Veli Şemseddîn

Veli Şemseddîn was one of the saints of Bursa, and the name of his father was Mûsâ. On the path of Sufism, he was brought up as a student of Hoca Hasan Efendi, one of the caliphs (halife) of His Holiness Emir Sultan. In the sources he is mentioned as a virtuous person who was a knower of God (ârif), a worshipper (âbid), an ascetic (zâhid), possessed of scrupulous piety (verâ), and who acted upon his knowledge. He spent his life in preaching and giving counsel, and by this means he enabled many people to benefit from him. The author of the Şakâyık-ı Nu'mâniyye relates that he saw a book written in his own handwriting; that in this book there were subtle meanings concerning the exegesis (tefsîr) and interpretation (te'vîl) of the Holy Qur'an and concerning the sayings of the great masters of Sufism; and from this he concludes that he was a scholar possessing both exoteric and esoteric sciences. According to a legend attributed to him in the sources, he gave the glad tidings that a child who had been neglected by his father would in the future reach very high ranks; it is related that this sign later came to pass, and that the person in question (Hocazâde) rose to the offices of Imperial Tutor (Muallim-i Sultânî) and military judge (kâdıasker). Veli Şemseddîn had a masjid built in Bursa and, passing away in 1470 (AH 875), was buried beside this masjid. The masjid he had built later came to be known by the name of the Velî Şemseddîn masjid. It is also stated in the sources that there is a grave attributed to him in Balıkesir as well.