Rüsûhî Hasan Efendi was a scholar and poet from the family of sheikhs of the Selâmet Hatun dervish lodge (zaviye) in Amasya, who became sheikh of his father's lodge after a career as a judge and died in Şevval 1209 (April-May 1795). The name "Rüsûhî" was a by-name given him by his teacher because of the firmness of his memory; the word comes from the Arabic "rüsûh", the settling of knowledge firmly in the mind. Not a single couplet is known from the man Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar calls "âlim, kâmil, sâlih, şâir bir şeyh-i kerîm", a learned, accomplished, upright and generous sheikh and a poet.

Hüsameddin's Entry

The entry "Rüsûhî Hasan Efendi-Şeyhzâde el-Hâc" in the tenth volume of Hüsameddin's Amasya Tarihi tells the poet's life through the changing hands of the lodge's sheikhship:

Amasyalıdır. Selâmet Hâtun zâviyesi şeyhi Mustafa Efendizâde eş-Şeyh Osmân Efendi'nin mahdûmudur. 1153'de pederinin vefâtına binâ'en meşîhat ciheti birâderi Sünûhî Abdullah Efendiyle uhdelerine tevcîh edilmişdi. 1154'de sıgar-ı sinlerine binâ'en her ikisi de ref' edilip meşîhat-ı ulemâdan es-Seyyid Hâfız Hüseyin Efendi uhdesine tevcîh ve bunlar da mûmâ-ileyhin taht-ı vesâyetine idhâl edildi. Mukaddimât-ı ulûmu Hâfız Hüseyin Efendi'den görüp sonra Iydîzâde Âkif Mustafa Efendi'nin halka-i tedrîsine mülâzemet etdi. Metânet-i hâfızasına binâ'en üstâdı tarafından "Rüsuhî" lakâbı verildi. Fâzıl-ı müşârün-ileyhten ikmâl-i tahsîl ederek icâzet-nâme aldıktan sonra İstanbul'a gidip silk-i kudâta girdi. Kasabât ü bilâdı kazâ ve niyâbetle devr ederek 1200 hudûdunda geldi. Ba'dehû âzim-i Hicâz olup terk-i kazâ ederek Selâmet Hâtun tekkesi meşîhatı nâ-ehl olan Mahmûd Çelebi'nin ref'inden 1202'de uhdesine tevcîh edildi. Yedi yıl kadar Nakşîbendiyye âyîni üzere zikr ü ibâdetle iştigâl ve ulemâ ve meşâyihle sohbetler ederek 1209 senesi şevvâlinde vefât etdi. Âlim, kâmil, sâlih, şâir bir şeyh-i kerîm idi. Vefâtını müte'âkib meşîhat yine mutasarrıf-ı sâbıkı Mahmûd Çelebi'ye verildi. Bu da 1210'da vefâtıyla oğlu Mustafa Efendi'ye ve 1211'de ref'iyle sâhib-i tercemenin mahdûmu es-Seyyid Mehmed Sa'îd Efendi'ye tevcîh edildi.

In English: He is from Amasya. He is the son of Şeyh Osman Efendi, son of Mustafa Efendi, sheikh of the Selâmet Hatun lodge. In 1153, on his father's death, the sheikhship had been conferred on him and his brother Sünûhî Abdullah Efendi. In 1154, because of their young age, it was taken from both of them and conferred on Seyyid Hâfız Hüseyin Efendi, one of the scholar-sheikhs, and the brothers were placed under his guardianship. He learned the elementary sciences from Hâfız Hüseyin Efendi and then attended the teaching circle of Iydîzâde Âkif Mustafa Efendi. Because of the firmness of his memory his teacher gave him the by-name "Rüsûhî". Having completed his studies with that scholar and received his licence, he went to Istanbul and entered the judicial profession. After going round towns and cities as judge and deputy judge, he came back around 1200. Then he went on the pilgrimage, gave up the judiciary, and in 1202 the sheikhship of the Selâmet Hatun lodge, taken from the unworthy Mahmud Çelebi, was conferred on him. For about seven years he devoted himself to remembrance of God (zikir) and worship after the Nakşibendi rite and conversed with scholars and sheikhs, and he died in Şevval 1209. He was a learned, accomplished, upright, generous sheikh and a poet. After his death the sheikhship was again given to its former holder, Mahmud Çelebi. When he died in 1210 it passed to his son Mustafa Efendi, and in 1211, taken from him, it was conferred on Seyyid Mehmed Saîd Efendi, the son of the subject of this entry.

Life

When his father died in 1153 (1740-41), Rüsûhî was too young to run the lodge with his brother. No year of birth is recorded, but counting back from this leads to around the 1730s; the estimate follows from the course of the entry. The sheikhship was first registered in the names of the two children, and a year later this decision was reversed: the post was given to Seyyid Hâfız Hüseyin Efendi and the children were left in his guardianship. So Rüsûhî's first teacher was the man who held his father's office. He completed his real education with Iydîzâde Âkif Mustafa Efendi, from whom he received his licence and also his by-name.

His path after the licence ran through Istanbul. He entered the judicial profession, travelled for years as judge and deputy judge in the larger and smaller districts that Hüsameddin calls "kasabât ü bilâd", towns and cities, and returned to Amasya around 1200 (1785-86). His pilgrimage and his abandonment of the judiciary took him back to the office he had lost as a child. Mahmud Çelebi, whom Hüsameddin bluntly calls "nâ-ehl", unworthy, was removed and the sheikhship of the lodge was conferred on Rüsûhî in 1202 (1787-88). He spent his last seven years at the lodge, in remembrance and worship after the Nakşibendi manner and in conversation with scholars and sheikhs.

After his death the office went back to Mahmud Çelebi, passed on Mahmud's death in 1210 to his son, and in 1211 (1796-97) was given to Rüsûhî's son, Seyyid Mehmed Saîd Efendi. These last sentences of the entry show how the sheikhship of the lodge went back and forth between two families over half a century.

Connection with Amasya

Both the beginning of Rüsûhî's life and its last years belong to Amasya: he was born and educated there, and spent his final years at the lodge where his father had been sheikh. Selâmet Hatun was a lady of Amasya who in the fifteenth century had her lodge built in the Pirinççi quarter and set up its endowment; the founding of the lodge and the life of Selâmet Hatun are told in the site's article Selâmet Hatun. Rüsûhî's teacher Iydîzâde Âkif Mustafa Efendi was also one of the well-known scholars of Amasya; Hüsameddin records in another entry that he served as mufti of Amasya.

Family

Rüsûhî's brother Sünûhî Abdullah Efendi also has an entry of his own in Hüsameddin. Appointed to the sheikhship of the lodge as a child together with his brother and then removed, Sünûhî went to Istanbul after his studies, was trained in the office of ceremonies (teşrifat), served in various cities as divan secretary to viziers, and died after 1192 (1778); Hüsameddin describes him too as "kâtib, şâir", secretary and poet. Thus two brothers from the same house, one by way of the judiciary and the lodge, the other by way of the pen, were both recorded as poets. Rüsûhî's son Seyyid Mehmed Saîd Efendi took over the sheikhship of the lodge in 1211.

Poetry

Rüsûhî's standing as a poet rests on a single word, the "şâir" among Hüsameddin's epithets. No title of a work or couplet is given, and whether he used the by-name his teacher gave him as a pen name (mahlas) in his poems is unknown. No example of his brother Sünûhî's poems is known either; the poetry of the two brothers has reached us only through Hüsameddin's brief descriptions.

Chronology

1153 (1740-41): His father Şeyh Osman Efendi dies; the lodge's sheikhship is given to Rüsûhî and his brother Sünûhî.

1154 (1741-42): Because of their young age the sheikhship passes to Seyyid Hâfız Hüseyin Efendi.

c. 1200 (1785-86): Returns to Amasya from his judgeships.

1202 (1787-88): Becomes sheikh of the Selâmet Hatun lodge.

Şevval 1209 (1795): Dies.

1211 (1796-97): The lodge's sheikhship is given to his son Seyyid Mehmed Saîd Efendi.

Bibliography

Online sources