Editing Ulama (section)

===Early modern Islamic empires===
The Sunni Ottoman, and the [[Shi'a]] Safavid Persian dynasties, rulers of the two opponent early modern Islamic empires, both relied on ulama in order to legitimise their power. In both empires, ulama patronised by the royal courts created "official" religious doctrines which supported the dynastic rule. At the high points of their political power, respectively, the development took different paths: The Ottoman Sultan [[Süleyman I]] successfully integrated the imperial ulama into the imperial bureaucracy, and Ottoman secular law into Islamic law.<ref name="Zilfi 2006"/> In contrast, Shah [[Abbas I of Persia]] was unable to gain similar support by the Shi'a ulama, who retained a more independent position. During the late Safavid empire, the Shi'a ulama developed into one of the warrantors of continuity in a period of instability of the central government, thus securing a relative independency which they retained during the reign of subsequent  dynasties.<ref name="Garthwaite_NCHoI_507_508"/>

====Ottoman imperial Sunni ulama====
[[File:Seyh-ül-Islâm.jpg|thumb|Seyh-ül-Islâm, watercolour, ca. 1809]]

After the [[Fall of Constantinople]] in 1453, the leaders and subjects of the Ottoman Empire became increasingly aware of its role as a [[great power]] of its time. This new self-awareness was associated with the idea to legitimise the new political role by linking the religious scholarship to the political system: Ottoman historians of the 15th and 16th century like Ibn Zunbul or Eyyûbî,<ref>{{cite book |author=Eyyûbî |translator-first=Mehmet |translator-last=Akkuş |title=Menâkib-i Sultan Süleyman (Risâle-i Pâdisçâh-nâme) |publisher=Kültür Bakanlığı |location=Ankara |year=1991 |isbn=978-975-17-0757-4 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6vEvAAAAIAAJ}}</ref> described the deeds of the Ottoman sultans in terms of idealised Islamic [[Ghazi (warrior)|ghazi]] warriors. According to Burak (2015), the [[Ottoman literature]] genres of the "rank order" ({{langx|tr|tabaḳat}} and the "biografic lexicon" ({{langx|tr|Eş-şakaiku'n}}) compiled the biographies of scholars in such ways as to create a concise and coherent tradition of the doctrine and structure of the Ottoman imperial scholarship. During the 16th century, scholars like the Shaykh al-Islām [[Ibn Kemal|Kemālpaşazade]] (d. 1534), [[Taşköprüzade|Aḥmād b. Muṣṭafā Taşköprüzāde]] (1494–1561), Kınalızāde ʿAli Çelebi (d. 1572) and Ali ben Bali (1527–1584)<ref>{{cite book |author=Gürzat Kami |title=Understanding a sixteenth-century ottoman scholar-bureaucrat: Ali b. Bali (1527–1584) and his biographical dictionary Al-ʻIqd al-Manzum fi Dhikr Afazil al-Rum. M.A. Thesis |publisher=Graduate school of social sciences, İstanbul Şehir University |location=Istanbul |year=2015 |pages=54–55 |url=https://www.academia.edu/19605045 |access-date=2017-04-22}}</ref> established a seamless chain of tradition from [[Abu Hanifa]] to their own time. Explicitly, some authors stated that their work must not only be understood as the historiography of the Hanafi [[madhhab]], but that it should be consulted in case of eventual disagreements within the school of law. This exemplifies their purpose to establish a canon of [[Hanafi]] law within the Ottoman imperial scholarship.<ref name="Burak_P65_100">{{cite book | last=Burak | first=Guy |title=The second formation of Islamic Law. The Hanafi School in the Early Modern Ottoman Empire |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge, UK |year=2015 |isbn=978-1-107-09027-9 |pages=65–100}}</ref> which modern Ottomanists termed the "Ottoman Islam".<ref>{{cite book |author=Tijana Krstić |title=Contested Conversions to Islam: Narratives of Religious Change in the Early Modern Ottoman Empire |publisher=Stanford University Press |location=Stanford, CA |year=2011 |isbn=978-0-8047-7785-8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DtkcO1B5pCQC&pg=PT16| page=16}}</ref>

After 1453, [[Mehmed the Conqueror]] (1432–1481) had established eight madrasas in former Byzantine church buildings,<ref name="inalcik-167">{{cite book| last1=İnalcik| first1=Halil| chapter=Learning, the Medrese, and the Ulemas | title=The Ottoman Empire: The classical age 1300–1600| date=2002| publisher=Phoenix Press| location=London| isbn=978-1-84212-442-0| page=167| edition=2nd}}</ref> and later founded the ''[[Sahn-ı Seman Medrese|sahn-ı şeman]]'' or "Eight courtyards madrasa", adjacent to the [[Fatih Mosque, Istanbul|Fatih mosque]], where he brought together the most distinguished Islamic law scholars of his territory.<ref>{{cite book | last=Barkey | first=Karen |title=Empire of Difference: The Ottomans in Comparative Perspective |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge, UK |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-521-71533-1| pages=102–103}}</ref> In his 2015 study on the "second formation of Islamic law",<ref>{{cite book | last=Burak | first=Guy |title=The second formation of Islamic Law. The Hanafi School in the Early Modern Ottoman Empire |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge, UK |year=2015 |isbn=978-1-107-09027-9}}</ref> Burak has shown in detail how the Ottoman state gradually imposed upon the traditional ulama a hierarchy of "official imperial scholars", appointed and paid by the central government. From the conquest of the [[Mamluk Sultanate (Cairo)|Mamluk Sultanate of Cairo]] in 1517 onwards, the Ottoman ulama set up their own interpretation of the Sunni Hanafi doctrine which then served as the official religious doctrine of the empire. The formal acknowledgment by decree of the sultan became a prerequisite to issue fatwas. In the 17th century, the annalist al-Hamawi used the expression "sultanic mufti" (''al-ifta' al-sultani'') to delineate the difference between the officially appointed religious leaders and those who had followed the traditional way of education.<ref name=burak21-64/><ref>{{cite book |author=Muṣṭafa b. Fatḫ Allāh al-Ḥamawi |title=Fawāʿid al-irtiḫāl wa-natā'ij al-safar fi akhbār al-qarn al-ḥādī ʿashar |publisher=Dār al-Nawadīr |location=Beirut |year=2011 |page=128}}, cited after Burak 2015, p. 48</ref> Other authors at that time called the Ottoman law scholars "Hanafi of Rūm [i.e., the Ottoman Empire]" ''(Rūmi ḫānāfi)'', "Scholars of Rūm" ''(ʿulamā'-ı rūm)'' or "Scholars of the Ottoman Empire" (''ʿulamā' al-dawla al-ʿUthmaniyyā'').<ref>{{cite book |author=Aḥmad b. Muṣṭafa Taşköprüzade |title=Al-Shaqāʿiq al-nuʿmāniyya fi ʿulamā' al-dawla al-ʿUthmaniyyā |publisher=Dār al-Kitāb al-ʿArabi |location=Beirut |year=1975 |page=5}}, cited after Burak, 2015</ref> The [[Shaykh al-Islām]] ({{langx|tr|Şeyhülislam}}) in Istanbul became the highest-ranking Islamic scholar within, and head of the ulama throughout the empire.<ref name=burak21-64>{{cite book | last=Burak | first=Guy |title=The second formation of Islamic Law. The Hanafi School in the Early Modern Ottoman Empire |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge, UK |year=2015 |isbn=978-1-107-09027-9 |pages=21–64}}</ref>

The ulama in the Ottoman Empire had a significant influence over politics due to the belief that secular institutions were all subordinate to Islamic law, the [[Sharia]] ({{langx|tr|Şeriat}}). The ulama were responsible for interpreting the religious law, therefore they claimed that their power superseded that of the government.<ref name=inalcik-171>Inalcik, Halil. 1973. "Learning, the Medrese, and the Ulemas." In the Ottoman Empire: The Classical Age 1300–1600. New York: Praeger, p. 171.</ref> Within the Ottoman hierarchy of ulama, the Shaykh al-Islām held the highest rank. He exerted his influence by issuing fatwas, his written interpretations of the sharia had authority over the entire Ottoman population. In the 16th century, as the support by the ulama of the sultan and the central government was essential for shaping the still-growing empire, the importance of the office rose, and its power increased. As members of the ''[[Ilmiye]]'', the imperial scholars were part of the Ottoman elite class of the [[Askeri]], and were exempt from any taxes.<ref>{{cite book | first=Hans Georg | last=Majer|title=Vorstudien zur Geschichte der İlmiye im Osmanischen Reich|publisher=Trofenik|location=München|pages=1–28|isbn=978-3-87828-125-2|date=1978|language=de}}</ref>

However, by approving scholars and appointing them to offices, over time the sultan's influence increased over the religious scholars, although, as a Muslim, he still stood under the Islamic law.<ref name="Zilfi 2006">{{cite book | last=Zilfi | first=Madeline C. |chapter=The Ottoman Ulema | editor-first=Suraiya N. | editor-last=Faroqhi | title=The Cambridge History of Turkey | volume=3: The Later Ottoman Empire 1603–1839 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge, U.K. |year=2006 |isbn=978-0-521-62095-6 |page=213}}</ref> Even the Shaykh al-Islām was subordinate to the sultan; his position, like the ranks of the muftis, was described as a "service" ({{langx|tr|hizmet}}) or "rank" ({{langx|tr|rütbe}} or ''paye-ı Sahn''), to which a candidate was appointed or elevated.<ref>{{cite book| last=Repp | first=Richard Cooper | title=The Müfti of Istanbul. A study in the development of the Ottoman learned hierarchy| publisher=Ithaka Press| location=London| year=1986| isbn=978-0-86372-041-3| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=017YAAAAMAAJ| page=307}}</ref> Sometimes, the sultans made use of their power: In 1633, [[Murad IV]] gave order to execute the Shaykh al-Islām Ahīzāde Ḥüseyin Efendi. In 1656, Shaykh al-Islām Ḥocazāde Mesʿud Efendi was sentenced to death by sultan [[Mehmed IV]].<ref>{{cite book | last=Burak | first=Guy |title=The second formation of Islamic Law. The Hanafi School in the Early Modern Ottoman Empire |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge, UK |year=2015 |isbn=978-1-107-09027-9 |page=47}}</ref>

The use of the Sunni Islam as a legitimisation of the Ottoman dynastic rule is closely linked to Sultan [[Süleyman I]] and his [[kazasker]] and later Schaykh al-Islām [[Ebussuud Efendi]]. Ebussuud compiled an imperial book of law (''ḳānūn-nāme''),<ref name="Imber_CHT_3_236_238">{{cite book | last=Imber | first=Colin |chapter=Government, administration and law | editor-first=Suraiya N. | editor-last=Faroqhi | title=The Cambridge History of Turkey | volume=3 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge, UK |year=2006 |isbn=978-0-521-62095-6 |pages=205–240, see p.&nbsp;236–238}}</ref> which combined religious law ''(sharīʿah)'' with secular dynastic law ''([[Qanun (law)|ḳānūn]])'' in the person of the sultan.<ref name="Barkey_2008">{{cite book | last=Barkey | first=Karen |title=Empire of Difference: The Ottomans in Comparative Perspective |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge, UK |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-521-71533-1| page=134}}</ref> For example, Ebussuud provided a reason why the government could own land, or could levy and increase taxes, as the government was responsible for the protection of the common good of all Muslims.<ref name="Imber_CHT_3_236_238"/>

====Shi'a state religion of Safavid Persia====
[[Safi-ad-din Ardabili|Shaikh Safi-ad-Din Ardabili]] (1252–1334) was the founder of the [[Safaviyya]] [[tariqa]]. Safi ad-Din's great-great grandson [[Ismail I|Ismail]], who from 1501 onwards ruled over the [[Persian Empire]], was the founder of the [[Safavid dynasty]]. [[Shah]] Ismail I proclaimed the [[Twelver]] Shi'a as the new Persian state religion. To [[Safavid conversion of Iran to Shia Islam|propagate the Safavid faith]], he invited ulama from [[Qom]], [[Jabal Amel|Jabal 'Āmil]] in southern [[Lebanon]] and [[Syria]] to travel around Iran and promote the Shi'a doctrine.<ref>{{cite book| author=Willem Floor, Edmund Herzig| title=Iran and the World in the Safavid Age| date=2015| publisher=I.B.Tauris| isbn=978-1-78076-990-5| page=20| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HZNpBgAAQBAJ&q=safavids+imported+lebanon}}</ref><ref>{{cite book| last=Savory | first=Roger | title=Iran under the Safavids| date=2007| publisher=Cambridge University Press| location=Cambridge, UK| isbn=978-0-521-04251-2| page=30|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=v4Yr4foWFFgC&q=safavids+imported+syria}}</ref> In 1533, Shah [[Tahmasp I]] commissioned a new edition of the [[Safvat as-safa]], Shaikh Ṣāfī's genealogy. It was rewritten in order to support the royal family's claim at descendency from [[Musa al-Kadhim]], the Seventh Imam, and thus to legitimise the Safavid rule.<ref>{{cite book| last1=Quinn| first1=Sholeh A.| editor1-last=Cook| editor1-first=Michael |chapter=Iran under Safavid rule | title=The new Cambridge history of Islam | volume=3| date=2010| publisher=Cambridge University Press| location=Cambridge, UK| isbn=978-0-521-51536-8| pages=203–238, see p. 214| edition=3rd}}</ref>

During the reign of Shah [[Abbas I of Persia|Abbas I]] (1571 – 1629 AD), the argument of the [[Theocracy|theocratic]] unity of religious and political power was no longer sufficient to legitimise the Shah's authority: Shi'a ulama renounced the monarch's claim to represent the hidden Imam by teaching that descendancy did not necessarily mean representation. Likewise, as the influence of Sufi mysticism weakened, the Shah's role as the head of the Safaviyya lost its significance as a justification for his political role. Abbas I thus sought to associate himself with eminent ulama like [[Bahāʾ al-dīn al-ʿĀmilī|Shaykh Bahāʾi]] (1574–1621 AD), whom he made Shaykh al-Islām in his new capital, Isfahan. Other famous ulama working under Abbas's patronage were [[Mir Damad]] (d. 1631 or 1632 AD), one of the founders of the [[School of Isfahan]], and [[Ahmad ibn Muhammad Ardabili]] (d. 1585). By their teachings, they further developed the Shi'a Islamic teachings and religious practice. However, as religion did no longer suffice to support political power in Persia, Abbas I had to develop independent concepts to legitimise his rule. He did so by creating a new ''[[ghulam]]'' army, thus evoking the [[Turco-Mongol tradition]] of [[Timur]] and his reign.<ref>{{cite book| last1=Quinn| first1=Sholeh A.| editor1-last=Cook| editor1-first=Michael |chapter=Iran under Safavid rule | title=The new Cambridge history of Islam | volume=3| date=2010| publisher=Cambridge University Press| location=Cambridge, UK| isbn=978-0-521-51536-8| pages=221–224| edition=3rd}}</ref>