Amasyalıdır. Abdullah bin Sâlih Dede mahdûmu olup gençliğinde İstanbul’a gitdi. Hıfz-ı Kur’ân etdikten sonra Amasyalı Evliyâ Mehmed Efendi’nin tilmîzi Şeyhu’l-kurrâ Hâfız Hüseyin Efendi’den vücûh-i Kur’ân-ı Kerîmi ahz ve te’allüm etdi.
Ba’dehû ulemâ-yı asrından tahsîl-i ulûm edib üstâdı Hâfız Hüseyin Efendi’ye dâmâd ve Şehzâde Sultân Mehmed Câmi-i Şerîfi’nde şeyhu’l-kurrâ ve ders-i âm oldu. Kırk yıldan ziyâde ta’lîm-i vücûh-i kıraat ve tedrîs-i ulûm ederek 1110 hudûdunda vefât etdi. Âlim, fenn-i kıraatda üstâd-ı asr, [361] zâhid, ismi gibi sâlih, hâdim-i Kur’ân idi.
Şehzâde Câmi-i Şerîfi’nde şeyhü’l-kurrâlığa vezâif tahsîs etdi. Mahdûmları el-Hâc Hüseyin, Mehmed, Mustafa Ağalardır. Bunlara Evliyâ Sâlih Efendizâdeler dendi. Sercerrâh-ı hâssa el-Hâc Hüseyin Ağa dergâh-ı âlî kapıcıbaşıları’ndan olup 1144’de Mîmâr Ayâs Mahallesi’nde vefât etdi. Evkâfı vardır. Mahdûmları Sâdık Mehmed, Emîn Mehmed Ağalardır.
El-Hâc Emîn Mehmed Ağa. Sipâhîler Ağası demekle meşhûr olup 1156’da vefât etdi. Kabataş’da sebîli içinde medfûndur. Sâhib-i hayrât idi. Mahdûmları Hüseyin, Sâdık Mehmed Ağalardır. Hacı Hüseyin Ağazâde Sâdık Mehmed Ağa da 1154’de ve Emîn Ağazâde Sâdık Mehmed Ağa da 1177’de vefât etdi. Bunlar ricâl-i devlet olup evlâtları vardır.
In Modern English
He was from Amasya. He was the son of Sâlih Dede, son of Abdullah, and went to Istanbul in his youth. After memorising the Qur'an, he received and learned the modes of reciting the Holy Qur'an from Sheikh of the Reciters (Şeyhülkurrâ) Hâfız Hüseyin Efendi, a pupil of Evliyâ Mehmed Efendi of Amasya.
Then he studied the sciences with the scholars of his time, became son-in-law of his teacher Hâfız Hüseyin Efendi, and became şeyhülkurrâ and a müderris giving public lectures (ders-i âm) at the Şehzâde Sultân Mehmed Mosque. For more than forty years he taught the modes of recitation and lectured on the sciences, and died around 1110 [1698-99]. He was a scholar, a master of his age in the science of recitation, indifferent to the world, pious as his name, and a servant of the Qur'an.
He set aside income for the post of şeyhülkurrâ at the Şehzâde Mosque. His sons were Hacı Hüseyin, Mehmed and Mustafa Ağa. They came to be called the Evliyâ Sâlih Efendizâdes. Hacı Hüseyin Ağa, chief surgeon of the sultan, was one of the head gatekeepers (kapıcıbaşı) of the palace and died in 1144 [1731-32] in the Mîmâr Ayâs quarter. He has endowments. His sons were Sâdık Mehmed and Emîn Mehmed Ağa.
Hacı Emîn Mehmed Ağa, famous as Sipahiler Ağası, died in 1156 [1743-44]. He is buried inside his sebil at Kabataş. He was a builder of charitable works. His sons were Hüseyin and Sâdık Mehmed Ağa. Hacı Hüseyin Ağazâde Sâdık Mehmed Ağa also died in 1154 [1741-42], and Emîn Ağazâde Sâdık Mehmed Ağa in 1177 [1763-64]. They were statesmen and have descendants.
Notes and Research
Old Words in the Text
- mahdûm: son
- hıfz-ı Kur'ân: memorising the Qur'an
- vücûh-i Kur'ân-ı Kerîm: the modes of reciting the Qur'an, the rules of qirâ'a
- ahz ve te'allüm: receiving and learning
- tilmîz: pupil
- şeyhülkurrâ: sheikh of the scholars of recitation, the Qur'an reciters
- ders-i âm: a müderris who gives lectures open to all in a mosque; a scholarly rank
- vezâif: duties and the stipends attached to duties
- sercerrâh-ı hâssa: the sultan's personal chief surgeon
- dergâh-ı âlî kapıcıbaşısı: a senior officer of the palace gatekeepers
- Sipâhîler Ağası: head of the sipahi regiments
- sebîl: a charitable building where free water is given to passers-by
- sâhib-i hayrât: one who has charitable works built
- ricâl-i devlet: statesmen
The Şehzade Mosque
The Şehzâde Sultân Mehmed Mosque where Evliyâ Sâlih Efendi served for more than forty years is most probably the Şehzade Mosque in the Fatih district of Istanbul, since in another entry Hüsameddin names the same mosque as the place of work of an Amasya scholar who went to Istanbul. Süleyman the Magnificent had the mosque built in memory of his son Şehzade Mehmed, who died in 1543; it is among the first important works of Mimar Sinan. Its foundation was laid in 1543 and the complex was built between 1545 and 1548; the tomb of Şehzade Mehmed is the first part, completed in 1544. Evliyâ Sâlih Efendi's service ended about 1110 [1698-99], roughly a hundred and fifty years after the completion of the mosque. The entry cites no source concerning the mosque; the identification is an inference drawn from the name of the mosque.
His Teachers and Evliyâ Mehmed Efendi
Evliyâ Sâlih Efendi's teacher Hâfız Hüseyin Efendi is mentioned as a pupil of "Evliyâ Mehmed Efendi of Amasya". Entry 418 of the book, a few entries later in the same chapter, describes Evliyâ Mehmed Efendi of Amasya, who became famous in Istanbul in the science of recitation and was İmâm-ı Sultânî; it is likely that the two names belong to the same person, since both are from Amasya and are mentioned in the circle of recitation. This is an inference; the entry has no detail beyond the name of Hâfız Hüseyin Efendi's teacher. Hüsameddin writes in entry 418 that the whole chain of recitation branches from Evliyâ Mehmed Efendi; this entry can be read as an example of that claim. Considering that Evliyâ Mehmed Efendi died around 1044 [1634-35], Sâlih Efendi, who died in 1110 [1698-99], comes two generations of pupils after him.
Place Names and What Could Not Be Verified
The "Mîmâr Ayâs quarter" where Evliyâ Sâlih Efendi's son Hacı Hüseyin Ağa died, and the "Kabataş" where Emîn Mehmed Ağa is buried inside his sebil, are mentioned in the text without saying in which city they lie. Given the family's palace and state posts in Istanbul, quarters in Istanbul come to mind; this is an inference. A record titled "Mimar Ayas Camii" was seen in the Istanbul Encyclopedia, but the record is in the form of a scanned document and its content could not be read. No information on the sebil at Kabataş was found in the source. No other source was found either on Hâfız Hüseyin Efendi or on Evliyâ Sâlih Efendi's sons and grandsons.
Bibliography
Primary sources
- Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar, Amasya Tarihi, Amasya Belediyesi Kültür Yayınları, 2022, vol. 7, p. 373–373. amasya.bel.tr
Other sources
- "Şehzade Mosque", Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C5%9Eehzade_Mosque).
- İstanbul Ansiklopedisi (Reşad Ekrem Koçu), "Mimar Ayas Camii" kaydı (istanbulansiklopedisi.org/handle/rek/27351).