Üftâde

Üftâde, whose real name was Muhammed, was born in 1490 (AH 895) in Bursa; his father was Manyaslı Mehmed Efendi. He is counted among the great saints who lived in the era of Süleymân the Magnificent (Kânûnî Sultan Süleymân). At a young age he was set to work alongside a silk merchant; when within a short time he lost both his master and his father, he took on the support of his family at an early age, and in his free time he studied the exoteric sciences in the madrasas of Bursa. In later years he served as muezzin at the Ulu Mosque (Great Mosque) and as imam at the Doğan Bey Mosque; after a dream, he began preaching and giving counsel at the Emîr Buhârî Mosque. In the sources he is described as a tall person, with a compassionate gaze, always smiling, who broke no one's heart, who did not retaliate against insult; he was known for his devotion to worship. On the path of Sufism, he was a student of Karacabeyli Hızır Dede for eight years. His most famous student, Azîz Mahmûd Hüdâyî, compiled his conversations in his work titled 'Vâkı'ât'; according to the narration, Üftâde had Hüdâyî, who was the kadi (judge) of Bursa, leave the judgeship and perform services that disciplined the carnal self, and after three years he granted him his license (icâzet). Many miracles are related in the sources as attributed to Üftâde: events such as the rescue of a ship in a stormy sea, the finding of grapes in the winter season, and the return home through prayer of a youth who had been imprisoned unjustly are among these. He passed away in 1581 (AH 989) in Bursa; he was buried in the garden of the mosque that he himself had had built during his lifetime, and a tomb was constructed over his grave.