Amasyalıdır. Yenice kazasında medfûn ve el-yevm “Mehmed Baba” demekle meşhûr sâdât-ı Hüseynîyeden ve şehzâde Sultân Alâeddîn Bey’in şeyhi olan es-Seyyid Sadreddîn Mehmed bin es-Seyyid Hüseyin ibn-i es-Seyyid Ali Horasânî mahdûmudur. Birâderleri mu’allim-i sultânî [80] es-Seyyid Abdullah Efendi ile kibâr-ı ulemâdan es-Seyyid Hüseyin Çelebi’dir.
Amasya’da 844 senesinde tevellüd edib 846’da pederiyle beraber Amasya civârında Yenice köyüne gitdi. Orada Sultân Bâyezîd Hân-i Sânî Amasya vâlisi olup gelene kadar ikâmet etdi. 861’de pederiyle beraber Amasya’ya geldi. Bir müddet Mevlânâ Ahmed Cündî Çelebi’den tahsîl-i ulûm etdi.
Ba’dehû İstanbul’a gidip Şeyhülislâm Mevlânâ Hüsrevî Mehmed Efendi’nin tilmizi olan Mevlânâ Hasan-ı Samsunî’den telemmüz ve ahz-i icâzet etdikden sonra Hocazâde Müsliheddîn Mustafa Efendi İznik müderrisi oldukta beraber gidip orada müşârün-ileyhden ikmâl-i tahsîl eyledi. Hutût-ı mütenevvi’ayı Amasya’da Hayreddîn bin Mar’aşî’den ahzetmişdi.
Sonra İstanbul’a gelip Sadr-ı a’zam Karamânî Mehmet Paşa’nın evlâdına mu’allim olduysa da 886’da paşanın i’dâmıyla Sultân Bâyezîd Hân’ın taht-ı saltanata cülûsunda Karahisâr-i Şarkî müderrisliğiyle ib’âd edildi. Ba’dehû Sultâniye-i Merzifon müderrisi ve 896’da Şehzâde Sultân Korkud mu’allimi olarak Manisa’ya gitdi. [81]
Birkaç yıl sonra mu’allimlikten isti’fâ edib Hüseyniye müderrisi olarak Amasya’ya geldi. Yıllarca Amasya’da neşr-i ulûm ederek iştihâr eylediğinden ilk def’a Amasya nakîbü’l-eşrâf kâ’im-mâkamı oldu. Amasya’da mevcûd sâdât-ı Aleviyenin defterini tanzîm edib birâderzâdesi olan nakîbü’l-eşrâf es-Seyyid Mahmûd Emîrî Efendi’ye gönderdi.
Bu esnâda ba’zı A’câm ile kesret-i ihtilâtı ulemânın itirâzâtına bâ’is olduğundan 911 vak’asında Hatûniye ve Tokat müderrisi olarak Amasya’dan kaldırıldı. Bununla beraber nikâbet uhdesinde kaldı. 913’de Amasya’da Sultân Bâyezîd müderrisi ve müftü olduğu halde Amasya’ya gelip talebesine kavuştu. Üçlere mukârenet ederek yedi emîrlerden biri oldu.
918’de Şehzâde Sultân Ahmed’in ihnâkında Amasya’dan mutayyeben kaldırılıp İstanbul’a nakledildi. Orada Mustafa Paşa müderrisi olduysa da iki yıl sonra Sultân Selîm Hân kendisini Kasaba-yı Ebû Eyyûb el-Ensârî’ye nakl ve orada kendisine temlik etdiği hânede ikâmet ve [82] yevmî iki yüz akçe vazife-i tekâ’üd i’tâ etdi.
Orada on beş yıl kadar tezkir u ibâdât ile iştigâl ederek evâhir-i ömründe iki gözü de a’mâ olup sonra bir gözü açıldı. Cenâb-ı Hakk’a teşekkürler ederek ibâdet ve riyâzetle meşgûl iken 935 senesi evâhirinde dâr-ı kudse intikâl etdi. Ebû Eyyûb Ensârî Câmii ittisâlinde kürsî arkasında medfûndur.
‘Ulûm-ı akliyye ve nakliyede mütebahhir, gâyet kâmil, mü’eddeb, vecîh, müfessir, muhaddis, zâhid, nefesi mü’essir, afîf, müteşerri’, şerîfü’n-neseb bir âbid-i murtâz idi. Gâyet edîb olup bağdaş kurduğunu kimse görmüş değildir. Te’ehhülden müctenib, mücerred olup az uyur, çok oturur, yatağa yatmazdı.
Uzun boylu, güzel huylu, çok sakallı, gâyet müşekkel, vakûr, mehîb idi. Teheccüdü dâ’im, tedrîse mülâzım olup sebb-i sahâbeden müctenib, tarik-ı Halvetiye müntesib, sufiyyeye muhib bir hattât-ı meşhûr idi. Bütün kitaplarını kendisi yazmış olduğundan hatt-ı destiyle [83] muharrer binlerce kitaba mâlikdi.
Amasya’da Abdullatîf Efendi Kütübhanesinde kendi hattıyla yazdığı bir kitabı gördüm. Kitabın zahrında güzel bir nesîh ile şu kitâbe vardı: “Ketebehu el-fakîru’l-muhtâc ilâ rahmetillahi’l-kadîr İbrâhim bin Mehmed el-‘Acem el-müderris bi’l-medreseti’l-Hüseyniye bi-Amasya fî seneti hamsin ve tis’i mie” Amasya’da tevellüd etdiği de pederinin hattıyla mazbut idi.
Mücerred kendi hânedânına ifrâd üzere muhibb ve meftûn olan İranlılarla kesret-i ihtilâtı, hâssaten Mir Gıyaseddîn Şirâzî’ye incizâbı ve Acemlikle intisâbı yüzünden sû’i zana uğrayıp İstanbul’a i’zâm edilmesini intâc etdi. Bununla beraber ilm ü fazlına, siyâdet-i nesebine hürmeten rencîde edilmedi. O zaman kazaskerlere verilen iki yüz akçe vazife-i tekâ’üdle taltîf edildi.
Talebe-i ulûmdan biri kendisine bir takım istinâdât ile atâle-i lisân etmesinden pek müte’essir olup “Acep lisânı hareket eder mi?” buyurdukda o gece merkûmun dili tutulduğu “Tercüme-i Şakâyık”da yazılıdır. Sultân Selîm’in kendisine temlik [84] etdiği hânesini Eyüp müderrislerine vakfetdi. “Şakâyık”, “Akd-i Manzûm”, “Tuhfetü’l-Hattâtîn” ve sa’ire kitaplardan ve bulunan kayıdlardan telhîs edilerek bu terceme yazılmıştır.
In Modern English
He was a native of Amasya. He was the son of es-Seyyid Sadreddîn Mehmed son of es-Seyyid Hüseyin son of es-Seyyid Ali Horasânî, who is buried in the district of Yenice, is famous today under the name "Mehmed Baba", was one of the Husaynid seyyids and was the sheikh of Prince Sultan Alâeddîn Bey. His brothers are the sultan's teacher es-Seyyid Abdullah Efendi and es-Seyyid Hüseyin Çelebi, one of the great scholars.
He was born in Amasya in 844 [1440-41]; in 846 [1442-43] he went with his father to the village of Yenice near Amasya. He stayed there until Sultan Bayezid II Han came as governor of Amasya. In 861 [1456-57] he came to Amasya with his father. For a time he learned scholarship from Mevlânâ Ahmed Cündî Çelebi.
Then he went to Istanbul, studied under Mevlânâ Hasan-ı Samsunî, a student of the şeyhülislam Mevlânâ Hüsrevî Mehmed Efendi, and received his license (icazet). When Hocazâde Müsliheddîn Mustafa Efendi became müderris in Iznik, he went with him and completed his education there under him. He had learned various scripts in Amasya from Hayreddîn son of Mar'aşî.
Then he came to Istanbul and became tutor to the children of the grand vizier Karamânî Mehmed Pasha; but when the pasha was executed in 886 [1481-82], at Sultan Bayezid Han's accession he was sent away with the professorship of Karahisâr-ı Şarkî. Then he became müderris of the Sultâniye Madrasa in Merzifon, and in 896 [1490-91] he went to Manisa as tutor to Prince Sultan Korkud.
A few years later he resigned from the tutorship and came to Amasya as müderris of the Hüseyniye. Having spread learning in Amasya for years and become famous, he was for the first time deputy naqib al-ashraf of Amasya (deputy of the head of the seyyids). He compiled the register of the Alid seyyids (descendants of Hz. Ali) in Amasya and sent it to his brother's son, the naqib al-ashraf es-Seyyid Mahmûd Emîrî Efendi.
At this time, since his frequent contact with some Persians (Acem) led to the scholars' objection, in the event of 911 [1505-06] he was removed from Amasya as müderris of the Hatûniye and of Tokat. Nevertheless he remained in the naqibship. In 913 [1507-08] he came to Amasya as müderris of the Sultan Bayezid and as mufti, and was reunited with his students. Having formed a closeness with the Üçler, he became one of the Seven Emirs (Yedi Emîr).
In 918 [1512-13], at the time of Prince Sultan Ahmed's strangling, he was gently removed from Amasya and moved to Istanbul. There he became müderris of the Mustafa Pasha Madrasa; but two years later Sultan Selim Han moved him to the town of Ebû Eyyûb el-Ensârî (Eyüp), had him live in a house he granted him as property there, and gave him a retirement pension of two hundred akçe a day.
There he busied himself for about fifteen years with dhikr and worship; near the end of his life both eyes went blind, and then one eye opened. Giving thanks to the Almighty and occupied with worship and asceticism, he passed to the hereafter at the end of 935 [1529]. He is buried adjoining the Ebû Eyyûb Ensârî Mosque, behind the pulpit.
He was a worshipper vast in the rational and transmitted sciences, extremely mature, courteous, of beautiful face, a scholar of Qur'an commentary, a scholar of hadith, withdrawn from the world, effective in his breath, chaste, bound to the sharia, of honorable lineage, one who had won divine pleasure. He was very well-mannered; no one ever saw him sit cross-legged. He avoided marriage and remained single; he slept little, sat much, and never lay in bed.
He was tall, of good character, thick-bearded, well-proportioned, dignified and imposing. He never gave up the night prayer (tahajjud), continued to teach, avoided reviling the Companions, was attached to the Halvetî order, loved the Sufis, and was a famous calligrapher. Since he wrote all his books himself, he owned thousands of books written in his own hand.
In the Abdullatîf Efendi Library in Amasya I saw a book written in his own hand. On the cover of the book, in a beautiful naskh, was the following phrase: "Ketebehu el-fakîru'l-muhtâc ilâ rahmetillahi'l-kadîr İbrâhim bin Mehmed el-'Acem el-müderris bi'l-medreseti'l-Hüseyniye bi-Amasya fî seneti hamsin ve tis'i mie" [meaning: "Written by the poor one in need of the mercy of God the Almighty, İbrâhim son of Mehmed el-Acem, müderris of the Hüseyniye Madrasa in Amasya; in the year fifty and nine hundred"]. That he was born in Amasya was also recorded in his father's handwriting.
His frequent contact with Persians who showed excessive love and devotion only to their own (seyyid) family, his being drawn especially to Mir Gıyâseddîn Şîrâzî, and his being associated with Persianness led to his being suspected of wrongdoing and sent to Istanbul. Nevertheless, out of respect for his learning, his merit and his being of seyyid descent, he was not harmed. He was rewarded with the retirement pension of two hundred akçe then given to kazaskers.
It is written in the "Tercüme-i Şakâyık" that when one of the students, on certain grounds, spoke ill of him and he was greatly grieved and said, "I wonder whether his tongue will move?", that night the tongue of the said person was paralyzed. He endowed as a waqf for the müderris of Eyüp the house Sultan Selim had granted him as property. This biography has been written as a summary from the "Şakâyık", the "Akd-i Manzûm", the "Tuhfetü'l-Hattâtîn" and other books, and from records found.
Notes and Research
Old Words in the Text
- sâdât-ı Hüseynîye: seyyids descended from Hz. Husayn
- mu'allim-i sultânî: the sultan's teacher
- tilmîz / telemmüz: student / studentship
- icâzet: a teacher's permission to teach, diploma
- hutût-ı mütenevvi'a: various types of script
- nakîbü'l-eşrâf: head of the seyyids and sharifs
- kâ'im-mâkam: deputy, kaymakam
- ihnâk: strangling, having someone strangled
- temlik: granting as property
- vazife-i tekâ'üd: retirement pension
- teheccüd: night prayer
- sebb-i sahâbe: reviling the Companions
- hattât: calligrapher
- kitâbe: the written inscription on a book's cover
- kesret-i ihtilât: frequent contact and association
His Father: Pîr Sadreddîn Horasânî
His father Sadreddîn Mehmed Horasânî lies in the tomb called "Hacı Dede" in the town of Yeşilyenice (Yenice) in Amasya today. According to the sources, he came from Khorasan in 1413, became a sheikh at a tekke in 1414, was known in Amasya as "Horasânî Baba", and became the sheikh of Prince Alâeddîn. When the prince was killed in 1442, he withdrew with his son to the village of Yenice, founded a zawiya there and worked until his death. The tomb was rebuilt by the municipality in 2005. The same source names him as the "father of Seyyid İbrâhim"; this agrees with Koca Emîr İbrâhim Efendi of the entry. In Hüsameddin's book the prince's death appears with the word "ıhnâk", in the same source as "being killed"; most modern sources, however, describe the death as a riding accident.
As Calligrapher and Madrasa Professor
İbrâhim Efendi's life runs between Amasya, Istanbul, Iznik, Karahisâr-ı Şarkî, Merzifon, Manisa, Tokat, and Istanbul again. His tutoring of Prince Korkud shows that a teacher from this circle was sent to the princely palace in Manisa. Among the places where he taught, the Hüseyniye Madrasa is, according to another entry of Hüsameddin, the Büyük Ağa Madrasa. Because he was of seyyid descent he served as deputy naqib al-ashraf and compiled the register of the Alid seyyids in Amasya.
An interesting thing in this entry is that Hüsameddin says he saw and transmitted with his own eyes the phrase on the book cover. In the phrase the date of writing appears as "fî seneti hamsîn ve tis'i mie"; the reading of this wording gives the year 950 (1543-44). According to the entry, however, the man died in 935 and served as müderris of the Hüseyniye before 913. It therefore seems plausible that the phrase describes the year 905 (1499-1500), that is, that "hamsin" is a copying or printing error. This is an inference; since we do not have the manuscript, it cannot be verified.
The Üçler, the Persians and the Exile
The last part of the entry relates that İbrâhim Efendi was sent to Istanbul because of his closeness to the Persians and to Mîr Gıyâseddîn Şîrâzî. Mîr Gıyâseddîn Şîrâzî is known as the first name of the circle called the "Yediler" during Prince Ahmed's governorship of Amasya, and it is written that Prince Ahmed visited his house. The same person is mentioned in entry 6-93 as the master of Hoca Acem and was executed in 1517. Hüsameddin therefore presents İbrâhim Efendi as one who fell under "sû'-i zan" (suspicion) but, because of his learning and seyyid status, escaped a heavy penalty. Sultan Selim's giving him a house in Eyüp and fixing a retirement pension of two hundred akçe a day is presented as a result of this respect.
That he is buried adjoining the Ebû Eyyûb el-Ensârî Mosque in Eyüp and that he endowed his house as a waqf for the müderris of Eyüp is stated in the text; no information on the present condition of the grave was found in my searches. It is known that Karamânî Mehmed Pasha was killed in Istanbul in 1481 during a janissary uprising; Hüsameddin's "execution" in 886 corresponds to this event. No information was found in any other source on his teachers such as Hasan-ı Samsunî, Hocazâde Müslihuddîn Mustafa and Hayreddîn Mar'aşî. Where the thousands of books he wrote are today is also not known.
Bibliography
Primary sources
- Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar, Amasya Tarihi, Amasya Belediyesi Kültür Yayınları, 2022, vol. 6, p. 34–35. amasya.bel.tr
- "Hacı Dede Türbesi / Amasya, Merkez, Yeşil Yenice Beldesi", Sosyo Denemeler (source: Abdülhalim Durma, Evliyalar Şehri Amasya, 2003). http://sosyodenemeler.blogspot.com/2013/08/hac-dede-turbesi-amasya-merkez-yesil.html
- Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar, Amasya Tarihi, Amasya Belediyesi e-kitap, vols. 1-4, p. 489. https://amasya.bel.tr/uploads/e-kitap/kitap/1-4/files/basic-html/page489.html
Academic studies
Other sources