Scholar and poet (b. 1652, Aydos / Bulgaria - d. 1725, Bursa). When he was young he followed Osman Fazlı Efendi, one of the sheikhs of the Celvetiye dervish order. He grew up taking private lessons on Islamic Sciences from Abdülbaki Efendi, one of the famous scholars of that period. After receiving his diploma (1673), he came to İstanbul upon the invitation of his sheikh, Fazlı Efendi and preached. After giving guidance for many years in Strumca, he went to Bursa and became the Sheikh of the Celvetiye order (1685). He became very famous and popular for the sermons he gave in Bursa. He went on pilgrimage to Mecca twice. He came to İstanbul for a while to preach (1700) and then returned to Bursa.
He donated all his books and established a library, had a mosque (Cami-i Muhammedî) and a dervish lodge constructed, and spent his last years completing his works. He was buried in the garden of his dervish lodge in the neighborhood of Tuzpazarı according his last wishes. İsmail Hakkı, who was also a calligrapher, wrote mystic literary poems in the style of Yunus Emre and prepared more than 100 intellectual and scientific works all of which were written in Islamic mystic literary style.
MAIN WORKS:
INTERPRETATION: Ruh'ul Beyan (Interpretation of the
Koran, 4 volumes, Arabic, 1859, Bulak; new edition, 2 volumes, translated by
Ömer Faruk Hilmi, 2003).
MYSTIC LITERATURE: Rûh-ul Mesnevi (Interpretation of the
Mesnevi* of Mevlana), Şerh-i Erbain Hadis
(40 Traditions of the Prophet Muhammad and their explanations), Muhammediye Şerhi (Commentaries of the
Prophet Mohammed, Interpretation of the works of Yazıcızâde Mehmet Bican, with
the name Ferah'ul-Ruh -Happiness of the Soul, 1842; new edition with the
name Ferâhu’r-Rûh-Muhammediye Şerhi I and II, edited by Mustafa Utku,
2002), Reşahat Ayne'l-Hayat (Legends
of the Nakshbendi Order), Kitabu'n Necat
(Book of Salvation, a work of mystic literature), Tuhfe-i Haliliye (The Gift from the Wives, a work of mystic
literature), Tasavvufun On Esası (Ten
Principles of Mysticism, 1992).
POETRY: Divan-ı İsmail Hakkı (Divan* of İsmail Hakkı, Cairo, 1841; İstanbul, 1877).
REFERENCE: Bursalı Mehmed Tahir / Osmanlı Müellifleri I (1972), Yusuf Turan Günaydın / Bursevî ve Tuhfe-i Halîliyye’si (Özlenen Fark, sayı: 17, Aralık 1997), Yusuf Turan Günaydın / Bursevî’nin İmana Dair Değerlendirmeleri (Özlenen Fark, sayı: 43, Şubat 2000), Hasan Afşın Can / “Bursevî Külliyâtına Doğru” (Özlenen Fark, sayı: 51, Ekim 2000), Mustafa Tatçı / İsmail Hakkı Bursavî / Bitmedik Ot Dibinde Doğmadıcak Bir Göcen / Şerh-i Nazm-ı Ahmed (2000), Ali Namlı / İsmail Hakkı Bursevî – Hayatı – Eserleri - Tarîkat Anlayışı (2001), M. Murat Yurtsever – Yusuf Şevki Yavuz – Cağfer Karadaş / TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi (c. 23, 2001), Seyit Avcı / Sûfîlerin Hadis Anlayaşı – Bursevî Örneği (2004), İhsan Işık / Ünlü Bilim Adamları (Türkiye Ünlüleri Ansiklopedisi, C. 2, 2013) - Encyclopedia of Turkey’s Famous People (2013) - Resimli ve Metin Örnekli Türkiye Edebiyatçılar ve Kültür Adamları Ansiklopedisi (C. 12, 2017).
