Mevlânâ Şemseddîn Mehmed bin el-Cezerî Tabakâtü’l-Kurrâ’ adlı eserinde ve bundan naklen Allâme Şehâbeddîn Ahmed ibn-i Hacer ed-Dürerü’l-Kâmine’sinde [234] yazdığı üzere 758 senesinde vefât eden Mevlânâ Sa’îdeddîn Mehmed bin Mes’ûd bin Mehmed bin Mes’ûd bin Mehmed bin Ali bin Ahmed ibn-i Ömer bin İsmâil bin eş-Şeyh Ebî-Ali el Hasan ed-Dekkâk bin Mehmed el-Balabânî el-Kâzerunî mahdûmudur. Cedd-i a’lâsı Şeyh Ebû Ali ed-Dekkâk el-Nîsâbûrî es-Sûfî 405 zilka’desinde vefât etmişdir.
Diyâr-ı şarkiyye fuzalâsından ulûm-ı âlîyeyi tahsîl ü ikmâl ederek devr-i bilâd edib Hacı Şâdgeldi Paşa’nın emâretinde Amasya’ya geldi. Gümüş kasabasında medfûn ve Ahi İbrâhim Basrî demekle meşhûr Taceddîn İbrâhim el-Basrî sohbetinden istifâza-i hakâyık-ı sûfiyye etdi.
Amasya’nın emîr ü hükûmdârı el-Hâc Seyfeddîn Şâdgeldi Paşa’nın kendisine olan fevkalâde teveccüh ve inâbesiyle iştihâr ederek emîr-i müşârün-ileyhin yaptırdığı Saraçhâne Câmii ittisâlindeki zâviyesi şeyhi oldu. Amasya’da yıllarca neşr-i füyûzât ederek “Küpeli Şeyh” demekle meşhûr oldu.
Amasya meşâyih-i kirâmından eş-Şeyh Alâeddîn Ali Yârî Çelebi bin Mevlânâ Zeyneddîn Siyavuş el-Difrikî (Divriği), bunun sohbet-i şerîfesinde temâyüz ederek halîfe ve dâmâdı olmuşdu. [235]
789’da Amasya vâlisi Yıldırım Sultân Bâyezîd Hân’ın ma’iyyetinde her ikisi de Bursa’ya gidip orada 791’de kendisine Sultân-ı müşârün-ileyhin binâ eylediği zâviyenin şeyhi oldu. Vezîr-i a’zam Cândârlızâde Ali Paşa da zâviyesi mesârifine kendi vakfından tahsîsât verdi.
Ebû İshâk Kâzerûnî, Bursa’da hem tedrîs ü iftâ, hem de neşr-i füyûzât-ı sûfiyye ederek Şeyhülislâm unvânını aldı. Bâb-ı kerâmet-me’âbı ulemâ, ümerâ ve erbâb-ı hâcâtın melce’-i yegânesi oldu. Çünkü Hünkâr Şeyhi idi. Pek mükerrem ve muhterem bir hâlde 798 senesinde vefât etdi.
Şeyh-i müşârün-ileyhin menâkıp-nâmesinde yazıldığı üzere gâyet fâzıl, muhakkik, müteşerri’, me’ârif-i sûfiyyede kâmil, zâhid bir ârif-i billah idi. Kendisine hâs bir tarîkate mâlik ve bir vâsıta ile Şeyh Fahreddîn İbrâhim bin Rüstem Irâkî’ye müntesib idi.
Mahdûmları Muhyiddîn Mehmed, Mecdeddîn Abdulmecîd Çelebilere Amasya’da “Küpelioğulları” denirdi. Mecdeddîn Abdulmecîd Çelebizâde kaz’asker Muhyiddîn Mehmed Çelebi’ [236] dir. Ebû İshâk Kâzerûnî dâmâdı Amasyalı Divriğilizâde eş-Şeyh Alâeddîn Ali Yârî Çelebi ki “Yâr-ı Ali Şîrâzî” diye meşhûr idi. Bunun mahdûmu Mevlânâ Şemseddîn Mü’eyyed Çelebi evlâdına “Mü’eyyedzâdeler” dendi.
Kaz’asker Küpeli Şeyhzâde Muhyiddîn Mehmed Efendi’nin dâmâdı da Amasyalı Kemâl Paşazâde Süleyman Bey’dir. Bunun mahdûmu Şeyhülislâm Şemseddîn Ahmed Şâh Çelebi de âlem-i İslâm’da müctehid diye tanınmış bir sîmâ-yı fazl u irfân idi. Meşâhîr-i fuzalâdan Amasyalı Şeyhzâde Abdulkerîm, Abdî Efendi de Şehy Ebû İshâk’ın ahfâdındandır.
In Modern English
According to what Mevlânâ Şemseddin Mehmed bin el-Cezerî writes in his work Tabakâtü'l-kurrâ, and, citing it, the learned Şehâbeddin Ahmed Ibn Hajar in his ed-Dürerü'l-kâmine, he was the son of Mevlânâ Saîdeddin Mehmed bin Mesud bin Mehmed bin Mesud bin Mehmed bin Ali bin Ahmed ibn Ömer bin İsmâil bin eş-Şeyh Ebî Ali el-Hasan ed-Dekkâk bin Mehmed el-Balabânî el-Kâzerûnî, who died in 758 [1356-57]. His remotest ancestor, Sheikh Ebû Ali ed-Dekkâk en-Nîsâbûrî es-Sûfî, died in the month of Dhu al-Qa'da 405 [1015].
After reading and completing the higher sciences under the scholars of the eastern lands, he wandered from city to city and came to Amasya in the time of the emirate of Hacı Şadgeldi Pasha. Keeping the company of Tâceddin İbrahim el-Basrî, known as Ahi İbrahim Basrî, who is buried in the town of Gümüş, he drew spiritual benefit from the realities of Sufism.
Known for the extraordinary closeness that the emir and ruler of Amasya, el-Hac Seyfeddin Şadgeldi Pasha, showed him and for his attachment to him, he became sheikh of the zaviye adjoining the Saraçhane Mosque that this emir had built. Distributing spiritual benefit in Amasya for years, he became famous under the name "Küpeli Şeyh" (the Sheikh with the Earring).
Sheikh Alâeddin Ali Yârî Çelebi bin Mevlânâ Zeyneddin Siyavuş el-Difrikî (of Divriği), one of the respected sheikhs of Amasya, had come to the fore in his company and had become both his deputy and his son-in-law.
In 789 [1387] the two of them went together to Bursa in the retinue of Yıldırım Sultan Bayezid Khan, then governor of Amasya; there in 791 [1389] he became sheikh of the zaviye that the Sultan had built for him. The grand vizier Çandarlızâde Ali Pasha also set aside a share from his own waqf for the expenses of the zaviye.
Ebû İshak Kâzerûnî, both teaching and giving fatwas in Bursa and spreading his spiritual benefit, received the title Şeyhülislam. His door, remembered for its miracle, became the only refuge of scholars, beys and the needy; for he was the sheikh of the sovereign. In a state of great esteem and respect he died in 798 [1395-96].
As it is written in this sheikh's hagiography (menâkıbnâme), he was an extremely virtuous, inquiring friend of God, devoted to the sharia, mature in the knowledge of Sufism, and an ascetic. He had an order peculiar to himself and was connected through one intermediary to Sheikh Fahreddin İbrahim bin Rüstem Irâkî.
His sons Muhyiddin Mehmed and Mecdeddin Abdülmecid Çelebi were called "Küpelioğulları" in Amasya. The kazasker Muhyiddin Mehmed Çelebi was the son of Mecdeddin Abdülmecid Çelebi. Ebû İshak Kâzerûnî's son-in-law was Divriğilizâde Sheikh Alâeddin Ali Yârî Çelebi of Amasya, known as "Yâr-ı Ali Şîrâzî." The children of his son, Mevlânâ Şemseddin Müeyyed Çelebi, were called "Müeyyedzâdes."
The son-in-law of the kazasker Küpeli Şeyhzâde Muhyiddin Mehmed Efendi was Kemal Paşazâde Süleyman Bey of Amasya. His son, the Şeyhülislam Şemseddin Ahmed Şah Çelebi, was also a figure known in the Islamic world as a mujtahid, a person of virtue and learning. Among the well-known scholars, Şeyhzâde Abdülkerim of Amasya and Abdî Efendi are also among the grandchildren of Sheikh Ebû İshak.
Notes and Research
Old Words in the Text
- mahdûm: son
- cedd-i a'lâ: the remotest ancestor of a line
- diyâr-ı şarkiyye: the eastern lands
- ulûm-ı âliyye: the higher sciences, the principal sciences
- medfûn: buried
- istifâza: drawing spiritual benefit
- hakâyık-ı sûfiyye: the realities of Sufism
- inâbe: attaching oneself to a sheikh, joining by repentance
- ittisâl: adjoining
- neşr-i füyûzât: spreading spiritual benefit
- meşâyih-i kirâm: respected sheikhs
- temâyüz: coming to the fore, becoming distinguished
- ma'iyyet: those in the retinue of a great man
- mesârif: expenses
- bâb-ı kerâmet-me'âb: a door regarded as a place of miracles
- erbâb-ı hâcât: people in need
- melce': refuge
- müteşerri': devoted to the sharia
- ârif-i billâh: one who knows God, a mature Sufi
- müntesib: attached, one who has joined
- ahfâd: grandchildren, descendants
Who Is Ebû İshak Kâzerûnî
The name in the heading of the entry belongs to a much earlier person in the history of Islamic Sufism. The founder of the Kâzerûniyye order, Sheikh Ebû İshak İbrahim b. Şehriyâr Kâzerûnî, lived in the Fars region of Iran and, according to the dates given by Fuad Köprülü, lived between 352 and 426 (963-1034). The order continued for centuries in the Kâzerûn Hankah in this region, and its activity there ended when Shah Ismail took the city in 909 (1503). The order, known in Anatolia as İshâkıyye or Mürşidiyye, had zaviyes in Bursa, Konya, Edirne and Erzurum, and these zaviyes were often called not by the name of the order but by the name of the founder. For this reason the zaviye in Bursa is known as "Ebû İshak-hâne," and the mosque adjoining it today bears the name Ebû İshak Mosque.
Fuad Köprülü's Objection
Hüsameddin's introducing Şemseddin Müeyyed of Amasya as a sheikh "famous as Ebû İshak Kâzerûnî" drew Fuad Köprülü's attention and became a subject of criticism in his article on Kâzerûnî. Köprülü notes that sources such as Şükrullah, Âşıkpaşazâde, Nişancı Mehmed Pasha and Âlî, which mention the Ebû İshak-hâne in Bursa, never give the name of a sheikh residing there, and that from them it is understood only that the zaviye was founded for İshâkî dervishes. According to Âşık Çelebi's tezkire, the zaviye was founded for Seyyid Nattâ', who migrated from Baghdad and settled in Bursa and is counted as the first nakîbüleşraf of the Ottoman state. New research on the Kâzerûniyye holds the same view: Yıldırım Bayezid founded the lodge in Bursa in 802 (1400) and gave its administration to Seyyid Muhammed en-Nattâ' of Baghdad, who had come to Bursa with Emir Sultan. Seyyid Muhammed was taken captive by Timur two years later and carried toward Samarkand, escaped and returned to Bursa, and when he died he was buried beside the zaviye.
According to Köprülü, the source of Hüsameddin's error is a note in Âşık Çelebi. Âşık Çelebi, speaking of the famous scholar Müeyyedzâde Abdurrahman Çelebi of Amasya (860-922), who wrote poetry under the pen name "Hâtemî," writes that he descended from the line of Ebû İshak Kâzerûnî and that this ancestor migrated from Iran to Amasya; Hasan Çelebi's tezkire repeats the same information. Taşköprizâde and Müstakimzâde, on the other hand, give the name of Abdurrahman's father as Ali and that of his grandfather as Müeyyed. Köprülü thinks that Hüsameddin took this last person, that is Müeyyed, to be the same as Ebû İshak Kâzerûnî himself. In other words, Müeyyed Çelebi may be a sheikh tied to the Kâzerûnî lineage or coming from the Kâzerûnî order; but he is not the person bearing the name of the order's founder, who lived four centuries earlier.
Even so, Köprülü also points to a point confirmed in Hüsameddin's record. Hüsameddin says that the vizier Çandarlı Ali Pasha set aside a share from his own waqf for the expenses of the zaviye; Köprülü records that the name "Seyyidü'l-Meşâyih Ebû İshak Kâzerûnî" really does appear in Ali Pasha's waqf deed of H. 796. So the information that the zaviye was under Ottoman patronage in the last years of the fourteenth century is solid; what is disputed is the identity of the sheikh at its head.
The Müeyyedzâdes
There is also a difference in order between Hüsameddin's genealogical note and the picture given by present-day research. According to Hüsameddin, Sheikh Alâeddin Ali Yârî Çelebi of Divriği is Ebû İshak's son-in-law and his son is Şemseddin Müeyyed Çelebi. In a new study on Müeyyedzâde Abdurrahman Efendi the sequence is as follows: Abdurrahman, born in Amasya in 860 (1456), is the son of Alâeddin Ali Çelebi; Ali Çelebi is the son of the Kâzerûniyye sheikh Şemseddin Müeyyed Çelebi, of the Dîriklizâdes, one of the leading families of the city, and the family took the name Müeyyedzâde from this grandfather. The family Hüsameddin calls "Divriğilizâde" and the "Dîriklizâde" in this study must be the same family. His father Ali Çelebi became chancellor (nişancı) of Prince Bayezid, governor of Amasya, and in this way his son Abdurrahman also formed a closeness with the prince.
Abdurrahman Efendi's later life shows the ties of the Amasya scholarly circle with Iran. When Mehmed the Conqueror ordered his execution after complaints about Bayezid's circle in Amasya, Prince Bayezid arranged for him to flee to Aleppo in 884 (1479); from there Abdurrahman went to Shiraz and for nearly ten years attended the lessons of Celâleddin Devvânî. When Bayezid came to the throne he returned, first to Amasya, then to Istanbul, and after serving as judge of Edirne he held the kazaskerships of Anatolia and Rumelia; he died in Istanbul in 922 (1516) and was buried in the Eyüp Sultan cemetery. Kemalpaşazâde and Ebüssuûd are counted among his students. Hüsameddin's tying Kemalpaşazâde to this family through a marriage at the end of the entry shows the close web of kinship among the scholarly families of Amasya; this marriage link, however, could not be verified in another source.
The "Küpeli" Epithet
No information was found on why the sheikh was called "Küpeli." As a notable detail, Theodore Spandugino Cantacasin, who lived in the Ottoman lands at the beginning of the sixteenth century, writing of the İshâkî (Kâzerûnî) dervishes, notes that none of them wore an iron or silver earring. Whether the epithet came from a mark of the order or from a personal trait is not known.
No information was found in other sources about Ahi İbrahim Basrî named in the text, the zaviye beside the Saraçhane Mosque, or Ebû İshak's date of death, 798. The date 791 that Hüsameddin gives for the founding of the lodge in Bursa is eleven years before the date 802 (1400) based on the lodge's waqf deed.
Bibliography
Primary sources
- Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar, Amasya Tarihi, Amasya Belediyesi Kültür Yayınları, 2022, vol. 6, p. 80–80. amasya.bel.tr
Academic studies
Books