14th Century Ottoman Mufassirs and Their Works
Authors: Sütşurup İhsan 
Published: June 2024

The Ottoman state, like other Muslim states that came before it, tried to serve Islam and the Qur'ân al-kerîm and endeavored to contribute to the science of tafsir, which aims to reveal the meaning of the divine book. In this context, great importance was attached to education and training along with other institutions from the very beginning, and it was aimed to establish madrasahs from the earliest periods. The first madrasah in the Ottomans was established by Orhan Gazi (725-764/1324-1362) in Iznik in 731/1330, and later, in parallel with the development of the borders of the state, new madrasahs were opened in centers such as Bursa, Edirne, etc. Since the science of tafsir was one of the most important courses taught in madrasahs, care was taken to ensure that the scholars assigned to teach this course were well-equipped and skilled in the science of tafsir. Therefore, Ottoman scholars exegeted all or some sūrahs and verses of the Qur'ân al-kerîm, in Arabic or Turkish (Ottoman Turkish), and wrote commentaries or glosses in order to explain the word of God. Due to reasons such as the inability to leave the Principality system immediately, the state's struggle for existence, and the fact that the madrasah system had not yet been formed, the Ottoman scholarship, especially in the early years of its establishment, was more primitive and minimal compared to the later centuries. Nevertheless, it is observed that the first works of Ottoman scholarly tradition were written in the late 14th and early 15th centuries. Consequently, the vast majority of the scholars who would guide those who would come after them were trained in this period and they produced many works. The aim of this study is to periodically identify the mufassirs who lived in the Ottoman geography in the 14th century or who were accepted as Ottoman scholars, even if indirectly, and to identify their works. In this direction, the lives of the scholars who lived in the relevant period and contributed to the science of tafsir and the works they wrote will be mentioned and information about their tafsirs will be given as far as possible. While preparing the study, a detailed examination was made in the catalogs of “Isam Turkey Libraries Database” and “Yazmalar.gov.tr”, taking into account the specified period and the field of tafsir, the works reached were classified and examined together with their authors, and the information obtained was added to the end of the study as a table. In conclusion, after the Turks became Muslims, especially in the first centuries, no independent Ottoman (Turkish) work was written. Scholars such as Khattāb b. Abī Qāsim al-Karahisarī (d. 717/1317), Shaykh Edebālī al-Karamānī (d. 726/1325), Dursun Fakih (d. 726/1325), Qāḍī Mahmūd al-Bursawī, who was the first Ottoman qadi, did not publish works despite their knowledge in the field of tafsir, and contented themselves with reading the previous works. In this period, Shaykh Shihāb al-dīn al-Sivāsī (d. 1006/1597) wrote a tafsir titled 'Uyūn al-tafāsīr lil al-fuzalāʾi al-samāsīr, but he could not bring a significant innovation to the Ottoman tafsir movement; nevertheless, he was accepted as the pioneer of the tafsir movement in the Ottoman Empire as he wrote an independent tafsir. In the 14th century, only Muslihiddîn Mustafa b. Muhammad wrote a tafsir in Turkish on the surahs Amme Juz, Fâtiha, Ihlâs, Mülk and Yâsin. In addition, a total of twenty-seven tafsir commentaries exist from the 14th century, based on the available records. The first commentary writer in the Ottoman Empire was Jamal al-Dīn al-Aksarāyī, who played a major role in introducing the method of reason used by Zamakhsharī, Qāḍī and al-Rāzī in their commentaries into Ottoman madrasahs. It is also said that he pioneered the teaching and popularization of Zamakhshari's work in Ottoman madrasahs with his work on Kashshāf. After Aksarâyî, it is known that some scholars such as Ekmelüddîn al-Bâbertî also contributed to this field by writing commentaries.