AbuBakr Lineages

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Here you can find the biographies of those who are among the most prominent men and women from the lineage of Abu Bakr Al-Siddiq (RA) in the many time periods and places they spread to and lived in. They have been arranged according to the centuries they lived in based on the Islamic calendar.

This section as with most sections in this site is organic and continues to grow according to the speed at which the material can be translated and checked by our experts for accuracy.

Sheikh Aq Shams Al-Din (Akshamsaddin)

Sheikh Aq Shams Al-Din (Akshamsaddin) (1): Muhammad Shams Al-Milla, also known as Wali Al-Din Bin Hamzah and Sheikh Aq Shams Al-Din of Damascus and Anatolia, was the grandson of Sheikh Shahab Al-Din Al-Suhrawardi and a descendant of Abu Bakr Al-Siddiq whose ancestry could be traced back to the tribe of Quraysh. During his lifetime, Sheikh Aq Shams Al-Din became heir to the Sufi Bayramiyya order and was nicknamed the “spiritual conqueror” of Constantinople.

Sheikh Aq Shams Al-Din sought out knowledge, delving into various fields, and becoming a prominent figure in Islamic civilization during the reign of the Ottoman caliphate. He was a teacher and tutor to Ottoman Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror (Mehmed II), also known as Muhammad Al-Fatih.

Sheikh Aq Shams Al-Din was born in Damascus in 792 AH (1398 AD). He memorized the Noble Qur’an when he was seven years old. He studied in Aleppo and traveled to Anatolia with his father during his youth. He arrived in Kavak in 799 AH. His father died when he was seven years old.

Sheikh Aq Shams Al-Din taught Sultan Mehmed II the Noble Qur’an, the Prophetic Sunnah, jurisprudence, mathematics, astronomy, and history, as well as the Arabic, Persian, and Turkish languages. Sheikh Aq Shams Al-Din joined the Bayramiyya Order, and shortly thereafter, its founder, Haji Bayram, appointed him Sheikh in 830 AH. He performed medical miracles that brought him closer to Sultan Mehmed II. Sheikh Aq was among the scholars who supervised Sultan Mehmed when he assumed leadership over the emirate of Manisa (Magnesia) as he learned how to run the state and became familiar with the basics of ruling. Sheikh Aq Shams Al-Din was able to convince the young prince that he was the one meant by the Prophetic Hadith stating that “Constantinople will be conquered by a blessed commander and army.” When Prince Mehmed became sultan of the Ottoman Empire as a young man, his teacher immediately instructed him to mobilize his armies in order to fulfill the Prophetic hadith. The Ottomans thus sieged Constantinople, surrounding the city by land and sea, with Allah SWT granting them victory in the end, making the conquest of Constantinople a reality under the sultan’s leadership.

In Al-Badr Al-Tali’, Al-Shawkani said that the blessings and virtue in Sheikh Shams Al-Din became apparent when he told Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror beforehand the day on which Constantinople would be conquered under his leadership. After the conquest of Constantinople, Sheikh Aq Shams Al-Din was guided to find the grave (the location of which had previously been unknown) of the honorable Sahabi (Companion), Abu Ayyub Al-Ansari, near the Walls of Constantinople. Sheikh Aq Shams Al-Din was the first person to deliver the Friday sermon in Hagia Sophia Mosque after the conquest. He authored a number of Sufi works and medical books and died in the town of Göynük in 863 AH (1459 AD).

Source: Kitab Al-Sulala Al-Bakria As-Siddiqia – Part II, by Ahmed Farghal Al-De’abassi Al-Bakri

Date of Publication

1 Ramadan 1438 AH / May 26, 2017 AD

(1) Sullam Al-Wusul ila Tabaqat Al-Fuhul 3/ 135-136, Al-Dawlah Al-‘Uthmaniyah: ‘Awamil Al-Nuhudh wa-Asbab Al-Suqut 1/ 113-117, Fatih Al-Qistantiniah Al-Sultan Muhammad Al-Fatih 1/ 114, Bayn Al-‘Aqidah wa Al-Qiyadah 1/ 453, Mu’jam Al-Mu’allifin 9/ 271, Kashf Al-Zunun ‘an Asami Al-Kutub wa Al-Funun 1/ 864, Hadiyyat Al-‘Arifin 2/ 202-203, Al-Mausu’ah Al-Sufia pg. 26