His father, Mustafa Dede, was a Sheik of the Suhrawardi order, and had migrated from Bukhara (in present-day Uzbekistan) to Anatolia.

[4] While studying, he met Bâyezïd, the son of Sultan Mehmed, the Conqueror who was a fellow student, and the pair became friends.

When Bâyezïd assumed the throne in 1481, following his father's death, he invited his friend, Sheikh Hamdullah, to the capital, Istanbul.

[10] As much as two centuries later, students of calligraphy such as Hâfiz Osman continued to copy his works assiduously as part of their training.

He produced 47 Mus'hafs, book of Quran, and innumerable En'ams, Evrads and Juz', a number of which are held in the collection of the Topkapi Palace.

In these works, a tradition of tracing an unbroken line of master-pupil relationships back to Sheikh Hamdullah, the man who was seen as the father of Ottoman calligraphy, is evident.