Cold winter months of 1426… Appearance of a dervish with a hand-stick and a bag on his shoulder captured the attention of travellers. But nobody could perceive that not the way but cases that pertained to the name and spot or blemish of Sufi holy sites knocked him up. As he couldn’t accept the situation, he moved from Shamakhi to Baku. That winter after Sadraddin, the Shirvan Sheikh’s death, there were arguments on who would be the murshid at the Khangah -Dervish cloisters. Before his death, Sheik Sadraddin  in everyone's hearing appointed his lovely student Seyid Yahya who in future would be titled as “Piri-sani” of the Khalwatiyya sect, murshid in case of his death.  But after the Sheik’s death, the dervishes that couldn’t accept his intellect took against him. Consequently, a murid – a Sufi term meaning "committed one" – by name Pirzade became the sheikh of the dervishes’ cloister. As Seyyid Yahya could not accept the situation, he left Shamakhi for Baku. But neither he nor the murids at the Sufi cloister knew that the visit would bring success to Yahya, and he would become a philosopher of the East and directly by the support of Shirvanshah Khalilullah he would found his famous scientific centre – Seyyid Yahya madrasa. The main aim of this centre was the propaganda of the Khalwatiyya sect, but all secular sciences were put on the list as well. 

After arriving in Baku Seyyid Yahya set up the first biggest Khalwatiyya Khangah under the auspices of Shirvanshah I Khalilullah. Seyyid Yayha several times wrote about Shirvanshah I Khalilullah’s support in his works. As the main scientific centre, the Seyyid Yahya madrasa in this Khangah attracted philosophers from many Eastern countries. Another factor that demonstrated close relation between Shirvanshah I Khalilullah and Seyyid Yahya was his work ‘Kesh-ul-qulub’ devoted to Shirvanshah.

The book starts with the phrases: “I was encouraged to write this work by the most honourable sultan, namesake of Khalilur-Rahman, Sultan ibn Sultan Amir Khalulullah whose state grew stronger day-by-day and in peace of mind.”

Seyyid Yahya hadn’t left that scientific centre till 1466. Murids and students throughout the world benefited from his science and knowledge. Legends on Seyyid Yahya’s madrasa passed from mouth to mouth. They say that Seyyid Yahya kept the fast the last six months of his life.  He had only taken a meal at sunset every fifteen days. He didn’t leave his cell-hut.  Though Shah of Shirvan died eight months ago, at death’s door, he asked his murids to pray not for him but for Shirvanshah Khalilullah.  When people asked him why they should pray for the Shirvanshah Khalilullah, he said: ‘He had done the most important thing in this world – he had supported the science. The person who had established this scientific centre deserves high praise and paradise.’ 

Elmin Nuri