Hacı Hasan Efendi

Hacı Hasan Efendi, whose date of birth is unknown, was known by the nisba “Batumlu,” meaning “from Batum.” Batum passed out of Ottoman rule with the Treaty of Berlin in 1878; after this period, scholars who came from Batum and its surroundings to Istanbul or continued their studies there formed a notable group in late Ottoman intellectual life.

As one of the dersiâms of Fatih Mosque, Hacı Hasan Efendi belonged to the circle of scholars who taught in one of Istanbul’s most important centers of learning. Dersiâms were scholars who gave public lessons in major mosques such as Fatih, Süleymaniye and Beyazıt, continuing the madrasa tradition around the mosque.

Hacı Hasan Efendi also served as a müsevvid at the Fetvahâne, the fatwa office attached to the Şeyhülislam. Müsevvids were learned and bureaucratic officials who drafted the questions submitted for fatwas into texts in accordance with fatwa procedure.

Hacı Hasan Efendi died on 1 January 1328 in the Rumi calendar (14 January 1913) and was buried in the Fatih Mosque Cemetery.