gümüşlü Hacı Mehmed Efendi, who was appointed mufti of Gelibolu when he came to Istanbul after being dismissed as mufti of Gümüş. He learned from his father and, in Istanbul, from Büyük Hâfız Mehmed of Amasya, Abdülkerîm of Amid and Ankaravî İsmâil Efendis, and became a müderris in Şaban 1151 [1738-39].
He gave public lectures at the Fatih Mosque and granted icazet to quite a number of students. Then, as one of the great müderrises, he served as deputy judge (naib) in provinces and livâs. During this time he completed the steps of the madrasa ladder and became kadı of Galata in Zilkade 1181 [1768], then kadı of Bursa, and kadı of the army in Muharrem 1187 [1773]. On the fifteenth of Şevval 1188 [1774] he was honored with the rank of Mecca.
In 1192 [1778-79] he was assigned to the peace talks with Russia, and in Şaban 1196 [1782] he was honored as kadı of Istanbul; in Şaban 1197 [1783] he was honored with the rank of kazasker of Anatolia and was dismissed in Zilkade. In Şaban 1199 [1785] he was given the rank of kazasker of Rumeli, and in Ramadan he became kazasker of Anatolia; on the fifteenth day of Rebîülâhir 1200 [1786] he became şeyhülislam.
He remained in the office of fetva for about two years; on the thirteenth day of Safer 1202, as the Austrian and Russian war continued and he himself had fallen ill, he was dismissed and permitted to live in his waterside residence at Beylerbeyi.
But when Hamîdîzâde Mustafa Efendi became şeyhülislam, he was sent to Ankara in Safer 1204; in Ramadan he was permitted to return. On Sunday, the thirteenth of Rebîülevvel 1206 [1791], he passed to the next world in his waterside residence. He is buried at Havuzdibi in Beylerbeyi.
He was extremely learned, pious, fine of speech, firm in his religion, gentle in temperament, and in matters of the sharia the mujtahid of his time. He contributed considerably to the opening of the Russian war. He has treatises on the difficult passages of the Beyzâvî commentary. During his şeyhülislamate he answered without difficulty four hard questions that Mevlây Mehmed, ruler of Morocco, had sent to test the Turkish scholars. He wrote treatises.
His sons are Mehmed Sâlim and İbrâhim Selîm Efendis. Mehmed Sâlim Efendi died in 1205 [1790-91] while a müderris. İbrâhim Selîm Efendi was one of the great figures of the ilmiye and died in 1228 [1813-14]. His brothers are the mevâlî Abdullah and Abdurrahim Efendis, and his kethüda was Gümüşlü Mustafa Nuri Efendi.
Notes and Research
Old Words in the Text
- ders-i âm: a general lecture open to the public and students
- icâzet: a student's receiving authorization to teach
- niyâbet: deputyship; the judicial duty of acting in place of a kadı
- mevâlî: the high-ranking kadıs of the ilmiye class
- pâye: a rank given without the corresponding office
- kazasker: army judge; the kazaskerships of Rumeli and Anatolia are among the highest offices of the ilmiye
- şeyhülislam: the office of fetva; head of the ilmiye
- mütasallib: firm in his religion, steadfast
- müctehid: learned enough to derive rulings
- mes'ele-i mu'dile: a hard question, difficult to resolve
- kethüdâ: assistant, one who carries out affairs
Müftîzâde Ahmed Efendi
The man whom Hüsameddin calls a native of Gümüş is the Ottoman şeyhülislam known in the sources by the epithet Müftîzâde; the epithet comes from his father, who was mufti of Gelibolu. According to the TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, he became şeyhülislam on 10 February 1786, left office on 24 November 1787, and died on 10 November 1791 and was buried at Havuzdibi in Üsküdar. Hüsameddin's Rebîülâhir 1200 and the year 1206 agree with these Gregorian dates.
His şeyhülislamate is written to have lasted about one year and ten months; Hüsameddin, by contrast, says "about two years." In the account of the reason for his dismissal the two sources diverge. According to the TDV, the state dignitaries were split in 1787 over whether to launch a campaign against Russia; Grand Vizier Koca Yusuf Pasha and Ahmed Efendi dragged Sultan Abdülhamid I into a war he did not want, and when Austria also entered the war on Russia's side, the aged şeyhülislam, citing his error, asked to be dismissed. Hüsameddin, however, attributes the dismissal to the continuing war and to illness; he also notes that he had helped in the opening of the war.
The TDV records that when Selim III came to the throne in 1789 and Şeyhülislam Hamîdîzâde forced dismissed şeyhülislams to go to their arpalıks, Ahmed Efendi went to Ankara, and that he was permitted to return to Istanbul when Mekkî Mehmed Efendi became şeyhülislam for the second time in 1791. This agrees with Hüsameddin's Safer and Ramadan 1204 entries.
The answers that Ahmed Efendi prepared alone to the four questions put by the ruler of Morocco, Muhammed b. Abdullah, were admired by the scholars of the day; the TDV also states that he wrote glosses (hâşiye) on some parts of the Beyzâvî commentary, which Hüsameddin mentions as "treatises on the difficult passages." The TDV records that he took part in the 1772 Russian campaign as army kadı with the rank of Mecca; Hüsameddin places the army kadıship in 1187 and the rank of Mecca in Şevval 1188. This difference in dates is where the sources part.
Note in the Footnote
According to Hüsameddin's footnote, Akifzâde Seyyid Abdürrahim Efendi of Amasya wrote in his work el-Mecmu that Ahmed Efendi was from Gümüş; the Cihât ü Müftüyân registers also record that his father was mufti of Gümüş and Gelibolu. Since other sources do not specify which settlement is meant by Gümüş, no identification is made here. For the order of offices such as the rank of Mecca and the kazaskership of Anatolia, one can rely only on Hüsameddin.
Bibliography
- Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar, Amasya Tarihi, Amasya Belediyesi Kültür Yayınları, 2022, vol. 6, p. 214–214. amasya.bel.tr
- Mehmet İpşirli, "Ahmed Efendi, Müftîzâde", TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, vol. 2, İstanbul 1989, p. 61. https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/ahmed-efendi-muftizade