[167] Ofludur. Mûsâ bin Süleyman adlı bir kimsenin oğludur. Âkifzâde es-Seyyid Abdurrahîm Efendi’nin “el-Mecmû‘” adlı eserinde yazıldığı ve icâzet-nâmelerde görüldüğü üzere Amasya’da Büyük Ağa Hüseyniye Medresesinde ikâmetle Kayyimzâde el-Hâc İsmâil, Çorumlu müftü es-Seyyid el-Hâc Mehmed, Ayntâbî el-Hâc Kara Osmân, Akdağî el-Hâc Mustafa, Tokat müftüsü el-Hâc Kara Mûsâ Efendilerden ahz-ı ulûm ve ikmâl-i tahsîl ederek hepsinden icâzet-nâme alıp Sultân Bâyezîd Câmiinde ders-i âm oldu.
Kırk yıldan ziyâde tedrîs-i ulûma muvazabet ve ihtimâm edib mükerreren yüzlerce talebeye icâzet verdi.
Mısır mîr-livâsı Hacı Osmân Bey’in binâ etdiği Bekir Paşa Medresesine ilk müderris oldu.
Mu’ahharan Torumtay Medresesi müderrisi olup tefsîr ve hadîs okutdu. Kibâr-ı ulemâ bile dersinden istifâde ederdi. Bu dersleri okuturken câmi-i şerîf dolardı.
İnkırâz-ı akrân ile şeyhü’l-ulemâ olup riyâset-i ilmiyye kendisine müntehî olduğu hâlde 1179 senesi cumâdelâhiresinde dâr-i na’îme irtihâl etdi. İrtihâli günü Amasya âdetâ sarsıldı. Cenâzesi parmak üzerinde gidip Hazret-i Pîr İlyâs’ın türbesi şimâlinde yol üzerinde defnedildi. [168]
Gâyet fâzıl, muhakkik, tefsîr ve hadîsde mütebahhir, usûl-i fıkıh ve kelâmda mâhir, natûk, müteşerri’, zâhid, muttakî, müşekkel, mehîb, vakûr, nâfizü’l-kelim bir zât-ı sütûde-simât idi. Ferîd-i asr sayılırdı. Sekü Köylüzâde el-Hâc Kâşif Mehmed Efendi ile mu’assırdı. Mahdûmu es-Seyyid Mûsâ Efendi⁹ ve bunun mahdûmu es-Seyyid İbrâhim Efendi de ulemâdandır.
In Modern English
He was from Of. He was the son of a man named Mûsâ son of Süleyman. As written in the work "el-Mecmû'" of Âkifzâde es-Seyyid Abdurrahîm Efendi and as seen in the icazetnames, staying at the Büyük Ağa Hüseyniye Madrasa in Amasya, he acquired learning from Kayyımzâde el-Hâc İsmail, the mufti of Çorum es-Seyyid el-Hâc Mehmed, Ayıntaplı el-Hâc Kara Osman, Akdağlı el-Hâc Mustafa and the mufti of Tokat el-Hâc Kara Mûsâ Efendis, and completed his studies. Having received an icazetname from all of them, he came to be in a position to teach (ders-i âm) at the Sultan Bayezid Mosque.
He went on teaching for more than forty years and took care over it; many times he gave the icazet to hundreds of students.
He became the first müderris of the Bekir Pasha Madrasa, built by the Egyptian mirliva (sanjak bey) Hacı Osman Bey.
Later he became müderris of the Torumtay Madrasa and taught tafsir and hadith. Even great scholars benefited from his lessons. When he taught these lessons, the mosque would fill up.
With the passing away of his contemporaries he became şeyhülulemâ (head of the scholars); the headship of learning ended with him. In the month of Jumada al-Thani of the year 1179 [1765-66] he migrated to the abode of paradise. On the day he died, Amasya was, as it were, shaken. His funeral was carried on the hands of the crowd, and he was buried north of the tomb of Hazret-i Pîr İlyâs, by the road.
He was a man of great virtue, a researcher, deep in tafsir and hadith, a master of the principles of jurisprudence and of kalam, eloquent, devoted to the sharia, not attached to the world, God-fearing, neat in dress and appearance, imposing, dignified, listened to, of praiseworthy character. He was regarded as the one of his age. He was a contemporary of Sekü Köylüzâde el-Hâc Kâşif Mehmed Efendi. His son es-Seyyid Mûsâ Efendi and that man's son es-Seyyid İbrahim Efendi were also among the scholars.
Notes and Research
Old Words in the Text
- ahz-ı ulûm: acquiring learning
- icâzet-nâme: the document given to one who has completed his studies and is authorized to teach
- ders-i âm: a teacher with an icazet who gives public lessons
- mîr-livâ: sanjak bey
- müderris: madrasa professor
- inkırâz-ı akrân: the passing away of contemporaries and peers
- şeyhü'l-ulemâ: sheikh of the scholars, the most senior scholar
- riyâset-i ilmiyye: headship in learning
- cenâzesi parmak üzerinde: his funeral was carried on hands, with a crowd
- natûk: outspoken, one who speaks well
- müteşerri': devoted to the sharia
- zâhid, muttakî: not attached to the world, God-fearing
- nâfizü'l-kelim: one whose word carries
- ferîd-i asr: the unique person of his age
Laz Hoca and the Madrasas of Amasya
According to Hüsameddin, Laz Hoca is one of the best-known figures of the learned life of 18th-century Amasya. He came from Of and settled in Amasya. Hüsameddin bases the list of his teachers on a compilation by Âkifzâde Abdurrahîm Efendi and on the icazetnames. His teachers are muftis and teachers from Amasya, Çorum, Antep and Tokat; this list suggests that the learned circle in Amasya was connected with the neighbouring cities.
The "Büyük Ağa Hüseyniye Madrasa" where he studied appears in the sources as the Büyük Ağa or Kapı Ağası Madrasa; it is counted among the Ottoman-period madrasas of Amasya, and Hüseyin Ağa is mentioned among the benefactors who had madrasas built. The Türk Maarif Ansiklopedisi writes that Kara Osman Efendi, müderris of the Büyük Ağa Madrasa, had the Osmaniye Madrasa built in 1737. Whether the "Ayıntaplı el-Hâc Kara Osman" Hüsameddin mentions among the teachers is the same person as this man is not stated.
The Sultan Bayezid Mosque is the largest complex in Amasya; according to the sources, its construction was begun in 1481 while Bayezid II was still a prince, and completed in 1486. Laz Hoca taught the congregation here as ders-i âm.
The Bekir Pasha and Torumtay Madrasas
The Bekir Pasha Madrasa, of which Laz Hoca was the first müderris, is according to an academic study in the Köprübaşı neighbourhood. It was built in 1751 as a Dârülhadis by Bekirbeyzâde el-Hâc Osman Bey of Amasya, a former Egyptian mirliva, who also arranged its waqfs. This masonry building, whose classroom and library were very good, was close to collapse around 1883; in 1891 its front façade was torn down and shops were built on the lower part and rooms on the upper part. The Alaca Hamam and the İki Kapılı Han are waqfs of this madrasa. Since Osman Bey's son Ebû Bekir Pasha became trustee after the death of Osman Bey, who had built the madrasa, the madrasa is called the "Bekir Pasha Madrasa". The same study writes that "the famous scholar Laz İbrahim Efendi, renowned for his virtue" served here as müderris and that in 1179/1766 Seküköylüzâde el-Hâc Mehmed Kâşif Efendi took his place. This date agrees with the year of death Hüsameddin gives (1179).
The Torumtay Madrasa, of which Laz Hoca later became müderris, is also known as the Gökmedrese. It was built in 1267 by Seyfeddin Torumtay, governor of Amasya; when he died he was buried in the tomb next to it. This work of the Seljuk period still stands today.
The Tomb of Pîr İlyâs
The "tomb of Hazret-i Pîr İlyâs" in which Laz Hoca was buried is the Pir Sücaeddin İlyas Tomb in the Pirler Park in Amasya. According to the Kültür Portalı, the tomb was built in 1486 by Gümüşlüzâde Ahmed Bey, renewed in 1688 by Gümüşlüzâde İbrahim Pasha, and torn down and rebuilt after the 1895 earthquake. Inside, besides Pir İlyas, are the graves of his son-in-law Pir Celâleddin Abdurrahman, his grandson Pir Hayreddin Hızır Çelebi, and their families. Hüsameddin says the funeral was buried north of the tomb, by the road.
His Contemporary Kâşif Mehmed
The text mentions Laz Hoca as a contemporary of Sekü Köylüzâde Kâşif Mehmed Efendi. Kâşif Mehmed is the Amasya scholar who was killed in 1188 through the tyranny of Canikli Hacı Ali Pasha (see entry 194); there is also the Kâşifiye Madrasa in Amasya, built in his name in 1762 by Halil Ağazâde Ömer Ağa.
No information was found in other sources on his sons Mûsâ and Süleyman Efendis or his grandson İbrahim Efendi.
Bibliography
Primary sources
- Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar, Amasya Tarihi, Amasya Belediyesi Kültür Yayınları, 2022, vol. 6, p. 59–60. amasya.bel.tr
Academic studies
Official sources
Other sources