Scholar and
writer (b. 1887, Güzelce / Akseki - d. 9 January 1951, Ankara). He studied at
Madrasah Muslim School in his village and Ödemiş. He received lessons in
Islamic sciences and Arab literature from Bayındırlı Muhammed Şükrü Efendi and
Mehmed Akif in İstanbul where he came to study (1905). He studied at Science
and Experimental Science Theology at İstanbul University for three years and
graduated from İstanbul Advanced Madrasah Muslim Theology School (1914) and
Süleymaniye Madrasah Muslim Theology School, Department of Philosophy and
Islamic Theology (1918) and was promoted to authorized teacher there.
He gave lectures on religion and
morality at Heybeliada Naval School (1916). He was the pulpit sheikh at various
mosques in İstanbul. He gave lectures on the philosophy of history and
psychology at Madrasah Muslim Novice Elementary School. He supported the
Nationalist Forces in his sermons in Anatolia during the years of the National
Struggle. He worked as a teacher at Ankara High School (1921- 23) and General
Director of Religious Foundations and Education (1922- 24). He was selected as
a member of the Presidency of Religious Affairs Consultation Committee after
working as a teacher at İstanbul University, Faculty of Theology for a short
time.
In 1925, he was put on trial at
the Independence Courts for being a member of the “Improvement Order
Association” and for taking part in the activities of this association but was
acquitted. He was the vice-chairman of the Department of Religious Affairs in
1939 and later became the chairman. He is buried in Ankara Cebeci Military
Graveyard.
His articles were published in the reviews Sırat-ı Müstakim that started to be published in 1908 and in the successor of this review Sebilürreşad ile Mahfel. He worked on the commentary of the Koran Hak Dini Kura’an Dili (God’s Religioun and the Language of the Holy Koran) by M. Hamdi Elmalı, and Tecrîd-i Sarih Tercümesi ve Şerhi (Translation and Commentary of Isolation of Reality) His work İslâm Dini (The Islam Religion), an explanation of Kuran ilmihal (The Catechism in Holy Koran ), is one of the most published books in Turkish republican history.
MAIN WORKS:
Bilinmesi Elzem Hakikatlar (Indispensable Things to Know, 1916),
Ahlâk Dersleri (Moral Courses, 1924),
İslâm Dini Fıtrîdir (The Islam is Innate, 1925) İslâm (Islam, 1928),
Müslümanlıkta İktisadın Ehemmiyeti (The Importance of Economy in Islam,
1932), İslâm Dini (The Islam
Religion, 1933), Peygamberimiz Hazreti
Muhammed ve Müslümanlık (The Prophet Muhammad and Islam, 1934), Peygamberimizin Vecizeleri (Aphorisms
of the Prophet, 1945), Hicrî
REFERENCE: Veli Ertan / Ahmet Hamdi Akseki’nin Hayatı Eserleri ve Tesirleri (1966), Süleyman Hayri Bolay / TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi (c. 2, 1989), Vehbi Vakkasoğlu / Osmanlıdan Cumhuriyete İslâm Âlimleri (2002), İhsan Işık / Yazarlar Sözlüğü (1990, 1998) - Türkiye Yazarlar Ansiklopedisi (2001, 2004) – Encyclopedia of Turkish Authors (2005) - Resimli ve Metin Örnekli Türkiye Edebiyatçılar ve Kültür Adamları Ansiklopedisi (2006, gen. 2. bas. 2007) – Ünlü Bilim Adamları (Türkiye Ünlüleri Ansiklopedisi, C. 2, 2013) - Encyclopedia of Turkey’s Famous People (2013).