Ebussuʿūd Efendi In Kefevi’s Ketaib
Betül ÇobanEbussuud Effendi was one of the leading figures in Islamology when the Ottoman State was at its peak in every field. He served as Shayk al-Islam, an important position. Ebussuud experienced many incidents during his life—before and during his office. He always guided the clerical, state authority, and common people through his fatwas and fiqh views. The aim of this study was to assess Ebussuud’s biography, his fatwas, the references on his views in Ketaib, and his relations with the clerical and state authority within the framework of Mahmud b. Süleyman el-Kefevi’s book Ketaib. What differentiates Ketaib, a work prepared by Ebussuud’s contemporary, from its counterparts is the author’s attempt to provide new information on the life and fatwas of Ebussuud Efendi. First, the information on Ebussuud and his fatwas presented in Ketaib was reviewed. Second, the literature was examined to assess whether it included this information and these fatwas,and the quality of the accounts related to Ebussuud was assessed. The conclusion reached in this paper is that unlike the literature, it is blasphemy for a child to read Quran for the soul of a dead person, and saying “Ahsente” to those who read the Quran leads to infidelity. In addition, Ebussuûd gave the fatwas regarding Imam Zufer’s opinion on nazr and whether zakat is required for the goods in the personal treasure of the Sultan at the request of Crimean Khan Devlet Giray.
Kefevî’nin Ketâib’inde Ebussuûd Efendi
Betül ÇobanEbussuûd Efendi, Osmanlı devletinin her alanda zirveyi yaşadığı bir dönemde ilmî olarak en önde gelen isimlerden olmuş, şeyhülislamlık gibi mühim bir görevi ifa etmiştir. Şeyhülislamlık ve şeyhülislamlıktan önceki görevleri boyunca birçok olayla karşılaşan Ebussuûd, gerek fetvaları gerek fıkhî görüşleri ile ulemaya, halka ve devlet erkânına yol göstermiştir. Bu araştırmada Mahmûd b. Süleyman el-Kefevî’nin, Ketâib adlı eseri kapsamında Ebussuûd’un biyografisinin, eserde geçen fetvalarının ve onun görüşlerine yapılan atıfların, ulema ve devlet erkânı ilişkilerinin değerlendirilmesi amaçlanmıştır. Çalışmayı diğerlerinden farklı kılan husus, çağdaşı tarafından hazırlanan bu eserde Ebussuûd Efendi’nin hayatı ve fetvalarına dair farklı bilgileri tespit etmeye çalışmasıdır. Öncelikli olarak Ebussuûd ile ilgili eserdeki bilgiler ve fetvalar tespit edilmiştir. İkinci adım olarak bu bilgilerin ve fetvaların önceki çalışmalarda yer alıp almadığı araştırılarak, Ketâib’deki Ebussuûd ile ilgili nakillerin değeri incelenmiştir. Önceki çalışmalardan farklı olarak; sabînin mahfelde Kur’an-ı Kerim okuması, sabîye ölünün ruhu için Kur’an-ı Kerim okutulması, Kur’an-ı Kerim okuyana ‘ahsente’ demenin küfrü gerektirdiği bilgilerine ulaşılmıştır. Bunun yanında Ebussuûd’un nezr konusunda İmam Züfer’in görüşü ile fetva vermesi ve padişahın özel hazinesindeki mallar için zekat gerekip gerekmediği fetvasını, Kırım Hanı Devlet Giray’ın sorusu üzerine yazdığı ulaşılan bilgilerdendir.
Ebussuud Efendi is a noted scholar who has held scientific positions in the Ottoman Empire, and many studies have investigated him and his works. He served as shayk al-Islam, an important position. The office of shayk al-Islam reached enormous religious and political importance during the Ottoman Empire. However, it was at the time of Ebussuud Efendi that sheikhs started to lead scientific organizations. They became a type of religious institution in the Ottoman Empire and were regarded as the highest religious and Islamic science authorities during Ebussuud Efendi’s appoinment in the Kanuni period. Ebussuud Efendi is the shayk alIslam who remained the longest in the office. He always guided the clericals, state authority, and common people with his fatwas and judicial views. The students he educated became scholars and continued to provide insights into the Muslim people in Ottoman society, as well as into other countries.
The aim of this study is to assess Ebussuud’s biography, his fatwas, and references to his views in Ketaib, as well as his relations with clericals and the state authority, with reference to Mahmud b. Süleyman Kefevi’s book Ketaib. Kefevi was a scholar born in the Crimean Peninsula in 926/1519. He worked as a professor, judge, and inspector in the Ottoman State and wrote poetry in Turkish and Arabic. He stated that he wrote Ketaib on the grounds that people could not distinguish between the teacher and the student, or the mujtahid and the dignitary. For this reason, Kefevi classified the scholars according to their life span, and these classifications ended with Ebu Hanife. This is what differentiates the work in question from other tabaqat books and is its fundamental contribution to the studies on the formation of the Hanafi sect. Kefevi included accounts of the written works and the events he witnessed, and the information transmitted verbally in the creation of his work reveals the importance of our study.
That he was one of the most prominent names in Islamic science during the periods of Kanuni Sultan Süleyman (1520–1566), II. Selim (1566–1574), and III. Murad (1574–1595) brought depth and diversity to his works in various fields, such as fiqh, tafsir, and literature.
This work differs from other studies on Ebussuud Efendi’s life and fatwas because we attempt to offer the new information on Ebussuud Efendi’s life and fatwas available in Ketaib, prepared by his contemporary Kefevi. The originality of the information in the aforesaid work is determined by examining the data and fatwas transmitted by Kefevi, who frequently included Ebussuud Efendi and his fatwas in his book. Our main research question is what type of contribution Kafawi’s work makes to individuals who already know about Ebussuud Efendi. The effects of Ebussuud Efendi’s fatwas, his role in the fiqh discussions of his time, and the ulema-state relations are the sub-problems of our study.
Ketaib is the primary source of our study because it features rare biographical information on Kefevi, who was a contemporary of Ebussuud Efendi. First, we present information on Ebussuud and his fatwas. Second, we assess sources regarding Ebussuud by reviewing them to determine whether they include this information and the fatwas. In our assessment of the information on his life, we detected no significant difference between Ketaib and Nevizade Atai’s first period works, such as Hadaiku’l-Hakaik, in the information provided. The only exception to that assessment may be the enmity between Abdullah Berzeş Al-Abadi, and Ramazanzade Mehmed Çelebi. However, Kefevi did not provide detailed information except for Abdullah Berzeş Al-Abadi’s discrediting of Ebussuud Efendi. In the problem between Mehmed Çelebi and Ebussuud Efendi, although Kafawi did not mention the fatwa that caused it, he elaborated on the events that occurred after the fatwa and the influence of the various individuals involved in the incidents. Notably, Kanuni Sultan Süleyman changed his previous decision to be in line with the opinion of Ebussuud Efendi.
Ketaib, which has an important place in the literature because it features extensive content, insightful fiqh opinions, and biographical information on the scholars, presents valuable information on the fatwas of Ebussuud Efendi. Different from other studies on the subject, we conclude that according to Ebussuud, it is blasphemy for a child to read the Quran for the soul of a dead person; additionally, saying “Ahsente” to those who read the Quran leads to infidelity. In addition, that Ebussuûd gave fatwa regarding Imam Zufer’s opinion on nazr is a new fatwa of his that we have not observed in the other studies. It is also among the information that we have obtained that Ebussuud’s fatwa regarding the question of whether zakat is required for the goods in the personal treasure of the Sultan was provided at the request of Crimean Khan Devlet Giray.
