Bediuzzaman said, "A person may conceal the truth from another out of self-restraint, but cannot say anything other than the pure truth before a revered teacher more honorable than one's father. If you command me, examine me from the books I have written."
Whenever Molla Fethullah asked a question from any book, he would answer it beautifully.
Upon hearing this conversation, a man named Molla Ali-i Suran, who was Said's teacher's teacher a year earlier, began taking lessons from him.
Molla Fethullah said, "Very well, you are extraordinary in intelligence. But how is your memory? Can you memorize a few lines from the Makamat-i Hariri by reading them twice?" and he extended the book.
Molla Said took the book, read a page once, and recited it from memory.
Molla Fethullah, astonished, said, "It is rare for someone to have both extraordinary intelligence and memory."
While Bediuzzaman was there, he memorized the book Cem'ul-Cevami in a week, studying one or two hours a day. Upon this, Molla Fethullah wrote the following verse on the book:
قَدْ جَمَعَ فِى حِفْظِهِ جَمْعُ الْجَوَامِعِ جَمِيعَهُ فِى جُمُعَةٍ 1
("Indeed, he gathered all the compendiums in their entirety in one Friday.")
This matter became known in Siirt, and Molla Fethullah praised the scholars, saying, "A very young student has come to our madrasa. Whatever I asked, he answered without hesitation. I was amazed by his intelligence, knowledge, and excellence at such a young age."
As a result, the scholars gathered in one place and invited Bediuzzaman. While answering all the questions they had prepared without hesitation, Bediuzzaman was looking at Molla Fethullah's face, as if reading from the book. Seeing this, the scholars concluded that Bediuzzaman was an extraordinary young man and praised and honored his virtue.
Tarihçe-i Hayat
·Ilk Hayati
·machine translation (qwen3-32b-sre)
· · ·
Sheikh Mehmet Emin Efendi proposed that he enter the academic robe (kisve-i ilmiye). Molla Said replied, "I have not yet reached the age of maturity, so I cannot consider wearing the respected attire of a teacher. And how can I be a teacher when I am still a child?" and thus did not accept the proposal.
After that, he went to his brother in Shirvan. There, during their first meeting with his older brother, a brief conversation took place between them.
Molla Abdullah: "After you, I completed the commentary on the book 'Sharh-i Şemsî.' What are you studying?"
Bediuzzaman: "I have read eighty books."
Molla Abdullah: "What do you mean?"
Bediuzzaman: "I completed the copying of manuscripts and also read many books that were not in your order."
Molla Abdullah: "Then I will examine you."
Bediuzzaman: "I am ready. Ask me whatever you wish."
Molla Abdullah examined his brother and, impressed by his scholarly knowledge, accepted Molla Said, who had already had students for eight months, as his teacher. Secretly, he began taking lessons from his younger brother, without his older brother realizing that the one he had previously taught was now his teacher. Eventually, the students, upon secretly seeing from the door or keyhole that Molla Abdullah was taking lessons from Molla Said, asked about it. Molla Abdullah replied, "I am teaching him to avoid looking at him," and thus deceived his students.
After staying with Molla Abdullah for a while, he went to Siirt. There, he went to the madrasa of Molla Fethullah Efendi. Molla Fethullah asked Molla Said, "Last year you were studying Süyûtî, are you studying Molla Câmi this year?"
Bediuzzaman: "Yes, I have completed 'Câmi.'"
Whenever Molla Fethullah asked about a book, he received the answer, "I have completed it." Molla Fethullah was astonished. He could not believe that he had completed so many books, especially in such a short time. He was surprised and said, "Last year you were crazy, are you crazy this year too?"
Tarihçe-i Hayat
·Ilk Hayati
·machine translation (qwen3-32b-sre)
· · ·
May Allah have mercy on him. Ameen (Indeed, we belong to Allah, and indeed, to Him we will return).
1. Sayyid Nur Mehmed, a great scholar and mystic of Molla Said Şark, was deeply devoted to the high-ranking figures such as Sheikh Abdurrahman-ı Tâğî, Sheikh Fehim, and Sheikh Mehmed Küfrevî, from whom he had received individual lessons in knowledge and mysticism. He especially loved them. He also had a deep affection for Sheikh Emin Efendi, Molla Fethullah, and Sheikh Fethullah Efendi among the scholars.
Since there were no well-known scholars in Van, Molla Said went there upon the invitation of Hasan Pasha. He stayed in Van for fifteen years, spending his life traveling among the people to guide them, and delivering lessons and spiritual training. During his time in Van, he interacted with the governor and officials, and came to the conclusion that the traditional religious knowledge of this century was insufficient to dispel doubts and misconceptions about Islam, and that it was necessary to study the various branches of science.
At that time, when he reached this conclusion, he began to study all the so-called positive sciences. In a very short time, he mastered the fundamentals of subjects such as history, geography, mathematics, geology, physics, chemistry, astronomy, and philosophy. He did not learn these subjects by taking lessons from a teacher, but rather understood them thoroughly through his own independent study. For example, he memorized a geography book that he obtained within twenty-four hours, without engaging in any debate, and the next day, at the residence of the late Governor Tahir Pasha in Van, he challenged his geography teacher.
Tarihçe-i Hayat
·Ilk Hayati
·machine translation (qwen3-32b-sre)