Ottoman kalām in the eleventh/seventeenth century: Beyāżīzāde Aḥmed Efendi's defence of Hanafī-Māturīdī theology

This study focuses on the claim that the science of Islamic theology (kalām) experienced a decline in the intellectual world of the Ottoman Empire during the 11th/17th century. It aims to demonstrate that the discipline of kalām continued uninterruptedly within Ottoman territories during this period, taking as its case study the work of Beyāżīzāde Aḥmed Efendi (d. 1068/1687), an Ottoman judge (ḳażī) who authored a profound kalām treatise. The continuity of this discipline is established through Beyāżīzāde's defence of the Ḥanafī-Māturīdī tradition in his work Ishārāt al-marām min ʿibārāt al-imām, which serves as a commentary on the views of Abū Ḥanīfa (d. 150/767). This study examines key theological disputes between the Ḥanafī-Māturīdī majority (jumhūr) and the Ashʿarī scholars, focusing on issues such as taklīf, the role and function of reason (ʿaql), the knowledge of God (maʿrifat Allāh), good (ḥusn) and evil (qubḥ), and prescribing the unbearable (taklīf mā lā yuṭāq). The thesis shows how Beyāżīzāde's defence of the Ḥanafī-Māturīdī madhhab serves to refute the decline narrative commonly attributed to this era. His defence of the theological school through Abū Ḥanīfa's perspectives during the 11th/17th century suggests that he adopted the idea of a "reclaim to the origins" within the tradition. By analysing the historical dimensions of the decline narrative with concrete examples, this study identifies the underlying problem and presents Beyāżīzāde's defence of the Ḥanafī-Māturīdī madhhab as a counterargument. The production of Ishārāt al-marām by a scholar trained in the Ottoman madrasa curriculum, which later served as a ḳażī, underscores the continued engagement with kalām and rational sciences during this 11th/17th century, thereby proving their sustained presence.