Vist to Abu Ayyub on Aziz Mahmud Hudayi, the patron Saint of Istanbul

 

Names like Aziz Mahmud Hudayi may not be familiar to anyone who live outside of Turkey but it is among the most revered religious scholars in Turkey. He is also considered to be one of the "Four Gates to the Bosphorus along with Abu Ayyub Al Ansari (ra), Yahya Efendi and Telli Baba (some include Nabi Yush'a or Joshua (as) in the quartet). Every day, there are peopleof all ages, women and men aged and young from far and near climbing the hill of Istanbul's Uskudar district, heading towards the mosque and his grave.

They gather here in solemnity, asking for prayers to the souls of this revered saint, with the hope of being among those covered by his dreadful prayer:

"Those who come to visit us while we're still alive, as well as people who come to visit us at our graves following our death or read from the Fatiha while walking through our grave will remain with us. We wish that those who love us not drown in the sea, and also may they not be afflicted with the plight of their old age and may not die without preserving the faith they have in ."

I had not had any knowledge from Shaykh Aziz Mahmud Huldayi (ra) prior to moving to Istanbul in the first place, and this was even though I had just completed my seventh or sixth visit in the once Ottoman capital. It didn't take long to hear from numerous Turks from all walks of life regarding the impact the saintly scholar was able to have on them.

His birthplace was in 1541 in the vicinity of Ankara. After being taught on Islamic Sciences at an early age, he was educated in the Islamic Sciences at an early age, he began his career as an educator in Istanbul before being designated Qadi at Cairo in 1541 and Damascus. Following these appointment, he relocated to Bursa as the Chief Judge, where he met his spiritual guide in the form of Shaykh Muhyiddin Uftade. The new teacher saw in him a man who was distracted by pomp and glitz and offered the judge in his youth to quit his position, give away all his wealth to charity , and commence the work of purifying and releasing his heart from the tangles of attachment.

It is reported that Aziz Mahmud Hudayi spent some three years selling his liver in the lower steps leading to the mosque of his Shaykh dressed in the robes of his previous office. One day, as the task was to clean the bathroom and the sound of cymbals and trumpets to announce that a judge was appointed be heard through inside the Imperial palace. When he heard this, a rapid sadness swept over Aziz Mahmud Hudayi as he realized all the authority, strength and wealth he'd sacrificed. Allah ta'ala had already created this servant of his, while the previous Qadi immediately recognized that this was an act of his Nafs (lower desire). To take revenge on his rebellious nafs the man took hold of his beard, and began scrubbing the bathroom floor when Shaykh Uftade was able to locate him. Shaykh Uftade took Aziz Mahmud Hudayi up, and reminded him of the opulence of his beard, and assured him that he had "arrived".

Aziz Mahmud Hudayi would return to Istanbul and then move towards Uskudar to the west of the Bosphorus to the Asian side of the city. In Uskudar, he constructed an unassuming mosque that attracted scholars and students alike. He was appointed the advisor to more than seven sultans as and was the first imam who led Friday prayers in the Blue mosque. One time, during an icy storm, Aziz Mahmud Hudayi received a message from Sultan calling him for a visit to Topkapi palace, which was on the opposite side of the Strait. Because of the weather, no vessels could cross the strait however, this holy scholar placed his faith in Allah Ta'ala, and by helming an oar, braved the turbulent waters to make it to the other side in safety. The current tunnel that is being built for the Marmary metro line is exactly the same as the one the wali traveled.

At the end the course of his existence, Aziz Mahmud Hudayi would spend the last few years in the khalwa (seclusion) at a tiny Zawiyah located on Camlica Hill which overlooks the Bosphorus. He died on the 3rd day of Safar 1628, and was buried in an area of the mosque sited in Uskudar just 5 minutes' stroll to the Metro station.

In the present, aside from the mosque and tomb that are frequently visited, as well as an extremely moving dhikr ceremony which is performed on Sundays and Fridays, Shaykh Aziz Mahmud Hudayi left behind a huge waqf (endowment) that continues to function until the present and is currently building Quran schools that house foreign students of learning funding development and aid all over the world, and publishing Islamic books. After knowing about the man it's easy to see why he's well-known and loved by the people of all ages. In addition, as a neighbor living near the church, I am in no doubt about the blessings Allah gave to the saint, which I believe continue to resonate even to this day.