İskilip's Scholars
İskilip is one of the rare Anatolian towns to have produced more than one Ottoman şeyhülislam. This page brings together İskilip-linked scholars who lack enough independent material to justify a page of their own, or whose significance is best understood through a family or tradition rather than an individual biography. The şeyhülislams Ebussuud Efendi and Sun’ullah Efendi have their own pages; all of the figures below are also commemorated at the Museum of İskilip Scholars.
Ali Kuşçu and His İskilip Connection
Ali Kuşçu (1403-1474) was one of the fifteenth century’s foremost Turkic astronomers and mathematicians. Born in Samarkand and trained at Uluğ Bey’s observatory, he later came to Istanbul at the invitation of Fatih Sultan Mehmed and rose to become head müderris (professor) of the Sahn-ı Semân Medresesi. No independent source places Ali Kuşçu himself as having lived in or been born in İskilip; his connection to the town is indirect, through family: according to the TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, his brother Mustafa el-İmâdî was the father of Şeyh Yavsî, who settled in İskilip’s İmâd village — making Ali Kuşçu Şeyh Yavsî’s uncle, and by extension a close relative of Şeyhülislam Ebussuud Efendi as well. The İskilip Municipality’s inclusion of Ali Kuşçu among its “İskilip scholars” rests on this family tie, so his connection to the town is best understood through that chain of kinship rather than through his own biography.
Şeyh Yavsî (Muhyiddin Muhammed)
Born Muhyiddin Muhammed, Şeyh Yavsî was the father of Ebussuud Efendi and a Bayramî-Şemsî sheikh close enough to Bayezid II to be known as his “hünkâr şeyhi” (sultan’s sheikh). Born in İskilip’s İmâd (Direklibel) village, he built the mosque that still bears his name, the Şeyh Muhiddin Yavsi Mosque, in İskilip’s Meydan Çarşısı (Central Bazaar). His tomb lies inside this mosque, later expanded by his son, and remains one of İskilip’s frequently visited spiritual sites.
Molla Cafer Çelebi
A well-known scholar of Süleyman the Magnificent’s reign, Molla Cafer Çelebi, according to the İskilip Municipality, was born in İskilip in 1488 and moved to Istanbul at a young age to complete his education there. After teaching at various medreses, he rose to become Anatolian kazasker (chief military judge), retiring from that post. The TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi corroborates his İskilip origin, describing him in its entry on his son Sun’ullah Efendi as “İskilip-born Molla Câfer Çelebi.” He spent his final years in worship and scholarship in Üsküdar, died in 1570, and was buried in Eyüp beside the grave of his own sheikh, Muslihiddîn-i Sirozî.
Şeyh Muslihiddîn Attar
According to the İskilip Municipality, Şeyh Muslihiddîn Attar was one of the caliphs (halife) Akşemseddin is said to have given to İskilip, with a following reportedly reaching 40,000 disciples. He is remembered as having had his own mosque, medrese, lodge and bathhouse in İskilip; these figures and details lack independent academic confirmation and are presented here with appropriate caution.
Hacı Karani (Şeyh Muhammed Abdülbaki Efendi)
Hacı Karani was born in İskilip and, rather than following his father into wrestling, devoted himself to scholarship, travelling to Istanbul to study the rational and transmitted sciences under his relative Ebussuud Efendi. He served as sheikh of the Şâbân-ı Velî lodge for eleven years, guiding the community each Friday through commentary drawn from respected tafsir works, and died in İskilip. His grave lies in İskilip’s Hacı Karani Cemetery.
Other Names Commemorated at the Museum
Alongside the figures above, the Museum of İskilip Scholars holds a list of some 35 further İskilip-born scholars; independent, published biographical material for most of these names has not yet been compiled, so they are not detailed on this page. See the Museum of İskilip Scholars for more.