Merzifonludur. Oranın müftüsü es-Seyyid el-Hâc Ali Efendi bin [228] el-Hâc Yahya Efendi bin Kurt Mehmed Efendi’nin mahdûmudur. 1265’de doğdu. Küçük yaşında tahsîl-i ulûma başlayıp mukaddimât-ı ulûmu pederinden gördükden sonra 1282’de İstanbul’a gitdi. Meşâhîr-i fuzalâdan Hâfız Ahmed Şakir Efendi’nin dersine oturdu.
Sekiz yıl kadar müşârûn-ileyhin halka-i tedrîsine mülâzemet ederek 1290’da icâzetnâme aldı. Mekteb-i nüvvâb, Fetvâhâne, ruûs imtihânlarında birinci olarak ibrâz-ı tefevvuk edib mektebden sınıf-ı sâlîs derecesinde liyâkât şehâdetnâmesi aldı. Bir müddet Yozgat, Lazkiye, Kayseriye gibi sancaklara nâib ve mahkeme-i hukûk reisi oldu.
1326’da ilân-ı Meşrûtiyeti müteâkib fetvâhâneye girip reisü’l-müsevvidîn, ba’dehû Meclis-i tedkîkât âzâsı oldu. Ancak 1331’de Ürgüplü Mustafa Hayri Efendi’nin meşîhatinde Lazkiye cezâ reisi iken aralarında tekevvün eden bir iğbirâra binâen 1332’de Musûl kadılığına nasbedilerek fetvâhâneden çıkarıldı.
Bu da Musûl kazâsından istifâ ve tekâüdünü istid’â [229] eylediğinden tekâüdü icrâ edildi. Molla Hüsrev Mahallesi’nde kâin hânesinde ikâmet edib 1337 senesi zilhiccesinin yirmi altıncı gününe müsâdif 22 Eylül 1335 Pazar günü öğle vakti vefât etdi.
Ertesi günü Edirnekapısı hâricinde Şeyhülislâm Kemal Paşazâde Ahmed Şemseddîn Efendi’nin türbesi civârına defnedildi. Fâzıl, gâyet fakîh, afîf, âkil, halûk, beşûş, tevârih ve muhâzarâta vâkıf bir zât idi. Birâderi Mehmed Tâhir Efendi’dir. Muharrir-i fakîr Molla Hüsrev Mahellesi’nde ikâmet etdiğim esnâda sohbetinden müstefîd olurdum.
In Modern English
He is a native of Merzifon. He is the son of Seyyid Hacı Ali Efendi, the mufti of that place; Ali Efendi was the son of Hacı Yahya Efendi, and Hacı Yahya Efendi was the son of Kurt Mehmed Efendi. He was born in 1265 [1848-49]. He began his studies at an early age and read the introductory studies of the sciences under his father, and in 1282 [1865-66] he went to Istanbul. He sat in the lessons of Hâfız Ahmed Şakir Efendi, one of the renowned scholars.
Attending the circle of the above-mentioned teacher for about eight years, he received his teaching licence in 1290 [1873-74]. He showed his excellence by coming first in the examinations of the Nüvvab School, of the Fetvahâne and of the rüûs, and received from the school a certificate of competence at the third-class grade. For a time he was naib and president of the law court in sanjaks such as Yozgat, Latakia and Kayseri.
In 1326 [1908-09], after the proclamation of the Constitution, he entered the Fetvahâne and became head of the müsevvids (reîsü'l-müsevvidîn), and then a member of the Meclis-i Tedkîkât. However, in 1331 [1912-13], during the term of Şeyhülislam Ürgüplü Mustafa Hayri Efendi, while he was president of the criminal court at Latakia, a rift arose between them, and in 1332 [1913-14] he was appointed judge of Mosul and removed from the Fetvahâne.
He resigned from the district of Mosul as well and asked for retirement, and he was retired. Living in his house in the Molla Hüsrev Quarter, he died at noon on Sunday, 22 September 1335 [1919], which corresponds to the twenty-sixth day of Zilhicce of the year 1337.
The next day he was buried outside Edirnekapı, near the tomb of Şeyhülislam Kemalpaşazâde Ahmed Şemseddin Efendi. He was a man of learning, a very knowledgeable jurist, chaste, intelligent, of good character, cheerful, and versed in history and in the fine points of conversation. His brother is Mehmed Tâhir Efendi. This poor author used to benefit from his conversation while I was living in the Molla Hüsrev Quarter.
Notes and Research
Old Words in the Text
- mukaddimât-ı ulûm: introductory lessons in the sciences
- mülâzemet: attending a teacher for a set period with lessons and service
- icâzetnâme: a document by which a teacher authorizes a student to teach and to transmit knowledge
- mekteb-i nüvvâb: the school that trained deputy judges (naibs)
- Fetvâhâne: the office in the Şeyhülislam's department that handled fatwa business
- sınıf-ı sâlis: third class
- liyâkat şehâdetnâmesi: certificate of competence, diploma
- reîsü'l-müsevvidîn: head of the müsevvids, who put fatwa questions into fatwa form
- mahkeme-i hukûk reisi: president of a law court
- iğbirâr: a rift, hurt feelings
- nasbetmek: to appoint to a post
- tekâüd: retirement
- afîf, âkil, halûk, beşûş: chaste, intelligent, of good character, cheerful
- müstefîd: one who benefits
The Fetvahâne and the Headship of the Müsevvids
The Fetvahâne was the unit within the Şeyhülislam's department that carried out fatwa business. In its last period it consisted of three parts: the petition room, the fatwa room and the i'lâmat room. In the fatwa room, which İsmâil Hakkı Efendi is said to have headed, an incoming question was put into fatwa form by the müsevvids and, after being fair-copied, was presented to the Şeyhülislam, who wrote with his own hand a phrase such as "it is permitted" or "it is not permitted" and signed it. According to the Ilmiyye Yearbook of 1916, the fatwa room had one reîsü'l-müsevvidîn and twenty-eight müsevvids. A regulation dated 24 July 1913 divided the fatwa room into two branches, one compiling fatwas already given and one preparing the question formulas. Hüsameddin's mention of this post agrees with the way the Fetvahâne worked in its last years. Whether İsmâil Hakkı Efendi's name appears in the yearbooks of that period could not be verified; no record of his membership in the "Meclis-i Tedkîkât" was found in another source either.
The Nüvvab School and the Third-Class Grade
The Nüvvab school had been founded to train the sharia judges called "naib" in place of kadı, and at its foundation the course lasted two years. Naibs were divided into five classes according to knowledge and ability, and those who entered the profession by examination were entered in the third, fourth or fifth class. Hüsameddin's "sınıf-ı sâlis" appears to be connected with this five-step system; by that system the grade corresponds to the third class (an inference). It is the same Mekteb-i Nüvvâb that İsmail Efendi of Hacıköyü, in entry 230, also attended; that entry describes the founding of the school in more detail.
Şeyhülislam Hayri Efendi and the Year in the Text
Ürgüplü Mustafa Hayri Efendi was appointed minister of pious foundations (Evkaf) on 22 December 1910, and while holding that post in the cabinet of Said Halim Pasha he became Şeyhülislam on 16 March 1914 and stayed in office until 6 May 1916. Since 16 March 1914 falls in the Hijri year 1332, the date of the appointment to the judgeship of Mosul (1332) agrees with his term as Şeyhülislam. Hüsameddin's "in 1331, during Hayri Efendi's term as Şeyhülislam" does not fit this date; Hayri Efendi's term as Şeyhülislam began after 1331, in 1914. The difference may be a slip of one year or the rift may have begun before his term; the text does not make clear which is right.
Date of Death and Place of Burial
Hüsameddin gives the day of death in both the Hijri and the Rumi calendar: the 26th of Zilhicce 1337 and 22 September 1335 [1919]. By calculation these two dates point to the same day, 22-23 September 1919. However, 22 September 1919 falls on a Monday, while the text says "Sunday"; a difference of one day appears, and since the calculation of the Hijri date can shift by a day, no firm judgment can be given (an inference based on calculation).
Kemalpaşazâde, named as the place of burial, was appointed Şeyhülislam in Şaban 932 (May 1526) and died on 2 Şevval 940 (16 April 1534). He was buried in the cemetery of the Mahmud Çelebi Zâviye outside Edirnekapı. Sources differ on his birthplace: some say Tokat, others Edirne, and it is also claimed that he was from Amasya, with the third volume of Hüsameddin's book cited as the basis of that view. The Edirnekapı Cemetery had been used for burials since the conquest, and in the age of Süleyman the Magnificent the graves or tombs of many şeyhülislams, viziers and pashas, İbn Kemal foremost among them, lay there. In 1971, during the construction of the Golden Horn ring roads, the İbn Kemal plot was removed entirely and only his tomb was moved elsewhere. For this reason the present state of İsmâil Hakkı Efendi's grave is not known; no information on this was found in the sources.
The Molla Hüsrev Quarter
Hüsameddin says that both the deceased and he himself lived in this quarter, so he describes the conversations from his own observation. It is probable that the name of the quarter is connected with the scholar Molla Hüsrev, who became judge of Istanbul in 863 (1459) after the conquest of the city; this is an inference. No verifiable information was found in the sources on the boundaries of the quarter in 1919 or on its present name.
No information was found in other sources on İsmâil Hakkı Efendi's family in Merzifon, his father the mufti Seyyid Hacı Ali Efendi, his teacher Hâfız Ahmed Şakir Efendi, or his brother Mehmed Tâhir Efendi.
Bibliography
Primary sources
- Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar, Amasya Tarihi, Amasya Belediyesi Kültür Yayınları, 2022, vol. 7, p. 332–333. amasya.bel.tr
Academic studies
- Ferhat Koca, "Fetvahâne", TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/fetvahane
- İlhami Yurdakul, "Mekteb-i Nüvvâb", TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/mekteb-i-nuvvab
- Necdet İşli, "Edirnekapı Mezarlığı", TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/edirnekapi-mezarligi
- Şerafettin Turan, "Kemalpaşazâde", TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/kemalpasazade