The descriptions of the Halveti saint Şacbân-ı Veli and his successors have demonstrated how sub-branches of the order replicated and spread in provincial settings like Kastamonu. Yet the previous chapters have also illustrated how our knowledge of this process came to be mediated by the work of later biographers or hagiographers. In the case of cÖmer el-Fuɔâdî, this extended beyond preserving edifying anecdotes about his predecessors to encompass a broader agenda. The final section of this book is devoted to increasing our understanding of the extraordinary nature of this individual, who evolved into an unsung hero of the Şacbâniye sub-branch.

The following chapters argue that the critical turning point in the history of the Şacbâniye order did not occur with the activities of its founder, Şacbân-ı Veli, in the mid-tenth/sixteenth century, the consolidation activities of his successors, or even the order's later ascent to greater power and social visibility in the eleventh/seventeenth century in İstanbul. Instead, the comparatively obscure fifth successor to Şacbân-ı Veli, cÖmer el-Fuɔâdî (d. 1045/1636), who began his life's work a generation after Şacbân's death, emerged as the pivotal figure. By virtue of his codification of an account through which the foundations of the order would come to be interpreted, no historian should ignore Fuɔâdî's imprint upon the transmission of this legacy. Yet oddly enough, most who have addressed the order have focused their attention primarily on Şacbân, with only a cursory nod to Fuɔâdî's contributions.