Chief Jurist of Sulaiman I the Magnificent (1490-1574 CE). Document signed. [Istanbul. 1 page. Ottoman Turkish fatwa, signed by Ebussuud Efendi at lower right. Black ink on paper.
$ 9,811 / 8.500 €
(105821/BN67535)
Signed in the hand of the Chief Jurist and Shaikh al-Islam of Suleiman the Magnificent: a legal fatwa in elegant sulus script, with gold dust embellishments. - Ebussuud Efendi rose through the Ottoman ranks to become the highest-ranking legal scholar in the empire. In his time in office, he issued thousands of first-hand legal rulings on nearly every possible subject. This fatwa asks Ebussuud Efendi to settle a complex dispute: two siblings inherited a plot of farmland, but did not cultivate it themselves.
Instead, a third individual farmed the land, but did not give the siblings their share for twelve years. Ebussuud Efendi is asked to settle the rights of the siblings for the twelve unpaid years. - As chief jurist, these legal rulings were a regular task. Ebussuud's signature appears at the lower right; often, he simply noted a yes or no answer as his ruling, but each new fatwa established a precedent and reinforced the legal code of the Ottomans, within the framework of classical Islamic jurisprudence..