Bestseller hadith commentaries in the early modern Ottoman Empire: The reception of the works of Mullā ‘Alī al-Qārī (d. 1014/1605) in the Balkans and Anatolia
Very few authors had such a far-reaching influence on the development of the Hanafi madhhab as the Meccan scholar Mollā ‘Alī al-Qārī. Between the 17th and 19th centuries, his commentaries and treatises on law, theology, and prophetic traditions have emerged as widely disseminated writings among the Hanafi regions of the Islamic World - from the Balkans to Central Asia and India. What factors underlie the rare success of the manuscripts of Mullā ‘Alī al-Qārī?
In this presentation, I will take the example of Anatolia and the Balkans in trying to explain this question. By analyzing the contents and reception of his texts, I attempt to locate 'Alī al-Qari’s niche in Arabophone Islamic learning in the Ottoman Empire. Furthermore, based on paratextual, documentary, and biographical sources, I will discuss how Ottoman scholars and bureaucrats began to popularize his texts between the Hejaz and central domains of the Empire. This exploration will not only shed light on the intellectual heritage of Mullā ‘Alī al-Qārī but also attempt to think about the development of Ottoman Hanafi Islam in more transregional terms.
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Zoom link:
https://ceu-edu.zoom.us/j/96928094810?pwd=MnVESG9MUGpFZFZBaWxrdFBWYy91U…
Meeting ID: 969 2809 4810
Passcode: 314625