Mehmed Emin Tokadi

The Sufi regarded as the most important exponent of Istanbul Nakşibendî-Müceddidism in the eighteenth century.

He was born in 1075 (1664) at Tokat. He belonged to a Nakşibendî family: his father Hasan Efendi was a tailor and a disciple of Azîz Mahmûd-ı Urmevî. After Urmevî's execution in 1048 (1639) the family settled at Tokat, where Mehmed Emin passed the years of his youth, and in 1110 (1698) he went to Istanbul.

In Istanbul he entered the Pîrî Paşa Medrese at Zeyrek and studied the religious sciences under Şeyhülislâm Mirzazâde Şeyh Mehmed Efendi. He practised the sülüs, nesih and ta'lîk scripts under Hâşimîzâde Seyyid Abdullah Efendi; he afterwards studied music at Edirne with such masters as Buhûrîzâde Mustafa Itrî Efendi, Küçük Müezzin Mehmed Efendi and Yahyâ Nazîm Çelebi.

In Rajab 1114 (November 1702) he met at Mecca Ahmed Yekdest-i Cüryânî, who was leading a circle of remembrance beside the Kaaba; he became his disciple and remained in his service about three years. Later, at Medina, he received investiture in the Nakşibendiyye-Müceddidiyye through Abdürrahîm-i Buhârî.

He returned to Istanbul around 1117 (1706); he served as secretary to Kımıl Mehmed Bey and taught at the Şehzade Mosque. After the death of his patron he held for a short time, in 1132 (1719-20), the custodianship of the tomb of Eyüp Sultan. For decades he occupied himself with spiritual guidance without being attached to any lodge. In 1156 (1743) he was appointed by Şeyhülislâm Mustafa Efendi as sheikh of the Emîr Buhârî lodge at Ayvansaray; he accepted this office on the condition of not residing in the lodge.

He died on 15 Sha'bân 1158 (12 September 1745) and was buried in the graveyard of the Pîrî Paşa (Soğukkuyu) Mosque at Zeyrek in Istanbul.

His Circle of Influence — The most visible channel of his influence is his disciple Müstakimzâde: it was through him that the ground was prepared for the translation of Imâm-ı Rabbânî's Mektûbât into Turkish. The relation he formed with Lâ'lîzâde Abdülbâki of the Bayramî-Melâmî circle points to an independent conception of Sufism that did not close itself within a single circle.

His Poetry and Sufi Line — He stands on the Nakşibendî-Müceddidî line; he rejects ostentation in the practices of the lodge. What is striking about him is that he defended the devrân, a contested practice — this runs counter to the established Nakşibendî understanding and is the subject of one of his treatises.

His Works — What he wrote consists essentially of treatises on the Nakşibendî path: İrşâdü's-sâlikîn, Risâle fî sülûki't-tarîkati'n-Nakşibendiyye, Sıyânet-i Dervîşân der Bahs-i Deverân-ı Sûfiyân (a defence of the devrân), Şerh-i Kelimât-ı Hâcegân and Vasiyyetnâme. He also rendered into Turkish such works as Ibn al-Jazarî's introduction to the readings of the Qur'an and Ubeydullah Ahrâr's Risâle-i Vâlidiyye.

His Tomb and Complex — His grave is in the graveyard of the Pîrî Paşa (Soğukkuyu) Mosque at Zeyrek. The inscription on his gravestone was written in the ta'lîk script by Kâtibzâde Mehmed Refî and contains the chronogram composed by his disciple Müstakimzâde.