When Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar lists Hâfız Sâdık Mustafa Efendi's learning, he does not forget his temperament: he calls him "zarîf, nüktedân, mizâha mâil", refined, witty and given to joking. A scholar and poet, Sâdık Efendi taught Qur'anic recitation in Amasya in the second half of the nineteenth century, served as deputy judge at Acre and, after a term on the civil court, became teacher at the Ya'kûb Paşa madrasa. He was born in 1263 (1846-47) in the Gümüşlüzâde quarter and died in 1321 (1903-04). He was the elder brother of Abdurrahman Kâmil Efendi, the mufti of Amasya in the years of the National Struggle, who learned inheritance law and prosody from him. No example of his poetry is known.

Hüsameddin's Entry

Sâdık Efendi's life was written by a fellow townsman who may well have known him personally. The entry Sâdık Mustafa Efendi-Mecdîzâde Hâfız reads:

Amasyalıdır. Meşâhîr-i nüvvâbdan Mecdî Mustafa Efendizâde Ahmed Rif'at Efendi'nin mahdûmudur. 1263'de Gümüşlüzâde Mahallesi'nde doğdu. Hıfz-ı Kur'ân etdikten sonra Câniklizâde Hâfız Mehmed Hilmi Efendi'den vücûh-i Kur'âniyye'yi öğrendi.
Ba'dehû İbikli Hacı Hasan Efendi'nin dersine devâm edib Sûfîzâde Mehmed Hulûsî Efendi'nin dersinden de istifâde ederek ikmâl-i tahsîl etdi. Ders-i âm olduğu esnâda ba'zı zevâtın yardımıyla Akka nâibi olup ikmâl-i müddet ederek avdetinde yine tedrîs-i ulûm ile meşgûl oldu.
Bu esnâda Hukûk mahkemesi a'zâsı olarak tevzî-i adalete me'mûr oldu. A'zâlıkdan infisâl etdikde 1315'de Ya'kûb Paşa müderrisi olup 1321'de vefât etdi. Kibâr-ı ulemâdan fâzıl, şâir, edebiyât-ı Arabiyye ve Farisiyye'ye vâkıf, zarîf, nüktedân, mizâha mâil bir zât-ı sütûde-simât idi. Mahdûmları Mehmed Cemîl, Ahmed Râif Efendilerdir. Her ikisi de bilâ-veled vefât etdi. Ahmed Râif Efendi ulemâdan olmuşdu. Hayfâ ki genç iken vefât etdi.

Put into present-day English: a native of Amasya, he was the grandson of Mecdî Mustafa Efendi, one of the well-known deputy judges, through his son Ahmed Rif'at Efendi. He was born in 1263 in the Gümüşlüzâde quarter. After memorising the Qur'an he learned its variant readings from Câniklizâde Hâfız Mehmed Hilmi Efendi. He then attended the lessons of İbikli Hacı Hasan Efendi and, benefiting also from the lessons of Sûfîzâde Mehmed Hulûsî Efendi, completed his education. While he was a ders-i âm he became deputy judge of Acre with the help of certain persons; having served his term, he returned and again took up teaching. At this time he was appointed member of the civil court and took part in administering justice. On leaving the court he became teacher at the Ya'kûb Paşa madrasa in 1315 and died in 1321. He was one of the great scholars, virtuous, a poet, versed in Arabic and Persian literature, refined, witty and fond of a joke, a man worthy of praise. His sons were Mehmed Cemîl and Ahmed Râif Efendi; both died without children. Ahmed Râif Efendi had become a scholar; alas, he died young.

Life

In Hüsameddin's Amasya the Mecdîzâde family belonged to the learned profession. According to the encyclopaedia article on Abdurrahman Kâmil Efendi, the family's ancestors had come some two centuries earlier from Bahçesaray in the Crimea and settled in the village of Doğla near Mecitözü in the Çorum region; the same article spells the family name "Mecîdîzâde" and connects it with Mecitözü. Sâdık Efendi's father Ahmed Rif'at Efendi had, according to Hüsameddin, taught at the Osmâniyye (Tekke) madrasa in the citadel quarter and at the Fatıma Hâtun madrasa beside the Mehmed Paşa Mosque, later served as deputy judge in the districts, and died in 1281 (1864-65). The father's entry names his sons as "fuzalâdan Sâdık Mustafa, Kâmil Abdurrahmân", among the learned. The Gümüşlüzâde quarter where Sâdık was born is the district known today as Gümüşlü. The family's next generation would also be born there.

His education began with the Qur'an. Once he had become a hâfız he learned the "vücûh-ı Kur'âniyye", the variant readings of the canonical reciters, from Câniklizâde Hâfız Mehmed Hilmi Efendi. He pursued his madrasa studies under İbikli Hacı Hasan Efendi and Sûfîzâde Mehmed Hulûsî Efendi until he reached the rank of ders-i âm. During this period, "ba'zı zevâtın yardımıyla", through someone's good offices, he was sent as deputy judge to Acre. Acre, today within the borders of Israel, was then one of the Ottoman towns on the eastern Mediterranean coast. When he had completed his term and returned to Amasya he resumed teaching.

The next part of his life is tied to the new judicial order introduced by the Tanzimat. For a time Sâdık Efendi was a member of the civil court within the system of nizamiye courts. After leaving this post he was appointed teacher at the Ya'kûb Paşa madrasa in 1315 (1897-98) and died in office in 1321 (1903-04). Hüsameddin gives his character a place of its own in the entry. The words "zarîf, nüktedân, mizâha mâil" show that this scholar made room for jokes and quick wit in his conversation.

His Family and His Brother-Pupil

Sâdık Efendi had two sons. Mehmed Cemîl and the scholar Ahmed Râif both died, Hüsameddin says, without leaving children; the author notes Ahmed Râif Efendi's death separately with the words "hayfâ ki genç iken", alas, while young. Sâdık Efendi's line thus came to an end, and it fell to his brother's sons to carry on the family's scholarly name.

That brother was Abdurrahman Kâmil Efendi, born in 1850. Kâmil Efendi became mufti of Amasya in 1900, and when Mustafa Kemal Paşa came to Amasya on 12 June 1919 he was among the first to welcome him. Kâmil Şahin's encyclopaedia article states that Kâmil Efendi learned the sciences of ferâiz and aruz from his brother Sâdık Efendi. Ferâiz is the science of calculating shares of inheritance; aruz is the quantitative metre of classical Ottoman poetry. Having learned prosody from his elder brother, Kâmil Efendi wrote poetry too and completed in 1884 a divan that includes his Arabic and Persian poems. Kâmil Efendi's son Sabrî Mehmed Efendi, mufti of Amasya from 1942 to 1962, was also a scholar who wrote verse.

Poetry

Hüsameddin calls Sâdık Efendi "şâir" and "edebiyât-ı Arabiyye ve Farisiyye'ye vâkıf", but he neither quotes a couplet nor mentions a divan or an anthology. None of his verse is known to survive. That he taught prosody to his brother suggests that his poetry was the work of someone who knew the technique of metre, more than a pastime.

Chronology

1263 (1846-47): Born in the Gümüşlüzâde quarter of Amasya.

1266 (1850): His brother Abdurrahman Kâmil Efendi is born.

1281 (1864-65): His father Ahmed Rif'at Efendi dies.

1315 (1897-98): Becomes teacher at the Ya'kûb Paşa madrasa.

1321 (1903-04): Dies.

Bibliography

Primary sources

Academic studies

Online sources