The Scholar's Uncompromising and Rigidity in What He Knows to be True: The Example of Molla Gurani
The Scholar's Uncompromising and Rigidity in What He Knows to be True: The Example of Molla Gurani
Prof. Dr. Kadircan KESKİNBORA
Bahçeşehir University Faculty of Medicine
HBT Magazine Issue 110 – 4 May 2018
We all know his teacher, Molla Gurani, who was in the advisory council of the sultan during the siege of Istanbul and encouraged the sultan and expressed his opinion in favor of continuing the siege. Now, let's get into some details about it:
His full name is Şemseddin Ahmed bin İsmail el-Gürânî. Although there is conflicting information about his birthplace, it is generally accepted that he was born in 1410 in the town of Güran (or in the Hiler village of Ergani), which is stated to be within the borders of today's Diyarbakır province but has not survived to the present day.
To increase his knowledge, he went to Baghdad, Hısn-ı Keyfâ (Hasankeyf), Haifa and Damascus and took lessons from the scholars there. He matured in Cairo, completed his hadith and fiqh lessons from the famous scholar of the period, Ibn Hajar Askalani, and received his permission and started teaching in Cairo, which was under the rule of the Mamluk Sultanate. He attracted attention with his knowledge and mastery of the subjects in the conversations and debates in which the notables of the Mamluk State were also present. Over time, he becomes a well-known and respected scholar.
While they were working as teachers, they met Molla Yegan, one of the Ottoman scholars who came to Egypt. Mullah is tall, bearded, dignified and majestic. He is well educated and very knowledgeable. Since Molla Yegan liked Molla Gurani very much, he brought him with him to the Ottoman country. They go to Edirne together. Sultan II. He presents it to Murat. The Mullah receives the Sultan's favor. Sultan II. After switching from the Shafi'i sect to the Hanafi sect at the request of Murad, he was appointed by the Sultan as a professor first in the Kaplıca madrasah in Bursa and then in the Yıldırım Bayezid madrasah.
His uncompromising attitude pleases the sultan. He is assigned as the teacher of Prince Mehmet, who is in Manisa when he is still a child. Molla even hints to Gurani that he can beat the prince if necessary, but Gurani manages to restrain Prince Mehmet in a short time without having to do so. He strictly disciplined the prince, who until that period was said to have disobeyed his teachers and not even remembered the Holy Quran, with his harshness and charisma.
When he arrives in Manisa, he invites the prince to the lesson. He respects even the servants, but ignores the future sultan! He treats his student like an ordinary person and says "Sit down!" he says, “No, not there, not there!”. The prince, who was accustomed to giving orders until that day, was astonished. Maybe he kneels down for the first time in his life. Molla Gürânî opens the emsile (the book showing verb conjugation in Arabic) and orders: "Let me see the verb darabe (to beat)!" Fatih draws the verb as he wishes. Molla Gurani's eyebrows knit together, he shakes his head saying "it didn't happen" and scolds with his gaze. Then he draws the verb emphatically and raises his voice, saying, "I will beat you, I will beat you, I will beat you so hard!... " As a result, he makes the prince complete the stages of his education. For this reason, Sultan II. It is stated in the sources that he was rewarded by Murat. Prince now starts doing homework at night and does not miss his memorization. More precisely, it cannot be disrupted. But one day he will get the taste of knowledge. He moves away from his old mischief. Not long after three or five months, he is a completely different person. Molla Gurani says,"Knowing Arabic and Persian is not enough; you must also learn the language of your enemies!" Latin, Serbian and Greek are taught. He both speaks and writes. Then, he sits the prince in front of Anconal Giriaco, who is of Italian origin, and has him read European history. Moreover, it forces arithmetic, geometry and astronomy. It opens your horizons. Faith and ideal vaccines. Sultan II, who came to Manisa for a while. Murat cannot recognize his son. Mehmet is seemingly a child, but he is very mature. Gurani, II. Mehmet remains with the prince as his teacher until he becomes sultan.
When Sultan Mehmet II ascended the throne, he offered Molla Gurani the position of vizier, but he did not accept it. Gurani does not accept this offer, saying that there are many valuable people waiting and working hard for this position, and that his becoming the vizier would discourage them and bring more harm than good to the sultan. However, he accepts Kazasker service. He does not go to the palace very often and calls the viziers by their names. He gives a lot of advice to Sultan Mehmet and helps him in his work. Because of his sincere love and concern for her, he does not hesitate to criticize her when necessary.
After a while, due to his disbelief to the Sultan and the viziers (or acting independently) in matters of fatwa and religious matters, he fell out with the sultan - also under the influence of those around the sultan. Thereupon, in order to be removed from the center of the sultanate, he was sent to Bursa in 1453 for the correction and organization of the Bursa foundations. Here too they display an unbending attitude. He was dismissed from this position after he scolded (some writers add that he beat him) a close servant sent by the sultan, who also received the title of "Conqueror" after the conquest, for the sultan's desire to oppose the sharia..
Thereupon, he became angry with Fatih and left the Ottoman country and went to Cairo (or Damascus). Molla Gurani remained under the protection of the Mamluk Sultan Qaitbay for a while. However, Fatih later regrets his treatment of his teacher and insistently wants Molla Gurani to return to Istanbul. He sent an ambassador to Egypt in 1457. Upon insistence, the Mamluk Sultan of the period, Kayitbay, sent Molla Gurani to Istanbul with many gifts. In some sources, it is written that Kayitbay did not want to send Molla Gurani to Istanbul. Thereupon, Molla Gurani said, “If I do not go, the hostility between you will increase. It is stated that he asked for permission and thus came to Istanbul, saying "There is a father-son relationship between Sultan Mehmet and me." (One source states that Qaitbay ascended to the Mamluk throne in 1468, so this information is not based. However, since other sources give the same story, Qaitbay was perhaps dealing with Gürani as a prince at that time, not as a Sultan.)
Molla Gurani, who returned to Fatih, was given the position of judge of Bursa again. This situation means that Fatih confesses his mistake and apologizes. In fact, this event is an important event that should be recorded in history, known and taught, showing how high character, how mature and how great personalities both Fatih Sultan Mehmet and Molla Gurani were.
Upon the death of Molla Hüsrev in 1480, Molla Gürânî was appointed as Sheikh-ul-Islam from the office of Bursa judge with a monthly salary of 20,000 dirhams. He wins everyone's love with his justice and honesty. After this appointment, Fatih spent the last years of his reign with Shaykh al-Islam Molla Gürani, who had been his teacher and follower for 40 years.
Molla Gurani was in the position of fatwa uninterruptedly after the death of Mehmet the Conqueror. Succeeding Fatih II. Bayezid was his father's teacher until his death (1488). He leaves his office.
In most sources, he is mentioned as the 4th Sheikh al-Islam of the Ottoman Empire. However, the famous historian İsmail Hakkı Uzunçarşılı, in his book titled "Ilmiye Organization of the Ottoman State", says, "We do not know clearly on which date the title of sheikhulislam was first used in the Ottoman Empire." However, in the Kanunname compiled by Sultan Mehmet the Conqueror, the person who was mentioned with two titles as sheikh al-Islam and mufti was recorded as the head of the ulema (scholars), and in later dates and documents, both the titles of mufti and sheikh al-Islam are seen. In Fatih's Code of Laws, the sultan's teachers, along with the sheikh al-Islam, are referred to as "serdar-ı ulema" and it is stated that the grand vizier should sit them above him (protocol order determination). This rule is stated in the Kanunname (Kânunname-i Âli Osman, page 10): “Şeyhülislam is the head of the ulema. And even the teacher of the sultan is the supreme scholar. It is appropriate for the grand vizier to take them upon himself. But the mufti and the hodja are many levels higher than the person. And they even do tasaddur (sitting at the top).
Take Me to My Grave by My Feet
Molla Gurani passed away one afternoon at his home, seriously ill, in 1488 (Hijri 839, winter, month of Rajab). When he realizes that he is going to die, he has a bed prepared for him in his mansion. He tells the hafiz students gathered around him, "Today is the day for you to pay my due rights," and asks them to read the Quran until he dies. Davud Pasha, one of the viziers who came to visit, cries. Gürânî said to him, “O David, weep for yourselves! “I lived comfortably and peacefully in the world.” says. His students before his death and to those around him:. "Tell Bayezid Khan to be just, to protect the people and protect the towns.", "Let him personally lead my prayer and take care of my debts. My will to you is this: bury me like a stranger. Drag me to my grave by my feet!” says. The funeral prayer is performed personally by Bayezid II. The Sultan wants to comply with both the will and good manners. When they come to the cemetery, they drag his body away, but in an elegant way: on a mat. Well, this is a message; He continued to teach even when he was dying. The mortal body of a person for whom Fatih the Conqueror apologized, showed great respect, and the sultan after him did not fail to respect him, whose funeral prayer was performed by the sultan himself, who occupied a position as a member of the protocol, the head of the scholars, and who was a sheikh ul-Islam for years, is being dragged to the grave..
Molla Gurani, whose nickname was "the scholar of the Land of Rum (Anatolia)", had a solid and unshakable scientific dignity and morality. Even though this attitude caused fluctuations to his detriment in his relations with the leading figures of the period in his office, position and surroundings; He did not compromise in order to protect the honor and dignity of his science. He acted almost domineeringly towards the most important figures of the period, including the Sultan.
He served during the administrations of three rulers (Murat II, Mehmet II, Bayezid II). He shed light on the administrators of the period with his ideas and opinions. He did not visit the sultans without being invited, even during holidays. He treated other scientists modestly and did not show jealousy towards them. In fact, he would approve of the characteristics of those who surpassed him in official duties and rightly said that they were advanced.
An anecdote told in classical Ottoman histories is proof of how far-sighted he was. II. While he was visited by Murat, the sultan asked his opinion "whether the conquest of Istanbul would be theirs." Molla Gürânî clearly states that the conquest will be achieved by "Akmolla (Akşemseddin) at the gate and the child (prince Mehmet) in the garden."
Even after officially leaving the professorship, he did not neglect his "teaching" duty. By giving private lessons, he ensured that many people were trained and progressed in the field of religious sciences. Molla Gurani took a distinguished place among the Ottoman ulema as an example of a scholar with strong moral values, who did not sacrifice his scientific convictions against any force and who prioritized science above all else.
Molla Gurani's tomb is located on Millet Street in the Fatih district of Istanbul, facing the Karamani Piri Mehmed Pasha Mosque, right behind the Fındıkzade bus stops. This humble scholar is in touch with the thousands of people who pass by him every day. Molla Gurani was buried in the graveyard of the mosque he built, right in front of the mihrab. However, this mosque has not survived to the present day, only its cemetery exists.
Here is the Profile of Scholar, Academician and Religious Scholar that we will respect. So, It Should Be.
RESOURCES:
1)Taneri A. Development of the Institution of Sovereignty and Palace Life-Organization in the Establishment Period of the Ottoman State. Istanbul, MEB Publications, 2003, p.153-158,211
2) Uzuncarsili IH. The Scientific Organization of the Ottoman Empire. Ankara, Turkish Historical Society Printing House, 1988, p.104,145,147.
3) TDV Islamic Encyclopedia, TDV Publications, Istanbul 2005, Volume 30, p: 249. Why Is Lister Called the Father of Modern Surgery?