Khidir Bey, the grandson of Nasruddin Hodjah, was one of the prominent Âlims during the reign of Sultan Mehmed II, the Conqueror.
He was born in the town of Sivrihisar and received his primary education from his father, Jalaluddin Bey. He went to Bursa and took Îjâzah (diploma) from the chief judge, Mulla Shamsuddîn Fanârî and Head Mufti Mulla Yaghân in religious sciences and became a matchless scholar at a young age.
One day a very learned and wise person from North Africa came to Bursa. He appeared in the court of the Sultan and requested that he wanted to inquire from the Ottoman scholars about some complicated matters that he had been pondering on for a long time. Sultan Mehmed II, who had a special interest in gatherings of knowledge, immediately called all the Ulamâ (Islamic scholars) to a conference.
When the conference was organised, the North African Scholar asked a few Masâil (matters) to the Ottoman scholars. However, no one could provide answers that could satisfy him. The Sultan admonished his council, saying: “It is absolutely unacceptable that we do not have an Âlim in our midst capable enough to answer this person’s questions while we have so many scholars in our lands! Get the right person immediately to answer these questions satisfactorily!”
The Sultan was informed that Khidir Bey, a lecturer in Sivrihisar, was the right person to answer the questions. Upon the Sultan’s approval, Khidir Bey was called to the palace. When Khidir Bey arrived in Bursa, they established another section. When the guest Âlim saw the young Khidir Bey, who was not even thirty years old, he looked down on him. However, Khidir Bey answered all his questions one by one. He satisfied the guest scholar and amazed him by quoting sixteen different branches of sciences that he had not known about.
The success of Khidir Bey at the gathering and his superior scholarly performance made Sultan Mehmed II happy. Later on, the Sultan appointed Khidir Bey as the lecturer of the Madrassah in Bursa built by Chelebi Sultan Mehmed I, Sultan Mehmed’s grandfather. Khidir Bey brought up many distinguished Ulamâ (Islamic scholars) such as Hodjazâda Mulla Muslihiddîn and Mulla Hayâlî. He wrote a book titled “Qasîdah Nûniyah” on Aqâid (belief) that was commented on later by many scholars after him. Moreover, Khidir Bey was appointed as the first Qâdî (judge and mayor) of Istanbul after its conquest.
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