İsmail Hakkı Bursevî (

Turkish Turkish may refer to: * Something related to Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities in the former Ottoman Empire * The w ...

: Bursalı İsmail Hakkı, ,

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

: Esmā’īl Ḥaqqī Borsavī) was a 17th-century

Ottoman Turkish Ottoman Turkish (, ; ) was the standardized register of the Turkish language in the Ottoman Empire (14th to 20th centuries CE). It borrowed extensively, in all aspects, from Arabic and Persian. It was written in the Ottoman Turkish alphabet. ...

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

scholar, a

Jelveti Jelveti or Celvetîyye Tariqat is a Sufi order that was founded by Aziz Mahmud Hudayi. It shares the same spiritual chain as the Khalwati order and thus there are many similarities between them. The two orders split with Zahed Gilani, where th ...

Sufi Sufism ( or ) is a mysticism, mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic Tazkiyah, purification, spirituality, ritualism, and Asceticism#Islam, asceticism. Practitioners of Sufism are r ...

author on

mystical experience A religious experience (sometimes known as a spiritual experience, sacred experience, mystical experience) is a subjective experience which is interpreted within a religious framework. The concept originated in the 19th century, as a defense ag ...

and the

esoteric interpretation of the Quran Esoteric interpretation of the Quran () is the allegorical interpretation of the Quran or the quest for its hidden, inner meanings. The Arabic word ''taʾwīl'' was synonymous with conventional interpretation in its earliest use, but it came to ...

; also a poet and

musical composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Classical music, Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. E ...

. İsmail Hakkı Bursevî influenced many parts the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

but primarily

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

. To this day he is

revered Deference (also called submission or passivity) is the condition of submitting to the espoused, legitimate influence of one's superior or superiors. Deference implies a yielding or submitting to the judgment of a recognized superior, out of re ...

as one of the ''Büyükler'', the great

saint In Christianity, Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of sanctification in Christianity, holiness, imitation of God, likeness, or closeness to God in Christianity, God. However, the use of the ...

s of

Anatolia Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...

. He is regarded as an eminent

literary Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially novels, plays, and poems. It includes both print and digital writing. In recent centuries, ...

figure in the

Turkish language Turkish ( , , also known as 'Turkish of Turkey') is the most widely spoken of the Turkic languages, a member of Oghuz languages, Oghuz branch with around 90 million speakers. It is the national language of Turkey and one of two official languag ...

, having authored more than a hundred works. Translations of some of his works are now available for the

English-speaking world The English-speaking world comprises the 88 countries and territories in which English language, English is an official, administrative, or cultural language. In the early 2000s, between one and two billion people spoke English, making it the ...

Life

İsmail Hakkı was the son of Muṣṭafā, who was in turn son of Bayram Čawush, who was in turn son of

Shah Shāh (; ) is a royal title meaning "king" in the Persian language.Yarshater, Ehsa, ''Iranian Studies'', vol. XXII, no. 1 (1989) Though chiefly associated with the monarchs of Iran, it was also used to refer to the leaders of numerous Per ...

Ḵhudā-bende. İsmail Hakkı was born in 1652 or 1653 in

Aytos Aytos ( ), sometimes written Aitos and Ajtos, is a town located in eastern Bulgaria some 30 kilometers from the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast and belonging to the administrative boundaries of Burgas Province. It is the administrative centre of the ...

Thrace Thrace (, ; ; ; ) is a geographical and historical region in Southeast Europe roughly corresponding to the province of Thrace in the Roman Empire. Bounded by the Balkan Mountains to the north, the Aegean Sea to the south, and the Black Se ...

, although his parents came from

Aksaray, Istanbul Aksaray (literally "White Palace" in Turkish) is a neighbourhood in the municipality and district of Fatih, Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its population is 8,541 (2022). It is so named because it was founded by migrants from Aksaray in central Tu ...

.Inscription on his tomb at İsmail Hakkı Kuran Kursu, Tuzpazarı, İsmail Hakkı Cd., 16020 Osmangazi, Bursa. Accessdate = 26 February 2006 His mother died when he was aged seven and on the suggestion of Shaykh

Osman Fazli Osman Fazli (Turkish language, Turkish: Atpazarı Osman Fazlı-ilahi or Kutb Osman Fazlı), was a Jelveti Sufism, Sufi spiritual guide in 17th-century Ottoman Empire. He spent c.25 years teaching and preaching, and became head Sheikh of the orde ...

around 1663 he was sent to

Edirne Edirne (; ), historically known as Orestias, Adrianople, is a city in Turkey, in the northwestern part of the Edirne Province, province of Edirne in Eastern Thrace. Situated from the Greek and from the Bulgarian borders, Edirne was the second c ...

(Adrinaople), to receive a traditional education under the scholar ʿAbd-al-Baki, a relative of the Shaykh. In 1673, aged 21, he went to

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

to the public classes of

, the head Sheykh of the

(Djilwatiyya) order, who

initiated Initiation is a rite of passage marking entrance or acceptance into a group or society. It could also be a formal admission to adulthood in a community or one of its formal components. In an extended sense, it can also signify a transformatio ...

him into that discipline. İsmail Hakkı also attended the lectures of other scholars, and learnt Persian to study

Attar Attar, also known as ittar, is an essential oil derived from botanical or other natural sources. Most commonly these oils are extracted via hydrodistillation or steam distillation. Attar can also be expressed by chemical means but generally n ...

Rumi Jalāl al-Dīn Muḥammad Rūmī (), or simply Rumi (30 September 1207 – 17 December 1273), was a 13th-century poet, Hanafi '' faqih'' (jurist), Maturidi theologian (''mutakallim''), and Sufi mystic born during the Khwarazmian Empire ...

, Ḥāfiẓ and

Jami Nūr ad-Dīn 'Abd ar-Rahmān Jāmī (; 7 November 1414 – 9 November 1492), also known as Mawlanā Nūr al-Dīn 'Abd al-Rahmān or Abd-Al-Rahmān Nur-Al-Din Muhammad Dashti, or simply as Jami or Djāmī and in Turkey as Molla Cami, was a ...

. He also studied

Islamic calligraphy Islamic calligraphy is the artistic practice of penmanship and calligraphy, in the languages which use Arabic alphabet or the Arabic script#Additional letters used in other languages, alphabets derived from it. It is a highly stylized and struc ...

and music and set to music many hymns of the 17th century mystic Hudāyī, founder of the Jelveti order. In 1675, age 23, Osman Fazli sent him, with three assistant

dervish Dervish, Darvesh, or Darwīsh (from ) in Islam can refer broadly to members of a Sufi fraternity (''tariqah''), or more narrowly to a religious mendicant, who chose or accepted material poverty. The latter usage is found particularly in Persi ...

es, to

Skopje Skopje ( , ; ; , sq-definite, Shkupi) is the capital and largest city of North Macedonia. It lies in the northern part of the country, in the Skopje Basin, Skopje Valley along the Vardar River, and is the political, economic, and cultura ...

(Üsküb),

Macedonia Macedonia (, , , ), most commonly refers to: * North Macedonia, a country in southeastern Europe, known until 2019 as the Republic of Macedonia * Macedonia (ancient kingdom), a kingdom in Greek antiquity * Macedonia (Greece), a former administr ...

, to establish a

ṭarīqah A ''tariqa'' () is a religious order of Sufism, or specifically a concept for the mystical teaching and spiritual practices of such an order with the aim of seeking , which translates as "ultimate truth". A tariqa has a (guide) who plays the r ...

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of Monasticism, monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in Cenobitic monasticism, communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a ...

) for teaching Jelveti philosophy. Some welcomed them and İsmail Hakkı married the daughter of Sheikh Muṣṭafā ʿUshshāḳī. Encouraged by his master's letters he wrote his most brilliant

sermon A sermon is a religious discourse or oration by a preacher, usually a member of clergy. Sermons address a scriptural, theological, or moral topic, usually expounding on a type of belief, law, or behavior within both past and present context ...

s. However he offended the townsfolk by overly-berating them for what he considered loose behaviour. Despite

explaining to him that

censure A censure is an expression of strong disapproval or harsh criticism. In parliamentary procedure, it is a debatable main motion that could be adopted by a majority vote. Among the forms that it can take are a stern rebuke by a legislature, a sp ...

was not the Jelveti way he did not rein in his zeal and his

antagonist An antagonist is a character in a story who is presented as the main enemy or rival of the protagonist and is often depicted as a villain.Strumica Strumica (, ) is the largest city2002 census results
in English and Macedonian (PDF) in so ...

, Macedonia to teach public classes. There he also began to write books, but so as to not be confused with the author Ismail Hakki

Ankara Ankara is the capital city of Turkey and List of national capitals by area, the largest capital by area in the world. Located in the Central Anatolia Region, central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5,290,822 in its urban center ( ...

vi, a famous commentator on the

Mathnavi Mathnawi ( ), also spelled masnavi, mesnevi or masnawi, is a kind of poem written in rhyming couplets, or more specifically "a poem based on independent, internally rhyming lines". Most mathnawi poems follow a meter of eleven, or occasionally ten ...

, he came to be always given a

suffix In linguistics, a suffix is an affix which is placed after the stem of a word. Common examples are case endings, which indicate the grammatical case of nouns and adjectives, and verb endings, which form the conjugation of verbs. Suffixes can ca ...

, such as Hâlvetî, Bursevi, or

Üsküdar Üsküdar () is a municipality and district of Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its area is 35 km2, and its population is 524,452 (2022). It is a large and densely populated district on the Anatolian (Asian) shore of the Bosphorus. It is border ...

i Amongst Sufis,

Bursa Bursa () is a city in northwestern Turkey and the administrative center of Bursa Province. The fourth-most populous city in Turkey and second-most populous in the Marmara Region, Bursa is one of the industrial centers of the country. Most of ...

was first made famous by the 14th century Shāikhs

Somuncu Baba Shaykh Hamid-i Vali () (1331–1412), better known by his sobriquet Somunju Baba (), was an ascetic teacher of Islam in Bursa, Turkey, who exerted extensive influence and is known as a Muslim saint. He was born in Kayseri and died in Aksaray. He ...

and Haji Bayram, but in 1685 the then Sheykh of Bursa died and Fasli appointed Ismail Hakki as the new Sheykh. Unfortunately his first years in Bursa coincided with the difficult period after the Ottoman Empire's disastrous loss at the

Battle of Vienna The Battle of Vienna took place at Kahlenberg Mountain near Vienna on 1683 after the city had been besieged by the Ottoman Empire for two months. The battle was fought by the Holy Roman Empire (led by the Habsburg monarchy) and the Polish–Li ...

and the Holy League's invasion of the Ottoman

Balkans The Balkans ( , ), corresponding partially with the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throug ...

, so Ismāʿīl Ḥaḳḳī became very poor and had to sell his books to survive. In 1690 he journeyed to Cyprus to visit his master, Osman Farsli, who was in exile for his insistent criticism of Ottoman foreign policy. On his death Ismail Hakki succeeded him as the head of the order. In 1695–1697 Sultan

Mustafa II Mustafa II (; ''Muṣṭafā-yi sānī''; 6 February 1664 – 29 December 1703) was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1695 to 1703. Early life He was born at Edirne Palace on 6 February 1664. He was the son of Sultan Mehmed IV (1648–87 ...

requested Ismail Hakki accompany his military campaigns against the

Habsburg Empire The Habsburg monarchy, also known as Habsburg Empire, or Habsburg Realm (), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities (composite monarchy) that were ruled by the House of Habsburg. From the 18th century it is ...

and he was in several battles until he was severely wounded. Osman Farsli had foreseen the end of the Ottoman line and Bursevi defined the reason for its decline as the estrangement of spiritual and political powers, represented in his discourses by a Sheikh and a Sultan, thus formulating a Sufi interpretation of the Ottoman decline paradigm. In 1700 Ismail Hakki performed the

Hajj Hajj (; ; also spelled Hadj, Haj or Haji) is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holiest city for Muslims. Hajj is a mandatory religious duty for capable Muslims that must be carried out at least once in their lifetim ...

, the pilgrimage, but on returning from

Mecca Mecca, officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, is the capital of Mecca Province in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia; it is the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow valley above ...

the

caravan Caravan or caravans may refer to: Transport and travel *Campervan, a type of vehicle also known as a motor caravan *Caravan (travellers), a group of travellers journeying together **Caravanserai, a place where a caravan could stop *Caravan (trail ...

's members were slaughtered by

Bedouin The Bedouin, Beduin, or Bedu ( ; , singular ) are pastorally nomadic Arab tribes who have historically inhabited the desert regions in the Arabian Peninsula, North Africa, the Levant, and Mesopotamia (Iraq). The Bedouin originated in the Sy ...

brigand Brigandage is the life and practice of highway robbery and plunder. It is practiced by a brigand, a person who is typically part of a gang and lives by pillage and robbery.Oxford English Dictionary second edition, 1989. "Brigand.2" first record ...

s. Ismail was left to die but managed to reach

Damascus Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...

. In 1700 he returned to Bursa. In 1717 he moved to

and wrote 12 more books. In 1720 he returned to

, the Anatolian part of Istanbul, where he began teaching again. However he was twice attacked by

fanatical ''Fanatical'' is a Canadian half-hour documentary television series produced by Peace Point Entertainment Group and currently airs on TVtropolis and DejaView. FANatical explores the motivations and activities of people involved with the fandom ...

mobs and decided to return to Bursa. In 1722, at Bursa he bequeathed his books to public libraries, left all his money for the construction of a small mosque, and entered into a retreat. That mosque is now within the Ismail Hakki Kur’an Kursu. In July 1724 or 1725 he died in serenity. His tomb is at the rear of the mosque.

Major works

İsmail Hakkı was one of the most prolific Ottoman scholars, with 106 books and pamphlets: 46 in Arabic and 60 in Turkish. To this day he is revered as an eminent literary figure in the Turkish language. He wrote on

Islamic sciences The Islamic sciences () are a set of traditionally defined religious sciences practiced by Islamic scholars ( ), aimed at the construction and interpretation of Islamic religious knowledge. Different sciences These sciences include: * : Islami ...

, Sufism, Tasawuf,

Islamic philosophy Islamic philosophy is philosophy that emerges from the Islamic tradition. Two terms traditionally used in the Islamic world are sometimes translated as philosophy—''falsafa'' (), which refers to philosophy as well as logic, mathematics, and p ...

morality Morality () is the categorization of intentions, Decision-making, decisions and Social actions, actions into those that are ''proper'', or ''right'', and those that are ''improper'', or ''wrong''. Morality can be a body of standards or principle ...

and

tafsir Tafsir ( ; ) refers to an exegesis, or commentary, of the Quran. An author of a ''tafsir'' is a ' (; plural: ). A Quranic ''tafsir'' attempts to provide elucidation, explanation, interpretation, context or commentary for clear understanding ...

in a manner which avoided the flowery style of many contemporaries, resembling the style of

Yunus Emre Yunus Emre (), also known as Derviş Yûnus (Yûnus the Dervish) (1238–1320) (Old Anatolian Turkish: يونس امره), was a Turkish folk poet and Sufi who greatly influenced Turkish culture. The UNESCO General Conference unanimously passe ...

. His most famous published works are: * ''Rūḥ al-bayān'' ("The Spirit of Elucidation"), a voluminous

, combining the ideas of the author,

Ibn Arabi Ibn Arabi (July 1165–November 1240) was an Andalusian Sunni Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any successor and that his closest com ...

and

Al-Ghazali Al-Ghazali ( – 19 December 1111), archaically Latinized as Algazelus, was a Shafi'i Sunni Muslim scholar and polymath. He is known as one of the most prominent and influential jurisconsults, legal theoreticians, muftis, philosophers, the ...

, and written in a Persian poetic form. (4637 pages, 4 vols.

Boulaq Boulaq ( from "guard, customs post"), is a district of Cairo, in Egypt. It neighbours Downtown Cairo, Azbakeya, and the River Nile. History The westward shift of the Nile, especially between 1050 and 1350, made land available on its eastern ...

, 1859) * ''Rūḥ al-Mathnawī'', a

commentary Commentary or commentaries may refer to: Publications * ''Commentary'' (magazine), a U.S. public affairs journal, founded in 1945 and formerly published by the American Jewish Committee * Caesar's Commentaries (disambiguation), a number of works ...

on verses of the ''Masnavi'' (

, 1870–1872) * A commentary on the ''Fusus al-Hikam'' by ibn ʻArabi, translated into English (

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

, 1985–1991) * ''Lübb’ül-Lüb'' (Kernel of the Kernel), translated into English (

Cheltenham Cheltenham () is a historic spa town and borough adjacent to the Cotswolds in Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort following the discovery of mineral springs in 1716, and claims to be the mo ...

, 1980) * ''Šarḥ-e pand-nāma-ye ʿAṭṭār'', a translation of ʿAṭṭār’s ''Pand-nāma'' (Istanbul, 1772) * ''Šarḥ-e Būstān''; and a dīvān in Turkish (

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

, 1841) * Commentary on

Najm al-Din Kubra − Najm ad-Din Kubra () was a 13th-century Khwarezmian Sufi from Khwarezm and the founder of the Kubrawiya, influential in the Ilkhanate and Timurid dynasty. His method, exemplary of a "golden age" of Sufi metaphysics, was related to the Illumin ...

's ''al-Uṣūl al-ʿašara'' (Istanbul, 1874)

Teachings

As a Sufi of Jelveti order, Ismail Hakki Bursevi put all his energy and resilience into being a ‘bearer of light’. The plaque on his tomb says:

Footnote

Yahya Michot said that "Ahmad's Sharia" on the plaque on the tomb refers to the Anatolian reformer Ahmad al-Rumi al-Aqhisari (d. 1632) who, called for

sharia Sharia, Sharī'ah, Shari'a, or Shariah () is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition based on Islamic holy books, scriptures of Islam, particularly the Quran, Qur'an and hadith. In Islamic terminology ''sharīʿah'' ...

's "implementation as a way to curb the despotism and injustice of sultans and qadis. A barrier against tyranny..."

References

External links

TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi TDV may refer to: * TDV 2200, a 1980s computer * ''TDV Encyclopedia of Islam'', first published in 1988 * The Digital Village, the precursor to British website H2g2#History, h2g2 * "Truth Duty Valour", the motto of the Royal Military College of Can ...

(Turkish academic encyclopedia for Islamic studies), (in Turkish
İsmâil Hakkı Bursevî (images)
o
İsmâil Hakkı Bursevî (text)
accessdate 19 November 2016 * Namli, Ali, Dr. (in Turkish
İsmâil Hakkı Bursevî’nin Hüdâyî’ye Bakışı Ve Hüdâyî’nin Bursevî’ye Tesirleri
(Bursevî's views on

and Huday's effect on Bursevi.) May download as pdf, accessdate 19 November 2016 * Brockelmann, Carl. (in German) Geschichte der Arabischen Litteratur, Kapitel Rūmtürken und Osmanen, 6 Die Mystik (History of Arabic Literature; chapter Turkish and Ottoman, section Mystics
Volume II, (1806)
an
Supplement II (1909)
Brill Academic Publishers. Viewing fee, accessdate 7 November 2016 * Library of Congres

access date 15 December 2016 {{DEFAULTSORT:Ismail Hakki Bursali Hanafis Maturidis Quranic exegesis scholars Composers of Ottoman classical music Composers of Turkish makam music Sunni Sufis Ottoman Sufis Turkish Sufis 1653 births 1725 deaths 17th-century Muslim scholars of Islam