Sheikh al-Islam Mustafa Efendi and his Risāla of Istiʿāra

Abstract

Arabic language education was provided as one of the main components of the curriculum in Ottoman madrasas. As a result, scholars with deep knowledge in religious sciences were trained, and many valuable works were brought to the Islamic scholarly community. One of the prominent scholarly works of the Ottoman period is the risâla of istiʿārah, written by Sheikh al-Islam Abu’l-Mayāmin Mustafa Efendi (d. 1015/1606). This risāla focuses on the theoretical aspect of istiʿāra al-makniyya, an important figurative art in Arabic language and rhetoric. It includes the views of earlier scholars on the subject, which are discussed in accordance with the principles of the science of debate. In this respect, his work serves as a valuable resource for contemporary linguistic studies. This study, conducted for the publication of the mentioned risāla, employs the methods of text analysis and literature review. In this context, information about the author’s life and works is presented first, followed by details about the manuscript copy and content of the risâla, and finally, the only surviving copy of the text was critically edited. As a result of the study, it was revealed that Ottoman scholars did not merely limit themselves to commentary and marginal notes; through their original interpretations, but also made significant contributions to both development and systematization of the previous scholarly heritage.