Molla Hayâlî

The scholar whose real name was Ahmed bin Mûsâ er-Rûmî, known by the epithet Şemseddîn and the pen name (mahlas) Molla Hayâlî, was born in the Hijri year 852 (1448 CE) in İznik and passed away in the Hijri year 886 (1481 CE) at the age of thirty-three. He was a scholar of the Hanafi school and a saint who was raised in the era of Fâtih Sultan Mehmed (Mehmed the Conqueror). He received his first education from his father, who was a qadi; he became a student of the professor (mudarris) Hızır Bey at the Bursa Sultâniyyesi, served as his assistant, and married Hızır Bey's daughter. After serving as a professor at various madrasas, he was appointed to the Filibe (Plovdiv) Madrasa, and then by Sultan Fâtih to the İznik Madrasa; in this appointment, the fact that he had gained fame through the gloss (hâşiye) he wrote on the Şerh-i Akâid was influential. He was a person of slight build who studied a great deal, ate little, and was so ascetic (zühd) that he would eat only once a day. He distinguished himself among his peers with his comprehension in the rational sciences; it is related that Hocazâde, the famous scholar of the age, refrained from entering into a scholarly debate (münâzara) with him. Belonging to the Zeyniyye branch in Sufism, he advanced along this path by means of his master Shaykh Abdürrahîm Merzifonî; he had been given the duty of dhikr at the Yeni Câmi (New Mosque) in Edirne. He composed poetry in three languages: Arabic, Persian, and Turkish. His most famous work is the Şerh-i Akâid Hâşiyesi, which was regarded as acceptable even among high-ranking scholars. His grave is in Bursa, near the Zeynîler cemetery; its present well-maintained state was provided by Hacı Ali Efendi, one of the close associates of Sultan Abdülhamid II.