Amasya fuzalâsından müfessir-i meşhûr el-Hâc Abdunnebî Nâbî Efendi’nin birâderi Hâfız Ali Efendi bin Hüseyin Ağa bin Kalender bin Mûsa bin Halîl’in mahdûmu ve Türkmen el-Hâc Ebûbekir Efendi’nin kerîmezâdesidir. Amasya’da doğup amcasından ve Payaslı el-Hâc Mehmed Efendi’den ikmâl-i tahsîl ederek ders-i âm ve Payaslı Hacı Mehmed Efendi’ye dâmâd oldu.
1231’de icâzet verip mücîz ders-i âmlardan iken 1232’de Çerkeşli Mehmed Efendi’nin mahlûlünden Ebûbekir Paşa Medresesi müderrisi oldu. Bir yıl sonra ma’zûl olup 1234’de bâ-imtihân ikinci def’a medrese-i mezbûre müderrisi 1238 senesi [306] cumâdelûlâsının üçüncü günü Amasya müftüsü oldu.
1239 senesi recebinde zuhûr eden Yeniçeri-Talebe vak’asında ihtifâ etdiğinden şa’bânın yirmi üçüncü günü azledildi. 1242 senesi zilhiccesinde Amasya yeniçerilerinin katl ve nefyi hakkında erbâb-ı şûrâya muvâfakat etdiğinden yeni teşekkkül eden meclis-i a’yân a’zâsı oldu.
1244 senesi rebiülevvelinde ikinci def’a Amasya müftüsü olup Emîr-i imâm Abdullatîf Efendi’nin kütübhânesi civârındaki hânesini fetvâ-hâne yapdı. Fakat Saçlı el-Hâc Mahmûd Efendi’nin nüfûzu galebe eylediğinden sene-i mezbûre zilhiccesi evâ’ilinde fetvâdan hacr edilerek münzevi bir halde 1252 senesi şevvalinde vefât etdi. Kamereddîn Mahallesi şimâlinde kâin bahçesi derûnunda medfûndur.
Âlim, vecîh, zi-servet, fakîh idi. Oğulları Mehmed Ârif, Ahmed Rüştî, Ali İlmî Efendilerdir. Ârif Mehmed Efendi 1282’de, Ahmed Rüştî Efendi 1293’de, el-Hâc Ali İlmî Efendi 1303’de vefât etdi. Ahmed Rüştî Efendi’nin oğlu Hacı Hâfız Mehmed Rahmî Efendi 1333’de [307] öldü. Kerîmesi Fâtıma Hanım da üveği vâlidem idi.
Hacı Ali Efendi’nin oğulları Ebûbekir, Mehmed Efendilerdir. Hacı Rahmi’nin oğulları da Ahmed Rüşdî, İbrâhim Cemâl Efendilerdir. Bunlara “Hacı Bekir Efendizâdeler” denmektedir. İbrâhim Cemâl Efendi ber-hayâtdır.
In Modern English
He is the son of Hâfız Ali Efendi, brother of Hacı Abdunnebî Nâbî Efendi, the famous exegete and one of the virtuous scholars of Amasya. Hâfız Ali Efendi was the son of Hüseyin Ağa; Hüseyin Ağa was the son of Kalender, Kalender of Mûsâ, and Mûsâ of Halîl. He himself was also the son of the daughter of Türkmen Hacı Ebûbekir Efendi. He was born in Amasya; after completing his studies with his uncle and with Payaslı Hacı Mehmed Efendi, he became a dersiâm (teacher authorized to lecture in mosques) and became son-in-law of Payaslı Hacı Mehmed Efendi.
In 1231 [1815–16] he was a dersiâm with the authority to grant icazets, and in 1232 [1816–17] he became müderris of the Ebûbekir Pasha Madrasa in the place left vacant by Çerkeşli Mehmed Efendi. A year later he was removed from office; in 1234 [1818–19] he became müderris of the same madrasa for the second time by examination, and on the third day of Cemaziyelevvel 1238 [January 1823] mufti of Amasya.
Because he hid during the Janissary-Student incident that broke out in Receb 1239 [March 1824], he was removed from office on the twenty-third day of Şaban [April 1824]. In Zilhicce 1242 [June–July 1827], because he joined the members of the consultative council on the killing and exile of the janissaries of Amasya, he became a member of the newly established council of notables (meclis-i a'yân).
In Rebiülevvel 1244 [September–October 1828] he became mufti of Amasya for the second time and turned his house, near the library of Emîr İmam Abdullatîf Efendi, into a fetva office. But since the influence of Saçlı Hacı Mahmûd Efendi weighed more heavily, at the beginning of Zilhicce of the same year [June 1829] he was barred from giving fatwas. Withdrawn into a corner, he died in Şevval 1252 [January 1837]. He is buried in his garden north of the Kamereddîn quarter.
He was a learned, esteemed and wealthy man and a scholar of fiqh. His sons are Mehmed Ârif, Ahmed Rüştî and Ali İlmî Efendi. Ârif Mehmed Efendi died in 1282 [1865–66], Ahmed Rüştî Efendi in 1293 [1876], Hacı Ali İlmî Efendi in 1303 [1885–86]. Ahmed Rüştî Efendi's son Hacı Hâfız Mehmed Rahmî Efendi died in 1333 [1914–15]. His daughter Fâtıma Hanım was also my stepmother.
The sons of Hacı Ali Efendi are Ebûbekir and Mehmed Efendi. The sons of Hacı Rahmî are Ahmed Rüşdî and İbrâhim Cemâl Efendi. These are called the "Hacı Bekir Efendizâdes." İbrâhim Cemâl Efendi is still alive.
Notes and Research
Old Words in the Text
- fuzalâ: virtuous, learned people
- müfessir: a commentator on the Quran
- kerîmezâde: a daughter's son
- ikmâl-i tahsîl: completing one's studies
- ders-i âm: a licensed teacher who gave public lectures open to all in the large mosques
- mücîz: one who grants an icazet
- mahlûl: a post left vacant when its holder died or left
- bâ-imtihân: by examination
- ihtifâ etmek: to hide, to conceal oneself
- katl ve nefy: killing and exile
- erbâb-ı şûrâ: the members of the consultative council
- fetvâ-hâne: the place where the mufti gave fatwas
- hacr edilmek: to be barred, to have one's authority removed
- münzevî: withdrawn into one's own corner
- vecîh: esteemed, respected
- zî-servet: possessing wealth
- ber-hayât: alive
The Abolition of the Janissary Corps and Amasya
Ebûbekir Efendi's career as mufti coincides with the sharpest period of the janissary question in Amasya. Searches for details of the Janissary-Student incident that Hüsameddin mentions in 1239 [1824] found nothing in another source. The name of the incident suggests a clash that broke out between the janissaries of the city and the madrasa students; however, this is an inference from the name itself.
The Janissary Corps was abolished in Istanbul in June 1826 and a new army, called Asâkir-i Mansûre-i Muhammediyye, was established in its place. According to the study of Sadık Çetin and Ayhan Doğan based on the Amasya şer'iyye registers, the order from the governor of Sivas concerning the enrolling of soldiers into the new army reached the Amasya court on 3 October 1826 and was read out before the people. The same authors note that after the abolition of the janissaries many janissaries throughout the country were executed and exiled, and that the event was reflected in the provinces as well. According to Hüsameddin's record, the decision on this matter in Amasya was taken in a consultative council in Zilhicce 1242, that is, about a year after the event in Istanbul; because Ebûbekir Efendi took part in this decision, he became a member of the newly established council of notables. This detail can be regarded as a local example showing that the ulema who fell in line with the state's new order were rewarded.
The Rivalry between Two Muftis
A few months after Ebûbekir Efendi became mufti for the second time in 1244, he was removed from the office of fatwa because of the influence of Saçlı Hacı Mahmûd Efendi. Saçlı Hacı Mahmûd Efendi appears in other entries of Hüsameddin as mufti of Amasya; his son-in-law Mengülcüzâde Ebûbekir Efendi is described in the immediately preceding entry in this volume. These dismissals and appointments, coming at short intervals, suggest that in the first half of the nineteenth century the office of mufti in Amasya changed hands among a few ilmiye families.
The Library of Emîr İmam Abdullatîf Efendi, near which Ebûbekir Efendi is said to have turned his house into a fetva office, is a landmark Hüsameddin uses in the first volume to describe the location of the Kâşifiye Madrasa: the madrasa is in the Eski Kethüdâ quarter, in the street west of the Çukur Church and east of the Abdullatîf Efendi Library. The Kamereddîn quarter in which Ebûbekir Efendi is buried appears in the same volume as the "Ahi Kamereddîn" quarter, counted in the old records as "Zâhir Amasya" (the part of Amasya outside the inner citadel).
Hüsameddin's Relative
A notable aspect of the entry is the information Hüsameddin gives about his own family: Ebûbekir Efendi's daughter Fâtıma Hanım is the author's stepmother. For this reason the information on the family's later generations and on the grandchildren's dates of death concerns people the author knew closely. The family's being called "Hacı Bekir Efendizâdes" also comes from Ebûbekir Efendi's name. No information was found in other sources on the commentary of his uncle Hacı Abdunnebî Nâbî Efendi or on the present state of the Ebûbekir Pasha Madrasa.
Bibliography
Primary sources
Academic studies