Or 14450

This volume contains a compilation of fetava assembled as a reference collection from numerous sources by Nakibüleşraf es-Seyyid Mehmed Rıza ibn-i Ahmed el-Kırımi (died 1169 AH/1755 CE), a müftü, kadı, and poet with an interest in history and Sufism.

Born in the Crimea (Kırım), Seyyid Mehmed served first as a müderris following the completion of his studies. He then became a military judge in 1149 AH/1736 CE. He held the high-ranking Mevleviyet judgeships in Niş, Üsküdar and Diyarbakır, and as the holder of the prestigious Edirne Mevleviyet, was appointed Nakibü’l-eşraf in 1165 AH/1752 CE, a position which he held until 1169 AH/1756 CE. He died in Istanbul on 13 Zilhicce 1169 AH/8 September 1756 CE and was buried in Edirnekapı. As well as his Fetava, Rıza wrote separate histories of the Crimean khans and Chinggisids, works on ahlak and tasavvuf, and an encyclopaedic work with maps and images.

In the preface to the Fetava, Seyyid Mehmed states that in the course of his work as a müftü and kadı he compiled a range of both transmitted and novel fetava for easy consultation. For the majority of the transmitted fetava, he relied on el-Hidaye, ed-Dürer, and Şerhu Mecma‘i’l-bahreyn, all popular works with Ottoman legal officials of that time. He also includes the fetava of Şeyhülislam Yahya Efendi (probably Zekeriyyazade Yahya Efendi (died 1053 AH/1643 CE), but also potentially Minkarizade Yahya Efendi (died 1088 AH/1678 CE)).

Arabic transmissions have been transcribed in the page margins. There is a table of contents on f 1r. There is no colophon, however the copy probably dates to the twelfth century AH/eighteenth century CE.