SHEİKH AHMED-İ HÂNÎ

Ahmed-i Hânî, a great Islamic scholar, an expert and sufistic person, was born in 1061 (1651). His father's name was Ilyas. His ancestry is estimated to have been from the Han village, or the Hanî tribe, or from the Hanian family which he was a member of. The Hani village is said to be located near Hakkâri. Hânî traveled many places of Eastern Anatolia, studied Arabic, rhetoric and religious sciences. He is interested in astronomy as well. Hânî lived in Cizre, the cultural center of the region at the time,  where he authored a mathnavi named Mem'u Zîn. Thereafter he went to Doğubayazit where he died. It is argued that the philosopher died in 1119 (1707), that  corresponds to the abbedd account of the "Târe Hānī al-rabbih" which based on a manuscript. Hânî is considered to be a holy person amongst the people and his public-visitable  tomb is located near the Ishak Pasha Palace in Doğubayazıt. It is reported that Said Nursi, an islamic cleric, visited the tomb in his youth and was influenced by him.

It is understood that Hânî is an important poet and Sufi by the examination of his kurdish-written works. He has expressed his views and thoughts on moral, social and cultural issues, especially on the subject of divinity and ontology, in his poetries and works. The author, who is attached to the Sunni and generally the Ash'arite views on the subject of kalam, focuses on the secrets of laid-burdens upon mankind by the creation of the universe.
      As well as the Sufi thought, Hânî was also concerned with the social troubles of the time, expressed that these issues could be overcome with social solidarity and knowledge thereafter he tried to contribute with his works to solve the problem. In addition he stated that people were more likely to value material interests than science and wisdom. Hânî, was impressed by such mystical poets as Molla Câmi, Molla Ahmed-i Ciziri, Feqiye Teyran, indicated that only the divine love and to avoid sins could fully improve the people and equip them with great qualities.  Hani had students and followers such as Ismâil Bâyezîdî (d. 1121/1709), Şerîf Han Cûlâmergī (d. 1161/1748) and Murad Han Bâyezîdî (d.1192/1778).

1. Mem'û Zîn: Leyla and Mecnûn are a mesnevah in the kind of Ferhad and Shirin. It is understood that the book was completed in 1104 (1693) by taking into account he was forty four years old when the book was finished as stated in epiloque. 60 chapter book contains approximately 3000 couplets. In addition to expressing his love story in a fluent style, Hânî also reflected his own thoughts, his administrative and social affairs, and the cultural characteristics of the Cizre region in which the event took place.

2. Nûbahârâ Bıçûkân: It is a vernacular dictionary in Arabic-Kurdish and written in 1094 (1683). In the introduction part, it is stated that the children who have completed the education of the Qur'an are written for the purpose of facilitating their passing to the classes of sarf-nahiv. Each consisting of thirteen chapters in different prosodies.

3. Aķīdâ Îmân: It is a pamplet that consists of 80 couplets in which the essence of faith and other akaid issues are explained according to the Sunni view. Some of the works of Efâ al-i Ibâd have been discussed, such as Tawhid, Prophecy, attributes of Allah, intercession, prayer, doomsday. In such subjects Eş‘ariyye's view was influential in this work.

4. Divan ve Çârkûşe: The poem "çarkuşe" written in four different languages (Arabic, Persian, Turkish, Kurdish) as well as some rubaies called Divan which is the theme of love, separation and reunion have reached the present day. Some works such as  Khanî, Yûsuf û Zelîha (Züleyħâ) and Akīdâ Islam are thought as Hânî's works but no evidence is in existence yet.

[Prof. Dr. M. Sait Özervarlı, “HÂNÎ, Şeyh Ahmed”, Turkiye Diyanet Foundation Encyclopedia of Islam, volume: 16; page: 32]