An Example of The Procedure and Content Adopted by Mahmûd b. Süleyman El-Kefevî in His Work Ketâ'ibü'l A'lâmi'l-Ahyâr -Chapter 10-

Abstract

This article analyses Chapter 10 of the biographical work named Ketâ'ibü'l a'lâmi'l-ahyâr min fukahâ'i mezhebi'n-Nu'mâni'l-muhtâr written by Mahmûd b. Süleyman el-Kefevî (d. 990/1582). This work has held a distinguished place in Islamic biographical literature because it was written with a highly qualified system and content by one of the most prominent Ottoman scholars of the 16th century. Mahmûd b. Süleyman el-Kefevî had performed important public duties such as holding judgeships (magistracy) and inspectorates, as well as madrasah professorship. He has also studied and practiced Sufism along with fiqh. This work aims to present an example of the procedure and content adopted in his work by Kefevî especially in Chapter 10 containing significant people like Transoxiana sheikhs, who made major contributions to the spread of Hanafi-Maturidism in the region of Aleppo and Damascus. The importance of this geopgraphy results from the centers included in Transoxiana; such as Bukhara, Samarkand, Fergana, Mergînân, Kâsân, Usrusana and İsbîcâb. It also resulted from being a cultural basin that had deeply affected Ottoman legal thought, including primarily Anatolian Seljuks, because of the contribution to Hanafi legal doctrine through competent juristic activities conducted in these centers. This article consists of five parts; introduction, two titles giving information about Kefevî and his work, scholars included in the chapter, prominent fuqaha, and some of the previously mentioned related fiqh issues.