Sufi and poet (b. 1352, Solfasol / Ankara – d. 1429, Ankara). His real name was Nûmân bin Ahmed bin Mahmûd, and his pen name was Hacı Bayram. His first meeting with his sheikh was on a religious holiday and the latter called him “Bayram” (which means a religious festival), and, therefore, he was called “bayram” from then on. He started his education at a very young age.
He was educated on religious sciences
like interpretation of Koran, hadîs* and canon law, as well as on natural
sciences of that era, by participating in the courses of scholars in Ankara and
Bursa. He began to give lectures and bring up his students at the Black
Madrasah of Ankara, which was built by Melîke Hâtun. In a short time, he was
known and esteemed among the people.
In spite of his superiority in
sciences, there was a trouble in the mind of the Professor Nûmân. In a dream,
he left his courses and tended to mysticism by joining the disciples of Şeyh
Hamid-i Veli (Somuncu Baba). Numan and his sheikh met in Kayseri at the Feast
of the Sacrifice. Then, Hamîd-i Velî gave Nûmân the name “Bayram”, saying “We
are celebrating two bayrams on the same day”. Hamîd-i Velî held
private conversations with Nûmân and trained him in a short time. After
education him at an advanced level on natural and religious sciences, the
sheikh said: "Hacı Bayram! You have learnt the natural sciences and
scholars matured in these sciences, and their degrees. You have also learnt the
religious sciences and saints educated in these sciences, and their degrees.
Chose the one you like!" On seeing the high positions of the saints,
Hacı Bayram chose sufism and worked hard to improve himself in theosophy. He
became one of the greatest saints of his time, with the appreciation and
encourage of his teacher. Hacı Bayram Veli went to pilgrimage together with his
master. After pilgrimage, they went to Aksaray. There, with the order of his
master, who put that “You are my caliph, my representative” he undertook
this duty in 1412. The same year his master died; Hacı Bayram Veli managed the
funeral task, and performed the funeral prayer. After completing his task in
Aksaray, he returned to Ankara.
In Ankara, he started to tell people
about orders and prohibitions of the religion, to show them the true path, and
to educate them. Everyday, many people visited him and left by having found the
cure for their ill hearts. The number of his students increased more and more
day by day, and they rushed in crowds. His name was soon heard everywhere. He
founded the Bayramiyye tarikat*, and continued his activities to guide people to
the true path. According to the rumors, Akşemseddîn, who then would be
spiritual conqueror of İstanbul, came from Osmancık, where he was a professor
at the madrasah, to Ankara, participated in the conversations of Hacı Bayram-ı
Veli and became one of his best disciples.
Hacı Bayram-ı Velî both educated his
disciples in Ankara, and gave sermons in the mosque on certain hours of the
day. Some jealous people, seeing many people gathered around him, accused him
falsely and told the Sultan Murâd Han II: "Oh Our Sultân! A man called
Hacı Bayram in Ankara has set his own way and gathered people around himself.
He runs down you and speaks against your rule. We are afraid that he may start
a rebellion!" Therefore, he was called to Edirne by the Sultan. They
went there. While the Sultan Murâd Han was waiting for a bandit acting against
peace of the state and aiming for the throne, he saw a saint, mature and with
an illuminated face. The Sultan treated his guest with respect in his palace
for days and presented him many things. In one of their mutual conversations,
they told about the conquest of İstanbul. Hacı Bayram said: "Oh My
Sultân! It is allotted by God for neither you, nor me to see seizure of that
city. Conquering İstanbul is allotted for this Muhammed lying down in cradle (Fatih Sultan Mehmed Han), and for his
master, our sparse bearded Akşemseddîn." Then, he took the
future conqueror in his arms. He watched his eyes and uttered his prayers for
goodness. Sultan Murâd Han was very happy with the good news. He started to
regard his son, the Prince Muhammed and his educator Akşemseddîn, with a
different eye.
Hacı Bayram-ı Velî, during the time
when he was in Edirne, gave sermons in mosques and advised them goodness. The
Sultan wanted him to stay in Edirne, but Hacı Bayram-ı Velî said that he wanted
to return to Ankara, to his disciples, and to continue educating them. Having
appreciated the very value of Hacı Bayram-ı Veli, the Sultan allowed him to
return to Ankara, and ordered that no tax would be collected from his
disciples. After his death, the Bayramiyye
order was led by his disciples Akşemseddîn and Bıçakçı Ömer Efendi. Hacı
Bayram-ı Velî had other caliphs, as well, apart from Akşemseddîn and Bıçakcı
Ömer Efendi, such as Göynüklü Uzun Selâhaddîn, Yazıcızâde Muhammed and Ahmed
Bîcân brothers, İnce Bedreddîn, Hızır Dede, Akbıyık Sultan and Muhammed Üftâde
as well as his son-in-law, Eşrefoğlu Rûmî (Abdullah Efendi).
Hacı Bayram Veli, the founder of the
Bayramiyye tarikat*, formed by the unification of the Nakşibendiyye* and
Halvetiyye orders, wrote poems under the influence of Yunus Emre, however very
few of them survived until today. Some of them were set to music. His life
story was the theme of the novel by Zeria Karadeniz titled Hacı Bayram Veli (1964).
His tomb is in Ankara, in the mosque, named after him.
REFERENCE: Mehmet Tahir
Bursalı / Hacı Bayram-ı Veli (1913), Zeria Karadeniz / Hacı Bayram Veli (1964),
Fuat Bayramoğlu / Hacı Bayram Veli (1981), M. Ali Aynî / Hacı Bayram Veli (ekinde
Mehmed Tahir Efendi’nin H.B. Veli hakkındaki risalesi vardır. sad. Hüseyin Rahmi
Yananlı, İstanbul 1986), Nihat Azamat / TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi (c. 14, 1996),
Behçet Necatigil / Edebiyatımızda İsimler Sözlüğü (18. bas. 1999), Ahmet
Özdemir / Hacı Bayram Veli ve Eşrefoğlu Rumi (2002), İhsan Işık / Ünlü Bilim Adamları (Türkiye
Ünlüleri Ansiklopedisi, C. 2, 2013) - Encyclopedia of Turkey’s Famous People
(2013).
