Place of the Waqf in Turkish Cultural System

by
Prof. Dr. Bahaeddin YEDİYILDIZ
Hacettepe University, Ankara
(English translation by R. Acun and M. Oz)

This paper has been presented at Habitat II, 12 April 1996, Istanbul.

"The best of waqf is to dedicate things
which people are in need of most."
Omer Hilmi, Ithafu'l-ahlaf fi ahkami'l-evkaf, Istanbul, 1307, p.15.

One of the important movements which shaped the course of the world history is the Renaissance. In the literature, the Renaissance is viewed differently. In one view, the Renaissance is considered as a rebirth of the Antiquity and is completly disassociated from the Middle Ages. The second view, which appeard as a reaction to this view with Romanticism in the 19th century, claims that all the developmets of the Renaissance had their seeds in the Middle Ages. Critising both views, V.-L. Saulnier notes the necessity to acknowledge the superior qualities of both the Antiquity and the Middle Ages, and the impossibility of denying the fact that the Renaissance had gained from the civilisations of both of these periods. When listing the distinquishing properties of the Renaissance, he draws attention to its influence on the enjoyment of the return to sources, on the encouragement of the personal effort, on the comprehension and spread of these wills through literary means and on the creation of masterpieces. He also points out the Renaissance's character, which was a result of returning to sources, as a search for a balance in cultureóa balance between past and present, between nature and divine values in determining human behaviour, between art and conception of the world, between direct observation of the reality and claims about its symbolic interpretation, and between authority and the right to criticise(1) .

Have these balances been achieved or have they been lost again? Today's world is in search of peace and tranquility. There is a search for a sustained social and economic development, the preservation of natural enviroment, an attainment of better standards of life, an improvoment of human rights, the conditions of a healthy and secure life in which everybody can have easy access to basic puplic services, and finally a global cooperation not to remove cultural differences and identities. While defending the basic rights and freedoms of the individual, he/she is also reminded of his/her responsibilities towards the rights of the future generations. Eveyone is expected to contribute to collective prosperity; institutions of civil society, the agents of private and puplic sector are all required to behave responsibly towards society.

These means that the Renaissance's above mentioned searches for the balances are are again on the agenda today. But this time Europe is not alone; all the world is in search. It can be argued, however, that today humanity is in a better position to achieve these balances, because there is a richer heritage of historical experience. There is a need to understand this heritage by analising it first, without copying or destroying any part of it, and then putting the findings to the use of humanity in new syntheses(2) . For example, it can be said that the Turkish waqf applications of the Seljukid and Ottoman periods and the conception of man and life underpinning them can contribute to the search of today's humanity for a peaceful and tranquil environment. For, the Turkish civilisation of the Seljukid and Ottoman periods came into being as a consequence of the fact that the cultural elements inherited by the Turks over these large areas were brought together in a new synthesis by a new spirit and understanding.

This synthesis is one which does not destroy the ancient cultural elements; on the contrary, it does not harm the originality and identity of the dynamic culture which uses them. Just like Racine's tragedies. In these tragedies, every phrase or even every word was taken from a Greek or a Latin. One comes from Tragiqueses, the other from Virgile. But the parts and fragments were composed as a new system and this system is completely different from the older ones. The new synthesis has a different meaning from the contributions of the Latin or Greek predecessors(3).

It is possibble to find thousands of examples of this synthesis in Anatolian Turkish culture. As is known, the Turks who had begun to settle in Anatolia from the second half of the 11th century have created a number of political entities. The greatest of them are the Anatolian Seljukids, The Ottoman Empire and The Republic of Turkey. There were also principalities (beyliks), founded before and after the Seljukids. Even those without any political and military significance had been famous for creating new cultural syntheses, just as the ones metioned above, by making the best possible use of the cultural heritage they had inherited and also by benefitting from the neighbouring cultures, thanks to the waqf institutions they had established. For example, the waqf complex consisting of a hospital (darussifa) and a mosque, founded by Ahmed Shah and Turan Melek during the Mengujeks' time between 1228 and 1231, is a product of such a synthesis. Indeed in this complex, one can find a unique sythesis with fine (plastic) effects, which can hardly be seen in any other Near Eastern works of art, of Sasanid art, Gaznavid art, animal styles of the steps, Iranian Seljukids' plaster of Paris decoration, and the Near Eastern wooden work, re- interpreted using stone material and realised by applying an admirable technique. The twin headed falcon on the crown door of this wakf mosque, which was the totem of the family of the wafq's founder Ahmed Shah, had also its place in this sytnhesis.

The pulpit (minber) in the mosque of this complex, which was founded to provide the public with religious and health services and was allocated continious revenue sources, constitutes a masterpiece example of wooden engraving. Beyond being aesthetically pleasing, these engravings facilitated the imprinting of a meaning which gave vitality to the waqf culture on a wooden pulpit. Indeed, these engravings on the Ulu Camii's wooden pulpit, speaks to its audience seven and a half centuries deep from the past like this: "the good deeds (sevab) of a person who does the following do not stop and continue after his death: teaching knowledge, bringing water (to settlements), diging a well, planting fruit trees, building a (small) mosque, leaving behind a copy of the Koran, and upbringing a child who prays God for the forgiveness of his mother and father".

The main factor which leads to a fusion of the elements taken from various cultures by means of their re-intepretation, and to the creation of a new synthesis is a combination of the values expressed in these words of the Prophet of Islam: learning and disseminating knowledge, meeting public's need for water, afforestation, building mosques, writing books and making sure that they pass from generation to generation, praying God for the forgiveness of one's mother and father i.e being respectfull towards ancestors.

These values contained in the Prophet's words cited above controlled and directed Turkish cultural system during the Seljukid and Ottoman centuries. Transformation of many of these values, which will be examined in detail later in this paper, into usable forms in muslim Turkish societies was possible through waqfs.

What then is a waqf?

Waqf is a social, legal and religious institution which played an important role in social, cultural and economic of life of the Islamic world, especially the turkic world of the Seljukid and Ottoman period, from middle of the 8th century until the end of the 19th .

If a person, with the intention of pleasing God, dedicates forever the movable or immovable properties he owns with a view to provide religious, charitable or social services in order to meet the needs of people, he creates a waqf institution. Behind this action there is no force or obligation of any kind but a sense of individual responsibility towards humanity, a conscientious sense of serving others, in other words, such cultural values as goodness, compassion, mutual assistance, solidarity, the pleasure of comforting a living thing both materially and spiritually, and the free will of a person embracing these values as principles. Thus the Islamic waqf can be defined as an action of a member of a muslim society motivated by an element of the Islamic culture to transform some or all of his personal assetts into pious foundations which will serve the public. The waqf, a product of this action, that is a process in which these values become concrete, has evolved into a form capable of effecting all the aspects of social, cultural and economic life in some periods in Islamic societies. For example, "thanks to the waqfs florished during the Ottoman Empire, a person would have borned into a waqf house, slept in a waqf craddle, ate and drunk from waqf properties, read waqf books, taught in a waqf school, received his salary from a waqf administration, and when he died, put into a waqf coffin and buried in a waqf cemetary"(4).

There are two componets of the Islamic waqf: hayrat and akarat. The hayrat are the buildings and institutions dedicated to the use of public.The akarat are the revenue sources allocated to enable these intitutions to live forever and to serve the public. The document which describes these two components of a waqf and determines the principles related to the running of the revenue sources and realisation of the services aimed for is called the waqfiye (deed). In the Archive of General Directorate of Waqfs, there are 26 thousands of wakqfiyes and similar documents from the Seljukid and Ottoman periods.These documents contain data related to the understanding of waqf founders about humanity and the world, and their reasons for establishing waqfs. Using these documents, therefore, it is possible to discern the elements of the cultural system which gave vitality to waqf institutions. According to the Islamic law, to be able to dedicate a propety to a waqf it must be under the absolute ownership of the waqf's founder. In the Islamic theory, earning and owning a property is closely related to the human effort and work.For this reason, the waqf founders declare insistently that the property which they plan to dedicate are truely their own and that they are the product of their own effort by referring to a verse(ayat) in the Koran(5),that says "that man can have nothing but what he strives for", and to a hadith of the Prophet of Islam, stating that "He who invigorates a dead soil owns it". These words emphasizes the importance and the value of the individual effort and the responsibility of human beings.

As to the dedicating some or all of properties earned by hard work, in the waqfiyes of the waqfs established by the Turks from the Balkans to Turkistan, there are references to the Koranic verses which contain concepts such as "to lend willingly"(6), "to spent (infak) in the cause of Allah (fi sebillilah)"(7) , "to spend of your substance out of love for Him for your kin, for orphans, for the needy"(8), "to feed the poor"(9), "to give out for charity"(10), and especially "to compete in building hayrat,"(11).

It can be suggested that if some of these concepts, which move and direct man and society, are analysed within their context, the issue will become clearer. For example, the whole of one of the verses in which the concept of hayrat occurs is the following: "Of the people of the Book are a portion that stand (for the right); they rehearse the signs of Allah all night and then prostrate themselves in adoration; they believe in Allah and the Last Day; they enjoin what is wright and forbid what is wrong; and they compete in ( all) hayrat; they are in the ranks of the rightheous."(12).

In the Turkish waqf literature, one of the frequently used words is meberrat . It means the institutions established for the benefit of humanity in order to please God and, in a way, is synoymous with hayrat. The origin of meberrat is the arabic word birr which means all kind of good deeds, and in one of the ayats cited frequently in waqfiyyes it is described as followis: "It is not birr (rightheousness) that ye turn your faces towards East or West; but it is birr to believe in Allah and the Last Day and the Angels and the Book and the messengers; to spend of your substance out of love for Him for your kin, for orphans, for the needy, for the wayfarer, for those who ask for the ransom of slaves; to steadfast in prayer and practice regular charity; to fulfil the contracts which ye have made; and to be firm and patient in pain (or suffering) and adversity and throughout all periods of panic. Such are the people of truth,the Allah-fearing"(13).

Another ayat cited frequenly in waqfiyyes is this: "there is a goal and a behaviour which each person and people turns to. May you strive for building hayrat and compete in doing this"(14).

It is precisely these and a number of similar other principles that gave direction to the Turkish humanism. As is known, in the Ottoman literature, the terms hayrat and muberrat or muessesat-i hayriye (charitable institutions) are used to mean the waqf buildings and organisations established to provide society and all the human beings with free service.

When interpreting the concept of hayrat in the Koran, the Seyhulislam of the Suleyman the Lawgiver, Ebussuud, says that it covers all the activities and works that lead to happiness in both worlds(15). One Ottoman jurist describes the term muessesat-i hayriye (charitable institutions) as "all the buildings and organisations such as places of worship, universities (medaris), schools, kitchens distributing food to the poor, schools for teaching the Koran, dervish hospices, libraries, guest houses, houses for the poor, bridges, hospitals, public fountains, pools and cemetaries, built and dedicated by ashab-i hayr "(16).

Here we encounter another concept, ashab-i hayr , meaning benovelent people. This is used to mean the people who built and created the mentioned buildings and organisatios, in other words, those who are working towards providing almost all the services, which a modern state has to provide to its citizens, using their own private properties and waqfs, by establishing multi- functional institutions. Each one of these persons was also called sahibu'l-hayrat, sahibu'l-hayrat ve'l-hasenat and sahibu'l-hayrat ve'l-meberrat . Here the terms hasenat and meberrat were used as a synonimous with hayrat. Some of these persons who have met the needs of the people with their good works were called Ebu'l-hayrat that is the father of hayrat. Murad II is an example of them.

To understand the reason why Murad II was called Ebu'l-hayrat and to comprehend how hayrat constitutes a complete system, it is sufficient to see how he re-built Ergene. This event is described in Tacu't- Tevarih as follows:
"It is being said that the place in which Ergene bridge now stands was covered by a thick forest, many parts were boggy, and thickly wooded parts were hiding places for brigands. These brigands hiding in the forest would waylay travellers and would kill many innocent people for nothing. Not a single day would pass in this dreadful and dangerous place without many helpless people being cut into pieces with swords of cruelty. For this reason the sultan who took a bright way, cleared the area first by removing spikes of anxiety from the road of cruelty by spending a lot of money. He cleared and organised the place so that people can stay for the night. He built a bridge spannig over a hundred and seventy for arches, which become an example for the world. Next to the bridge he built a nice town called Ergene and decorated it with mosques, hospices etc. He thus enabled the travellers to utilize the prosperous town. When the building of the mentioned hospice was completed, he invited the learned men and poor people from Edirne to this town and ordered a feast to be held. He distributed the first meal with his own hands, accustomed to be kind. He showed kindness and gave a lot of gifts to learned and mature persons. He even enligthened the souls of people attending the ceremony with the light of kindness, generosity and justice by litting canddles of the mosque by his own hands. He gave a valuble honorific robe together with many presents to the architect of all these buildings. On the other side of the bridge he built a large dome and transformed there into a village and he exempted all the people inhabiting either the town or the village from extraordinary taxes"(17). P>When the social and cultural history of the Seljukid and Ottoman periods is examined, it can be observed at once that, thanks to the these fathers of hayrat, waqf institutions provided many social services which, according to the modern view of state, had the character of public services. Indeed, constructing infrastructures such as roads, bridges and irrigation systems; welfare services such as building hospitals and caring for the poor and needy; educational and cultural services such as opening schools, libraries and universities, providing grants to the students and paying salaries of teachers; religious services such as constructing mosques and paying the salaries of the men of the religion were all undertaken by the waqfs.

The research shows that during the Seljukid and Ottoman periods, thousands of people, without expecting any personal interest, founded thousands of institutions with their own propety and money in the areas of services mentioned above, and allocated some or all his private properties such as farms, houses, enterprises and savings as revenue sources to these institutions to ensure their continious running. According to some calculations, the total budget of waqfs reached to one third of the state budget in Ottoman State where in each of some three hundred administrative units called sanjak, there were around a thousand waqfs. This means that the person who adopted the values indicated above, without facing compulsion, willingly transferred resources, as much as a third of the state budget, from their own properties to the public services.

Indeed, by means of these institutions many personalities made concrete the principle of compassion by establishing hayrat to provide services for the other members of the society. They obtained property through legitimate ways and working, but ,by transferring the amounts above their need to public services,they realised the social justice. Through this way the principles of brotherhood and cooperation found 0application area. Besides, the institution of waqf has become a symbol of tolerance by providing services to everybody in need irrespective of language, religion or race.

Thanks to the institution of waqf, which is seen to have been effective in all the sections of the society, in other words, in all layers of the culture, personal wealths turned into mosques which appeared as religious, social, cultural and even political centers in many of the Turkish villages and towns. And around some of these mosques they turned into a university, a hospice, a fountain, a library, a hospital and smilar institutions, thus forming the complexes. As the harmony of buildings, services and social organisations, numerous complexes from the Ishak Pasha complex in Dogubayezid to the Selimiye complex in Edirne, from the Ulu Cami complex in Sinop to the Sokullu complex in Hatay (Payas) thousands of them spread all over Turkey. It becomes the Yesil (Green) in Bursa, the Ahmet Dede in Kastamonu, the Bayezid II in Manisa, the Fatih or Suleymaniye in Istanbul... This is a true movement of civilisation.

Through waqfs, personal wealths have become thousands of villages, hundreds of towns, road connecting the towns and caravanseraies on these roads. Even in the 18th Century, when the waqfs of Damad Ibrahim Pasha were converting the Muskara village into "Nevsehir", those of Besir Agha laid the foundation of a town, Sulina, on the Sunne strait, within of borders of the present-day Romania . It is not possible to think of an Anatolian town which, after removing the waqfs organisations from there, can still be called a "Turkish town" even simply a "town". For example, let us think for a moment that Hudavendigar, Muradiye, Yildirim, Emir Sultan, Ulu, Yesil, Ali Pasha, Tuzpazar, Azapbey and Orhangazi mosques and the other buildings complementing these mosques have dissapeared, what will remain of Bursa which made it Bursa?.. May be only a green nature. The same applies to all the towns from Kars to Edirne.

Only in Turkey, the number of these buldings surviving until today is around seven thousands. There were more than thirty thousands of mosques before 1917 wiithin the borders of the now collapsed Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. The number of universities (medrese) in Cecenistan were 800, and in Azerbaycan were 786(18).

In 1879 there were 131 waqfs only in Cyprus. Eighty-seven of them were schools and universities, 9 were hospices, 3 were public fountains, and 2 were tomb waqfs. The remaining 22 consisted of large waqf complexes founded by Sultan Selim II and the other statesmen of the Ottoman period, such as Lala Mustafa Pasha, Grand Vezir Abdullah Pasha, Ebubekir Pasha, Sinan Pasha, Arab Ahmed Pasha and Ferhad Pasha(19).

According to the findings of Ayverdi, there were 3339 Turkish waqf hayrats in Bulgaria in 1982. Of these 2356 were small and large mosques, 142 universities, 273 bridges, 16 caravanseraies and the rest consisting of hayrat such as bath (hamam), tomb, fortress, public fountain, library etc.(20).

A Dutch orientalist, M. Kiel, in his work on a Turkish waqf, Kidemli Baha Sultan Hospice (tekke), says that "this piece of land in the south-west corner of modern Bulgaria, were deserted during the Bulgarian Empire. The fifty kilometers long strip between Filibe and Edirne was too difficult to live on...The country which had not seen peace until then, reached peace only after the Turkish conquest... Large investment were made to re-build the deserted country which needed regeneration."(21) And all these investments were realised by means of waqfs.

Of course, these numbers which serve only to the purpose of providing examples, are less than sufficient to express all the Turkish waqfs in those regions mentioned. However, a historical analysis of only surviving waqfs is sufficient to show clearly the role played by waqfs in Turkish culture. For example, in almost all the Ottoman towns the Ottoman complexes, consisting of the organisations such as schools, universities, public fountains, libraries, hospitals, hospices etc. clustered around the central mosque, are not only places of worship, teaching and learnig, and kitchens foor the poor but also they also played the role of social catalyst because they led to other gatherings around them. During meal times the teachers and students of a university were meeting the other employees of the complex, the poor from around, and the travellers. And five times a day in the mosques, they were together with a large section of the town people apart from the ones mentioned above.The mosque, situated in the center of the complex, and other mosques of the town were the doors, conference halls, of the university (medrese) opening to the public. The knowledge obtained and produced at the university was being disseminated through these halls. The other mosques in various parts of the country were functioning in the same way. As is known, every year students would take three mounts off and go to various parts of the country to disseminate through mosques the knowledge they learned at the university. Thus, though not everybody would find the oppurtunity to attend a university, a common culture were being created thanks to the continious education in the complexes. The people, who were adopting the same values and norms through these waqf complexes, were acquiring a common identity, thus broadening the social integration(22).

The towns, formed and developed around the waqf complexes were connected together with the waqf roads and bridges. The caravanseraies in every place of rest on these road systems may be considered as one of the most civilised and humane institutions ever developed in the world. One of these is the waqf caravanserai founded by Celaledin Karatay, a Seljukid Vezir, nearby Kayseri in the 13th century. This great work of art is still standing. This caravanserai was part of a chain of caravanseraies which ensured the vitality of the transportation system. According to the traveller's accounts this caravanserai had summer pavillions and winter sections. It was possible to find here every thing in every seasons. The kitchen of the caravanserai was equipped with kitchen tools, and the hospital in it was equipped with a set of bed linen. All kinds of medicines that might be looked for could be found in the hospital. The bath (hamam) was always open. There were also places to shelter the travellers' animals. In the caravanserai there were a lot of employees whose salaries were paid by the waqf. Food was provided equally for all the travellers (Muslims, non-Muslims, slaves, free persons) staying in the caravanserai. If necessary the traveller's shoes were being repaired and new shoes were being given to those with no shoes. All care for animals including shoing the horses was free of charge. A veterinary surgeon was employed to cure sick animals.

After examination, the sick travellers would be given the necessary medicines and the treatment. No patient would be allowed to go on his way unless he was cured completely. If a death occured, the corpse would besent to his final resting place also using the waqf's means(23).

During the Seljukid and Ottoman centuries Anatolia and Rumelia were filled with this kind of waqf institutions or hayrat, established by such men as Celaleddin Karatay, who, though earning much through hard-working, did not fall captive to material things and wealth and eternised their wealth by offering it to socio- economic services for humanity, since it had been their belief that this world is tempory. On those routes of transportation lacking caravanseraies , there were dervish hospices and guest houses taht served the same function. Samuel ben David Yemsel, who travelled with three friends in 67 days from Egypt to Istanbul in the years 1641-42, wrote that they found an inn or caravanserai every night along their way, and were accomodated in guest rooms reserved for travellers except for the two samll towns which did not have any inn or caravanserai(24).

The Turkish waqf spirit which cares for all living beings, and not only for the people, has extended its reach to birds as well , when from the 15th century on, kiosks for birds started to be built. Some of these "bird houses", also called "bird palaces", resemble the sultanic mosques with their minarets, high-hooped towers and signs in the form of crescent, and display and extraordinary workmanship. Having observed such bird houses with great interest, the Austrian ambassador Busbecq wrote in 1550s that "in Turkey everything has become humanised and every rigid thing has been softened. Even the animals"(25).

Underlying softening, and of this love, there was a system of belief. Those philanthrophists founding charitable institutions during the Seljukid and Ottoman centuries believed that this world was e temporary guest house, but it was necessary to work hard and to spend one's earnings for the happiness of other people in this world in order to secure the felicity of the eternal life when returned to God. To believe in the temporary nature of the world would not imply seclusion, indolence or blind submission to resignation, which have been supposed to be among the reasons for the decline of the Islamic world. It meant however, earning one's icome through decent work "with love of ethics", and attaining eternity by spending one's earnings for the happiness of mankind. This was possible through freeing oneself from falling captive to material things. This is a work of love. Yunus Emre, the great poet of the 13th century, expressed the freedom of man against the matter in these verses:

                         Neither I rejoice for wealth

                         Nor poverty grieves me

                         Your love comfors me

                         I need you,  only you.

Owners of wealth experienced this freedom themselves, when they devoted their material possessions for the happiness of others.

Those people who acted with the kind of love, expressed by Yunus in the verses

                        I am not here for quarrels

                        My task concerns love

                        A friend lives in is heart 

I am here to work on hearts were acting to please others' hearts through the waqfs they established. This was the goal behind earning through hard work and spending it for the happiness of the mankind. The waqf was seen as the best way to realise this aim. Every waqf or hayrat that made the  country prosperous and its people happy was a fruit of love expressed by Yunus Emre(26).

During the Seljukid and Ottoman periods the Turkish society has believed in the concepts of " good work and making favours for others" and "competing with one another in charity". It was these concepts that led the was to the birth of the view of the world and its practical applications stated above, and have been instrumental in the creation of wakf works and thus created the Turkish waqf culture based on workand love for mankind.

How can these verses be interpreted today? How can we benefit from the heritage of the historic Turkish civilisation of waqf? The forms have changed, are changing and will continue to change. But the philosophical essence of the question preserves its vitality and depth. This essence may constitute a ferment for the cultural balance sought in the Renaissance.

The North African thinker Lahbabi says that "the work that elevates the human being and makes him/her the artist of history and the ruler of the world brings out the civilisation or at least the necessary conditions required for a humane civilisation. The West has industrialised the world through a rough and rude work . Now the question is civilising nations through humane work"(27).

A re-examination o view of the world of the likes of Yunus Emre, based on love for mankind and "working humanly" together with the Turkish heritage of waqf rooted in such understanding towards bringing some of its elements into the prace once again may accelerate "civil" movemet in this direction.

______________________

Notes

(1)The preface written by V. -L. Saulnier to the book, W. K Ferguson, la Renaissance dans la PensÈe Historique (translation by J. Marthy) Payot, Paris 1950, pp. V-XVII. As to how these syntheses can be made see, B. Yediyildiz, "Kultur ve Yenilesme", Turk Kulturu, XX/231, (Temmuz, 1982) p. 525- 541.

(2)J. Berque, L'orient Second, Paris 1970, pp. 42-43.

(3)E. Arsebuk, Medeni hukuk, baslangic ve sahsin hukuku, I. 298, Istanbul 1938.

(4) Koran, LIII/39. For the relationship between hayrat and work see B. Yediyildiz, "Haci Bayram Veli doneminden gunumuze kadar gelen kultur eserleri", I. Haci Bayram-i Veli Sempozyumu Bildirileri, Published by Ankara Valiligi Il Kultur Mudurlugu, Ankara 1990, p. 133-143.

(5) Koran, LVII/18, LXXIII /20

(6) Koran, II/195, 261

(7) Koran, II/177

(8) Koran, LXXXIX/18, CVII/3

(9) Koran, IV/114.

(10) Koran, II/148, III/114.

(11) Koran, III/114

(12) Koran, II/177

(13) Koran, II/148. For the places in which these ayats occurs in waqfiyyes see, B. Yediyildiz, Institution du vaqf au XVIII e siecle en Turquei -etude socio-historique-, Ankara, 1990.

(14)Ebussuud, Irsadu'l-akli's-selim ila mezaya'l- kitabi'l-kerim, undated, v. I, p. 119.

(15) Omer Hilmi Efendi, Ithafu'l-ahlaf fi ahkami'l-evkaf, Istanbul, 1307, p. 6.

(16)Hoca Sadettin Efendi, Tacu't-Tevarih (simplification by I. Parmaksizoglu), Ankara 1974, Vol. II, pp.165-166.

(17)B. Yediyildiz, "Islam'da vakif", Dogusundan Gunumuze Buyuk Islam Tarihi, Istanbul, 1989, vol. XIV, p. 40.

(18)M. Kemal Dizdar, "Kibris Evkafi", Milletlerarasi Birinci Kibris Tetkikleri Kongresi, (14-19 Nisan, 1969) Ankara, 1971, pp. 195-205.

(19)Ekrem Hakki Ayverdi, Avrupa'da Osmanli MimarÓ Eserleri, IV, Istanbul 1982, p. 11-191.

(20)M. Kiel, "Bulgaristan'da eski Osmanli mimarisinin bir yapiti", Belleten, XXXV/137, 1971, pp. 46-47.

(21)For a more detailed analysis on this subject see B. Yediyildiz, "Sosyal teskilatlar butunlugu olarak Osmanli vakif kulliyeleri", Turk Kulturu, (Mart-Nisan, 1981, No: 219), pp. 262-271.

(22)Osman Turan, "Selcuklu devri vakfiyeleri III. Celaleddin Karatay ve vakfiyeleri", Belleten, v. XII/45, Ankara, 1948, s. 53-59.

(23)B. Lewis, "1641-42'de bir Karayit'in Turkiye Seyahatnamesi", Vakiflar Dergisi, v. III, pp.97-106.

(24) B. Yediyildiz, "Vakif", Yeni Turk Ansiklopedisi, v. XI, Istanbul 1985, p.4573.

(25)B. Yediyildiz, "Yunus Emre Donemi Turk Vakiflari", VIII. Vakif Haftasi Kitabi, published by VGM, Ankara 1991, pp.23-28.

(26)Lahbabi, Kapalidan Aciga: Milli Kulturler ve Insani Medeniyet, trans. by B.Yediyildiz, Istanbul 1980, pp.78-79.