Dawud al-Qarsi

A many-sided Ottoman scholar and teacher, known for the lessons he gave at the Great Mosque madrasa of Birgi and above all for his commentaries on the works of Birgivi. In his own day he was called Davud-i Karsi or Davud Efendi; in the preface of all his works he introduces himself as Dawud b. Muhammad al-Qarsi al-Hanafi.

He came from Kars; nothing is known of his birth date or his family. He received his basic madrasa education in Kars from Çolak Abdullah Efendi, a well-known ascetic and scholar of the region. He then went to Istanbul and completed his studies and his period of mülazemet (candidacy). He passed the ruus examination, at which Akkirmani was among the examiners; his Risalat al-imtihan, made up of the examiners' questions and his answers, is in the Süleymaniye Library. The sources say nothing of his appointment to a provincial madrasa; the article states that from his ascetic life, far from official posts, one may conclude that he did not accept such an appointment.

After completing his studies he went to Egypt, where he soon won recognition of his learning, began teaching, and wrote works mostly for the needs of his students. When he returned from Egypt is not certain; since two works he wrote there were copied by his students in Istanbul in the first months of 1154 (mid-1741), it can be said that he came to Istanbul at the end of 1153 (early 1741). Some time later he went to Birgi, home town of Birgivi, whom he admired, settled there and taught at the Great Mosque madrasa. His works written at the time show that in 1159 (1746) he went to Cyprus and stayed for a while, occupied with teaching and guidance. The colophon of a work he wrote at Larende (Karaman) shows that he was there on a visit during the Ramadan feast of 1162 (14-16 September 1749).

At the Birgi madrasa he taught a wide range of fields — Arabic language and literature, Qur'anic exegesis, hadith, theology, logic, the art of disputation and timekeeping (ilm al-miqat); while training his students with a sound method, he wrote many works in Turkish and Arabic in these fields. Caring nothing for worldly goods, rank or office, he chose an ascetic life, and won the esteem of his students and his circle by his learning, his piety and his attachment to the Sunni creed.

He spent the last 15 years of his life at Birgi and died there in the last days of 1169 (August 1756). In accordance with his will he was buried beside Birgivi, who lies on a hill outside Birgi. Some sources that mention their works show that he had two sons, Ömer and Osman.

His Poetry and Sufi Line — The content of some of his works shows that he fought Sufi understandings mixed with esoteric ideas and defended against them the understanding of ihsan of the Prophet's age. He wrote al-Risala al-Nuriyya wa-l-mishkat al-qudsiyya, an exegesis of verse 35 of Surat al-Nur, as a reply to certain extreme Sufis, and composed his Sharh-i Amentü billah according to the Maturidi school.

His Works — He wrote commentaries and glosses on many earlier works used mainly as textbooks, above all to make them easier for his students; the source groups his works under seven headings. Exegesis and recitation: al-Risala al-Nuriyya; al-Fathiyya on the pronunciation of the letter dad; Tahrirat wa taqrirat on the basmala and hamdala; a commentary on Birgivi's al-Durr al-yatim on tajwid. Hadith: Sharh Usul al-hadith on Birgivi's treatise on hadith methodology, written to give his students the principles before teaching them Sahih al-Bukhari; it was printed many times (the first in Istanbul 1272), translated into Turkish (Mukarribü't-talibin, Istanbul 1290) and glossed. Theology: two commentaries on Hızır Bey's al-Qasida al-nuniyya, one Turkish (1158/1745) and one Arabic (completed at Birgi at the end of 1169/1756); Sharh-i Amentü billah; a commentary on al-Ushi's ode Bad' al-amali; and Risala fi bayan mas'alat al-ikhtiyarat al-juz'iyya on human acts and will. Logic: al-Mujaz on Taftazani's Tahdhib al-mantiq; Takmila li-Tahdhib al-mantiq, completed in 1150 (1737), and its commentary; Sharh al-Isaghuji and al-Isaghuji al-jadid, written in Cyprus in 1159 (1746); a commentary written at Larende on Abu Sa'id al-Khadimi's treatise on the proposition. Disputation: Tadhkira li-waza'if al-bahhathin, written in 1152 (1739), and its commentary. Arabic language: Sharh al-Amthila al-mukhtalifa (in Arabic and Turkish), commentaries on Birgivi's Izhar al-asrar and al-Awamil, the dictionary Mukhtar Mukhtar al-Sihah, completed in 1151 (1738), and a commentary on prosody written in 1155 (1742). Timekeeping: commentaries on two treatises on determining the qibla and the times of worship. Besides these there is a collection of notes and lectures called Ma'lumat — also known as Takrirat-ı Davud Efendi — comprising 33 main headings.