Amasyalıdır. Kudâtdan Mehmed Efendi bin Abdülkerîm Efendi bin Ali Çelebi bin Müderris Abdî Abdülkerîm Çelebi mahdûmudur. Amasya‘da “Tebyînü’l-Mehâri” müellifi Şeyhü’l-harem el-Hâc Sinan ve müfessir Ahmed Efendilerden ikmâl-i tahsîl ederek İstanbul’a gitdi. [127]
Nev’îzâde Atayî Efendi’nin “Zeyl-i Şakâyık”da yazdığı üzere İstanbul’a geldikde Amasyalı Mazlûm Melek demekle meşhûr Ahmed Efendi’den mülâzemetle be-kâm olarak ders-i âm ve kırk akçe, medreseden ma’zûl iken 1004 şa’bânında Kasımpaşa müderrisliğiyle dâhil-i silsile-i ulemâ oldu.
Bu esnâda kapıcılar kethüdâsı olan sadr-ı esbak Nasûh Paşa’ya muallim olduğundan 1008 senesi cumâdelûlâsında Yeni Ali Paşa, 1009 cumâdelûlâsında Gevher Hân Sultân ve zilka’desinde Üsküdar’da Mehmed Paşa, 1010 rebîülâhirinde Kızıl Musluk ve 1012 cumâdelûlâsında Sahn-ı Semâniye müderrisi oldu.
Nasûh Paşa 1012’de Halep vâlisi oldukda sene-i mezbûrenin zilka’desinde Diyarbekir Mollası oldu. Oraya vâlî olarak nakledilen Nasûh Paşa ile 1013’de birleşti. Burada Paşa vezerâtle Şark Seraskeri oldukta Efendinin mevkii yükseldi.
1014 senesi zilhiccesinin evâhirinde Bağdâd Mollası olup üç yıl kadar Irak’da icrâ-yı kazâ etdi. 1017 senesi zilka’desinde Nasûh Paşa’nın Serasker [128] bulunduğu Ordu-yı Hümâyun kadısı oldukta Bağdad kazâsı uhdesinden ref’ edildi.
1020 senesi rebîülâhirinde Nasûh Paşa’nın inhâsıyla Medine-i Münevvere Mollası olup sene-i mezbûre cumâdelâhiresinde Nasûh Paşa Sadr-ı a’zam olarak İstanbul’a geldi. 1021 senesi cumâdelâhiresinde Medine-i Münevvere’den ma’zûlen İstanbul’a gelip Nasûh Paşa’ya mülâkî oldu.
1023 senesi gurre-i saferinde Bursa Mollası olup on dört ay kadar Bursa’da icrâ-yı hükûmetten sonra 1024 senesi rebîülâhirinde azledilip 1026 senesi şa’bânında dâr-ı bekâya intikâl etdi. İstanbul’da Keskin Dede Tekkesinde medfûndur.
Fâzıl, vakûr, müstakîm bir âlim-i zî-şândı. Mahdûmu Mehmed Efendi 1065’de ve hafîdi Mustafa Efendi 1114’de ve bunun mahdûmu Sâdık Mehmed Efendi 1145’de vefât etmişlerdir. Bunların hepsi Haremeyn pâyelilerinden olup İsmâilzâdelikle meşhûr idiler.
In Modern English
He was from Amasya. He was the son of the judge Mehmed Efendi; Mehmed Efendi was the son of Abdülkerîm Efendi, who was the son of Ali Çelebi, who was the son of Müderris Abdî Abdülkerîm Çelebi. In Amasya he completed his studies under teachers such as Şeyhülharem Hâc Sinan, author of the "Tebyînü'l-Mehârî", and the Qur'an commentator Ahmed Efendi, and then went to Istanbul.
As Nev'îzâde Atâî Efendi wrote in his "Zeyl-i Şakâyık", when he came to Istanbul he obtained his wish by receiving a mülâzemet from the Amasya-born Ahmed Efendi, known as Mazlûm Melek (with general lecturing and forty akçe [daily stipend]). While dismissed from the madrasa, in Shaban 1004 [1596] he entered the ranks of the ulema with the professorship at Kasımpaşa.
Since at this time he was tutor to Nasûh Pasha, the former grand vizier who was then kapıcılar kethüdası, he became professor at Yeni Ali Paşa in Jumada I 1008 [1599-1600], at Gevher Hân Sultân in Jumada I 1009 and, in Dhu al-Qa'da, at Mehmed Paşa in Üsküdar, at Kızıl Musluk in Rabi' II 1010, and at Sahn-ı Semâniye in Jumada I 1012.
When Nasûh Pasha became governor of Aleppo in 1012, in Dhu al-Qa'da of that year he became Molla of Diyarbekir. He joined Nasûh Pasha, who had been transferred there as governor, in 1013 [1604-05]. Here, when the Pasha became commander of the eastern front with the rank of vizier, the Efendi's position rose.
At the end of Dhu al-Hijja 1014 he became Molla of Baghdad and served as judge in Iraq for about three years. When in Dhu al-Qa'da 1017 he became judge of the Imperial Army, in which Nasûh Pasha was commander, he was relieved of the judgeship of Baghdad.
In Rabi' II 1020, on Nasûh Pasha's recommendation, he became Molla of Medina; in Jumada II of the same year Nasûh Pasha came to Istanbul as grand vizier. In Jumada II 1021 he came to Istanbul, dismissed from Medina, and met Nasûh Pasha.
At the beginning of Safar 1023 he became Molla of Bursa and, after about fourteen months of giving judgments in Bursa, was dismissed in Rabi' II 1024 and died in Shaban 1026 [1617]. He is buried in the Keskin Dede Tekke in Istanbul.
He was a learned, dignified, upright and distinguished scholar. His son Mehmed Efendi died in 1065 [1654-55], his grandson Mustafa Efendi in 1114 [1702-03], and the latter's son Sâdık Mehmed Efendi in 1145 [1732-33]. All of them were among the Haremeyn-rank officials and were famous under the name İsmâilzâde.
Notes and Research
Old Words in the Text
- kudât: judges
- ikmâl-i tahsîl: completing one's studies
- mülâzemet: the attachment of a candidate to a teacher in order to enter the ranks of the ulema
- ders-i âm: authorization to give general lectures, a public lecture
- ma'zûl: dismissed from office
- dâhil-i silsile-i ulemâ: having entered the ladder of the ulema class
- Mollâ: judge of a major city
- icrâ-yı kazâ: serving as judge
- inhâ: reporting to a higher authority for an appointment, recommendation
- sadr-ı esbak: former grand vizier
- serasker: army commander
- dâr-ı bekâya intikâl: death
- Haremeyn pâyeli: a member of the ulema raised to the rank of judge of Mecca and Medina
Forebears and Teachers
The man at the head of the line of ancestors, Müderris Abdî Abdülkerîm Çelebi, appears, judging by the similarity of the names, to be the same person as Şeyhzâde Abdülkerîm Çelebi, whom Hüsameddin describes in the period of Sultan Bayezid's governorship of Amasya as professor of the Halifet Madrasa, famous as "Mevlânâ Abdî", and appointed to the post of mufti; the book does not explicitly make this identification. The "Molla Müderris Abdî" also appears in the list of Amasya scholars in the first volume. The name of Mazlûm Melek Ahmed Efendi, mentioned as İsmâil Efendi's teacher in Istanbul, is also tied to Amasya in the book: the first volume records that Mazlûm Melekzâde Seyyid Ahmed Efendi in 986 [1578-79] repaired a mosque and added a school beside it. It may be thought that this man and İsmâil Efendi's teacher come from the same family, but the book does not state this plainly.
His Teacher, Şeyhülharem Hâc Sinan
One of the teachers in the text is Şeyhülharem Hâc Sinan, author of the work Tebyînü'l-Mehârim. Şeyhülharem is the title that the sources give to scholars who taught in the Masjid al-Haram and the Prophet's Mosque, and also to those responsible for the services of these mosques. Hüsameddin mentions the same Sinan Efendi elsewhere in the book. In the cemeteries section of the first volume, a "Tomb of Sinan Efendi" is shown inside a house near the Tomb of the Three, and it is written that Sheikh Sinâneddîn Yûsuf el-Halvetî, author of the Tebyînü'l-Mehârim, lies there. In the sixth volume, Ebuloğlu Mehmed Efendi is mentioned as having studied under "Şeyhülharem Sinan Efendi of Amasya, author of the Tebyînü'l-Mehârim" and Bahşîzâde Yahyâ Efendi; the entry on Müfessir Ahmed Efendi gives him as Sinan Efendi's teacher. It is plausible that the "Qur'an commentator Ahmed Efendi" under whom İsmâil Efendi studied is this person.
This work has been the subject of research in Amasya in our own day: at the International Amasya Scholars Symposium held in 2017, a paper was presented titled "The Juristic Issues of the Period in the Framework of Yûsuf Sinânüddîn el-Amâsî and His Work Tebyînü'l-Mehârim". Since the text of the paper could not be read, the content of the work and the author's life could not be verified from this source. One point calls for care: the Amasya-born Sinan Efendi who served as kazasker of Anatolia and died in 986 [1578] is known by the epithet "Muhaşşî" because of the gloss he wrote on al-Baydâwî's commentary; his encyclopedia entry also notes that works of several scholars named "Sinâneddin Yûsuf" living in the same age were at times confused with one another. Whether Hâc Sinan and Muhaşşî Sinan Efendi are the same person could not be determined from the sources read.
Nasûh Pasha's Career and Hüsameddin's Chronology
İsmâil Efendi's career is told interwoven with that of Nasûh Pasha, whose tutor he was. According to the source on Nasûh Pasha's life, the Pasha was appointed kapıcılar kethüdası on 19 Safar 1007 [21 September 1598], was appointed to the junior mastership of the stables after that post, and in 1012 [1603] was sent from the post of kapıcıbaşı to the governorship of Aleppo. The period of Hüsameddin's tutoring of Nasûh Pasha therefore falls around 1007-1008 and agrees with his first madrasa appointment, dated 1008. The kapıcılar kethüdası is the official who attended and mediated in the meetings between the sultan and the grand vizier and was the highest authority of the palace gate services.
After Aleppo, Nasûh Pasha was appointed governor of Sivas (March 1604), then sent against the Celâlîs with the command of Anatolia; in 1015 [1606] the province of Baghdad was given to him, and when he failed in that post he was transferred to the governorship of Diyarbekir. Hüsameddin, however, dates his transfer to Diyarbekir as governor to 1013. There is a shift between these two accounts: in the source read, Nasûh Pasha's arrival in Diyarbekir is placed after the failure in Baghdad. Since the date "1013" in Hüsameddin's sentence points to the time just after Dhu al-Qa'da 1012, when İsmâil Efendi became Molla of Diyarbekir, it is possible that the date has slipped by a year or that the two sources rest on different documents; which is correct could not be verified.
For Nasûh Pasha's grand vizierate Hüsameddin gives Jumada II 1020. According to the encyclopedic records, when Kuyucu Murad Pasha died on 25 Jumada I 1020 [5 August 1611] the grand vizierate was given to Nasûh Pasha, and the seal of the grand vizierate reached him on 12 Jumada II 1020 [22 August 1611]; the Pasha's arrival in Istanbul falls in the middle of 1021 [1612]. Hüsameddin's record "Jumada II 1020" agrees with the date the seal arrived; the phrase "came to Istanbul" appears to be used loosely in this sense. İsmâil Efendi's dismissal from Medina and arrival in Istanbul in 1021 also falls in the year of the Pasha's return to Istanbul.
Nasûh Pasha lost the sultan's confidence after the Cossack raid on Sinop (August 1614) and was executed in his mansion on 13 Ramadan 1023 [17 October 1614]. İsmâil Efendi is seen to have been appointed to the mollaship of Bursa at the beginning of Safar 1023, while his dismissal falls in Rabi' II 1024, after Nasûh Pasha's death. The text draws no link between these two events; for that reason it is not known whether the loss of the Pasha's patronage played a part in the dismissal.
Zeyl-i Şakâyık
For the first steps of his career the text cites Nev'îzâde Atâî's Zeyl-i Şakâyık. Atâî (1583-1635) completed this Turkish supplement to Taşköprizâde's famous work while kadı of Üsküp in 1634; the work gives information on the sheikhs, scholars and poets who lived within Ottoman borders in the years 965-1044 [1558-1634]. İsmâil Efendi's steps from 1004 to 1017 fall within the period the work covers; but there was no opportunity to read Atâî's original entry.
Bibliography
Primary sources
- Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar, Amasya Tarihi, Amasya Belediyesi Kültür Yayınları, 2022, vol. 7, p. 303. amasya.bel.tr
- Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar, Amasya Tarihi, vol. 1, pp. 116–123 (Mukaddime, Mazlûm Melekzâde), pp. 137–141 (Mukaddime, Sinan Efendi Türbesi), pp. 155–160 (Mukaddime, Amasya âlimleri); vol. 3, pp. 475–480 (Sultân Bâyezîd Hân-ı Sânî); vol. 6, p. 84 (Ebu'l-Kâsım Mehmed Efendi-Ebuloğlu) and p. 146 (Ahmed Efendi-Müfessir el-Hâc).
Academic studies
- Eyyüp Said Kaya, "Sinan Efendi", TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/sinan-efendi
- "Atâî, Nev'îzâde", TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/atai-nevizade
- İlyas Yıldırım, "Yûsuf Sinânüddîn el-Amâsî ve Tebyînü'l-Mehârim Adlı Eseri Çerçevesinde Dönemin Fıkhî Sorunları", Uluslararası Amasya Âlimleri Sempozyumu, Amasya, 2017, p. 399–408 (citation only).
- "Mehmed Paşa, Gürcü", TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/mehmed-pasa-gurcu--hadim