Saints and Tombs of Çorum

Shaykh Muhyiddin Muhammad Yavsî

A Sufi on the Bayramî-Şemsî line; the father of Şeyhülislâm Ebüssuûd Efendi . His real name was Muhyiddin Muhammed. He was born in the village of İmâd in the district of İskilip in Çorum. He belonged to a family that had migrated from Transoxiana; his grandfather served as chief falconer to Ulugh Beg, the ruler of Samarkand. He received his first education from his maternal uncle Ali Kuşçu ; he studied Sufism under Muslihuddin Kocevî. He later attached himself to İbrâhim Tennûrî , received authorisation from him and began the work of guidance at İskilip. According to Taşköprizâde's record, during Bayezid II's pilgrimage journey of 1480 Yavsî told him: "Upon your return from the Hijaz we shall find you seated on the throne." The sultan afterwards summoned him to Istanbul and had the Yavsî Baba lodge built. After serving at his lodge in Istanbul until about 1512 he returned to İskilip and carried on the work of guidance there until his death. He died in 920 (1514). His Circle of Influence — The Tennûriyye branch of the Bayramiyye reached Istanbul, İskilip and Edirne through him. He married the daughter of his uncle Ali Kuşçu and had two daughters and four sons. One of his sons is the renowned jurist Ebüssuûd Efendi . His son Nasrullah (d. 1566) became sheikh of the lodge in Istanbul; another son, Mehmed (d. 1608), studied under the renowned Halvetî master Nûreddinzâde. His Works — 1. Tahkīku'l-hakāik. A commentary written on Bedreddin Simâvî's Vâridât (completed in 1467). 2. Risâle-i Ahvâl-i Sülûk. A treatise on spiritual states and stations. 3. Esmâ-i Ahlullah. A list containing the names of 425 Sufis. His Tomb and Complex — His tomb stands adjacent to the Şeyh Yavsî Mosque at İskilip.

Koyun Baba

A 15th-century Kalenderî/Bektashi dervish who lived in Osmancık; according to the Vilâyetnâme and Evliya Çelebi he was of Khorasan origin, his real name reported as Seyyid Ali. He settled in Osmancık during the reign of Mehmed II. He died on 25 Muharram 873 (15 August 1468); his lead-domed tomb on a hill by the Kızılırmak was built by Bayezid II. (Sources: TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi; Kültür Araştırmaları Dergisi)

Shaykh Muslihiddin Attar

One of the five successors left by Akşemseddin, teacher of Mehmed the Conqueror, he represented the Bayramiyye-Şemsiyye branch in İskilip. Taşköprîzâde counts him among Akşemseddin's companions and notes he undertook guidance after his master's death. He died and was buried in İskilip; sources give no precise death date. (Sources: TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi 'Akşemseddin'; academic study on Şeyh Muslihiddin Attar)

Suhayb al-Rumi — Cenotaph (Makam)

A Companion of the Prophet, Suhayb b. Sinan al-Rumi. Reliable sources record that he died in Medina in Shawwal 38 (March 659) and was buried in al-Baqi'. Late traditions claim he died at Çorum returning from a Constantinople campaign, but this is uncertain; the structure at Çorum's Hıdırlık is a CENOTAPH (makam), his actual grave being in Medina. (Sources: TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi 'Suheyb b. Sinan'; Hitit Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi)

Ubayda Ghazi — Cenotaph (Makam)

A warrior/Companion said to be of Yemeni origin, venerated at Çorum's Hıdırlık beside the Suhayb al-Rumi cenotaph. Local tradition holds he came to Anatolia with the Constantinople-siege army around AH 49 (669) and was martyred near Çorum. As this cannot be firmly confirmed, the structure is regarded as a CENOTAPH (makam). (Sources: Çorum Municipality 'Çorum'da Sahabe ve Evliya Makamları'; Kültür Envanteri)

Elvan Çelebi

A 14th-century Anatolian Sufi and poet, son of Âşık Paşa (author of the Garibnâme) and great-grandson of Baba İlyâs-ı Horasânî, leader of the Babaî movement. Affiliated with the Vefâiyye order, he settled in a village between Çorum and Mecitözü, where he built a mosque, lodge, tomb and bath. His grave lies in the tomb section of his lodge in today's Elvançelebi village (Mecitözü). His death is dated to around 760/1358-59. (Sources: TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi; Semavi Eyice, Türkiyat Mecmuası)

Iskilipli Mehmed Atif Efendi

A Turkish scholar and author; a public lecturer and professor. He was born in 1875 in the village of Tophane in İskilip. His father was Mehmed Ali Ağa and his mother Nazlı Hanım. He was orphaned at six months and was raised by his grandfather Hasan Kethüdâ. After his local studies he went to Istanbul despite his family's opposition. He completed his medrese studies in 1902, passed the ruûs examination, and in 1903 began teaching at the Fâtih Mosque. After graduating in 1905 from the Faculty of Theology of the Istanbul Dârülfünun he taught Arabic at Kabataş High School. Because of his activities he was exiled to Bodrum by a şeyhülislâm; he then travelled to the Crimea and to Warsaw and returned after the proclamation of the Second Constitutional period. In 1910 he served as inspector of medreses; he wrote for journals such as Sebîlürreşâd and Beyânülhak . After the 31 March Incident he was imprisoned for a week. Following the assassination of Mahmud Şevket Pasha in 1913 he was exiled to Sinop, Çorum and Sungurlu for about eighteen months; the authorities later acknowledged his innocence. In February 1919 he became vice-president of the Society of Professors under the presidency of Mustafa Sabri Efendi; when Sabri Efendi became şeyhülislâm he assumed the presidency of the society. In November 1919 the society took the name Teâlî-i İslâm Cemiyeti , published numerous works and opened branches throughout Anatolia. His treatise Frenk Mukallidliği ve Şapka of 1924 was regarded as a text opposing the hat law. He was arrested on 7 December 1925 and tried before the Ankara Independence Court. Although he was at first acquitted, his detention continued; while the prosecutor demanded three years of hard labour, the court passed a sentence of death. On 4 February 1926 he was executed together with Ali Rızâ Efendi, the former mufti of Babaeski. His Works — Mir'âtü'l-İslâm (1332), İslâm Yolu (1338), Tesettür-i Şer'î (1339), Dîn-i İslâm'da Men'-i Müskirât (1340) and Frenk Mukallidliği ve Şapka (1924), which was the subject of his trial.

Yusuf Bahri Efendi

Fakhr al-Muhaddithin (Pride of the Hadith Scholars)

An Ottoman hadith scholar born in Vezirköprü. He studied in Amasya, Kastamonu and Istanbul, then in Egypt; after about 1785 he settled in Çorum, teaching hadith, jurisprudence, exegesis and rhetoric and earning the title 'Pride of the Hadith Scholars'. He died in Çorum in the first half of the 19th century and his grave is in the mosque courtyard at Hıdırlık in Çorum.