Qadizadeli Revivalism reconsidered in light of Ahmad al-Rumi al-Aqhisari's Majalis al-abrar

Thesis

Shaykh Aḥmad al-R­ūmī al-Āqḥiṣārī (d. 1041/1632), Ḥanafi jurist, theologian and Sufi, is largely an unknown figure to scholars of Ottoman religious history. Progress towards disclosing key aspects of al-Āqḥiṣārī’s thought has been made in recent times thanks to the important contributions of Y. Michot, who has, in particular, demonstrated the association of al-Āqḥiṣārī with the Ottoman puritanical movement, the Qaḍīzādelis. Building upon Michot’s work, this study delves further into the works of al-Āqḥiṣārī especially his seminal contribution, the Majālis al-abrār. The study sets out its main themes and the authorities on which it is based; it then moves to show the degree of overlap between al-Āqḥiṣārī’s understandings and Naqshbandī Sufism, as well as the extent to which his thought converges with that of better-known Ottoman puritans such as Birgivī Efendī (d. 981/1573) and Qaḍīzāde (d. 1044/1635). It is suggested that the impact of the Majālis al-abrār on the Qāḍīzādelis had the outcome in the second half of the seventeenth century of increasing the violence of their activists, a development which ultimately led to their downfall.

A key aspect of this study is the re-examination of the view that the Qāḍīzādelis were a proto-Wahhābī or proto-Salafī movement, which is typical in the existing literature. Whilst demonstrating the influence of Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya (d. 751/1350) and his teacher, Aḥmad b. Taymiyya (d. 728/1328), upon al-Āqḥiṣārī’s thought, the limits of this influence are clearly demonstrated by bringing to light al-Āqḥiṣārī’s distinct doctrinal and legal positions, which were very much embedded within the Ottoman Islam of his times. Ultimately, by studying the relationship between al-Āqḥiṣārī’s masterpiece, the Majālis al-abrār and Qāḍīzādeli and Naqshbandī beliefs, the study aims to place the movement in its own Ottoman, Ḥanafī, and Sufi milieu, thereby challenging the dominant approach which reads the movement through modern paradigms.

Authors: Sheikh, M

• Publication date: 2011
• Type of award: DPhil
• Level of award: Doctoral
• Awarding institution: Oxford University, UK
• Language: English
• Keywords: Turkey; Ahmad al-Rumi al-Aqhisari; Ottoman Islam; history; Qadizadelis
• Subjects: Islam; Theology and Religion