What separated Zuhûrî Ahmed Efendi from Amasya was a lawsuit over the sheikhship of the Yâ Vedûd dervish lodge. Orphaned at an early age and brought up under the protection of a teacher from Bolu, he had risen to be Halveti sheikh of that lodge; afterwards he settled in Bolu, opened a lodge of his own, became mufti, and died in office in 1159 (1746). His life is known today only from Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar's record. Hüsameddin introduces him as "meşâhîr-i ulemâdan, sâlih, zâhid, fakîh, müteşerri' ve şâir" (one of the famous scholars, pious, ascetic, a jurist, strict in the law and a poet) and adds "ilâhiyâtı vardır", he has hymns (ilahi); none of these hymns is known today.

Hüsameddin's Record

Hüsameddin names his sources himself in the first sentence of the entry: Zuhûrî's deed of endowment and the continuation (zeyl) written by Şeyh Alizâde Hâfız Seyyid Ahmed Rüşdü Efendi. The record stands near the end of the eleventh volume, among the names beginning with the letter "zı", and is published separately on this site as Zuhûrî Ahmed Efendi-Halvetî:

Vakfiyesinde mezkûr olduğu ve tercemesi Şeyh Alizâde Hâfız es-Seyyid Ahmed Rüşdi Efendi zeylinde yazıldığı üzere Amasyalı Şa'bân'ın oğludur. Küçük yaşında babasının vefâtıyla Yakut Paşa imâreti ve Mehmed Paşa Câmii kürsi şeyhi olan Bolulu İbrâhim Efendi'nin himâyesinde büyüdü. İbrâhim Efendi'den okuyup Yâ Vedûd Tekkesi şeyhi Hacı Mustafa Efendi'den Halvetî Tarîki âdabını gördü. Bundan müstahlef olduğundan 1121'de mumâ-ileyhin vefâtında yerine şeyh olan oğlu Mehmed Çelebi'ye vekîl ve bir müddet sonra mezkûr tekke şeyhi oldu. Ancak Mehmed Çelebi da'vâ ederek birkaç defa ref' ve nasb edildiğine canı sıkılıp İstanbul'a gitdi. Üsküdar'da şeyh Nasûhî Mehmed Efendi Tekkesi'nde ikâmet ve bundan da ahz-ı hilâfet ederek şeyhinin tavsiyesiyle Bolu'ya gitdi. Orada ilmi, hüsn-i hâli, talâkat-ı lisânıyla kendisini tanıtıp Gülyüzü Mahallesi'nde ikâmet ve burada bir tekke uyarıp kesb-i şöhret etdi. Mezkûr mahallede kâin Mehmed Paşa Câmii kürsi şeyhi oldu. 1148'de yine İstanbul'a gidip Nasûhî Tekkesi'nde kaldı. Sonra avdet edib vazîfe-i meşîhatle meşgûl iken Bolu müftüsü oldu. Eşrâf ve halkın merğûbu olarak 1159'da vefât etdi. Meşâhîr-i ulemâdan, sâlih, zâhid, fakîh, müteşerri' ve şâir idi. Hâne ve dükkânlarını tekkesi mesâlihine vakfetdi. İlâhiyâtı vardır.

In English: As recorded in his deed of endowment and in the biography written in the zeyl of Şeyh Alizâde Hâfız Seyyid Ahmed Rüşdü Efendi, he was the son of Şaban of Amasya. When his father died while he was still small, he grew up under the protection of İbrâhim Efendi of Bolu, chair-sheikh (kürsü şeyhi, preacher from the mosque chair) of the Yakut Pasha soup kitchen and of the Mehmed Pasha Mosque. He studied with İbrâhim Efendi and learned the ways of the Halveti order from Hacı Mustafa Efendi, sheikh of the Yâ Vedûd lodge. As he had received his deputyship (hilafet) from him, on the sheikh's death in 1121 he became deputy to his son Mehmed Çelebi, who had succeeded as sheikh, and some time later sheikh of that lodge himself. But when Mehmed Çelebi went to law and he was removed and reinstated several times, he grew weary of it and went to Istanbul. He stayed in the lodge of Sheikh Nasûhî Mehmed Efendi at Üsküdar, received the deputyship from him too, and on his sheikh's advice went to Bolu. There he made himself known through his learning, his fine conduct and his fluent speech, settled in the Gülyüzü quarter, founded a lodge there and won renown. He became chair-sheikh of the Mehmed Pasha Mosque in that quarter. In 1148 he went to Istanbul again and stayed in the Nasûhî lodge. Then he came back, and while occupied with his duties as sheikh he became mufti of Bolu. He died in 1159, beloved of the notables and the people. He was one of the famous scholars; pious, ascetic, a jurist, strict in the law, and a poet. He endowed his houses and shops for the needs of his lodge. He has hymns.

Life

Beyond the fact that his father was called Şaban, nothing is known of Zuhûrî's family or of his year of birth. The first half of his life was spent in Amasya. İbrâhim Efendi, who brought him up, was from Bolu and, according to Hüsameddin's record, served in Amasya as chair-sheikh at the Yakut Pasha soup kitchen and the Mehmed Pasha Mosque. Whether the home town of this first teacher played any part in Zuhûrî's settling in Bolu years later is not said in the entry; Hüsameddin ascribes the decision to the advice of his sheikh at Üsküdar.

He entered the Halveti path under Hacı Mustafa Efendi, sheikh of the Yâ Vedûd lodge in Amasya. After Hacı Mustafa Efendi's death in 1121 (1709) the direction of the lodge passed to the sheikh's son Mehmed Çelebi, and Zuhûrî became first his deputy and then sheikh of the lodge. The lawsuit brought by Mehmed Çelebi and the repeated dismissals and reappointments were the direct cause of Zuhûrî's leaving Amasya. In Istanbul he settled in the lodge of Sheikh Nasûhî Mehmed Efendi at Üsküdar and received a second deputyship from him.

Founding his own lodge in the Gülyüzü quarter of Bolu, Zuhûrî became chair-sheikh of the Mehmed Pasha Mosque in the same quarter, went to Istanbul again in 1148 (1735-36) and stayed for a time in the Nasûhî lodge, and after his return was appointed mufti of Bolu. He endowed his houses and shops for the needs of his lodge. This is the deed of endowment that Hüsameddin cites as his source; when it was drawn up is not recorded.

His Source: Rüşdü Efendi's Zeyl

Şeyh Alizâde Seyyid Ahmed Rüşdü Efendi, who recorded Zuhûrî's life, was a poet of Amasya who wrote a continuation to the tezkire (biographical anthology) of the poets of Amasya by his grandfather Müderris Abdî Efendi; his page on this site bears the heading Rüşdü Ahmed Efendi (Şeyh Alizâde). According to that page, Rüşdü Efendi, the author of the zeyl, also died in 1159. Zuhûrî died in the same year; Hüsameddin does not state whether he took the date of his death from the zeyl or from the deed of endowment. The zeyl, like Abdî Efendi's tezkire, was lost in a fire while in Hüsameddin's hands.

Poetry

None of Zuhûrî Ahmed Efendi's poems has been found. Hüsameddin's words "ilâhiyâtı vardır" report that he wrote hymns, but he gives not a single text. Nor was any record found that ties a hymn with the pen name Zuhûrî to this Halveti sheikh.

Chronology

1121 (1709): His sheikh Hacı Mustafa Efendi dies; Zuhûrî becomes deputy to his son Mehmed Çelebi and then sheikh of the Yâ Vedûd lodge.

1148 (1735-36): He goes from Bolu to Istanbul again and stays in the Nasûhî lodge.

1159 (1746): He dies while mufti of Bolu.

Bibliography

Online sources