Lâdiklidir. Orada medfûn olan Sâhibü’l-hâl es-Seyyid Ahmed Rifâ’îzâde es-Seyyid Abdussemi’ Çelebi mahdûmudur. Lâdik’de doğdu. Sonisa’da büyüdü. Amasya’da tahsîl-i ulûm ederek amcası es-Seyyid Necmeddîn Yahyâ Çelebi’den ahz-ı tarîkat etdi.
Eniştesi Amasya Emîri el-Hâc Şâdgeldi Paşa nezdinde pek muhterem bir şeyh olup mu’âsırı bulunan Zileli Şeyh Nusretzâde eş-Şeyh Cemâleddîn Habîb Çelebi ile pek ziyâde nüfûz ve şöhret kazandı.
783’de Hacı Şâdgeldi Paşa, Kadı Burhân harbinde maktûl oldukta Arabistan’a gidip Haleb’de tevattun ve ikâmet ederek 800 senesinde dâr-ı na’îme rihlet etdi. Kibâr-ı meşâyîh-i Rifâ’îyeden âlim, zâhid, müteşerri’ bir zât idi. Mahdûmları es-Seyyid Muhyiddîn Mehmed, İzzeddîn Hasan Çelebiler olup es-Seyyid eş-Şeyh İzzeddîn Hasan Çelebi Amasya’da ikâmet etdi. [255] Evlâdı vardır. Es-Seyyid Muhyiddîn Mehmed er-Rifâ’î Haleb’de kaldı. Bunun mahdûmları es-Seyyid Mehmed, Ömer Çelebilerdir. Es-Seyyid Mehmed Çelebizâde es-Seyyid Alâeddîn Ali er-Arabî İstanbul’a gelip şeyhülislâm oldu. Es-Seyyid Ömer Çelebizâde es-Seyyid Mahmûd Efendi de İstanbul’a gelip her ikisinin ensâbı türedi.
In Modern English
He was from Lâdik. He was the son of Seyyid Abdüssemî' Çelebi, a descendant of Seyyid Ahmed Rifâî, a man of spiritual states who is buried there. He was born in Lâdik and raised in Sonisa. He studied in Amasya and took the order (tarikat) from his uncle Seyyid Necmeddîn Yahyâ Çelebi.
He was a sheikh highly respected at the side of his brother-in-law, the Emir of Amasya, Hacı Şâdgeldi Pasha; together with his contemporary, Şeyh Cemâleddîn Habîb Çelebi, the sheikh of Zile, son of Nusret, he gained great influence and fame.
When Hacı Şâdgeldi Pasha was killed in 783 [1381] in the war he fought with Kadı Burhân, he went to the Arab lands and settled in Aleppo, and died in 800 [1397-98]. He was one of the great sheikhs of the Rifâiyye, a scholar, an ascetic and a person bound to the sharia. His sons were Seyyid Muhyiddîn Mehmed and İzzeddîn Hasan Çelebi. Seyyid Şeyh İzzeddîn Hasan Çelebi stayed in Amasya; his line continues. Seyyid Muhyiddîn Mehmed er-Rifâ'î stayed in Aleppo. His sons were Seyyid Mehmed and Ömer Çelebi. Seyyid Mehmed Çelebi's son, Seyyid Alâeddîn Ali el-Arabî, came to Istanbul and became şeyhülislam. Seyyid Ömer Çelebi's son, Seyyid Mahmûd Efendi, also came to Istanbul, and the descendants of both multiplied there.
Notes and Research
Old Words in the Text
- sâhibü'l-hâl: a person of spiritual states and miracles (keramet)
- ahz-ı tarîkat: attaching oneself to a sheikh and entering the order
- nezd: at the side of, in the presence of
- mu'âsır: contemporary
- maktûl: killed
- tevattun: making a homeland, settling
- dâr-ı na'îme rihlet: departure to the abode of bliss; dying
- kibâr-ı meşâyîh: great sheikhs
- ensâb: lineages, generations
The Rifâî Tombs in Lâdik and Hakala
The "Seyyid Ahmed Rifâî buried in Lâdik" named in the entry is not Seyyid Ahmed er-Rifâî of Iraq, the founder of the Rifâiyye, but Seyyid Ahmed-i Küçek er-Rifâî, regarded as the leader of the Rifâî branch in Anatolia, whose tomb is in Lâdik. Whether he was the son or grandson of the founder Ahmed er-Rifâî, or only his spiritual deputy, is disputed. According to local research, he is said to have met Mevlânâ and Ulu Ârif Çelebi.
The tomb of Ebûbekir Çelebi's uncle and sheikh Seyyid Necmeddîn Yahyâ er-Rifâî is today in the village of Yolpınar, attached to the district of Suluova; the old name of the village is Hakala or Hakla. According to Hüsameddin's information elsewhere, Necmeddîn Yahyâ had a large lodge (tekke), zaviye, soup kitchen and guesthouse built here in 764 (1362-63) and arranged its foundations in 771 (1369-70). His name is read at the head of the wooden sarcophagus and the date 771 at its foot. The villagers say that his son lies in the second sarcophagus beside it. That the village also has a madrasa and baths built in 868 (1463-64) and 947 (1540-41) suggests that this place was for a time a small center of learning. Sonisa (Sonusa), where Ebûbekir Çelebi grew up, is today a town in the district of Taşova.
Hacı Şâdgeldi Pasha and Kadı Burhâneddin
Ebûbekir Çelebi's brother-in-law Hacı Şâdgeldi became emir of Amasya in August-September 1359, as the son of Hacı Kutlu Şah, in the time of the Eretna principality, and, after being removed from the city for a time, took over its administration again. Kadı Burhâneddin, who was growing strong in Sivas, marched against Şâdgeldi, whom he saw as his chief rival, defeated him and had him killed in the autumn of 1381, and then in 783 (1381) proclaimed his rule in Sivas. The date 783 given by Hüsameddin agrees with this information. That Ebûbekir Çelebi left Amasya after the emir's death and went to Aleppo suggests that Şâdgeldi's close circle could not hold on in the city in the new era; but this is an interpretation drawn from the sequence of events.
The Şeyhülislam Alâeddin Ali el-Arabî
Alâeddin Ali el-Arabî, whom Hüsameddin's genealogy shows as the son of Ebûbekir Çelebi's grandson, was the seventh şeyhülislam of the Ottomans. Because he was born in Aleppo he was known by the nickname Arabî. After his studies in Aleppo he crossed into Ottoman lands, attended the lessons of Molla Gürânî, and served as repetitor (muid) at the Edirne Dârülhadis and as müderris at the Bursa Kaplıca Madrasa. He attached himself to the Halvetî sheikh Alâeddin Ali and was exiled with him to Manisa, where he enjoyed the patronage of Prince Mustafa, and later became müderris of the Sahn-ı Semân. He was appointed şeyhülislam in Receb 900 (April 1495), stayed in this office for about a year, died in April 1496 and was buried in Eyüp.
Encyclopedia entries confirm that he was born in Aleppo, but do not speak of a lineage extending to the Rifâîs of Lâdik and Amasya. This connection rests on Hüsameddin's record; although Ebûbekir Çelebi's emigration to Aleppo makes it explicable, it could not be confirmed by another source.
Bibliography
Primary sources
- Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar, Amasya Tarihi, Amasya Belediyesi Kültür Yayınları, 2022, vol. 6, p. 85–86. amasya.bel.tr
Academic studies
Other sources