Zenbilli Ali Cemali Efendi

Ottoman mufti and scholar; he held the office of mufti of Istanbul for twenty-four years under Bayezid II, Selim I and Süleyman the Magnificent. He is also known as Ali Cemali Efendi: he was the son of Ahmed Çelebi, grandson of Cemaleddin Aksarayi, who descended from Fakhr al-Din al-Razi, and he bears the nisba Cemali from this lineage. He became known among the people as “the mufti with the basket, Zenbilli Ali Efendi” because, in order to settle the affairs of those who came for fatwas quickly, he let down a basket from the window of his house, took the questions in it and handed back the answers in the same basket.

There is no firm information on the date and place of his birth (see Multiple Perspectives). He received his first education from Mevlana Hamza of Larende, the maternal grandfather of Piri Mehmed Paşa; he then went to Istanbul and attended the lessons of Molla Hüsrev. When Molla Hüsrev was appointed mufti he went to Bursa and studied under Hüsamzade Mustafa Efendi, professor at the Sultaniye; when he completed his studies his teacher made him his assistant (muid) and gave him his daughter in marriage.

Under Mehmed the Conqueror he was appointed professor at the Ali Bey (according to Hoca Sadeddin, Taşlık) Madrasa in Edirne; the sultan sent him 5000 akçe together with robes. When Karamani Mehmed Paşa became grand vizier, he exiled him, because of his closeness to his political rival Sinan Paşa, first to the Beylerbeyi and then to the Siraciye madrasa, and reduced his stipend. Ali Cemali thereupon resigned and entered the service of the Khalwati shaykh Mesud-i Edirnevi; later he moved to Istanbul, frequented the lodge of the Konya-born Shaykh İbnü'l-Vefa Muslihuddin Mustafa and met him often. Under Bayezid II he returned to teaching; he served as mufti of Amasya, at the Hüdavendigar and Sultaniye (Yeşilcami) madrasas in Bursa, and at the Bayezid Madrasa of Amasya, completed in 1486. When Prince Ahmed, at the circumcision feast of his sons in 896 (1491), placed his tutor Birgivizade Mustafa Efendi above the local ulema, he left his post and returned to Istanbul; after waiting for a while he was appointed to the Sultan (Bayezid) Madrasa in Istanbul and then to the Sahn-ı Seman.

While in this post he went on pilgrimage with his cousin Çelebi Halife; because of disturbances in Mecca he had to wait a year in Egypt and could perform the pilgrimage only the following year. While he was in Egypt the mufti of Istanbul, Efdalzade Hamidüddin Efendi, died (908/1503) and the office of mufti was given to him. Probably around the middle of 910 (1504) he came to Istanbul and took up the seat of the fatwa. Bayezid II also gave him the professorship of the madrasa he had built in 911 (1505-1506), and in 912 (1506-1507) appointed him supervisor of the waqfs of his charitable foundations throughout the country; thereafter it became customary to give this professorship and supervision to the muftis of Istanbul, whose office would become that of the şeyhülislam. Selim I kept him as mufti throughout his reign; under Süleyman he remained in office until his death. He was present at the conquest of Rhodes and led the first Friday prayer in the Cathedral of Saint John, converted into a mosque. When in 929 (1523) he fell too ill to work he appointed, at Süleyman's request, Shaykh Bahaeddinzade Muhyiddin Mehmed as his deputy; this continued until his death, and his tenure as mufti reached twenty-four years.

He also had a Sufi side; for this reason some works record him with the nisba “Sufi” and describe him as “one of the people of spiritual states, a possessor of wonders”. Although he had close relatives among Khalwati shaykhs such as Çelebi Halife and İshak Karamani, he was affiliated to Shaykh Muslihuddin Mustafa of the Zayniyya order.

His death is estimated to have occurred shortly before Sha'ban 932 (May-June 1526); the heading of the entry gives his death as 932/1526. Of his sons, Muhyiddin Mehmed Şah Efendi (Molla Çelebi) was the author of a Tarih-i Al-i Osman and Ruhi Çelebi of another Tevarih-i Al-i Osman; Fudayl Çelebi was a scholar with various works in verse and prose, and Cemaleddin Mehmed (Cemal Çelebi) a statesman who served as judge and governor. His daughter Sitti Şah Hatun built a masjid and a madrasa in Istanbul.

His Circle of Influence — The sources describe him as a dignified scholar with authority in jurisprudence, legal theory, literature, lexicography, grammar, exegesis and hadith; though he long held the seat of the fatwa, he never gave up his humility to the end of his life and took pleasure in easing people's affairs. It is related that he made no concessions in scholarly matters and told the sultan without hesitation that officials could be punished only within the rules of the law, and that execution was possible only by the mufti's fatwa following a court ruling. According to the source, the first important steps towards the office of mufti of Istanbul taking on a form like that of the grand vizierate, so as to exercise religious oversight, were taken during his tenure.

His Works — It is said that he followed scholarly developments and constantly renewed himself, and that he was very fond of books and had works brought from various places. His principal works are: the Mukhtarat min al-Fatawa (Fetava-yı Ali Efendi) on Hanafi jurisprudence; the Mukhtasar al-Hidaya, on jurisprudence; and the Risala fi Haqq al-Dawran, which states that Sufi dance performed for the purpose of dhikr is not forbidden, and of which two versions exist, one in prose and one in verse. The Adab al-Awsiya' attributed to him has been established as the work of his son Fudayl Çelebi.

His Tomb and Complex — His grave lies in the graveyard of the masjid and school he built at Zeyrek. Known for his charity, he had mosques, masjids and schools built in various parts of Istanbul: the Alaca Masjid on Tersane Street in Galata was demolished in 1957 when Azapkapı Street was opened; the Müftü Ali (Zenbilli Ali) Efendi Mosque in the Küçük Mustafa Paşa quarter was built as a masjid and turned into a mosque in 932 (1525-26); the single-domed, square-planned Ali Cemali Efendi School was built on the Zeyrek slope between 1523-1525. The Müftü Bath near the Müftü Ali Mosque at Fatih Kadı Çeşmesi was removed in 1960; the bath's revenue had been endowed to this mosque, masjid and school.