240 chapter 6
First of all, the Kadızadeli position towards the Sufis showed great variety
during the seventeenth century.29 Neither the Sharia-minded ideologues of
the sixteenth century, such as Birgivi, nor the seventeenth-century advocates
of the Kadızadeli cause rejected all aspects of Sufism indiscriminately. Quite
a few of them actually experimented with it at certain points in their lives.
Secondly, when the writings of famous Halveti sheikhs beginning from the
late sixteenth century are examined, it becomes apparent that the discourses
about correct belief and practice varied greatly from one Halveti branch to
another, and they often openly disagreed with each other. In any case, strict es-
pousal of the Sharia had always been an important part of being a respectable
Sufi figure.30 It has been argued that, by the ninth century AD, and certainly
in the classical didactic manuals of Sufism of the tenth century, Sufism had
already fully embraced the Sunna, and antinomian Sufis were, by and large,
the exception to the rule.31 Among the terms that modern scholars applied to
this Sunna-oriented Sufism and Sufis are “orthodox Sufism”, “Sharia-minded
Sufism”, “juridical Sufism”, or “Sunnizing Sufis.” Depending on the audience,
most of the “Sufi” authors examined in this chapter expounded “a type of mys-
ticism that is epistemologically subservient to the authority of religious law”.32
Finally, one should not exaggerate the influence of the Kadızadeli preachers
on the courts of the Ottoman sultans since they had to share royal favors and
commissions with a powerful network of the deeply-esteemed Halveti tarikats
(fraternities).33
The most adamant opponents of the Kadızadelis in the first stages of the
controversy were themselves “Sunna-promoting Halvetis”. The primary adver-
sary of Kadızade Mehmed in the 1630s, Abdülmecid Sivasi, came from a family
of Sufi sheikhs based in Sivas and received a thorough education in both the ex-
oteric and esoteric sciences under the direction of his uncle, Şemseddin Sivasi
(d. 1597), the founder of the Şemsi branch of the Halveti order. Abdülmecid
followed his uncle to Istanbul after an invitation by Mehmed III (r. 1595–1603)
and there launched a distinguished career as a Sufi sheikh and preacher.
Among those who pledged allegiance to Abdülmecid Sivasi were some of the
highest-ranking military officials, including the reisülküttab (chief secretary)
La’li Efendi, the chief mufti Sun’ullah Efendi, and finally Sultan Ahmed I, who
29 Terzioğlu 1999, 200, 212; Le Gall 2004.
30 See Clayer 1994, 75–78.
31 See Radtke 1994, 302–307.
32 Ivanyi 2012, 92–93.
33 Curry 2010, 77, fn. 101.