Vefaiyye Taraftarlarına Taziye: İki Ebu’l Vefâ, İki Vefâiyye, Efsaneler ve Gerçekler

During the Timurid period, the Sunni-Zayniyye cult was prominent in the Islamic world. Under Fatih Sultan Mehmed (1451-1481), Sheikh Abu’l Wafâ was the leading figure of this cult. After the death of Ibrahim Bey II (1423-1464) of Karaman, Abu’l Wafâ moved to Istanbul at Fatih Sultan Mehmed’s invitation. Fatih built a complex in his honor, recognizing him as the highest religious authority, which led to the widespread influence of the Zayniyye-Wafâiyye cult. Neither Ashik Pashazâda nor his son-in-law Sayyid Walayâd were mentioned in records from Fatih Sultan Mehmed’s period. After Fatih’s death in 1481 and Abu’l Wafâ’s in 1491, the Abdullah Agha Mosque, linked to Sayyid Walayâd’s Sunni-Zayniyye cult, was completed in 1492 during Bayezid II’s reign. The alternative project to introduce Sayyid Walayâd’s Iraqi Heterodox Abu’l Wafâ cult ended with him becoming the sheikh of the Sunni-Zayniyye cult. The Menâkıbname of Iraqi Sheikh Abu’l Wafâ (1020-1107), rediscovered in 1976, gained popularity in the 1980s after A. Y. Ocak’s articles. Sayyid Walayâd’s claim to the Sunni-Zayniyya sheikh title in 1494 is disputed, as contemporary sources lack evidence, and documents linking him to Ashikpashazâda and Abu’l Wafâ are from Sayyid Walayâd himself. Claims about the Menâkıbname’s impact on Anatolian Sufism overlook its historical development.