Who is the ebul vefa? Who is the friend of Allah who did not open his doors to Sultan Fatih Mehmet?
Ebu’l Vefa, who has given his name to the town where his tomb and lodge are situated, was one of the famous friends of Allah who lived in Istanbul. Sheikh Ebu’l Vefa, whose date of birth is unknown, was born in Konya, and he died in Istanbul in 1490.
The talks of Sheikh Ebu’l Vefa were wise and witty. His conversations were enjoyable and people were looking forward to joining to his circles. He liked to have a conversation with his dervishes and used to prefer spending his time with people who were not fond of this world. Famous politicians of his time came to his lodge and waited for him to accept them to his circle.
Sultan Fatih Mehmed and Sultan Beyazıd II loved and showed him a lot of respect.
Sultan Beyazıd II asked him to lead the wedding ceremony of his daughter. And he sent 40.000 coins to his lodge as a gift. However, Sheikh Ebu’l Vefa did not accept this gift and responded to Sultan saying,
– You can give this money to Muhyiddin Konevi Efendi, he is poor. And he is also an honorable person. You should make him to lead this wedding.
The Door that does not open for Sultan Mehmet II
Sultan Fatih enjoyed visiting the friends of Allah (awliya). One day, he wanted to visit Sheikh Ebu’l Vefa a lot. He went to his lodge with people close to him. Lo and behold! The door which was open to everyone was closed for the sultan! Sultan got very sad. And the Sheikh’s situation inside was not much different from the Sultan’s. Because of their manners, his dervishes couldn’t find the courage to ask questions about what was happening. Nevertheless, they were wondering what the reason of this matter was and how it was going to develop. The door, which was open even to the drunk, was closed to the sultan who gained the compliment of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). The Great Sultan who had destroyed Byzantine city walls was unable to open the door of a lodge and he sadly came back.
After a while, the sultan went to the lodge to visit the Sheikh again. However, the result was the same. The door was closed again. The Sultan said to his aide:
– Get in to the sheikh’s presence with a great respect. And learn what is wrong? What is this mystery?
The aide got into Sheikh’s presence. The Sheikh Ebu’l Vefa said to the aide that;
– Our Sultan Fatih has a sensitive and enthusiastic heart. If he enters here and experiences the pleasures of our circles, he will never want to leave and go back to his task of ruling the state. But this land and ummah (Muslim community) have been entrusted to him. Unless a person as qualified as he is comes and takes over his responsibilities, this land and the ummah will get harmed. Then, both of us would become sinners.
And then his soul will be filled with air of this spiritual environment and he will give everything he owns to this lodge as a charity. All of the means which could be given to the widowed, orphan, poor, helpless, and destitute will be given to this lodge. At the same time, the love for this world will penetrate into the hearts of dervishes and our order will be destroyed. We are praying for and turning our attention to our sultan from here. His heart is in our hearts.
After the aide left sheikh’s presence and told what had happened inside to the Sultan who was curiously waiting at the door of the lodge, the Sultan asked;
– While expressing these feelings how was his Excellency?
The aide said,
– My Sultan! While he was saying these words, the tears were shedding down to his face. He must have a sorrow in his heart.
The Sultan bowed his head down. He never had a chance to meet with Sheikh Ebu’l Vefa. When the news of Sultan’s death arrived to him, the Sheikh went to the palace and led his funeral prayer.
(Osman Nuri TOPBAŞ, Tarihten Günümüze İbret Işıkları, p. 177-179)
Why does a kid make a mistake?
Sheikh Ebu’l Vefa’s son, whose father was one of the famous scholars at the time of Sultan Fatih, had a bad habit. With a nailed wood, he was puncturing holes into bags of watermen who were carrying water to the houses. Watermen said “he is the son of a religious man” and did not tell anything to his father at the beginning, but then when the kid did not give up this bad habit, they complained to Ebu’l Vefa. Ebu’l Vefa was shocked when he heard what had happened. How could a kid who was grown carefully and away from forbidden food give people such harm?
Ebu’l Vefa said to the watermen, “the issue is understood. I will do whatever is necessary. And your loss will be recompensed.” First he started to look for the problem in himself. He thought that “have I ever made him to eat forbidden food?” When he couldn’t find anything, he asked to his wife, “Have you ever eaten haram food while you were pregnant for this child, or while nursing him? Think carefully! Otherwise, the end of this child is bad!” His wife thought for a while, and finally remembered an incident.
While she was pregnant for him, she had made a visit to a neighbor’s house and seen some oranges on a plate. She wanted to eat, but she was embarrassed to ask for it. When the hostess left the room, she made a hole on an orange with her needle and sipped its juice. When the wife told about this event, the Sheikh said to her, “O my wife! Go to that neighbor immediately, tell her clearly what you did, and ask for forgiveness. And then he called for the watermen, paid their loss and then asked for their forgiveness. Then he talked to his child and explained him what he had done was wrong. And finally, the kid gave up puncturing holes into the water bags.
Source: Harun Kırkıl, Read About and Travel Around ISTANBUL, Erkam Publications