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A sixteenth-century Sufi regarded as the second pîr of the Bektashi order; it is claimed that his real name was Hızır Balı.
🔴 The source lays down the ground of this record at the outset: since there exists no document at all relating directly to him from the period in which he lived, everything known about him rests upon the written and oral Bektashi tradition. What follows is what that tradition gives.
There is no single record about his family. Some sources take him to be the son of Resul Balı; the Bektashi tradition says he was the son of Mürsel Balı; the Çelebi branch claims that he belonged to the lineage of Hacı Bektaş. Another claim presents him as the son of Sersem Ali Baba by a Serbian princess at Didymoteicho.
He is stated to have been born at Didymoteicho. It was in this town too that his acquaintance with Bayezid II, who took an interest in the Seyyid Ali Sultan lodge there, came about.
In 907 (1501) he was formally placed at the head of the Hacı Bektaş lodge by the sultan. The source records the reason for this appointment as well: to protect the lodge from Safavid propaganda.
He died in 922 (1516); the source gives this date with a question mark.
His Circle of Influence — Most of the observances known today in Bektashism are attributed to him: he systematised the Shi'ite and Hurûfî elements within the order and laid down as rules the cult of the twelve imams, the observance of celibacy and the observance of the twelve posts. His being counted the "second pîr" of Bektashism comes from this regulating role.
His Tomb and Complex — His tomb stands beside the tomb of Hacı Bektaş.
Differing Scholarly Views
🔴 This entire record is a record of tradition, not of archives. The source says plainly: there exists no document at all relating directly to him from the period in which he lived; everything known rests upon the written and oral Bektashi tradition. The atlas does not erase this frame (principle 6).
Who was his father? Four separate records stand side by side: son of Resul Balı · son of Mürsel Balı (the Bektashi tradition) · of the lineage of Hacı Bektaş (the claim of the Çelebi branch) · son of Sersem Ali Baba by a Serbian princess.
His real name. It is claimed to have been Hızır Balı; the source does not give this as a firm record.
The date of his death is not certain. The date 922 (1516) is given in the source with a question mark.
Sources
- TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi (DİA) — Ahmet Yaşar Ocak · vol. 5, pp. 17-18, entry “BALIM SULTAN”
The sources for this record are listed below (Mandatory Sources).
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Permanent ID: EA-Z-000066 · this address reaches the same record even if its name changes; use it when citing.
External records: TDV Encyclopedia of Islam article