Özet:

In Islamic literature, catechism are books that Muslims consult to learn the practical information they need in their religious and social lives. While catechism books are generally prepared for all responsible, men and women, they are sometimes written to meet a certain group's needs. 'Umdat al-nisā, chosen as the subject of this article, is one of the catechisms written specifically for women. This work is the first catechism of women written in Ottoman Turkish. It is also one of the beginning works of the catechism of women tradition. The manuscript is available in ten copies in various libraries. Among these copies, Izmir National Library, Turkish Manuscripts Collection, copy numbered 1707/2 has been determined as the main copy due to the presence of a record of muqābala and taṣḥīḥ (correction) on the last page and the date close to the period when the author lived. The Izmir copy was selected as the main copy and the other four were examined and compared. Muḥarram Efendi of Zileli, a fiqh scholar who lived in the 16th century and served as a muderris and preacher, wrote this book. Zileli Muḥarram Efendi was also a ṣufi and a Ḥalvetic sheikh. He combined fiqh and ṣufism by reflecting these two identities in his works and drew attention to the spiritual aspects of worship as well as the formal, material aspect. Muḥarram Efendi also shed light on his period by writing the answers to the questions asked in his work and the subjects that needed explanation. The work called 'Umdat al-nisā, which means principles and guidelines specific to women, consists of four bab (chapters), six faṣl (subdivision) and a khatime (concluding part). The first chapter is about menstruation, the first subdivision is about the divorced woman's ʿiddat (waiting period), the second subdivision is about the clean period between two mensturations, the third subdivision is about the woman's menstruation known by herself, the fourth subdivision is about the menstruation of khutha (hermaphrodites), the second chapter is about the nifās (puerperium), the third chapter is about istiḥaḍah (disease blood), the fourth chapter is about the rights of husband and wife, the fifth subdivision is about the provisions of people with disabilities and the fourth chapter is about the rights of men over their wives. The concluding part is about the recommendation of medicines and prayers for women who do not have children and miscarriages. Written in the 16th century Ottoman period, the work is written in a simple, easy, and easy-to-understand style. Although the work mainly includes jurisprudential concepts, it was written in the local dialect of the people of that period and that region. This dialect distinguished the work from similar works, making it different, interesting, and enjoyable to read. However, this situation has caused today's people, who are distant and foreign to that period and dialect, not to understand some of the words in the work or to understand them very difficult. The judgements and opinions in work generally adhere to the views of Abū Ḥanifa. However, from time to time, the views and preferences of Abū Ḥanifa's disciples and later Ḥanafī scholars were also referred to, and the practical consequences of the dispute were also pointed out. The views of other sunnī sects have also been mentioned, albeit to a lesser extent. The main fiqh and fatwa books of the Ḥanafī sect from which the evidence and opinions are taken are referred. To better understand the subjects, question-answer, exemplifying, explaining with figures, teaching with stories, comparison and itemization methods were used in the work. When a subject is started, the concepts of that subject are defined, and then related judgments and opinions are given. Both rational, and narrative evidence were used as evidence in the work. The opinions and preferences were supported by verses, ḥadiths, narrations, and exemplary stories. Immediately after the narrative evidence, reference was made to the source within the sect. The authenticity of the ḥadiths was not mentioned, but sometimes the narrator was mentioned, and sometimes the source from which the ḥadith was taken was written, and this source was the books of fiqh. Sometimes, only the text of the ḥadith is given. Among the narrations used by the author, it has been determined that there are also weak and Israelite narrations.

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