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A Sufi; he is also known as Şeyh Hamîdüddin Aksarâyî and Hamîd-i Velî. His real name was Abdullah.
Most of the sources take him to have been from Kayseri; some claim Aksaray as his birthplace. It is related that his ancestors migrated from Turkestan. He received his first Sufi training from his father Şeyh Şemseddin Mûsâ; he then studied the religious sciences at Damascus.
He attached himself to the Safavid circle and was trained under Alâeddin Erdebîlî (d. 832/1429), the grandson of Safiyyüddîn-i Erdebîlî. Having completed his spiritual journey at the Ardabil lodge, he settled in Bursa.
In his first years at Bursa he lived modestly, selling bread in the streets and calling out "loaves, O believers!". The epithet Somuncu Baba (the bread-seller father) comes from this.
At the opening of the Ulucami, Emîr Sultan presented him to Sultan Bayezid I to deliver the Friday sermon. It is related that his commentary on the Sûrat al-Fâtiha resolved difficulties that had challenged even Molla Fenârî.
He died in 815 (1412); in the last period of his life he had settled at Aksaray.
His Circle of Influence — His most important student is Hacı Bayrâm-ı Velî, the founder of the Bayramiyye. Among his other disciples are counted Şeyh Şücâüddin Karamânî, Şeyh Muzaffer Lârendevî and Molla Fenârî.
His Works — Three treatises are attributed to him; but because the manuscripts are of late date, their attribution to him is disputed.
His Tomb and Complex — The traditional sources place his grave at Aksaray. Some modern scholarship argues for the district of Darende in Malatya; against this, the source states that the nisba Aksarâyî and the sources of the period support Aksaray.
Miracles
What follows are reports which appear in the source as transmissions; the atlas records them not as "thus it happened" but as "thus the sources transmit".
The sermon at the Ulucami and the commentary on the Fâtiha. At the opening of the Ulucami, Emîr Sultan presented him to the sultan to deliver the Friday sermon; it is related that his commentary on the Sûrat al-Fâtiha resolved difficulties that had challenged even Molla Fenârî. (Source: TDV DİA, SOMUNCU BABA)
His concealment through selling bread. It is related that in his first years at Bursa he sold bread in the streets, calling out "loaves, O believers!", and thus concealed his spiritual station; his epithet comes from this. (Source: TDV DİA, SOMUNCU BABA)
Differing Scholarly Views
Where he came from is disputed. Most of the sources say Kayseri; some put forward Aksaray.
🔴 The site of his grave is disputed: Aksaray or Darende? The traditional sources point to Aksaray; some modern scholarship argues for the district of Darende in Malatya. The source expresses a preference: the nisba Aksarâyî and the sources of the period support Aksaray. The atlas records this preference and does not erase the opposing view (principle 3).
The attribution of his works is disputed. The manuscripts of the three treatises attributed to him are of late date; for this reason the attribution is not certain.
Sources
- TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi (DİA) — Haşim Şahin · vol. 37, pp. 377-378, entry “SOMUNCU BABA”
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External records: TDV Encyclopedia of Islam article