Or 15757

This volume contains the collected fetava of Şeyhülislam Feyzullah Efendi (1048-1115 AH/1638/9-1703 CE). He was born in Erzurum to a scholarly family claiming descent from the Prophet Muḥammad. After following his teacher Vani Efendi (died 1096 AH/1685 CE) to Istanbul, and subsequently marrying his teacher's daughter, he undertook the Hajj and pursued further studies in the Hijaz. Between 1080 AH/1670 CE and 1098 AH/1688 CE Feyzullah served as Şehzade Muallimi (prince’s tutor) to Prince Mustafa and his brother, was awarded certification as a müderris, achieved the rank of Kazasker of Rumelia, and served as Nakibüleşraf for two years. He became Şeyhülislam on 11 Rebiyülahir 1099 AH/14 February 1688 CE, but was dismissed and banished to Erzurum after just seventeen days for his behaviour during the rebellion that almost toppled Süleyman II (reigned 1099–1102 AH/1687–91 CE). He was reinstated in the position by his former pupil Mustafa II (reigned 1106–15 AH/1695–1703 CE) on 11 Şevval 1106 AH/25 May 1695 CE. However, significant popular opposition was aroused by the Sultan’s preferential treatment of Feyzullah, as well as the latter’s ostentatious behaviour and egotism. As part of the military revolt that deposed Sultan Mustafa, Feyzullah was dismissed from office on 13 Rebiyülevvel 1115/27 July 1703 CE. He was later captured and murdered by the insurgents.

Feyzullah’s lengthy fetva compilation is seen as one of the four reputable (muteber) books of the Ottoman Fetvahane (fetva-granting office). Much of the work is devoted to financial and commercial questions, daily life, and worship. It is organised by kitab and bab, consisting of fifty-one kitablar in total. Each bab consists of questions and short answers, often simply ‘olur’ or ‘olmaz.’ The answers are accompanied by the narrations (nukul) from authoritative books of Hanafi law which form the basis of each fetva. The name of the cited source and the relevant section are also indicated, though the author of these posthumous additions is not known. Nor is it known whether the oldest known manuscript (Süleymaniye Kütüphanesi, Esad Efendi, 1112), which has a copy date of 1124 AH/1712 CE, was written in the original form of Feyzullah Efendi.

The present volume contains annotations throughout. The text is preceded by a table of contents, wholly in Arabic, on ff 1v-9v, followed by five folios that are blank but for the ruled margins. The present copy contains numerous marginal annotations throughout, copied in the same hand and probably at the same time as the main text.

Text begins (f 10v):

Besmele Zeyd-i mümin bir emr-i zi’l-bale şuru‘ etmekte ne ile bed’ etmek gerektir ki mübarek ve kamil ola? el-Cevab: Bismillahi’r-Rahmani’r-Rahim ile bed’ edip badehü bi-la fasıl elhamdülillahı Rabbi’l-Alemin ile bed’ etmek gerektir.

Ends:

Zeyd ol harap makabirin üzerine bina eylese hala hakimü’ş-şer Zeyd’e ebniyesini hadim ittirmeğe kadir olur mu? el-Cevab: Olur.

There are excellent polychrome and gold illuminated headings (with tığlar in the form of tall plants) on the first page of the table of contents and the text opening.

The colophon is on f 520r, and states that the work was copied in 1242 AH/1826-7 CE by Seyyid Mustafa, known as el-Arif el-Sufi, at Medrese-i Çukur. There are at least three Çukur Medreseler in Turkey; in Edirne, Tokat, and Ödemiş (near İzmir).