Turkish mystic poet and Ḫalvetī shaykh, who is the only Anatolian Safavid poet
with an extant dīvān prior to the politicization and Shî’itization of the order.
His real name is
İsmā‘il, سماعیل His pen figures as" Kemāl Ümmī" in all historical
sources but is used as both " Kemāl
Ümmī" and " Ümmī
Kemāl" in his Dīvān (دیوان), tough the first form hagiography.
Biographical sources state that Kemāl
Ümmī was born and raised in Karaman (Turkey), in the town of Lārende. The Sālnāme of Bolu (Turkey), however, mentions that he was from
Bukhara (Uzbekistan). The place
of origin of Khurāsān (Iran)
which appears in his hagiography composed by a certain Dervīş ‘Aḥmed
can be a generic place name indicating his dervish circle and
temperament. According to his hagiography, the poet lived in Bolu (Turkey) for a long time and established a
lodge in a rural area in the vicinity of the city. He had three sons. His son
Sinān was a sober, educated man who criticized his father for being
"ümmī". His son Cemāl was an ecstatic who was unjustly executed by
the sultan of the period. Oral tradition in Bolu (Turkey) also states that he had a sister named
Şehribān, together with whom he had moved from Khurāsān (Iran) to the village of Çal in the area of Dörtdīvān, Bolu. According to information in the Bolu
Şer‘iyye Sicilleri, Kemāl
Ümmī was married, had children and his lineage continued in Tekke Köyü, Dörtdīvān, Bolu and more recently in Gerede,
Bolu. In a fermān sūreti dated1117 AH [1705 CE] , written to the qāḍīs of Bolu (Turkey) and Dörtdīvān,
Bolu, it is mentioned that some previleges had been granted to his
descendants since the time of Sulṭān
Süleymān. Kemāl
Ümmī's choice of pen name indicates that he did not have an official
education. His Dīvān (دیوان) includes a mers̱iye for his master Şeyḫ Ḥamīdüddīn Aḳsarāyī or with his
better known name Somuncu Baba (d.
1412), who was also the master of Ḥacı Bayrām
Velī (d.1430). It also includes a mers̱iye and a medḥiye for
Şeyḫ ‘Alī
Erdebīlī (d. 1429), the grandson of Ṣafiyyü’d-dīn Erdebīlī (d.1334).
The connection between Kemāl
Ümmī and Şeyḫ ‘Alī Erdebīlī (d. 1429) is thus established
through his master Ḥamīdüddīn Aḳsarāyī
, who visited Şeyḫ ‘Alī Erdebīlī (d. 1429) and stayed with him for
some time. Parts of Kemāl
Ümmī's Dīvān suggests that he
may also have done the same. We learn from Kemāl
Ümmī's mers̱iye that he became the disciple of Muẓafferü’d-dīn
Lārendī, one of his master's ḫalīfes, after the death of his master.
Among the people in Kemāl
Ümmī's circle were Ḥacı Bayrām Velī
(d.1430), presented by his hagiography as his close friend, and his
two disciples Aḳçavaḳlı Ṣarı Müderris and Yaġlucalı ‘Alī
Kevkeb Ḳutbu’d-dīn. According to his hagiography, the followers of
Kemāl Ümmī were called “Kemāllü”. He did not consider himself a master
and did not leave any successors. His hagiography presents him as the inventor of
ẕikr from the throat, also called ḳoyun ẕikri or bıçḳı ẕikri. Reference is also
made to Kemāl Ümmī in Vilāyetnāme-i Sulṭān Şücā‘ü’d-dīn (ولایتنامۀ سلطان شوجاع الدین) , where along
with Seyyid Nesīmī and Ḳayġusuz Abdāl he travels to
Seyitġāzī to see Sulṭān Şücā‘. His disrespect towards Sulṭān
Şücā‘'s leads to Sulṭān Şücā‘'s prophecy that he will be hanged.
This account is taken up by some of the biographical sources where it is stated
that he was executed. Kemāl
Ümmī's date of death appears as 880 AH [1475 CE] in Ottoman sources. His grave is situated in the village
named Işıklar (with the old name of
Tekke in the area of Sazak 39 km. southeast of Bolu (Turkey). He also has various
maḳām in places such as Karaman
(Turkey), Manisa (Turkey),
Niğde (Turkey).
Critical edition of the work by Hayati Yavuzer ()
includes 144 poems. Some scholars assert that the dīvān puts forth an extensive influence of ẕikr, which serves as the
formal foundation for many poems. Show more
There is a private manuscipt of the work in (Hacı
Bektaş Kütüphanesi, 196). Copied in the year of 890 in Gelibolu (Turkey) by Muḥammed b.
Bostānī. See: Vol II, 5-6.
[poems in a mecmū‘a]
Catalogue shows that the manuscript also includes Risāle fī Ḥaḳḳı’l-Ḳısās(رسالةفي حق القساس)
by Aḥmed Baġçecizāde Ḳayserili(احمدبغچه جي زاده قيصريلي) and Tārīḥ-i Ehl-i Sünnet İçin On İki Ḫaṣlet(تارخ اهل سنّة اجون اون ايكي خصلة) by
Feyzī. However the
folio numbers for the three entries overlap, suggesting that one or more of the folio numbers are erroneous.
This unedited mes̱nevī consists of 91
couplets in its only known manuscript. It describes the last moments of a person
before his death and the states he undergoes in the grave, and ends with counsels.
Some scholars consider this work to be an addition or sequel to Ḳırḳ Armaġān (قرق
ارمغان).
This unedited work of prose has only one manuscript and consists of ten folios. It is on salat and other forms of
worship, on the importance and benefits of performing them with sincerity.
An untitled mes̱nevī figures in some Dīvān manuscripts.
It appears as part of Ḳırḳ Armaġān in some other manuscripts.
This is not addressed in secondary literature.
According to secondary sources, this unedited mes̱nevī consists of 139 couplets. It narrates how in the afterworld,
after the separation of the people of paradise from those of hell, the former enter a special section in the paradise
of Eden entitled Ḫażīre-i Ḳuds, where they see the face of God. An interesting detail is the order of entry into this
paradise, where in front of Muḥammed figures ‘Alī with the flag named “livā-i ḥamd” in his hand.
The mes̱nevī is part of the dīvān and does not appear in catalogue entries. Study of the content of dīvān manuscripts
will reveal a much larger number of manuscripts for this work.
According to secondary sources, this unedited mes̱nevī consists of 200 couplets.
This matches the length of the work in the earliest manuscripts (late 15th-early
16th centuries). . However, there is a second unstudied branch of the work which is
twice that size, albeit in later manuscripts. This may be a result of the merging of
the work with another unidentified mes̱nevī which figures separately in some Dīvān manuscripts. Ḳırḳ Armaġān (قرق
ارمغان) is part of the dīvān and does not appear in catalogue entries. Study of the contents of
dīvān manuscripts will reveal a much
larger number of manuscripts for this work. The work is about “forty presents” to be
offered to eight angels, the Prophet and God upon dying, which must be prepared
before death. The presents are arranged according to ten stations with four presents
for each. They consist of religious and moral values. While some scholars believe
this to be a Ḳırḳ Ḥadīs̱ Tercümesi, others
consider it a hadith commentary.
