Author
Ali Kumaş, Fırat Orğun
Subject
16th century, Islamic law, Sixteenth century
Type
Book
Language
Arabic
Digital
Yes
Manuscript
No
Library
Royal Danish Library
Library Asset ID
ISSN: 1304-1045, EISSN: 2791-9730
Record ID
cdi_doaj_primary_oai_doaj_org_article_4a63b158424a46b1a5556b244a21f09d
Library Location
DOAJ Directory of Open Access Journals, EBSCOhost Academic Search Complete
Notes
With its long life spanning more than six centuries, the Ottoman Empire continued its existence throughout the second half of Islamic history before the 20th century (the eighth century and later). During this wide period of time, he ruled the ancient Muslim geography in the Middle East and North Africa and a significant part of the eastern and southern lands of Europe as a whole. Naturally, it witnessed the current phase of the changes and transformations that Islamic thought and practices - in this context, Islamic law - have undergone throughout history. Not only did he witness it, but he also took the lead by becoming the main actor and driving force of the mentioned process. As a Muslim state and society, the Ottomans managed to carry the accumulation of Islamic law - specifically Hanafi jurisprudence - that they inherited in the late Middle Ages, shortly after the Mongol invasion, to the early modern times. They remained loyal to the essence and basic principles of the experience they inherited until the end. But at the same time, by introducing new theories, institutions and patterns, traditions and practices, they also paved the way for the evolution of fiqh into a modern legal system that works, produces solutions to problems and thus maintains its currency. Therefore, understanding the Islamic legal thought, functioning and application methods is, in a way, equivalent to correctly understanding the Ottoman experience. The classical structure of Ottoman law was largely shaped in the first half of the 16th century. The institution of fatwa, one of the basic components of this structure, became increasingly important and visible within the reorganized state system after the conquest of Istanbul. Although Sheikh al-Islam did not yet exist as a term and institution, the influence and position of the capital mufti strengthened during the period. Their fatwas stood out as an argument that had a decisive impact on determining the legal norms valid in the country and ensuring legal unity. As a reflection of the mentioned development, it is seen in the kadi registries that the parties to the case submitted the fatwas received from the muftis to the court and in this way tried to conclude the trial in their favor. Within the scope of this article, the cases in which fatwa was included in the judicial process (referred to as "fatwa cases" in the article) were identified by scanning the kadi registers, which contain the records of the trials held in the Istanbul (Üsküdar) court in the first half of the 16th century. Based on the data pool created in this way, it was tried to determine the methods of fatwa's inclusion in the trial stages and registry records in the Ottoman Empire and the extent of its effect on the results of the case. In addition, the variation in the amount of fatwa submitted to the court in terms of number and rate depending on time and mufti was revealed. Numerical data regarding the amount of fatwa cases were accepted as a basic indicator and the supposed change in the legal understanding of the period was traced. It was aimed to measure the effectiveness of the Istanbul mufti in the judiciary of the period in particular and in the Ottoman legal system in general. The results obtained in the study reveal that the amount of fatwa cases (31) in 15 books containing around eleven thousand records and their ratio to the general population (2.83‰) are extremely low. However, the fact that the trials in all of these cases, which spanned between 1515 and 1549, were concluded in agreement with the fatwa indicates that the mufti fatwas had a legal equivalent in the eyes of the judges working in the Üsküdar court of the period. On the other hand, statistics on the number of fatwa cases show that there is no regular increase in the effectiveness of the Istanbul mufti's office within the Ottoman legal system from the beginning to the middle of the century. On the contrary, this activity, which reached its peak in the 1530s, witnessed a clear decline in the following years. It is considered that the charisma and individual qualities of the scholar who undertakes the duty of mufti are a determining factor in this regard. This study, based on the interpretation of numerical data produced directly from the archive material left behind by the scholars of the period, sheds light on one of the critical periods of Islamic-Ottoman law from a window that has not been looked at until now.
Görüntüle
İslam hukuku araştırmaları dergisi (Online), 2022-06 (39), p.1-32
