Saints and Tombs of Şanlıurfa

Hartavîzâde Sheikh Muhammed Selim Hâfız Efendi

A Naqshbandi-Khalidi scholar and Sufi born in Urfa in 1785. He became a deputy (khalifa) of Mevlânâ Hâlid al-Baghdâdî and, after his master's death, represented the Khalidi branch in Urfa. Sources describe him as a great scholar and sheikh who composed poetry in Turkish, Persian and Arabic. He died in Urfa in 1860 and was first buried in the Mevlid-i Halil Cemetery; in 1874 his grave was moved next to the Debbâğhâne (Dabakhane) Mosque owing to road works. A tomb was built for him by his son Feridüddin in 1880.

Ali Haydar Dede (Mevlevî)

A Mevlevî sheikh, one of the postnişins (heads) of the Urfa Mevlevîhâne. The sources name him, together with Hüseyin Paşa the governor of Raqqa, as founder/first head of the Urfa Mevlevîhâne established in 1728-29 (1141). The Urfa Culture Atlas records that after his death he was buried in the semahane of the Mevlevîhâne, where his tomb stands. His date of death is not known with certainty and is placed in the mid-18th century (around the 1740s).

Nuri Baba (Mustafa Nuri)

A Rufaî sheikh of Urfa whose real name was Mustafa Nuri (1870-1951). According to his gravestone he belonged to the Seyyâdî branch of the Izzeddin division of the Rufaî order; the stone records his name, lineage and death in AH 1371. His grave lies in the Bediüzzaman Cemetery in a domed tomb resting on six pillars. The nine other graves within the tomb are said to belong to his disciples; it is a site of popular visitation.

Sheikh Ramazan Şânî Efendi

A Sufi poet of Urfa whose real name was Ramazan and who used the pen name 'Şânî' in his verse. Born in Urfa in 1631, he joined the Halvetî order and rose to the rank of sheikh. In 1658 he founded a prominent Halvetî lodge near the Beykapısı (Kurtuluş) quarter, a line later associated with the Ramazâniyye branch. He is regarded as one of the earliest known poets of Urfa and is named among those who influenced the poet Nâbî. He died in 1665, leaving his deputy İshak Çelebi in his place. His tomb lies outside Beykapısı, near the old wheat market.

Sheikh Yakup Halife (Yakubiye)

A Halvetî sheikh of Urfa known as 'Yakup Halife al-Ruhâwî'. In the Halvetî lineage he appears as a deputy of Sheikh Nasûh Efendi and is described in the sources with honorifics such as 'chief of the wayfarers and pride of the knowers'. He is said to have founded a Halvetî lodge near Urfa's Kurtuluş Square, and the quarter where his grave lies came to be called 'Yakubiye' after him. His exact date of death is unknown, though he is recorded to have died after 1619. His tomb stands at the foot of Urfa Castle, southwest of Lake Ayn Zeliha.

Sheikh Muhammed Lütfi Efendi (Siverek)

A Qadiri sheikh born in 1884 in the town of Tillo (Aydınlar) near Siirt, who settled in Siverek and carried out spiritual guidance there. Known in scholarly and Sufi circles and revered by the people, he is counted among the Sufis of Siverek. He died in 1956 and was buried in his tomb in the Hamidiye quarter of Siverek. His grave is visited by the local community.

Sheikh Müslüm al-Teberdârî (Maslama b. Nâme al-Serûcî)

A Sufi born in the village of Ziyaret in Suruç, referred to in the sources as 'Sheikh Müslüm al-Teberdârî' (d. 466/1074); his full name was Sheikh Maslama b. Nâme al-Serûcî al-Abbâsî. He continuously trained disciples at his zawiya in Ziyaret village, among them Sheikh Akîl al-Menbicî. In 1168 the zawiya was turned into a complex comprising a mosque and lodge, surrounded by Seljuk- and Ottoman-era graves. According to the inscription on the tomb, the grave was built in 1538 by Sheikh Hasan, son of Sheikh Muhammed. Popular devotion to the shrine has continued to the present.

Hac Kermo (Hacı Abdülkerim Efendi)

A Qadiri sheikh, originally from Baghdad, whose real name was Hacı Abdülkerim but who was popularly known as 'Hac Kermo'. He settled in Urfa and represented the Qadiri order there. His gravestone reads 'this is the grave of the late al-Hâc Abdülkerim son of al-Hâc Muhammed' and records his death in August 1823. He is said to have had one daughter and four sons, of whom Hacı Mustafa (d. 1876) succeeded him as Qadiri deputy. His grave lies in the Harrankapı Cemetery and is visited by the people.

Hacı Muhyiddin Hoca Efendi (Siverek)

A Qadiri-minded teacher (müderris) counted among the scholars and Sufis of Siverek. He taught at the Feyziyye Madrasa in Siverek, training many students. He died in 1898; his tomb is in the Güney quarter of Siverek and is visited by the people. He is listed among the Sufis of Siverek in the sources.

Hoca Ahmed-i Zengî

A man of learning who lived at the time Urfa was recaptured from the Crusaders in 1144 by Imâdüddin Zengî, the Atabeg of Mosul. His nisba suggests he was a relative of Imâdüddin Zengî; he is said to have entered the city likely as the army's imam and to have been martyred in the fighting of the conquest, the title 'Hoca' before his name indicating membership of the learned class. His grave is in the courtyard of the Pazar Mosque (formerly 'Hoca Ahmed Mosque'), east of Haşimiye Square in the centre. His death is dated to about 1144.

Sayyid Hacı Ali, son of Sayyid Maksud

Sayyid Hacı Ali, described in his epitaph as 'the master of sayyids,' was a sayyid (of the Prophet's lineage), son of Sayyid Maksud, who lived in the Ottoman period and, according to the tomb inscription, died in Rabî' al-awwal 1003 (November 1594). He is buried in his cut-stone, octagonal, single-domed tomb in the Harran Gate (Bediüzzaman) Cemetery. The tomb also holds the Qâdirî sheikh Hacı Kermozâde Hacı Mustafa Efendi (d. 1876), his sons, a daughter, and Sheikh Hüseyin (d. 1969) — six graves in all — reflecting its character as a Sufi visitation site.

Jâbir b. Abdullah al-Ansârî (Harran Maqam)

Jâbir b. Abdullah al-Ansârî (d. 78/697), of the Banû Salima, was among the most prolific hadith-narrating companions of the Prophet; he lived roughly 94 years and was one of the last survivors of the Pledge of Aqaba. According to the TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi he died and was buried in Medina, so the tomb in Yardımcı (Câbir al-Ansâr) village, 20 km from Harran, is a maqam (symbolic shrine) whose attribution is disputed. Local tradition holds that a severed limb, lost during the campaigns in the region, was buried here; the mosque and tomb, restored by the General Directorate of Foundations in 1992, are heavily visited.

Shâzelî Ali Dede

Shâzelî Ali Dede was a 17th-century Sufi sheikh of the Shâdhiliyya order. According to the sources he came from Africa to Istanbul (Erenköy), then settled near the Halîlürrahman complex in Urfa where he founded a lodge; he is said to descend from Abu'l-Hasan al-Shâdhilî, founder of the order. An inscription in his tomb records that Sultan Murad IV visited his lodge in 1639 during the Baghdad campaign, and a decree of Mehmed IV and a 1651 diploma recognized him as a pîr of the Shâdhiliyya. His tomb lies in the cemetery east of the Halîlürrahman Mosque, and his descendants served the lodge with the title 'Sheikh of Halîlürrahman.'

Nebih Efendi

Nebih Efendi (d. 1203/1789) is regarded as one of the first representatives of the Müceddidiyye branch of the Naqshbandiyya order in Urfa; he is a scholar and Sufi also known among the people as 'Nebi Efendi.' His lodge stood near Bıçakçı Square on Nabi Street, and the introduction of the Naqshbandî tradition in Urfa is traced to him. His tomb is on the western side of the Bediüzzaman (Harrankapı) Cemetery, sharing the same tomb structure with the graves of Sheikh Abdurrahman Efendi and Kürt Hac Ali Efendi.

Bediüzzaman Ahmad al-Hamadhânî (of Urfa)

Bediüzzaman Ahmad al-Hamadhânî was a Sufi who came from Hamadan in western Iran and settled in Urfa during the Ayyubid period, said to have played a role in spreading Sufism in the city. According to the Arabic inscription at the foot of his sarcophagus he died in AH 606 (AD 1209-1210). His tomb stands at the centre of the Bediüzzaman Cemetery named after him in central Şanlıurfa — a cut-stone rectangular structure with a prayer niche to the east and a domed burial chamber to the west — and is visited especially on Thursdays and Fridays. (Note: he is a distinct person from the litterateur Abu'l-Fadl Badî' al-Zamân al-Hamadhânî [d. 398/1008, Herat], pioneer of the maqāma genre; the two must not be confused.)

Buluntu Hoca (Hajji Abdurrahman Buluntu Efendi)

Hajji Abdurrahman Buluntu Efendi (1868-1967) was one of the last great scholars (müderris) of late-Ottoman and early-Republican Urfa. He studied at the Halîlürrahman Medrese under scholars such as Hacı Mustafa Hâfız Efendi, Hacı Ramazan Efendi and Miftahîzâde Hasan Açanal, mastered Arabic and Hebrew, and spent ten years advancing his Islamic studies in Syria. For many years he taught at the Halîlürrahman Medrese, training students including Arap Hoca and Zeki Hoca, and declined an offer of the muftiship. He died on 24 November 1967 and was buried in the domed tomb in the cemetery east of the Halîlürrahman Mosque.

Abdülkâdir (Kemâleddin) Efendi al-Erbilî

Abdülkâdir Efendi al-Erbilî (1806-1897), born and first educated in Erbil, was a Sufi sheikh and author who held ijâza/khilâfa in the Qâdirî, Halvetî and Naqshbandî orders, becoming best known within the Halvetiyya. He spent the last forty years of his long life in Urfa, first as postnişin of the Qâdirî Sâkıbiyye lodge and then of the Hacı Gazi (Halvetî) lodge, reviving its guidance activities through mosque restoration, Qur'an teaching and preaching. He wrote two printed and six unpublished works on Sufism; his son Mustafa Safvet (1866-1950) was among the first deputies of the Turkish Republic. He died in Urfa in 1897 and was buried in his tomb within the Halvetî lodge at Kurtuluş Square.

Sheikh Mas'ud (Shih Maksut)

In the Şıh Maksut quarter of Şanlıurfa, Sheikh Mas'ud is buried in the basement of a four-iwan Seljuk-medrese-plan lodge; sources describe him as a scholar-Sufi linked to Ahmad Yasawi who came from Nishapur and founded a lodge in 12th-century Urfa. A nearby cistern inscription records the structure as built in AH 579 (1183 CE) by 'Mas'ud son of Sa'id of Nishapur'; it is among the oldest dated shrines in the city. (Sources: Turkish Ministry of Culture Kültür Portalı, 'Şeyh Mes'ud Türbesi'; local historical records)

Sheikh Muslim Hafiz

Buried in the Harran Gate (Harrankapı) Cemetery of Şanlıurfa, Sheikh Muslim Hafiz was a scholar, Qur'an-memorizer and Sufi, a khalifa of the Naqshbandi-Khalidi branch under Sheikh Abdurrahman of Kirkuk. He memorized the Qur'an in childhood and recited it at Hasan Padişah Mosque, and led the recovery of mosques sold off in Urfa between 1930-1950; he died in 1958. (Sources: Turkish Ministry of Culture Kültür Portalı, 'Şeyh Müslüm Hafız Türbesi'; Evliyalar.net)

Rahima Khatun (Wife of Prophet Job)

In Eyyüp Nebi village (Viranşehir), a modest square, single-domed shrine is attributed to Rahima Khatun, wife of Prophet Job, who tended him through his illness; it lies about 500 m northwest of Job's shrine. This is a maqam/visitation tradition (not a confirmed grave) — the village's prophet shrines have been visited for centuries; Sultan Murad IV endowed waqf for their upkeep, and they were restored by the Şanlıurfa Governorate from 1992. (Sources: Viranşehir District Governorate; Turkish Ministry of Culture e-book)

Prophet Shu'ayb (Shu'ayb City Shrine)

In the ancient city in Özkent (Şuayb City) quarter of Harran, a cave is visited in popular tradition as the shrine of Prophet Shu'ayb, after whom the city is said to be named. This is a maqam (not a confirmed grave, a visitation tradition) — the standing remains are Late Roman (4th-5th c. CE) and, with no scientific excavation, the prophetic link is historically unverified. (Sources: Şanlıurfa Governorate / Harran District Governorate, 'Şuayb Şehri'; Turkish Ministry of Culture Kültür Portalı)

Prophet Abraham (Mawlid al-Khalil Shrine)

The Khalil al-Rahman complex and the Mawlid al-Khalil (Dergâh) Cave around Balıklıgöl in Şanlıurfa are visited in popular tradition as the birthplace of Prophet Abraham and where he was saved from Nimrod's fire. This is a maqam (not a confirmed grave, a visitation tradition) — sources describe it as a birth/legend site, not a tomb. The Khalil al-Rahman Mosque was built in 1211-12. (Sources: TDV İslam Ansiklopedisi, 'Halîlürrahman Külliyesi'; Turkish Ministry of Culture Kültür Portalı)

Imam Muhammad al-Baqir Shrine

In İmam Bakır village about 3 km northeast of Harran stands a square, domed shrine attributed to Abu Ja'far Imam Muhammad al-Baqir, fifth of the Twelve Imams, with an adjoining mosque. This is a maqam (not a confirmed grave, a visitation tradition) — tradition holds that a finger of the Imam was buried here and the village took his name; al-Baqir's actual grave is in Medina. (Sources: Şanlıurfa Metropolitan Municipality; Turkish Ministry of Culture e-book, 'İmam Bakır Camii ve Türbesi')

Dede Osman Avni Baba al-Urfawi

may his secret be sanctified

Born in Urfa in 1783, he became sheikh of the Haliliyya branch of the Qadiri order. He guided disciples for many years (about 70) at the lodge within the Mevlid-i Halil (Dergah) Mosque, dying in 1883. His tomb is in the enclosed graveyard in the courtyard of the Mevlid-i Halil Mosque, containing eight graves of him and his family.

Prophet Job (Ayyub)

peace be upon him

One of the prophets named in the Qur'an; in Islamic literature he is taken as the emblem of patience . The Qur'an states that revelation was given to him (al-Nisâ 4/163) and that he was guided to the right path (al-An'âm 6/84). Two principal accounts relate his trial: al-Anbiyâ 21/83-84 — he called upon his Lord, "Hardship has afflicted me" , and God removed his affliction, restored his family and doubled their number "as a mercy from Us and a reminder for worshippers" . Sâd 38/41-44 — his appeal to God about the suffering brought upon him by Satan, the command to strike the ground with his foot to obtain cool water for washing and drinking, the restoration of his family and possessions, and his being called "an excellent servant who constantly turned to God" . According to the Islamic sources his ancestor on the father's side was the prophet Isaac and on the mother's side the prophet Lot. His wife is said to have been either Leah, the daughter of Jacob, or Rahma, the daughter of Ephraim son of Joseph. He had seven sons and three daughters. His wealth before the trial is enumerated in the source thus: 7000 sheep, 3000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, 500 female donkeys and numerous servants. His trial joined together the loss of wealth, of children and of bodily health; the report about the duration of his illness is eighteen years, while some records say three or seven. Through all of this he stood firm without rebelling against God; the verse says "Truly We found him patient" (Sâd 38/44). His Circle of Influence — In Islamic literature he is the emblem of patience and endurance. Şeyh Galib invoked him as an example of forbearance in adversity, and Yûnus Emre referred to the suffering he endured. The motif of striking the ground to bring forth healing water became a theme in its own right in the Eastern-Islamic literary tradition.