Ṭabaqāt al-masāʾil, authored by Ottoman scholar Kınalızade Ali Efendi, is the first independent treatise on the characteristics and sources of the concepts ẓāhir al-riwāya and ghayr ẓāhir al-riwāya. These concepts are used to classify legal responsa of the Hanafi school of law transmitted from the school’s preeminent scholars in respect to their epistemological and referential value. Kınalızade brought together issues discussed in the school under three headings by adding fatāwā—the opinions of jurists who came after Abū Ḥanīfa and his students—alongside these two categories. He defined each category and provided examples. His definitions and categorizations of the concepts, particularly uṣūl and nawādir, influenced the following literature and these two concepts came to be understood according to Kınalızde’s definitions.
Ẓāhir al-riwāya appeared as an umbrella concept comprising uṣūl and jawāmiʿ in the legal questions tackled by the Hanafi school. By redefining uṣūl—a concept categorized under the heading of ẓāhir al-riwāya in the early period, firstly by Itqānī (d. 758/1357) and through his influence on certain Hanafi jurists like Bābartī (d. 786/1384), Badr al-Dīn al ʿAynī (d. 855/1451), and Qāsim b. Quṭlūbughā (d. 879/1474)—uṣūl and ẓāhir al-riwāya came to be used interchangeably. Following the same path, Kınalızade wrote an independent treatise on the subject, which led the new definition to circulate in Hanafi circles and opened a path for later scholarship to develop around the new definitions adopted in this treatise.
Just like the synonymous usage of uṣūl and ẓāhir al-riwāya, Kınalızade defined the concepts of ghayr ẓāhir al-riwāya and nawādir synonymously. He extended the meaning and scope of nawādir, a concept that had been put mostly under the heading of ghayr ẓāhir al-riwāya. Thereby, certain books, such as al-Raqqiyyāt, al-Kaysāniyyāt, al-Jurjāniyyāt, and al-Hārūniyyāt, which had been known as works of ghayr ẓāhir al-riwāya, came to be known as works of nawādir and were attributed to Shaybānī. However, even though al-Raqqiyyāt and al-Kaysāniyyāt belonged to Shaybānī, they were ultimately amālī works. In addition, while al-Jurjāniyyāt was another amālī work transmitted by Ali b. Ṣāliḥ from Abū Yūsuf, al-Hārūniyyāt belonged to Ḥasan b. Ziyād.
Classifying the Hanafi responsa under three categories in Ṭabaqāt al-masāʾil, Kınalızade assigns wider meanings to the concepts uṣūl and nawādir than in earlier periods. Kınalızade extended the meanings of the concepts of ẓāhir al-riwāya and ghayr ẓāhir al-riwāya, which Shaybānī used for identifying books, by adding legal questions and books belonging to Abū Ḥanīfa’s other students. He even formed a classification comprising all issues of the school by adding the responsa of other jurists under the heading of fatāwā. His definitions and classifications have reached us through later scholars who carried them on.
The treatise includes some information that does not conform to the early period in its presentation of new definitions of basic concepts under triple classification and for its examples of works. However, it remains significant as the first, and a uniquely independent, treatise on the categorization of the legal responsa in the Hanafi school and for its impact on the ensuing literature.
Hanafi school of law ṭabaqāt al-masāʾil ẓāhir al-riwāya ghayr ẓāhir al-riwāya al-uṣūl al-nawādir al-fatāwā
Hanefî mezhebinde herhangi fıkhî bir meseleye dair hüküm vermeden önce başta mezhep imamları olmak üzere mezhep ulemasından aktarılan mesâile bakıp, bunların geçtiği eserlerin ve mesâili aktarılan kişinin mezhep içindeki konumuna göre hüküm vermeye önem gösterilmiş ve bu tutum zamanla usûl-i iftâda bir kriter haline gelmiştir. Özellikle fetva ve kaza makamında bulunan Hanefîler tercih edilecek görüşü belirlemek üzere mezhep ulemasını, onlardan aktarılan mesâili ve bu mesâilin geçtiği kitapları bilgi ve kaynak değeri açısından “tabakātü’l-fukahâ”, “tabakātü’l-mesâil” ve “tabakātü’l-kütüb” gibi taksimlere tâbi tutarak ulema, mesâil ve kitaplar arasında bir hiyerarşi belirlemişlerdir.
Bu makale Osmanlı ulemasından Kınalızâde Ali Efendi’nin (ö. 979/1572) Hanefî mezhebinde aktarılan mesâilin hiyerarşisi hakkında sonraki literatürü belirleyen Tabakātü’l-mesâil isimli risalesinin tahkik ve tahlilini konu edinmektedir.
Primary Language | Turkish |
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Subjects | Religious Studies |
Journal Section | Makaleler |
Authors | |
Publication Date | February 9, 2022 |
Published in Issue | Year 2022 |