AMASYA 05

Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar · İKİNCİ BÂB · BİRİNCİ FASIL

İbrâhim Efendi — Şeyhzâde eş-Şeyh

Encyclopedia · History of Amasya, Volume 6, p. 72 • Edited by: Doç. Dr. Recep Orhan ÖZEL - Doç. Dr. Metin HAKVERDİOĞLU

Original Text (Ottoman Turkish)

Merzifonludur. Orada Hacı Hüseyin Ağa Câmii kurbunda kâin Halvetî şeyhi el-Hâc Mustafa Efendi’nin mahdûmudur. Merzifon müftüsü fuzalâdan es-Seyyid eş-Şeyh Ahmed Nâsih Efendi’den ikmâl-i tahsîl edib ders-i âm ve pederinden münîb oldu. Pederinin vefâtında Halvetî tekkesi şeyhi ve Hacı Hüseyin Ağa Câmii vâ’izi olup ifâde ve ibâdetle imrâr-ı hayât ederek 1249’da vefât etdi. Âlim, sâlih, halkın mu’tekadı bir şeyh-i kâmildi.

Our Research Article Editor: Mevlüt Erdem Öztürk

In Modern English

He is from Merzifon. He is the son of Hacı Mustafa Efendi, the Halvetî sheikh near the Hacı Hüseyin Ağa Mosque there. He completed his studies under Seyyid Şeyh Ahmed Nâsih Efendi, the mufti of Merzifon and one of the virtuous scholars, and became a ders-i âm (a madrasa professor who gave public lectures); he also received Sufi training from his father and joined his order. When his father died he became sheikh of the Halvetî lodge and preacher of the Hacı Hüseyin Ağa Mosque; spending his life teaching and in worship, he died in 1249 [1833-34]. He was a learned, pious, mature sheikh, believed in and devotedly followed by the people.

Notes and Research

Old Words in the Text

  • kurb: near, nearby
  • kâ'in: situated
  • fuzalâ: virtuous, learned people
  • münîb: one who attached himself to a sheikh, repented and entered the order
  • vâ'iz: one who gives sermons in a mosque
  • ifâde: here, giving lessons, teaching learning
  • imrâr-ı hayât: passing one's life
  • mu'tekad: one who is believed in, shown respect and devotion
  • şeyh-i kâmil: a sheikh who has attained maturity

The Hacı Hüseyin Ağa Mosque

In the Hacı Balı quarter of Merzifon, east of Balı Street, there is a mosque called today the "Çay Mosque" or "Hacı (Aşçı) Hüseyin Ağa Mosque". Since the building has no inscription, its date of construction is not known exactly; according to archival records it was built by Hacı (Aşçı) Hüseyin Ağa. From the inscription above the courtyard gate reading "Mâşâallah tamir sene 1186" it is understood that it was repaired in 1772; on the basis of this information the mosque is thought to have been built between the end of the seventeenth and the beginning of the eighteenth century. The General Directorate of Foundations repaired the building again in 1947 and 1977. The name Çay Mosque comes from the Paşa Creek that flows about 200 meters to its east.

It is highly probable that the building Hüsameddin calls "Hacı Hüseyin Ağa Câmii" is this mosque, but since the text has no other detail identifying the mosque, this is an identification. No information on the Halvetî lodge near the mosque was found in current sources.

His Teacher Ahmed Nâsih Efendi

İbrâhim Efendi's teacher Şeyh Ahmed Nâsih Efendi appears elsewhere in Hüsameddin's book too. According to the annual events section of the book, in Dhu al-Hijja 1211 [1797] "Şeyh Ahmed Nâsih Efendi bin Ebûbekir Efendi" was newly appointed professor of the Şifâiyye Madrasa, built by Hacı Hasan Ağa in the Hacı Âdil quarter of Merzifon, and devoted himself to teaching the Shifa al-Sharif. In the entry on Belvarî Hacı Ahmed Efendi it is written that after Ahmed Nâsih Efendi's death Belvarî became mufti in 1253 [1837-38] by the consensus of the ulema of Merzifon. Accordingly, Ahmed Nâsih Efendi appears as the leading professor and mufti of Merzifon from the end of the eighteenth century until the mid-1830s.

In the history of Merzifon there are many mystics, above all Pîrî Baba, whose tombs have survived to the present. That Şeyhzâde İbrâhim Efendi was both a madrasa professor and a lodge sheikh is one of the examples showing that in this township madrasa and lodge were run intertwined in the hands of the same families.

No information was found in other sources about Şeyhzâde İbrâhim Efendi and his father Hacı Mustafa Efendi.

Bibliography

Primary sources

  • Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar, Amasya Tarihi, Amasya Belediyesi Kültür Yayınları, 2022, vol. 6, p. 72–72. amasya.bel.tr
  • Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar, Amasya Tarihi, the Remainder of Volume 4, events of the year 1211 ("Süleymân Bey" section); vol. 6, entry "Ahmed Efendi-Belvarî el-Hâc", p. 228.

Academic studies

Other sources

Volume 6 contents