The Life and Works of Mullah Kestelī (D. 901/1496)
Öz
Ottoman Empire has been instrumental in producing many important scholars that were accomplished in various fields. Sultan Fatih Mehmed II in particular had made considerable effort in this respect. Many remarkable intellectuals and scientists had carried out countless scholarly research and have left us with many notable works. One of these scholars is Mullah Kestelī whose real name is Muśliĥ al-Dīn Muśŧafa b. Muĥammed (d. 901/1496). He was one of the three most important students of Khidr Beg, a mudarris at the Sultan’s madrasa in Bursa, together with Khayālī and Khocazāde, all of whom were among the reputed scholars of the age. Kestelī, whose mastery in the rational and religious sciences, especially in kalam and fiqh, is well-attested, had served as a mudarris and qādī in Istanbul, Bursa and Edirne, cities that were dubbed as bilād-ı selāse having been the most important centers for science and politics in the Ottoman Empire. In addition to this, Kestelī also became a kadıasker (military judge) in his later years. He had spent the majority of his life preoccupied by scientific and political duties, and therefore did not have the opportunity to author many books. However, according to library collections and bibliography books, Kestelī wrote ten works in total, most of which are short works. Apart from his most important and famous work, Ĥāshiya ‘alā Sharĥ al-‘Aqā’id, all his works are unpublished and reamin in manuscript form in libraries. Although he is one of the most important figures during the reign of Sultan Fatih Mehmed II, Kestelī’s scholarly career and notable works have heretofore been understudied. In particular, there has only been one master’s thesis on Kestelī written to date. Apart from this, there is neither an article nor any other thesis or book about Kestelī. This has led to a less than adequate understanding of a scholar and statesman who played an active role during a pivotal stage of the Ottoman scientific tradition. Therefore, there is a great need for more detailed studies in this particular area. This article serves as a modest attempt to fill this gap without, however, pretending to be exhaustive in any way, especially since a study of this nature cannot do justice to such a complex task. Therefore, this article aims to carry out an in-depth examination of issues related to the life and works of Kestelī. His views, however, were excluded from the article’s scope because of the fact that all of Kestelī’s works should first be identified and carefully examined to be able to present his views in any thorough way. Therefore, this article will focus on his life and especially his works as an introduction to Kestelī studies. A more critical examination of his views will therefore be left for other studies. This article consists of an introduction and two basic parts. In the first part, I present Kestelī’s life in a systematic manner, utilizing in particular many classical and modern sources and observing special care not to neglect even the slightest information contained in them. The second part is dedicated to an introduction and examination of Kestelī’s works. In this context, I have probed into both classical and modern sources and identified works attributed to Kestelī. Subsequently, painstaking research was carried out through the catalog scanning system in the Süleymaniye Manuscript Library which provides access to the Turkish libraries connected with it, and here some other works were also identified. All of the correct copies of the manuscripts were determined by examining each manuscript one by one. In addition to the second basic part of the article, two tables were given following the second part in order to pin point the changes and developments in classical and modern bibliographic books, and to facilitate a comparative analysis of the works attributed to Kestelī. After these tables, as a further supplement, the second part includes the introductory (muqaddimah) and concluding (khāŧima) sentences of the works belonging to Kestelī. I hope that this work will raise both awareness of and interest in this field, and likewise serve as an introduction for more extensive studies in the future.
Anahtar Kelimeler
Molla Kestelî’nin Hayatı ve Eserleri
Öz
Asıl adı Muslihuddin Mustafa b. Muhammed olan Molla Kestelî (ö. 901/1496), dönemin meşhur âlimlerinden Hayâlî ve Hocazâde ile birlikte Hızır Bey’in en önemli üç talebesinden biridir. Kelam ve fıkıh başta olmak üzere aklî ve dinî pek çok ilimde derin bir vukûfiyet sahibi olan Kestelî, bilâd-ı selâse olarak isimlendirilen ve Osmanlı’nın en önemli ilim ve siyaset şehirlerinden olan İstanbul, Bursa ve Edirne’de müderrislik ve kadılık görevlerinde bulunmuştur. Bunlara ek olarak kazaskerlik görevinde de bulunan Kestelî, hayatının çoğunu ilmî ve siyasî görevleri deruhte etmekle geçirmiştir. Bundan dolayı da telif faaliyetleri için çok fazla zaman bulamamıştır. Bununla birlikte tespit edilebildiği kadarıyla çoğu küçük hacimli olmak üzere kendisine ait on adet eseri mevcuttur. Onun en önemli ve en meşhur eseri olan Hâşiye ‘alâ Şerhi’l-‘Akâid adlı eseri haricindeki diğer eserleri, basılmamış olup, henüz yazma hâlindedir.
Fatih döneminin en önemli simalarından biri olan Kestelî’nin hayatının bilinmesi ve eserlerinin ortaya çıkarılması, Osmanlı ilim geleneğinin önemli bir safhasında aktif rol oynayan bir âlim ve devlet adamının faaliyetlerinin aydınlatılması ve bu surette günümüzde bu alanda gerçekleştirilecek çalışmalar için bir katkı sağlaması açısından önemli ve gerekli bir vazifedir. Girişi müteakip iki temel bölümden oluşan bu makalenin birinci bölümünde klasik ve modern bibliyografya kaynaklarından istifade edilerek Kestelî’nin hayatı tüm yönleriyle ele alınmaya ve sistematik bir şekilde sunulmaya gayret edilmiştir. İkinci bölüm ise gerek bibliyografik kaynaklar, gerekse kütüphane kataloglarından hareketle Kestelî’nin eserlerinin tespit edilmesi ve bu eserlerin bizzat incelenmesi suretiyle tanıtımına tahsis edilmiştir.
Anahtar Kelimeler
Bu makalenin ortaya çıkma sürecindeki katkılarından dolayı yazma eser uzmanı Arafat Aydın Bey’e, meslektaşım Aziz Ençakar ağabeyime ve dostum M. Yasir Şahin kardeşime teşekkürü bir borç bilirim. İkinci olarak, yazma eser nüshaları araştırmalarım esnasında müracaat ettiğim pek çok kütüphanenin değerli çalışanlarına da ilgilerinden ötürü müteşekkirim. Ayrıca emek mahsulü yüksek lisans tezini benimle paylaşan Fatih Akal Bey ile bir yazma eser hususunda ihtiyaç duyduğum bir kütüphanenin yazma eserler kayıt defterinin ilgili görselini gönderme zahmetinde bulunan Nurdoğan Türk Bey’e de şükranlarımı sunuyorum.
