Sheikh Ede-Bali was born in the year 1206 in Merv. His real name is Imaduddin Mustafa b. Ibrahim b. Inac is al-Kirsehri. He is a contemporary of Sheikh Sadrettin Konevi and Mawlana Jalal al-Din Rumi, who were famous scholars of the Seljuk era. Sheikh Ede-Bali received his first education in Karaman. He then became a student of the Hanafi jurist, Najmeddin ez-Zahidi. After that, he went to Damascus and acquired religious knowledge from well-known scholars of the time such as Sadreddin Suleiman b. Abu'l-Iz and Jamaluddin al-Hasiri. When he returned to his country from Damascus, he turned to Sufism. He began to serve and guide the people in a small lodge in the village of Itburnu, which is near Eskisehir. It is also mentioned that the Ashik Pasha-zade lodge was never empty. Ede-Bali tried to meet all the needs of the poor and even had a flock of sheep for this purpose.

Osman Gazi, who was given the plateaus of Sogut and Domanic by the Seljuks as pasture land and barracks for his tribe, often stayed as a guest in the lodges of Ede-Bali. Osman Gazi, who had great respect for scholars and Sufis due to a number of characteristics they brought from Central Asia, used to visit Ede-Bali on the blessed days and ask his opinion on religious and administrative issues.

The dream that Osman Gazi had one night when he was a guest in Ede-Bali's lodging is as follows: A moon came out of the chest of Sheikh Ede-Bali, entered the chest of Osman Gazi and a tree sprouted from his chest. It was such a big tree that its branches covered the sky and its roots covered the whole world. It overshadowed the whole earth. People gathered in the shade of this tree. This tree had always cast a shadow on the great mountains and the lush waters that came from the skirts of the mountains.

Osman Bey tells Sheikh Ede-Bali about his dream. He interprets the dream as follows: "Osman, my son, Haq Ta'ala has given you and your descendants dominion. May you all be blessed. My daughter Malhun Hatun, may she be a lawful wife/Halal to you" he says. According to this interpretation of the Sheikh, Osman Gazi marries Malhun Hatun (Rabia Bala Hatun).

It is believed that Ede-Bali, a Babai Sheikh, is also the head of the Ahi organization as his brother Shamseddin is an Ahi chief. After the conquest of Bilecik by the Ottomans, Ede-Bali moved his lodges here and continued his religious services in the same way. After the death of Osman Gazi, Sheikh Ede-Bali settled in Bilecik with his daughter and grandson Aladdin Bey and received the village of Kozagac and revenue from land taxes (now known as Karaağaç). After that, his daughter Rabia Hatun donated this village to the monastery. After a long life, Sheikh Ede-Bali died in Bilecik in 1326 and his body was buried in the room of his lodging, which had been used as a prayer room.

Sheikh Ede-Bali was not only a Sufi, but also the first Ottoman kadi/judge and mufti. He collaborated with many theologians of the time, took lessons from them and trained a large number of students. Dursun Faqih, one of his outstanding students and also his son-in-law, became the second mufti and kadi of the Ottoman principality after Ede-Bali. It is reported that Suleiman Celebi, the author of Mevlid-i Sharif, is the grandson of Sheikh Ede-Bali from the second generation related through the side of Mahmut Pasha’s family.

Tomb of Sheikh Edebali

The tomb of Sheikh Ede-Bali is one of the most significant historical heritages in Bilecik. It is located on a hill near the Orhan Gazi Mosque. Although the date of construction is not clear, it is believed that it was built during the reign of Orhan Gazi.

Along with Sheikh Ede-Bali, there are six large and four small cists from his generation in the tomb. It is reported that his wife, daughter, one of the prominent personalities of his time Mullah Khattab-ı Karahisari, Sheikh Muhlis Baba and some other relatives whose names are not known were buried together with him in this tomb. Based on archival documents, it is estimated that Sheikh Ede-Bali's son Mahmud Sheikh, Mahmud Sheikh’s son Sheikh Mehmed and Sheikh Mehmed's sons Dervish Pasha and Dervish Mahmud were also buried here. Those who have just been mentioned here had become Sheikhs in the lodges respectively.

Besides the Sanduka room, there are two other rooms. The tomb and the lodge were renovated during the reign of Abdul Hamid II and last renovated in 2012. Next to this tomb is another tomb containing the graves of Osman Gazi's wife Bala Hatun and her mother, which was probably built during the same period.

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