Abstract
Hussain Awni from Arapkir, one of the leading scholars of the last era, received his first education from his father and the scholars of the region where he was born and raised (Malatya and its vicinity). Later, he continued the lectures of Hussain Husnu Efendi from Bayburt and Shaykh al-Islam Omar Lutfi Efendi, one of the professors of Beyazıt Madrasa, and became one of the certified students of both. Hussain Awni, who stands out with his contributions to the science of kalam and hadith, is one of the distinguished people who attended the serenity with the participation of state officials lessons held in the council of the sultan every year in Ramadan. Although he wanted to interrupt his educational activities to compile work for a period, he could not stand the insistence of his students and continued to teach. According to the information available, Hussain Awni continued his educational activities in Beyazıt Mosque and Laleli Mosque, and as a result of these lecture rings, he gave approval to two different student groups and was, therefore, a respectable person who was awarded an official state order. Hussain Awni worked as a teacher in official educational and administrator in official educational institutions in the last periods of the Ottoman Empire, became a member of educational commissions and after the establishment of the Republic, he gave lectures on the history of kalam and hadith at the Dârülfünun Theology Faculty. Hussain Awni, who spent the remaining 20 years of his life alone with his books after retiring from the Faculty of Theology in 1934, passed away in 1954 and was buried in the Edirnekapı Martyrdom. In the words of M. Hazmi Tura, one of his close students, Hussain Awni was defined as "a complete asceticism and taqwa with a strong memory and an expeditious transition". According to the information provided by the Encyclopedia of Islam, he authored a total of five works, three of which on syntax (nahv), one on kalam, and one on morality. Apart from this, according to a master's thesis about him, there are five different unpublished works on hadith science of hadith and his articles published in various journals, mostly in the field of kalam, are mentioned.
In the books, thesis, symposium papers, and articles about Hussain Awni, his work named İlm-i Kalam and his contributions to the science of kalam handled, his work named İlm-i Usûli'l-Hadith and manuscript notes were published, and the inscriptions he received and gave were mentioned. However, no study providing information about the details of the inscriptions given by him was found. This is the inscription dated 1905 AD that is the subject of this study, which Hussain Awni gave to Ibrahim Hakkı b. Musa ed-Darendevî, one of his students who demanded approval, by following the footsteps of his predecessors with his statement. Although we do not have access to any information about İbrahim Hakkı b. Musa ed-Darendevî, who received the license in question, what makes this text important is that it has first-hand data that will clarify the portrait of Hussain Awni's scholarly autobiography. For example, Hussain Awni's beginning to study science, from which teachers he took lessons, interest in sufism and her connection with Ziyauddin Gumushanevi, his thoughts on the virtue of science become clear. The icazetname certifying his competence in Arabic and Persian, the scientific lineage that goes back to the Prophet, two separate hadith statements extending to Imam Bukhari, and his advice to all Muslims in the person of his students, are explained in his language in this inscription. Moreover, laconic expressions and concept preferences that show his knowledge of Arabic language and literature, terms that evoke his domination of logic and philosophy, terms reminiscent of the technical issues of hadith and his views on the importance of isnad, and the indication of his deep respect for his predecessor scholars, and the indication of his affection can be found between the lines of that inscription.