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Molla Gürâni was a 15th-century kurdish Ottoman administrator and mufti. He became the chief judge of the Ottoman Empire under Mehmed II after the death of Murad II in 1451. Gürâni was part of Mehmed's council during the conquest of Constantinople, and he wrote an account of the conquest that was sent to the Mamluk sultan. In 1480, he was appointed mufti of Istanbul or Shaykh al-Islām, a position he held for the rest of his life, serving under both Mehmed II and Bayezid II. Gürâni built several institutions in Istanbul, and he died there in 1488.

Early life

Gürâni was born on August 28, 1406, or in 1410 or in 1411, in a place called Gûrân in Esfarayen or in Shahrizor or near Diyarbekir or near Halabja, and given the name Şemseddin Ahmed b. İsmâil or Şerefeddin or Şehâbeddin. He was later also given the honorific mollâ or mevlânâ and became known by the nisba Gürânî, Şehrizorî, Hemedânî, Tebrîzî, Kâhirî, or Rûmî, thus his usual appellation Molla Gürâni. He may have been of Kurdish ancestry.

He studied qira'at, kalam, tafsir, nahw (Arabic syntax), and fiqh in Baghdad and Arabic language and literature in Hasankeyf. At 17, he moved on to study in Damascus for five years and then to Jerusalem. After that, he moved on to Cairo, where he studied hadith, qira'at, tafsir, and fiqh, and received his ijazah from Ibn Hajar.

Mamluk career

Gürâni was appointed mudarris of fiqh at the Barquq Madrasa in Cairo and participated in scholarly assemblies in the court of Mamluk Sultan Sayf al-Din Jaqmaq, although in 1440 after a dispute with another scholar, he was found guilty of insulting the scholar's ancestors, sentenced to 80 blows with a rod (değnek), removed from his madrasa position, and exiled to Damascus.

Ottoman career

Around the time of his punishment, either in Aleppo or Cairo, Gürâni met Ottoman scholar Molla Yegân, who brought him to Sultan Murad II; the sultan appointed him mudarris first in the Kaplıca Madrasa in Bursa and then in the Yıldırım Madrasa. At some point, he changed from the Shafi'i school of jurisprudence to the Hanbali school. In 1443 he was appointed teacher (hoca) to Murad's son Mehmet, and he probably remained with Mehmed when Murad abdicated in favor of Mehmed in 1444 and when Murad returned to the throne in 1446.

After Murad's death in 1451, Mehmed again became sultan and offered him a position as vizier, which he refused, and then a position as kazasker, which he accepted. He was part of Mehmed's council during the conquest of Constantinople and afterward wrote the account of events, the fetihnâme that was sent to the Mamluk sultan.

He was dismissed as kazasker in 1455 for acting too independently and sent to Bursa as qadi and as administrator (mütevelli) of evkaf. He was dismissed from this post for tearing up a firman he considered contrary to Sharia and beating its bearer. He then went on hajj, passing through Aleppo, Damascus, and Jerusalem on the way, and returning to Istanbul in 1458. At that time he was again appointed qadi in Bursa.

In 1480 he was appointed mufti of Istanbul or Shaykh al-Islām, a position he held till his death, serving under both Mehmed II and Bayezid II. He was said to have a modest but dignified personality and superior morality, to be uncompromising in knowledge, and to be unhesitant in expressing his opinions.

He died in 1488, in Istanbul, and was buried in the Aksaray neighborhood of Istanbul or near Yüksek Kaldırım in Karaköy, Istanbul.

Legacy

Gürâni built several institutions in Istanbul, including a mosque in Çapa; small mosques (mescit) in Galata, Mercan, and Vefa; a hadith school (dârülhadîs) in Vefa; elementary schools in Çapa, Galata, and Vefa; a hammam in Mercan; and a han in Bahçekapı. Of these, only the small mosque in Mercan was still in existence in the 1970s. He also had a Byzantine church converted into a mosque, now known as the Molla Gürani Mosque.

The neighborhood surrounding Gürâni's mosque in Çapa, Istanbul, became known as the Molla Gürâni neighborhood and is still known as that even though the mosque burned in 1917.

Gürâni's descendant, Burhaneddîn İbrâhîm El-Gurânî (1616/17-1697), was the author of more than 100 scholarly works.

The Güran family of the Bağlar district of Diyarbakır claims to be descended from Gürâni.

References

1. Yaşaroğlu, M. Kâmil (2020). "Molla Gürânî". TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi (in Turkish). TDV İslâm Araştırmaları Merkezi. Retrieved 15 September 2024.
2. Repp, R. C. (1986). The Müfti of Istanbul: A Study in the Development of the Ottoman Learned Hierarchy. London: Ithaca Press. pp. 166–167.
3. Ünal, Mehmet (2021). "Mollâ Gürâni, Şemseddîn Ahmed". Türk Edebiyatı İsimler Sözlüğü (in Turkish). Ahmet Yesevi Üniversitesi. Retrieved 15 September 2024.
4. Babinger, Franz (1978). Mehmed the Conqueror and His Time. Translated by Manheim, Ralph. Princeton: Princeton University Press. p. 24.
5. Repp. The Müfti of Istanbul. pp. 144, 166–167 n. 113.
6. Yaşaroğlu, Molla Gürânî
7. Ünal, Mollâ Gürâni, Şemseddîn Ahmed
8. Yaşaroğlu, Molla Gürânî
9. Yaşaroğlu, Molla Gürânî
10. Repp. The Müfti of Istanbul. pp. 167–168.
11. Yaşaroğlu, Molla Gürânî
12. Repp. The Müfti of Istanbul. pp. 168–169.
13. Yaşaroğlu, Molla Gürânî
14. Repp. The Müfti of Istanbul. pp. 169–170.
15. Yaşaroğlu, Molla Gürânî
16. Repp. The Müfti of Istanbul. pp. 170–172.
17. Yaşaroğlu, Molla Gürânî
18. Ünal, Mollâ Gürâni, Şemseddîn Ahmed
19. Repp. The Müfti of Istanbul. pp. 173–174.
20. Yaşaroğlu, Molla Gürânî
21. Ünal, Mollâ Gürâni, Şemseddîn Ahmed
22. Ayverdi, E. Hakkı; Yüksel, İ. Aydın (1976). İlk 250 Senenin Osmanlı Mimârîsi [Ottoman Architecture: The First 250 Years] (in Turkish). İstanbul Fetih Cemiyeti. pp. 228–229.
23. "Tarihte Fatih" [Fatih (District) in History]. T.C. Fatih Belediyesi (in Turkish). Fatih Belediyesi. Retrieved 21 September 2024.
24. Bozkurt, Kenan (2023). "Türkiye'deki Bazı Yazma Eser Kütüphanelerinde Bulunan 'Kürdî' Künyeli Müellifler ve Onlara Ait Eserler" [Authors with the Kunya 'Kürdî' in Some Manuscript Libraries in Turkey and Their Works]. Kurdiyat (in Turkish) (8): 112. Retrieved 15 September 2024.
25. "Molla Gürani Kimdir? Narin'in Ölümüyle Soruşturulan Güran Ailesi Hangi Aşiretten?" [Who Is Molla Gürani? Which Tribe Is the Güran Family From--the Family Being Investigated in Narin's Death?]. Sözcü (in Turkish). İstanbul. 12 September 2024. Retrieved 15 September 2024.

v t e Sheikh-ul-Islams of the Ottoman Empire
15th Century	Molla Fenari Fahreddin-i Acemi Molla Hüsrev Molla Gürâni Molla Abdülkerim Efendi Alâeddin Arabî Efendi Efdalzade Hamîdüddin Efendi
16th Century	Zenbilli Ali Efendi Kemalpaşazade Ahmet Şemsettin Efendi (İbn-i Kemal) Sadullah Sadi Efendi Çivizade Muhiddin Mehmed Efendi Abdülkadir Hamidî Çelebi Fenarîzade Muhyiddin Çelebi Ebussuud Efendi Çivizade Damadı Hamid Efendi Kadızade Ahmed Şemseddin Efendi Malûlzade Mehmed Efendi Çivizade Hacı Mehmed Efendi Abdülkadir Şeyhî Efendi Bostanzade Mehmed Efendi Bayramzade Zekeriya Efendi Hoca Sâdeddin Efendi Cafer Mustafa Sunullah Efendi
17th Century	Hocazade Mehmed Efendi Ebülmeyamin Mustafa Efendi Hocazade Esad Efendi Zekeriyazade Yahya Efendi Ahizade Hüseyin Efendi Ebusaid Mehmed Efendi Muid Ahmet Efendi Hacı Abdürrahim Efendi Bahai Mehmet Efendi Karaçelebizade Abdülaziz Efendi Hüsamzade Abdurrahman Efendi Memikzade Mustafa Efendi Hocazade Mesud Efendi Hanefi Mehmet Efendi Balizade Mustafa Efendi Bolevi Mustafa Efendi Esiri Mehmet Efendi Sunizade Seyit Mehmet Emin Efendi Minkarizade Yahya Efendi Çatalcalı Ali Efendi Ankaravi Mehmet Emin Efendi Debbağzade Mehmet Efendi Feyzullah Efendi Ebusaitzade Feyzullah Feyzi Efendi Sadık Mehmet Efendi İmam Mehmet Efendi
18th Century	Paşmakçızade Ali Efendi Yekçeşm Hüseyin Efendi Sadık Mehmet Efendi Ebezade Abdullah Efendi Mehmed Ataullah Efendi İmam Mahmud Efendi Mirza Mustafa Efendi Menteşzade Abdürrahman Efendi Ebu İshak İsmail Efendi Yenişehirli Abdullah Efendi Mirzazade Şeyh Mehmed Efendi Paşmakçızade Abdullah Efendi Damatzade Ebulhayr Ahmet Efendi Ebuishakzade İshak Efendi Dürri Mehmed Efendi Feyzullahzade Mustafa Efendi Pirizade Mehmed Sahib Efendi Hayatizade Mehmet Emin Efendi Seyit Mehmet Zeynelabidin Efendi Ebuishakzade Mehmed Esad Efendi Mehmed Said Efendi Seyyid Murtaza Efendi Abdullah Vassaf Efendi Damatzade Feyzullah Efendi Dürrizade Mustafa Efendi Mehmed Salih Efendi Çelebizade İsmail Asım Efendi Veliyyüddin Efendi Ebubekirzade Ahmed Efendi Pirizade Osman Sahib Efendi Mirzazade Seyit Mehmet Sait Efendi Şerifzade Seyit Mehmet Şerif Efendi Dürrizade Mustafa Efendi İvazpaşazade İbrahim Bey Efendi Salihzade Mehmet Emin Efendi Vassafzade Mehmet Esat Efendi Mehmet Şerif Efendi Seyit İbrahim Efendi Dürrizade Seyit Mehmet Ataullah Efendi İvazpaşazade İbrahim Bey Efendi Arapzade Ahmet Ataullah Efendi Dürrizade Seyit Mehmet Arif Efendi Müftizade Ahmet Efendi Mekkî Mehmet Efendi Seyit Mehmet Kamil Efendi Hamitzade Mustafa Efendi Seyit Yahya Tevfik Efendi Mustafa Aşir Efendi
19th Century	Sâmânizade Ömer Hulusi Efendi Salihzade Ahmed Esad Efendi Şerifzade Ataullah Mehmed Efendi Arapzade Mehmed Arif Efendi Dürrizade Abdullah Efendi Mehmed Zeynelabidin Efendi Mekkizade Mustafa Asım Efendi Çerkes Halil Efendi Yasincizade Abdülvehhab Efendi Ahmed Reşid Efendi Kadızade Mehmed Tahir Efendi Ahmed Arif Hikmet Bey Efendi Meşrepzade Mehmed Arif Efendi Mehmed Sadeddin Efendi Atıfzade Hüsameddin Efendi Mehmed Refik Efendi Hasan Fehmi Efendi Ahmed Muhtar Molla Bey Efendi Turşucuzade Ahmed Muhtar Efendi Hasan Hayrullah Efendi Hasan Fehmi Efendi Hasan Hayrullah Efendi Kara Halil Efendi Uryanizade Ahmed Esad Efendi Bodrumlu Ömer Lütfi Efendi Mehmet Cemaleddin Efendi
20th Century	Mehmed Ziyâeddin Efendi Mehmed Sahib Efendi Çelebizade Hüseyin Hüsnü Efendi Musa Kazım Efendi Abdurrahman Nesib Efendi Mehmed Esad Efendi Ürgüplü Mustafa Hayri Efendi Ömer Hulusi Efendi Haydarizade İbrahim Efendi Mustafa Sabri Efendi Dürrizade Abdullah Beyefendi Medeni Mehmed Nuri Efendi

• Jurists from the Ottoman Empire
• Sheikh-ul-Islams of the Ottoman Empire
• 15th-century Muslim theologians
• Islamic scholars from the Ottoman Empire
• Shaykh al-Islāms