Amasya’da Çerîbaşı Câmii vakfının mütevellîsi Çerîbaşı evlâdından ve Çerîbaşı Mahallesi eşrâfından olup 1081 hudûdunda vefât eden el-Hâc İlyas Ağa bin Ahmed Çelebi bin Îsa bin Ali bin İlyas mahdûmudur. “Mütevellîzâde” demekle meşhûrdur.
Amasya müftüsü müfessir Hızır, Pîrîzâde el-Hâc Hüseyin, Dursunzâde Pîrî Mehmed Efendilerden ahz-ı ulûm etdikten sonra Sivas Müftüsü Antabî Mehmed Tefsîrî Efendiden ve Hâtuniyye-i Tokat müderrisi olup 1111’de Amasya’da vefât eden el-Hâc İlyas Efendi’den ikmâl-i tahsîl ederek ders-i âm-ı meşhûr oldu.
Kibâr-ı kudâtdan el-Hâc Abdülbaki Efendiye dâmâd olup tedrîs-i ulûma koyuldu. Fazîlet-i ilmiyyesi her tarafa şâyî olarak iştihâr etdi. Mükerreren pek çok talebeye icâzet verip 1114’de Amasya Sultâniyyesi müderrisi oldu. [606] 1119’da ittifâk-ı umûmî üzere baş-a’yân olup 1123 senesi îd-i adhânın birinci günü vefât eden müftü İsmâil Efendi’nin yerine Amasya müftüsü oldu. İki yıldan ziyâde makâm-ı fetvâda kalıb 1226 senesi saferinin evâ’ilinde dâr-ı na’îme irtihâl etdi. Medresesi bahçesinde medfûndur.
Fâzıl, ulûm-ı şer’iyye ve akliyyede mâhir, usûlî, halûk, edîb, nüktedân, elsine-i selâseye vâkıf, vecîh bir zât idi. Çerîbaşı Mahallesi şarkında Çorum mezârlığının altında el-yevm arsa-i hâliye şeklinde duran yerde medrese yaptırdı. Seng-i mezârı kırılıp gâ’îb olmuşdur.
Ceddînin vakfına mütevellî ve âbâ ü ecdâdından mevrûs olan servet ü yesârı mükemmel ve hânedân idi. Mahdûmu mevâlîden Abdülbâkî Efendi ve hafîdi Şemseddîn Ahmed Efendi bin Abdülbaki Efendi meşhûrdur. Bunun evlâdından Şemseddîn adlı bir kimse sabâvetim zamanında ber-hayat idi. Bunun hânesi Çerîbaşı Câmii şerîfi’nin kıble tarafında olup oldukça şâyân-ı dikkatdi.
In Modern English
He is the son of Hacı İlyas Ağa, administrator (mütevelli) of the Çerîbaşı Mosque waqf in Amasya, a descendant of the Çerîbaşı line and one of the leading men of the Çerîbaşı neighborhood, who died around 1081 [1670-71]. İlyas Ağa was the grandson of İlyas, son of Ahmed Çelebi, son of İsa, son of Ali. He was known as "Mütevellizade" (son of the mütevelli).
After taking learning from the Amasya mufti and Qur'an commentator Hızır, from Pîrîzade Hacı Hüseyin and Dursunzade Pîrî Mehmed Efendis, he completed his studies under Antepli Mehmed Tefsîrî Efendi, mufti of Sivas, and Hacı İlyas Efendi, müderris of the Hatuniye Madrasa in Tokat who died in Amasya in 1111 [1699-1700], and became a scholar who gave a lesson known to all.
He became son-in-law of the great kadı Hacı Abdülbaki Efendi and began teaching. His superiority in learning spread everywhere and he gained renown. He gave ijazas many times to a great many students and in 1114 [1702-03] became müderris of the Amasya Sultâniyye. In 1119 [1707-08], by general agreement, he became head of the âyan; he became mufti of Amasya in place of Mufti İsmail Efendi, who died on the first day of the Feast of the Sacrifice of 1123. Remaining in the post of fatwa for more than two years, he passed to the hereafter in the early days of Safer of the year 1226. He is buried in the garden of his own madrasa.
He was a virtuous, respected man, a master of the sharia and rational sciences, a man of principle, of good character, a littérateur, one who knew wit, who knew Arabic, Persian and Turkish. He had a madrasa built east of the Çerîbaşı neighborhood, below the Çorum cemetery, on the spot that today stands as an empty plot. His gravestone has been broken and lost.
He was administrator of his grandfather's waqf; he was of a noble family, living in the wealth and abundance left by his fathers and ancestors. His son, the mevâlî (high-ranking scholar) Abdülbaki Efendi, and his grandson, Şemseddin Ahmed Efendi, son of Abdülbaki Efendi, became known. A man named Şemseddin from his descent was alive in my childhood. His house stood on the qibla side of the Çerîbaşı Mosque and was quite striking.
Notes and Research
Old Words in the Text
- mütevellî: the person who administers a waqf
- eşrâf: noble, respected families
- ahz-ı ulûm: taking up learning
- ders-i âm: a scholar who gives public lectures
- icâzet: permission to teach and instruct
- Sultâniyye: a madrasa founded in the name of the sultan
- baş-a'yân: the head of a city's leading men
- makâm-ı fetvâ: the office of mufti
- dâr-ı na'îm: the abode of bounty, that is, the hereafter; "dâr-ı na'îme irtihâl" means to die
- elsine-i selâse: the three languages; Arabic, Persian, Turkish
- nüktedân: one who knows fine and clever speech
- mevrûs: inherited
- hafîd: grandson
- sabâvet: childhood
The Question of Dates
The text states that his muftiship began in 1123, lasted "more than two years," and that his death took place in the early days of Safer of "1226." These statements do not agree with one another. Adding two years to 1123 gives 1125 or 1126; 1226 corresponds to roughly 1811 and is unthinkable for a person who became müderris in 1114. The entry also stands among the scholars who died in the 1120s. For this reason "1226" is most probably an error written in place of "1126." This is an inference, and in the translation the text has been left as it is.
The Çerîbaşı Neighborhood and the Line of Descent
The last sentences of the entry show the personal side of the book. Hüsâmeddin writes that he knew in his childhood a man named Şemseddin from a later link of the line, that his house was on the qibla side of the Çerîbaşı Mosque, and that it was worth seeing. The madrasa the mufti had built was, in Hüsâmeddin's time, an empty plot; the gravestone too had been broken and lost.
No information was found in other sources on the Çerîbaşı Mosque in Amasya, this madrasa, or this family. Pages on a mosque of the same name in Eyüp, Istanbul, were found, but they were not used because they have no connection with this entry.
Bibliography
- Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar, Amasya Tarihi, Amasya Belediyesi Kültür Yayınları, 2022, vol. 6, p. 189–189. amasya.bel.tr