Amasyalıdır. Amasya‘nın meşâyîh-i ulemâsından eş-Şeyh Hamîdeddîn Mehmed Çelebi bin İbrâhim’in mahdûmu ve sâdât-ı Rifâîyye’den es-Seyyid eş-Şeyh Hüsâmeddîn Hüseyin Çelebi bin es-Seyyid İzzeddîn Hasan Çelebi bin sâhibü’l-hâl es-Seyyid eş-Şeyh Ahmedü’l-Kebîrü’r-Rifâî kerîmezâdesidir.
Amasya ulemâsından Taceddîn İbrâhim et-Tokâdî, Sultâniye-i Merzifon müderrisi Ferîdeddîn Mehmed ed-Devvânî, Pîr Sunullah Amâsî’den tahsîl-i ulûm ederek ders-i âm oldu. Atabeg Gâzi müderrisi olup hayli müddet tedrîs-i ulûm etdi.
854’de kâdı-i Tokat, 857’de nâib-i Sivas ve 861’de Torumtay müderrisi, 865’de Amasya nâibi görüldü. [247] 874 senesi hilâlinde vefât etdi. Kibâr-ı ulemâ ve kudâtdan bir zât idi. Tokat kadısı iken bir vakfiye bâlâsında “Efdal bin Hamîd el-Hüseynî” diye imzâsı görüldü.
Amasya‘da yazdığı bir “Kudûrî” kitâbının sonunda “Efdalüddîn Hüseyin bin Hamîdeddîn el-Hüseynî el-Amâsî” imzâsı da görüldü. Mahdûmu Şeyhülislâm Hamîdeddîn Efendi’dir. Diğer mahdûmu Tâceddîn İbrâhim Çelebi’dir. Hamîdeddîn Efendi’nin mahdûmları Salâhaddîn Mûsâ, Şemseddîn Ahmed Efendilerdir. Bunlara “Efdalzâde” dendi.
In Modern English
He is from Amasya. He is the son of Şeyh Hamîdeddin Mehmed Çelebi, son of İbrâhim, one of the sheikhs and scholars of Amasya. He is the daughter's son of Seyyid Şeyh Hüsâmeddin Hüseyin Çelebi, one of the Rifâî sayyids; Hüsâmeddin Hüseyin Çelebi is the son of Seyyid İzzeddin Hasan Çelebi, and his lineage goes back to the saintly Seyyid Şeyh Ahmedü'l-Kebîr er-Rifâî.
He studied under the Amasya scholars Tâceddin İbrâhim et-Tokâdî, Ferîdeddin Mehmed ed-Devvânî, the professor of the Sultâniye Madrasa of Merzifon, and Pîr Sunullah Amâsî, and received the authorization to teach publicly. He became professor of the Atabeg Gazi Madrasa and taught there for a long time.
He is recorded as judge of Tokat in 854 [1450-51], deputy judge of Sivas in 857 [1453-54], professor of Torumtay in 861 [1456-57], and deputy judge of Amasya in 865 [1460-61]. He died at the beginning of the year 874 [1469-70]. He was one of the great scholars and judges. While judge of Tokat, his signature was seen at the head of a waqf deed as "Efdal, son of Hamîd el-Hüseynî."
His signature was also seen at the end of a copy of the "Kudûrî" which he wrote in Amasya: "Efdalüddin Hüseyin, son of Hamîdeddin el-Hüseynî el-Amâsî." His son is the Şeyhülislam Hamîdeddin Efendi. His other son is Tâceddin İbrâhim Çelebi. The sons of Hamîdeddin Efendi are Salâhaddin Mûsâ and Şemseddin Ahmed Efendis. They were called "Efdalzâde."
Notes and Research
Old Words in the Text
- meşâyîh-i ulemâ: sheikhs and scholars
- sâdât-ı Rifâîyye: the sayyids of the Rifâî order (descendants of the Prophet)
- kerîmezâde: a daughter's son, grandson
- sâhibü'l-hâl: a person of spiritual state, a saint
- tahsîl-i ulûm: acquiring learning
- ders-i âm: a professor authorized to teach publicly
- müderris: madrasa professor
- nâib: a judge's deputy, assistant judge
- hilâl: the beginning of the month
- kibâr-ı ulemâ ve kudât: great scholars and judges
- vakfiye: waqf deed
- Kudûrî: a short book on Hanafi law taught in the madrasas
- Şeyhülislâm: the highest religious office of the state
The Rifâî Lineage
In the chain in the text, Hüsâmeddin Hüseyin Çelebi appears to be only two generations after Ahmed er-Rifâî. Yet Ahmed er-Rifâî died in 578 [1182], and Efdalüddin lived in the fifteenth century. The words "son of" in the chain should therefore be read in the sense of descent, with the intervening generations understood as not written; this is an inference. The Rifâî order has been known in Anatolia since the middle of the thirteenth century, and the Rifâî presence in Amasya is also seen in Hüsameddin's entry number 260 in volume 7.
His Son Hamîdüddin Efendi
Hamîdeddin Efendi is known in encyclopedias as Hamîdüddin Efendi or Efdalzâde. An encyclopedia entry presents him as the son of Efdalüddin el-Hüseynî, one of the scholars of the age of Murad II; this agrees with the signature "Efdal, son of Hamîd el-Hüseynî" that Hüsameddin gives. Hamîdüddin Efendi received his first education from his father, obtained the mülâzım status from Molla Yegân, and began his teaching career at the Kaplıca Madrasa in Bursa. On 23 March 1473 he became professor at one of the Sahn-ı Semân madrasas, and later judge of Edirne and judge of Istanbul. It is documented that as judge of Edirne he confirmed a waqf deed in June 1478. In March 1496 he was appointed şeyhülislam, remained in that post for about seven years, and died in February 1503 and was buried in the cemetery of the Eyüp Mosque. He had a madrasa built in Fatih and a mescit and a sebil in Edirnekapı. His glosses were read as textbooks in the madrasas for a long time.
Salâhaddin Mûsâ, who is named in the entry as this man's son, rose, according to the same source, to a professorship at the Sahn-ı Semân and died in September 1556; the name Hüsameddin gives agrees with this. The encyclopedia entry does not mention Amasya; the Amasya connection of Efdalüddin and his family is not confirmed by this source and rests only on the signature records Hüsameddin relays. It may be thought that the name Hamîdüddin keeps alive the name of Efdalüddin's father Hamîdeddin Mehmed Çelebi; this is an inference.
Torumtay and the Madrasas of Amasya
The Torumtay Madrasa, where Efdalüddin served, is the waqf of Torumtay. The Torumtay waqf deed is dated 1266; Tuncer Baykara thinks the madrasa was built in the 1240s. The income of the waqf is generally wheat taken from villages around Amasya. No information was found in the sources read on Efdalüddin teaching at the Atabeg Gazi Madrasa, or on Pîr Sunullah Amâsî, Tâceddin İbrâhim et-Tokâdî, and Ferîdeddin Mehmed ed-Devvânî.
Bibliography
Primary sources
- Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar, Amasya Tarihi, Amasya Belediyesi Kültür Yayınları, 2022, vol. 7, p. 338–339. amasya.bel.tr
Academic studies
- Cahit Baltacı, "Hamîdüddin Efendi, Efdalzâde", TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, 1997, https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/hamiduddin-efendi-efdalzade
- Tuncer Baykara, "Amasya Şehri'nin İlk Türk (XI-XIII) Yüzyılları", XVIII. Türk Tarih Kongresi Bildirileri II, Türk Tarih Kurumu Yayınları, 2022, p. 387–398, https://www.ttk.gov.tr/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/12-TuncerBaykara.pdf