Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
Islam Tetkikleri Dergisi, cilt.15, sa.1, ss.293-340, 2025 (Scopus)
This article examines the treatise on discretionary punishment (ta‘zīr) written by Maḥmūd al-Fanārī who was an Ottoman scholar from the 16th-century. The first part of the study reveals the life of Maḥmūd al-Fanārī, the positions he held, and the works he authored. The second part analyzes al-Fanārī’s treatise on discretionary punishment, which has not been comprehensively studied until now. al-Fanārī stated that he wrote the treatise due to the increase in corruption and crime rates in his era and the significant reduction in punishments for ta‘zîr crimes. He attempted to outline the H̱anafī theory of discretionary punishment by drawing from various furū‘and fatwā books. The treatise addresses the place of ta‘zīr in the H̱anafī penal system, its legitimacy, and some crimes and punishments related to ta‘zīr. One of the detailed topics the treatise focuses on is liwāṭ (sodomy). al-Fanārī examined sodomy and many related issues in his work and vehemently opposed the claim, put forward by some circles in his period, that a master could engage in homosexual relations with his slave. This permissibility situation expressed by al-Fanārī was also severely criticized by some of his contemporaries in their works. One of the focal points of this study is to analyze the fiqhī issues produced regarding sodomy in that period based on al-Fanārī’s treatise. The appendix of the study includes a critical edition of the treatise.