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A Nakşibendî-Hâlidî sheikh and divan poet; his poems are read to this day in eastern Anatolia and northern Azerbaijan.
He was born in the village of Cicimli in the district of Zangezur in the Karabakh region. The year of his birth is recorded in the sources in three separate ways: 1212 (1797), 1220 (1805) and 1230 (1815). His family were the Cicimli Seyyids, who trace themselves to Seyyid Muhammed Şemseddin Akabâlî, who migrated from Khorasan to Karabakh; his father was Seyyid Rükneddin Efendi, known as Mîr Paşa.
After at first resisting formal education he studied with Mahmud Efendi at Karakaş and then with Şikest Abdullah Efendi at Sheki. He finally attached himself, upon a sign received in a dream, to the Nakşibendî-Hâlidî master İsmâil Sirâceddin Şirvânî (Kürdemirî).
In 1839 he went to Mecca for the pilgrimage. Between 1841 and 1852 he was active as a guide in Karabakh; in this period he married and his son Sirâceddin was born. Between 1855 and 1858 he resided at Istanbul; it is related that the shaykhdom of the Emîr Buhârî lodge was offered to him. Between 1866 and 1883 he settled at Merzifon and gave instruction in the Qur'an and hadith.
Political concern about the size of his following, together with his rhetoric criticising the treatment of the Ahl al-Bayt by the Umayyads, led to complaints, and in 1885 he was exiled to Harput. He died in September 1886; his body was brought to Amasya in accordance with his will and buried there.
His Circle of Influence — Although his formal position was that of a Nakşibendî-Hâlidî sheikh, his followers regarded him as the founder of an order (pîr). Among his principal deputies are Gazi Osman Efendi of Maraş and Hacı Zekeriyyâ Efendi of Tokat.
His Poetry and Sufi Line — He wrote in the classical divan tradition rather than in the plain idiom of lodge poetry; he avoided the usual Sufi terminology and put forward instead divine love, love of the Ahl al-Bayt and melâmet. His works show the closest affinity with Fuzûlî. He composed in Azeri Turkish and in the aruz metre.
His Works — 1. The Turkish Dîvan (1301/1884; 1326/1908). It contains 644 ghazals, 119 quatrains and other verse forms; the Çaynâme on tea, of 520 couplets, and a commentary on the Nigârnâme are also in this divan. 2. The Persian Dîvan (1329/1910). An organised collection. 3. Nigârnâme (1305/1887). A Sufi allegorical work in prose and verse treating divine love.
His Tomb and Complex — His grave is at Amasya; in 1894 the Şirvanlı Mosque was built on the site of his tomb.
Differing Scholarly Views
There are three separate records of the year of his birth. 1212 (1797) · 1220 (1805) · 1230 (1815). The source does not choose one and discard the others; neither does the atlas.
His formal position differs from his place in the eyes of his followers. Although formally a Nakşibendî-Hâlidî sheikh, his followers regarded him as the pîr of an independent order. This difference is the origin of the name Nigâriyye and has been preserved in the record.
The reason for the exile is twofold. The source gives both reasons together: political concern about the size of his following, and his rhetoric criticising the treatment of the Ahl al-Bayt by the Umayyads. The atlas records both and does not substitute one for the other.
Sources
- TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi (DİA) — A. Azmi Bilgin · vol. 33, pp. 85-87, entry “NİGÂRÎ, Seyyid Mîr Hamza”
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