Abstract:

The treatise of Aḥkām al-bay‘ bi al-wafā is written by Mehmed Said, an Ottoman jurist of the late modern period, with the intent of presenting it to the Fatwa Office (Fetvākhāne). The work deals with the loyalty contracts, i.e. bay‘ bi al-wafā. This type of contract, being tackled from various aspects by Hanafi jurists throughout the history of Islamic law, took an important place with its different meanings in Majalla al-Aḥkām al-‘Adliyya, which is considered one of the important works of the late Ottoman law. The contract was quoted in three different articles of Majalla and had distinct meanings in each of them. Drawing attention to this situation in his work, Mehmed Said Bey, at first, briefly articulates the provisions formed in the Hanafi school for the contract of bay‘ bi al-wafā and then makes a choice between these provisions in a way that best suits the needs of his period. Besides, he tries to eliminate the contradiction between the articles by evaluating them within the framework of the preferred provision. Finally, Mehmed Said Bey adds Ahmet Cevdet Pasha’s epistle to the last part of his work and aims to support his own opinion by stating that the al-qavl al-cāmi‘, which is also preferred by Cevdet Pasha.