Publication: Meclis-i meşâyıh müessesesi, kuruluşu ve faaliyetleri
Abstract
19. yüzyılın başlarından itibaren devlet tarafından uygulamaya konulan bazı tedbirler, Meclis-i Meşâyıh’ın kurulması ile müşahhas ve resmî bir hale gelmiştir. Meclis-i Meşâyıh öncesi uygulamalar ve nihayet Meclis-i Meşâyıh’ın kurulması ile tekke ve tarikatlar bir yandan Şeyhülislamlık’ın denetimi altına alınmış bir yandan da vakıflarının idâresi Evkâf-ı Hümâyûn Nezâreti’ne verilerek mâlî özerkliklerini de kaybetmişlerdir. Bütün bunlar Osmanlı tasavvuf geleneğinden önemli bir kopuşu göstermektedir. 1762 numaralı deftere bakıldığında Meclis-i Meşâyıh’ın kurulmasının tekke ve tarikatlara en önemli etkilerinden birisi şeyh tayinlerinde ortaya çıkmaktadır. Mânevi kemâline göre şeyhi tarafıdan belirlenmesi gereken halifeler, bir müddet sonra kitâbi bilgilerden imtihan edilerek tespit edilmeye başlanmıştır. Diğer yandan mâlî olarak Evkâf-ı Hümâyûn Nezâreti’ne bağlanan şeyhler âdeta bir devlet memuru haline gelmişlerdir. Bir başka önemli husus tekke ve tarikatların resmî denetim ve kontrol altına alınmasıdır. Bunun için çeşitli nizamnâmeler düzenlenmiş ve müfettişler tayin edilmiştir. Meclis-i Meşâyıh’ın tekkelerde ortaya çıkan problemleri çözmede azımsanmayacak bir rol üstlendiği görülmektedir. Bir şekilde Meclis-i Meşâyıh’a intikal eden problemler, ya Meclis-i Meşâyıh tarafından çözülmeye çalışılmış ya da ilgili mercilere havale edilmiştir. Kararlara bakıldığında tekke çevrelerinin Meclis-i Meşâyıh’ın varlığına alışmış olduğu görülmektedir. Bu defterde ayrıca, örneğin Hacı Bektâş-ı Velî Dergâhı ve Bursa Kâlenderhâne Dergâhı ile ilgili problemler hakkında da önemli bilgiler mevcuttur. Bu meselelerin gidişatı hakkında birinci elden kaynak olması ve resmî makamların olaylara bakışını göstermesi açısından bu defterdeki bilgiler önem taşımaktadır. Diğer defterlerde de bazı konularda mühim bilgilerin bulunması muhtemeldir.
Some precautions taken or reforms made by the State beginning from the early nineteenth century got their concreteness and official character with the establishment of Meclis-i Meşâyih. With the practices before the establishment of this institution and its establishment, dervish-orders and lodges were given to the authority of Şeyhülislam on the one hand and they lost their economic autonomy on the other when the administration of the waqfs was given to the ministry of Evkâf-ı Hümâyûn. All of these indicate a significant break in that period from the traditional Ottoman Sufism. When we analyze the archival sources, defter no. 1762, we see that one of the main impacts of Meclis-i Meşâyih on the dervish orders and lodges appeared in the appointments of şeyhs. The successors, khalifes, began to be appointed by the commission instead of their şeyhs and according to their success at the written exams instead of their spiritual maturity. In addition to that, the şeyhs became almost a state official as a result of their economic dependency on the ministry of Evkâf-ı Hümâyûn. Another aspect of the issue is that the dervish orders and lodges were also taken into State control and inspection through new laws, nizamnâmes, and inspectors. Meclis-i Meşâyih took a very significant role in solving the problems occurred in dervish lodges. The problems presented to Meclis-i Meşâyih were either solved by the institution itself or transferred to the related institutions. Concerning the decisions of Meclis-i Meşâyih, we can argue that the people around the dervish orders seemed to be accustomed to this institution. In the defter mentioned above, there is crucial information about the problems of some dervish lodges such as Hacı Bektâş-ı Velî Dergâh and Bursa Kâlenderhâne Dergâh. As not only being a primary source for the decision-making process in the problems but also reflecting the State’s point of view to the issues, the information in this defter is very important to study. This kind of information can be found in the other defters as well.
Some precautions taken or reforms made by the State beginning from the early nineteenth century got their concreteness and official character with the establishment of Meclis-i Meşâyih. With the practices before the establishment of this institution and its establishment, dervish-orders and lodges were given to the authority of Şeyhülislam on the one hand and they lost their economic autonomy on the other when the administration of the waqfs was given to the ministry of Evkâf-ı Hümâyûn. All of these indicate a significant break in that period from the traditional Ottoman Sufism. When we analyze the archival sources, defter no. 1762, we see that one of the main impacts of Meclis-i Meşâyih on the dervish orders and lodges appeared in the appointments of şeyhs. The successors, khalifes, began to be appointed by the commission instead of their şeyhs and according to their success at the written exams instead of their spiritual maturity. In addition to that, the şeyhs became almost a state official as a result of their economic dependency on the ministry of Evkâf-ı Hümâyûn. Another aspect of the issue is that the dervish orders and lodges were also taken into State control and inspection through new laws, nizamnâmes, and inspectors. Meclis-i Meşâyih took a very significant role in solving the problems occurred in dervish lodges. The problems presented to Meclis-i Meşâyih were either solved by the institution itself or transferred to the related institutions. Concerning the decisions of Meclis-i Meşâyih, we can argue that the people around the dervish orders seemed to be accustomed to this institution. In the defter mentioned above, there is crucial information about the problems of some dervish lodges such as Hacı Bektâş-ı Velî Dergâh and Bursa Kâlenderhâne Dergâh. As not only being a primary source for the decision-making process in the problems but also reflecting the State’s point of view to the issues, the information in this defter is very important to study. This kind of information can be found in the other defters as well.