Seyyid Mehmed Muhyiddin Efendi

Seyyid Mehmed Muhyiddin Efendi, whose date of birth is unknown, was the son of Dağıstanî Hoca Ali Efendi, one of the great scholars of the reign of Sultan Selim III.

Known for his ability in both rational and transmitted sciences, Mehmed Muhyiddin Efendi was appointed twice to the office of Rumelian kazasker, one of the highest ranks in the Ottoman learned hierarchy. In his inscription he is described with the titles “üstadü’l-küll” and “reisü’l-ulemâ.” The title reisü’l-ulemâ, meaning “chief of the scholars,” expressed seniority within the Ottoman ilmiye establishment. Rather than being a formal office, it was used for the most senior among those who had served as Rumelian kazasker.

The family line continued in the next generation within scholarly circles. His son Seyyid Ahmed İsmet Efendi studied in Istanbul and received his ijazah, served as nāib in various courts within the Ottoman judicial organization, and in 1908 received a Bektaşi ijazah from Abdünnâfi Baba, the postnişin of the Rumelihisarı Şehitlik Lodge.

Seyyid Mehmed Muhyiddin Efendi died on 19 Rajab 1309 (18 February 1892) and was buried in the Fatih Mosque Cemetery.