Yusuf Ziyaeddin Al-Azhari and his theological views

This thesis titled "Yusuf Ziyaed al-Din al-Azhari and His Ijtihidī Views" consists of three main chapters, the first and second chapters, as well as the introduction. In the first chapter, Al-Azhari's birth, his departure to Egypt, the places where he was educated, the teachers from whom he received icazet, his departure to Bulgaria, the Madreset al-Nuvvab in Bulgaria where he worked as a muderris, some of the students he trained and his works were discussed and his scientific personality was tried to be revealed. In the second part, al-Azhari's views on the Islamic faith are identified and presented in a systematic format. This section is composed of three parts, which deal with divinity, prophethood, and various other theological issues. Under the heading of divinity, topics such as the sources of knowledge, marifatullah, the proofs of God's existence, some of God's attributes, the tawfi'lity of names and attributes, God's favor on man, and the wisdom of God's actions are discussed. In the Prophethood section, the possibility of revelation and prophethood, the occurrence of revelation and prophethood, people's need for revelation and prophethood, the mu'jiza, the attributes and duties of prophets, and the rational and emotional proofs of the Prophet Muhammad's (PBUH) prophethood are presented. Under the heading of other theological issues, he examines topics such as ef'al al-'ibad, the human will, the problem of evil and evil, fate and accident, and the proofs of the existence of the hereafter. While dealing with these issues, some evaluations were made when necessary. This study examines the life and scholarly views of Yusuf Ziyâeddîn Ezherî, largely shaping its approach based on his methodology. In this regard, Ezherî's thoughts, developed within the framework of rational and textual evidence, are analyzed, supported by direct and indirect quotations. His own works, particularly Wahy and Risâlah, constitute the primary sources of this research. Additionally, various memoirs related to Ezherî, such as Mustafa Bektaşoğlu's Düzceli Âlim Yusuf Ziyâeddîn Ersal and Dr. İsmail Cambaz's Medresetü'n-Nüvvâb, as well as academic theses and articles relevant to the subject, have been utilized as secondary v sources. As a result of this research, it has been determined that Ezherî addressed theological issues of his time, focusing only on certain doctrinal matters. No views contrary to the Ahl alSunnah doctrine have been identified, and it has been observed that most of his opinions align with the Māturīdī school.