Gümüşlüzâde Mahallesi ahâlîsinden Ali Kaya oğlu el-Hâc İsmâil bin Mustafa bin İbrâhim bin Mustafa bin el-Hâc Ahmed Ağa bin Ali Kaya Ağa’nın mahdûmudur. A’yân-ı ulemâdan Karagözzâde Fındık Mustafa Efendi’den ahz-ı ulûm edib ders-i âm ve üstâdına dâmâd oldu.
Üstâd-ı müşârün-ileyhin vefâtında mahlûlünden Çöplüce Medresesi [756] müderrisi 1273’de meclis-i de’âvâ a’zâsı, 1274 senesi rebîülevvelinde Caniklizâde Hâfız Mehmed Hilmi Efendi’nin yerine Amasya Müftüsü oldu.
1275 senesi zilka’desinde Şirvânî Hacı İsa Efendi’nin teşebbüsâtı ile ma’zûl olduysa da 1276 senesi rebiülevvelinde Amasya a’yânının teşebbüsâtı ile Hacı İsa Efendi azledilip yerine sânîyen Amasya müftüsü oldu. On beş yılı mütecâviz iftâdan sonra 1291 senesi şa’bânında vefât etdi.
Gâyet fakîh, müdebbir, cerbeze-i lisânîyesi mükemmel, edîb, vakûr, zarîf, Arabîyede bidâa’sı kalîl olmakla beraber ulûm-ı şer’iyye ve akliyyeye vâkıf idi. Mekâdîr-i nâsa mürâ’î, teveccüh-i âmmeye nâ’il, latîf, küşâde-meşreb, muhâzarâta âşinâ idi. Amasya mutasarrıfı Ziya Paşa’yı kendisine teshîr ederek ona fıkıh okutdu. Mehmed Paşa türbesi civârında medfûndur.
Birinci mahdûmu Mustafa Efendi Torumtay müderrisi iken 1290’da vefât etdi. Bunun oğulları Mehmed Saîd, Ahmed Kemalî, Hüseyin Niyazi Efendilerdir. İkinci Mahdûmu [757] Ahmed Efendi 1310 sâlinden sonra vefât etdi.
In Modern English
He was the son of Ali Kayaoğlu Hacı İsmail, of the people of the Gümüşlüzade quarter. İsmail was the son of Mustafa; Mustafa of İbrahim, İbrahim of Mustafa, Mustafa of Hacı Ahmed Ağa, and he of Ali Kaya Ağa. He studied under Karagözzade Fındık Mustafa Efendi, one of the leading scholars, received the license to teach publicly, and became his teacher's son-in-law.
When his teacher died he took over the vacated post and became professor of the Çöplüce Madrasa. In 1273 [1856-57] he became a member of the council of lawsuits, and in Rebiülevvel 1274 [1857-58] he became mufti of Amasya in place of Caniklizade Hâfız Mehmed Hilmi Efendi.
In Zilkade 1275 [1858-59], through the efforts of Şirvânî Hacı İsa Efendi, he was dismissed; but in Rebiülevvel 1276 [1859], through the efforts of the notables of Amasya, Hacı İsa Efendi was removed and he became mufti of Amasya for a second time. After giving fatwas for more than fifteen years, he died in Şaban 1291 [1874].
He was deeply learned in jurisprudence, prudent, persuasive in speech, a man of letters, dignified and refined. Although his capital in Arabic was small, he knew the religious and rational sciences. He took account of people's ranks, had won general affection, and was courteous, open in temper and skilled in conversation. He won over Ziya Pasha, the mutasarrıf of Amasya, and taught him jurisprudence. He lies buried near the tomb of Mehmed Pasha.
His first son, Mustafa Efendi, died in 1290 [1873-74] while professor at the Torumtay. His sons were Mehmed Saîd, Ahmed Kemalî and Hüseyin Niyazi Efendi. His second son, Ahmed Efendi, died after the year 1310 [1892-93].
Notes and Research
Old Words in the Text
- ders-i âm: a teacher licensed to give public lectures
- ahz-ı ulûm: acquiring learning
- mahlûl: a vacated post
- meclis-i de'âvâ: the council in which lawsuits were heard
- ma'zûl: dismissed from office
- sânîyen: for the second time
- iftâ: giving fatwas, the office of mufti
- fakîh: a jurist
- müdebbir: prudent, skilled in managing affairs
- cerbeze-i lisânîye: power of speech, eloquence
- bidâa'sı kalîl: of small capital
- ulûm-ı şer'iyye ve akliyye: the religious sciences and the rational sciences
- mürâ'î: considerate, observant of what is due
- küşâde-meşreb: open in temper
- muhâzarât: conversation, pleasant talk
- teshîr etmek: to win over, to bring under one's influence
The Muftis of Amasya and the Local Balance of Power
The text describes Ahmed Sıtkı Efendi coming to the office of mufti twice. The first time he took office in 1274 and, about a year and a half later, was removed through the efforts of Şirvânî Hacı İsa Efendi. In 1276, this time through the efforts of the notables of Amasya, he returned and remained in the post for more than fifteen years until his death. Hüsameddin states plainly who stood behind these two changes of office, which shows that the muftiship was determined by learning and also by the balance between the families of the town. The Şirvânî family is a well-known family of Amasya. The Naqshbandi sheikh İsmail Sirâceddin Şirvânî had settled in Amasya, and his son Mehmed Rüşdü later became grand vizier. The Şirvânî Hacı İsa Efendi of the text may be connected with this family; entry 788 mentions a Hacı İsa Efendi as the brother-in-law of Ahmed Hulûsî Efendi, but the texts do not make clear that they are the same man.
Ziya Pasha and the Scholars of Amasya
The Ziya Pasha of the text is the well-known poet and writer of the Young Ottomans; he served as mutasarrıf of Amasya from 1863 to 1865. According to Halil İnalcık's review of Kenan Akyüz's publication of documents on this period, Ziya Pasha had a bridge, a market, a bedesten, a government house, six primary schools, a secondary school and a prison built. The same documents show that the governor's real struggle was with the local notable families, the leading men and the ulema. Wanting to meet the cost of public works through local levies, Ziya Pasha placed financial burdens on these groups; they complained about the governor to the Sublime Porte, and in the end he was transferred to the mutasarrıflık of Canik. İnalcık stresses that the "hânedân" and "vücûh" here are the local ayan themselves.
In this light, Hüsameddin's sentence "he won over Ziya Pasha and taught him jurisprudence" shows that a mufti held his place in the local balance of power through his learning and also through his relationship with the governor. Ahmed Sıtkı Efendi's grave is, in all likelihood, near the tomb in the complex of Hızırpaşazade Mehmed Pasha, completed in 1486; of that complex the mosque and the tomb have survived to this day.
Points on Which No Information Was Found
No information could be found in other sources about the Çöplüce Madrasa, the Torumtay Madrasa or Fındık Mustafa Efendi. It is known that Amasya had more than forty madrasas and that nineteenth-century professors have been studied from the records of the Meşihat Archive; but no detail about the madrasas named here could be reached in those studies.
Bibliography
Primary sources
Academic studies