Altough this verse Hanafi law manual written in Anatolian Turkish and dedicated
to the Ottoman sultan Murad II (r. 821-848/1421-1444,
850-855/1446-1451) is often described as a translation of the Wiqāya, it in fact loosely paraphrases the Wiqāya, a major epitome of the well-known Hanafi
manual of substantive law, the Burhān al-Dīn
al-Marghīnānī (d. 593/1197)’s al-Hidāya
fī Sharḥ al-Bidāya, a basic manual of Hanafi rites, observances, and law,
the Hidāya has remained a central legal text
for Hanafis. Manẓūm fıḳıh greatly resembles
the Wiqāya, employing the same standard
organizational format and imparting more or less the same legal information. As
such, it conveys the essentials of Hanafi law in a simplified, easily memorizable
verse format of rhymed couplets (mathnawī).
It also includes passages not found in the Wiqāya, suggesting that Devletoğlu Yūsuf was
more an author-compiler than translator. Since the author did not specify a name for
his work, various titles have been attributed to it, such as Manẓūm fıḳıh, Terceme-i Viḳāye, Viḳāye
tercümesi, Kitābu’l-beyān, and
Murād-nāme. Show more
This manuscript is studied by Korkmaz,
Zeynep. “İzmir Kitaplıklarında Eski – Anadolu Türkçesine Âit Birkaş Değerli
Yazma.” Türk Kütüphaneciliği 8, nos. 3-4 (1959): 40-51.
