Abstract:

In the first half of the 16th century, the Ottomans faced a series of internal and external political issues and ideological challenges, which required extraordinary measures to govern. In this period, the borders of the Empire expanded to an unusual pace and encompassed different cultural zones that include Egypt, Syria and Eastern Anatolia. In this context, they had to manage different subjects affiliated from different Sunni schools of Islamic law other than Hanafism and integrate them into the Ottoman system in order to achieve its judicial and legal unity in the country. In surmounting these challenges, they utilized both administrative and legal tools by either using them as is or reinterpreting them from new perspectives. In this respect, they restructured the Muftī of Istanbul by granting a broad authority. They deliberately chose to use “muftī-i zaman” (muftī of the time) title to represent the new prime muftī office that emerged. Fatwās issued by Ibn Kemal -who had big influence at the time and the qādī registries belonging to the period provide with rich evidences that enables us to draw a wide range of conclusions. This article, revaluates about the concept of Istanbul mufti office (shaykh al-Islam) at the beginning of the 16th century in connection with the title of muftī-i zaman.

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