The Place of Ahmed Ziyaüddin Gumushkhanawī, One of the Scholars of the Ottoman Period, in The Science of Fiqh

Abstract

Adopting an understanding of life full of asceticism and piety, Gümüşhanevî was one of the important figures in the history of Sufism. His ExcellencyGumushkhanawī, who lived in a turbulent and depressed period of the Ottoman Empire in the nineteenth century, has an influence and reputation that still maintains its vitality today, with its understanding of the sect, its lodge, works on Sufism, fiqh and hadith, and the caliphs he sent to various parts of the world. It is his mystical personality that broughtGumushkhanawī its real fame. However, it is possible to see his works on fiqh in his fiqh lessons. 

Ahmad Ziyāuddīn Gumushānawī influenced the Ottoman sultans during his lifetime and gained their favour. He was the most beautiful representative of the Ottoman State both inside and outside the Ottoman Empire, drawing the portrait of a true scholar by revealing how Islam should be understood and lived both in zāhir and bāṭin, and by carrying out irshād activities for his followers and the society he lived in. Gümüşhânevî is one of the leading figures of the Shari'ah and Sufism, which is the internalisation of the Shari'ah and its internalisation, by revealing the zâhir and bâtın meanings of the provisions of Islam and how the balance between the world and the hereafter should be in his own life, seyr-i sulûk. He is a man of knowledge, idea and heart who wrote various works in Islamic sciences, who was knowledgeable and guided those who came after him. All his endeavours were for the correct understanding and living of Islam. Because knowing the purposes of the Shari'ah means understanding its lofty goals.  In this study, in which we focus on Gümüşhanevî's jurisprudence, we draw attention to this aspect of him in order to open a window. Therefore, it would be useful to touch upon Gümüşhanevî's interest in the sciences of fiqh as a Sufi.