Saints and Tombs of Konya

Baha al-Din Walad (Sultan al-Ulama)

Sultan al-Ulama Baha al-Din Walad (546-628 AH / 1151-1231 CE), father of Mawlana Jalal al-Din Rumi, was a great scholar and Sufi of Balkh. Son of Husayn al-Khatibi of the renowned Khatibi family, he was honored as the 'Sultan of Scholars'. Owing to tensions with rationalist theologians and the Khwarazmshah court, and the approaching Mongol threat, he left Balkh with his family on a long migration through Baghdad, the Hijaz and Anatolia; after Larende (Karaman) he settled in Konya in 1228 at the invitation of the Seljuk Sultan Ala al-Din Kayqubad, where he taught, preached and guided disciples. His Persian work Ma'arif, containing his sermons and mystical teachings, is a principal source of Rumi's thought. In the Mevlevi chain transmitted by Aflaki and Sipahsalar he is the link immediately preceding Rumi, whose first spiritual formation he provided. He died in Konya on 18 Rabi al-Akhir 628 (23 February 1231) and was buried in the rose garden granted by Kayqubad. That site is today's Mevlana Tomb (Mevlana Museum): Rumi, who died in 1273, was buried beside his father at his own request, and the shrine rose over their graves. His sarcophagus stands next to his son's in the mausoleum.

Haci Veyiszade Mustafa Efendi (Mustafa Sabri Kurucu)

Haci Veyiszade Mustafa Efendi (1887–1960) was one of the most celebrated Islamic scholars raised in Konya. Born into a pious family in the Sedirler quarter of Konya, after completing his religious education he taught tafsir, hadith, fiqh and Arabic in madrasas and at the Konya Imam-Hatip School, and was renowned for supporting his students materially and spiritually. He died on 5 February 1960; following the funeral prayer at the Kapi Mosque he was buried, with tens of thousands in attendance, in the Ucler Cemetery in the south-east of the city, and his grave has become a place of visitation. (Sources: TDV Encyclopedia of Islam, 'Haciveyiszade Mustafa'; Konya Saints and Scholars; Konyapedia)

Tahir Büyükkörükçü

Tahir Büyükkörükçü (1925-2011) was a Konya scholar and preacher popularly titled 'Sultanü'l-vaizin' (Sultan of Preachers). He studied under leading Konya teachers such as Hacıveyiszade Mustafa Efendi, served as Provincial Mufti of Konya from 1965 to 1973, and preached for many years in Konya's mosques, most notably the Kapu Mosque. He died in Konya on 5 March 2011 and, in accordance with his will, was buried beside his teacher Hacıveyiszade in the Üçler Cemetery. As grave-level coordinates are not documented, no pin is assigned. (Sources: TDV İslam Ansiklopedisi 'Büyükkörükçü, Tahir'; Wikipedia 'Tahir Büyükkörükçü')

Sultan Walad

Bahaeddin Muhammed Sultan Walad (25 April 1226 – 11 November 1312) was the eldest son of Mevlânâ Celâleddîn-i Rûmî and the figure who effectively organised the Mevlevi order. Succeeding to his father's place in 691 (1292), he instituted the 'devr-i veledî' ritual, shaped the order's etiquette and rites, and spread the Mevleviyye through deputies he sent across Anatolia. His principal works are the İbtidânâme (Velednâme), Rebabnâme, Dîvân and Maârif. He died on 10 Rajab 712 (11 November 1312) in Konya and was buried under the Green Dome to the right of his father Rumi. (Sources: TDV Encyclopaedia of Islam, 'Sultan Veled'; TDV İA, 'Mevlânâ Külliyesi')

Husam al-Din Chalabi

Husam al-Din Chalabi was born in 622 AH (1225) in Konya into a family that had migrated from Urmia to Anatolia. As the closest deputy and scribe of Mevlânâ Celâleddîn-i Rûmî, he was the inspiration for the composition of the Mathnawi, which Rumi sometimes called the 'Husam-nama.' After Rumi's death he succeeded to his place and is regarded as the first sheikh of the Mevlevi order and its first Mesnevihan (reciter of the Mathnawi). He died on 12 Sha'ban 683 AH (24 October 1284) in Konya and was buried at the head of Rumi's grave within the Mevlânâ complex. (Sources: TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, 'Hüsâmeddin Çelebi'; Konyapedia, 'Hüsameddin Çelebi')

Ulu Arif Chalabi

Ulu Arif Chalabi was born on 8 Dhu al-Qa'da 670 AH (6 June 1272) in Konya; his given name was Feridun. He was the grandson of Mevlânâ Celâleddîn-i Rûmî and the son of Sultan Veled, his mother being Fâtıma Hatun, daughter of Selâhaddîn-i Zerkûb. After his father's death he held the post of leadership and, through his travels across Anatolia and western Iran, played a major role in spreading the Mevleviyye order. He died on 24 Dhu al-Hijja 719 AH (5 February 1320) in Konya and was buried within the Mevlânâ Mausoleum. (Sources: TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, 'Ârif Çelebi'; semazen.net / Hz. Mevlânâ Külliyatı)

Sheikh Karim al-Din (Bektemuroğlu)

Bektemuroğlu Sheikh Karim al-Din was a senior Mevlevi figure who, after Rumi's death, led spiritual guidance at the Mevlevi lodge for about seven years and contributed to the upbringing of Sultan Veled. Sultan Veled is said to have drawn spiritual nourishment from him alongside Shams, Rumi, Selâhaddîn-i Zerkûb, and Hüsâmeddîn Çelebi. He died around 1291 and was buried among the tombs of leading Mevlevi figures inside the Mevlânâ Mausoleum. His name is recited in the prayer following the Mukabele-i Şerif. (Sources: Konya Metropolitan Municipality, 'Mevlevihaneler/Mevlevilik'; Konyapedia, 'Mevlevilik')

Sayyid Harun al-Wali

Sayyid Harun al-Wali (d. 23 Rabi al-Awwal 720 / 3 May 1320) was a Sufi saint regarded as the founder of Seydişehir. According to the Makalat-i Sayyid Harun, his lineage descends paternally from Imam Musa al-Kazim and maternally from Uways al-Qarani. He reached the Konya region around 1302 and around 1305 founded Seydişehir, building a mosque, madrasa, lodge and bathhouse near Mount Küpe. His tomb, built in the year of his death, adjoins the north facade of the Seyyid Harun Veli Mosque. (Sources: TDV Encyclopaedia of Islam, 'Seyyid Hârun', vol. 37, 2009; TDV İA, 'Seydişehir')

Pir Esad Sultan (Pisili Baba)

Pir Esad Sultan was a renowned sheikh of the Anatolian Seljuk period and a contemporary of Mevlana (Rumi); he is popularly known as 'Pisili Baba' (the cat-lover) for his great affection for cats. According to the inscription on his tomb he died in 662/1263 and was buried in the complex he built in the second half of the 13th century, comprising a small mosque, tomb and dervish lodge, in the neighbourhood that bears his name. Of the complex only the tomb survives; the tomb and lodge were rebuilt in 1440 by Musa Pasha, an emir of the Karamanid dynasty. The tomb stands in Karatay district beside the Pisili Mosque. (Sources: TDV Encyclopedia of Islam, 'Pir Esad Kulliyesi'; Cultural Inventory; Konya Saints and Scholars)

Khwaja Ahmad Faqih (Hoca Fakih)

Khwaja Ahmad Faqih (Hoca Fakih) is regarded as one of the leading Sufis of the Anatolian Seljuk era, a dervish of Khorasanian origin, and the author of the 'Çarhnâme', an early monument of Turkish-language verse. Tradition holds that he was a disciple of Bahaeddin Veled, the father of Rumi, and that he established a dervish lodge in Konya. His death year is disputed: the monument's inscription tradition gives 618/1221, while İbrahim Hakkı Konyalı and the TDV biographical article favour 650/1252 on chronological grounds. He is buried at the Hoca Fakih Mosque and Tomb in the Meram district. (Sources: TDV İslam Ansiklopedisi, 'Hoca Fakih Mescidi ve Türbesi' and 'Ahmed Fakih'; Kültür Envanteri)

Shaykh Shuja al-Din

Shaykh Shuja al-Din (d. 749 / 1349) is a Seljuk-Karamanid era figure whose tomb stands in the Musalla Cemetery of Konya. According to İ. Hakkı Konyalı, he was the freedman of Uğurlu b. Abdullah, who belonged to Hond Fatma Hatun, daughter of the Seljuk Sultan Izz al-Din Kaykavus II. The date 749/1349, read by abjad reckoning on the sarcophagus inside his square, sixteen-ribbed domed tomb, is taken as both his death year and the year the tomb was built. The tomb was restored by Konya Metropolitan Municipality in 2010. (Sources: Konyapedia, 'Şeyh Şücaeddin Türbesi'; Kültür Envanteri, 'Şeyh Şücaeddin Türbesi')

Shaykh Sharaf al-Din

Shaykh Sharaf al-Din is the saint regarded as the founder of the Şerâfeddin Mosque on Konak Square in Konya, said in the sources to have lived in the 13th century (his exact death year is not documented; dates given are estimates). The mosque he founded was later repaired in 1444 by the Karamanid Ibrahim Bey II and rebuilt in 1636 by Mehmed Çavuşoğlu Memi Bey. The shaykh's tomb adjoined the south facade of the mosque; it was demolished by the municipality in 1924-1925 and faithfully reconstructed by the Regional Directorate of Foundations in 2010. (Sources: Turkish Wikipedia, 'Şerâfeddin Camii'; Konyapedia, 'Şerafeddin Türbesi')

Shaykh Osman Rumi

Shaykh Osman Rumi was a thirteenth-century Sufi counted among the companions of Mevlana Jalal al-Din Rumi; he was the brother of Shaykh Hasan Rumi. According to Sipehsalar he was present at a gathering in Damascus alongside Shams-i Tabrizi, Sadr al-Din al-Qunawi and Awhad al-Din Kirmani. Late in life he came to Konya and had a dervish lodge built for himself. His death year is undocumented; his tomb is dated on architectural grounds to the second half of the 13th century. His tomb stands in the Sahibata neighbourhood of the Meram district. (Sources: Kültür Envanteri 'Şeyh Osman Rûmî Camii ve Türbesi'; Anadolu Selçuklu Mimarisi database)

Muhammad Bahaeddin Efendi

Muhammad Bahaeddin Efendi (1834-1906) was a leading Naqshbandi-Khalidi shaykh, madrasa teacher and author of nineteenth-century Konya. The son and successor (khalifa) of Memiş Efendi, he taught at the Paşa Dairesi madrasa, served as imam of the İplikçi Mosque, and won the favour of Sultan Abdülhamid II. He died in Konya on 14 July 1906 (22 Jumada al-Awwal 1324) and was buried in the Hacı Fettah Cemetery, in an open tomb resting on four columns. As numeric coordinates of the grave could not be verified in two independent sources, no pin is assigned. (Sources: TDV İslam Ansiklopedisi 'Bahâeddin Efendi'; Konyapedia 'Muhammed Bahâeddin Efendi')

Tavus Baba (Tavus Mehmed al-Hindi)

Tavus Baba, whose full name is recorded as Tavus Mehmed al-Hindi, was a Sufi figure of Indian origin. He is said to have lived in the 13th century during the reigns of the Anatolian Seljuk sultans Rukneddin Suleymanshah and Alaeddin Keykubad, settling in Konya. His tomb stands on a hill overlooking the Meram stream in the Yorganci neighbourhood of Meram district; as it bears no inscription, his exact birth and death dates are unknown, though the structure is dated to the late 13th century. The tomb was restored in 1905 and again in 1958. (Sources: Sahip Ata Vakif Museum; Cultural Inventory; Konya Saints and Scholars)

Atashbaz-i Wali (Yusuf b. Izzeddin)

Whose real name was Yûsuf b. Izzeddin, Âteşbâz-ı Velî was the cook of the lodge of Mevlânâ Celâleddîn-i Rûmî and a venerated figure in the Mevlevî tradition. According to legend, when the kitchen ran out of firewood, at Mevlânâ's playful remark he cooked the food with flames issuing from his feet; his epithet "âteşbâz" (one who plays with fire) derives from this account. In Mevlevî lodges the kitchen hearth was named after him as the "station of Âteşbâz-ı Velî," and he was remembered with respect in the blessings recited after meals. He died in 684 (1285), and his tomb, built in the Seljuk architectural style, stands near Aşkan hill on the Meram road in Konya. It is regarded as the first shrine in the world raised for a cook.

Shams-i Tabrizi

Shams al-Din Muhammad b. Ali al-Tabrizi

The Sufi after whose companionship the course of Mevlânâ Celâleddîn-i Rûmî's life changed; the mystic whom the Mevlevî tradition regards as the "sun of truth". He was born around 582 (1186) in Tabriz. His full name was Muhammed b. Ali b. Melikdâd Tebrîzî. His father, Ali b. Melikdâd (also called Melik Dâvûd), was a cloth merchant who came from the town of Bezer in Khorasan and settled in Tabriz. In his youth he followed a hidden spiritual path; he was trained by the sheikh Ebû Bekr-i Selebâf, who lived in asceticism near Tabriz and earned his living by weaving baskets. The sources record that he remained about fourteen years in Selebâf's service before setting out on his travels. Before meeting Mevlânâ he led a life of extensive travel reaching Baghdad, Damascus, Aleppo, Kayseri, Aksaray, Sivas, Erzurum and Erzincan; he met the renowned scholars and Sufis of his age, foremost among them Evhadüddîn-i Kirmânî, Burhâneddin Muhakkık-ı Tirmizî and, in Damascus, Ibn al-'Arabî. According to the sources he occupied himself for fourteen months in Aleppo with seclusion and spiritual exercise before turning towards Anatolia. The sources differ as to whether their first encounter with Mevlânâ took place in Damascus or in Aleppo. According to one account Mevlânâ, seeing Şems in a merchant's dress, addressed him: "O appraiser of the world and of meanings!" , and at these words Şems fell into spiritual absorption. The decisive meeting was the second: according to Eflâkî, Şems arrived in Konya on 26 Jumada II 642 (29 November 1244), lodged at a caravanserai and put to Mevlânâ a question comparing the Prophet Muhammad with Bâyezîd-i Bistâmî. Mevlânâ's answer, concerning the endlessness of the Prophet's spiritual thirst, affected Şems profoundly. After this encounter the two companions entered a retreat of three months in the house of Selâhaddîn-i Zerkûb; during this period, passed in fasting and samâ', Mevlânâ abandoned his duties of teaching and preaching and spent all his time with Şems. This aroused hostility among the scholars and people of Konya, who saw themselves deprived of Mevlânâ's public ministry. Under pressure from the townspeople Şems left Konya in 643 (1245-46) for Damascus; it is related that Mevlânâ sent letters after him in Arabic and Persian verse. Returning after about a year, Şems married Kimyâ Hatun, Mevlânâ's adopted daughter. Seven days after Kimyâ Hatun's death he disappeared a second time, in Sha'bân 644 (December 1246), returning again to Damascus; Mevlânâ sent Sultan Veled after him with a delegation, and Şems was found at Cebelisâlihiyye, where Ibn al-'Arabî also resided, and brought back to Konya. On 8 Sha'bân 645 (8 December 1247) he disappeared altogether. More than one account exists of his fate; these are given below in the Multiple Viewpoints section. His Circle of Influence — No chain of succession and no independent order traces back to Şems; his relationship with Mevlânâ has been understood as a companionship between two spiritual peers, transcending the conventional master-disciple structure. His influence, on the other hand, pervades the whole Mevlevî tradition: Mevlânâ's Dîvân-ı Kebîr is filled with poems praising Şems with titles such as shams al-haqq wa'd-dîn and nûr-i mutlak , and the divan is known by his name. After Şems's disappearance Mevlânâ entered deeper spiritual states, and his greatest work, the Mesnevî , was written after this period. Sultan Veled records that Mevlânâ found the ma'nâ of Şems in Selâhaddîn-i Zerkûb, the two spiritual stations merging "like milk mingling with sugar" . His Poetry and Sufi Line — At the centre of Şems's line stand divine love and love of the human being; he sees the path as a way to be understood together with the sharia and the reality, counts melâmet (blame-bearing) a spiritual station, and lives samâ' as a state — it was he who taught Mevlânâ the known form of samâ'. He rejects bare knowledge: according to the source, having tasted the companionship of God's friends he erased all his learning from his notebook, stripped himself of the rational and transmitted sciences, and preferred the realm of tecrîd , tefrîd and tevhid . He subjected the sheikhs and scholars he met to a severe examination of their sincerity; it was the fruit of this attitude that, seeing Mevlânâ's spiritual maturity, he bound himself to him by companionship rather than by discipleship. His Works — Şems's teaching lives in the collection called Makālât-ı Şems-i Tebrîzî ; the work is also known as Hırka-i Şems and Esrâr-ı Şemseddîn-i Tebrîzî . It is stated that this collection of his sayings, conversations and anecdotes may have been compiled by Sultan Veled or by Mevlânâ himself. Its oldest manuscript is in the Library of the Mevlânâ Museum in Konya (no. 2154). Translations by Mehmet Nuri Gençosman into Turkish and by William Chittick into English (2004) have been published. His Tomb and Complex — The place of his grave is not certain. Eflâkî relates that his body was thrown into a well and later recovered by Sultan Veled and buried near Emîr Bedreddin; the shrine in Konya rests on this account. Other sources place his grave in Tabriz, in Khoy (Iran) or in Multan (Pakistan). The source states that no historical record establishes his final resting place.

Mawlana Jalal al-Din al-Rumi

Mawlana Jalal al-Din Muhammad b. Baha al-Din Walad

The Sufi and poet regarded as the pîr of the Mevlevî order; the author of the Mesnevî . He was born on 6 Rabî' I 604 (30 September 1207) at Balkh. His father was the renowned scholar Bahâeddin Veled, known by the title Sultânülulemâ . According to the sources the family set out westward when the cities of Khorasan were invaded by the Mongols in 1220. They passed through such great cities as Samarkand, Nishapur and Baghdad; it is related that Ferîdüddin Attâr met the young Mevlânâ at Nishapur. The family settled at Konya around 1221. Bahâeddin Veled taught at the Altınapa Medrese until his death in 1231; after his father's death the twenty-four-year-old Mevlânâ took over his teaching chair. After his father he attached himself to Seyyid Burhâneddin Muhakkık-ı Tirmizî and received spiritual training in his care for nine years. This was followed by his encounter with Şems-i Tebrîzî , which changed his life and his output at the root: Şems came to Konya on 26 Jumada II 642 (29 November 1244). Mevlânâ abandoned his teaching duties and passed his time in his company; upon the complaints of the disciples and the rumours that spread, Şems suddenly left the city . Mevlânâ wrote letters after him asking him to return. After his second disappearance around 645 (1247), conflicting reports were transmitted that he had been killed or that he had vanished mysteriously, and the place of his grave has remained disputed. After the death of Seyyid Burhâneddin the closenesses he formed were, in order, with the goldsmith Selâhaddîn-i Zerkûb and with Hüsâmeddin Çelebi . The Mesnevî began to be written in the period of calm that followed the deep grief over the loss of Şems, at the encouragement of Hüsâmeddin Çelebi . He died on 5 Jumada II 672 (17 December 1273). He had asked that there be no mourning at his funeral and had called the day of death şeb-i arûs (the wedding night); death, for him, is union with the Divine. It is related that people of every religion attended his funeral. His Circle of Influence — The founding of the Mevlevî order is attributed to him; the one who arranged its institutional structure as an etiquette and an organisation was, after his death, his son Sultan Veled . Sultan Veled succeeded Hüsâmeddin Çelebi as khalîfa after the latter's ten years as postnishin. His Poetry and Sufi Line — At the centre of his line stands divine love : for him the intellect alone does not suffice for the transformation of the human being; divine love is necessary. He advocates tolerance; he sees the apparent duality as in essence a unity. The phrase "I am of this quarter" in a famous quatrain of his gives voice to a human brotherhood that transcends ethnic boundaries. His Works — 1. Dîvân-ı Kebîr. It consists of ghazals and quatrains; it is also known as the Dîvân-ı Şems-i Tebrîzî and amounts to over forty thousand verses. 2. Mesnevî. His most important work; in six books, about twenty-five thousand couplets, encompassing the Sufi teaching in its whole breadth. 3. Fîhi mâ fîh. A compilation of his discourses. 4. Mecâlis-i Seb'a. The sermons and guidance he gave in seven sessions, later made into a book. 5. Mektûbât. The letters he wrote to various people on various occasions. His Tomb and Complex — His tomb at Konya is known by the turquoise dome above it and has become a great place of visitation.