Ebu Bekir Sıdki Efendi

Ebû Bekir Sıdkı Efendi was born in Kastamonu in 1248 in the Hijri calendar, corresponding to 1832, as the son of Hüseyin Efendi. He came to Istanbul and studied in the scholarly circle of the Hagia Sophia Madrasa, later becoming one of the dersiâms of Hagia Sophia Mosque. Dersiâm was the title used for teachers authorized to give public lessons to students and the public in the great mosques.

Ebû Bekir Sıdkı Efendi’s scholarly position is most clearly seen in his long service in the Huzur Dersleri. These were Qur’anic commentary lessons held before the sultan during Ramadan; the scholar who presented the lesson was called the mukarrir, while the scholars who took part in the discussion were called muhataps. Ebû Bekir Sıdkı Efendi participated in these lessons as a muhatap for thirty years and later rose to become mukarrir of the First Council.

His name is also mentioned among the teachers of Ebül‘ulâ Mardin, one of the important jurists of the late Ottoman and Republican periods.

Ebû Bekir Sıdkı Efendi died on Tuesday, 12 Sha‘ban 1329, corresponding to 8 August 1911, and was buried in the Fatih Mosque Cemetery.