Ali al-Bistami

''''Ala' al-Dln 'All al-Bistami''' (1403-1470/71),{{sfn|Cici|2001|p=171}}{{sfn|Atçıl|2016|p=66}} better known as '''Ali al-Bistami''' or '''Musannifek''' ("Little Author"), was a Persian [[Hanafi]] [[Maturidi]] scholar, prolific author, [[mullah]] and [[sheikh]] who served the [[Ottoman Empire]].{{sfn|Babinger|1992|p=490}}

Musannifek traced his descent back to the [[caliph]] [[Umar]].{{sfn|Babinger|1992|p=490}} He was educated in [[Herat]], capital of the [[Timurid Empire]]. In the 1440s, he moved to [[Karamanid]]-ruled [[Anatolia]] and began teaching in [[Konya]]. At the invitation of [[Mahmud Pasha Angelović]], [[Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire]], Musannifek moved to [[Constantinople]], where he received 80 [[akçe]] per day.{{sfn|Atçıl|2016|p=66}} When the eccentric scholar [[Hasan Çelebi el-Fenari]] criticized one of al-Bistami's books at Mahmud Pasha's house, he was warned that al-Bistami was just next to him, which caused embarrassment to Çelebi; Mahmud Pasha comforted him by noting that al-Bistami was deaf.{{sfn|Babinger|1992|p=490}}

Al-Bistami followed the Ottoman ruler [[Mehmed the Conqueror]] on his campaigns. Upon Mehmed's conquest of the [[Republic of Genoa|Genoese]]-held island of [[Lesbos]] in 1462, al-Bistami was put in charge of [[Mytilene]], the island's capital. Despite being promised safety, 300 Genoese prisoners were [[death by sawing|sawn in half]].{{sfn|Babinger|1992|p=211}} When Mehmed marched towards the [[Kingdom of Bosnia]] the following year, al-Bistami was again among his retinue. Bosnia was subdued in May, and the captured [[Stephen Tomašević of Bosnia|King Stephen Tomašević]] was promised safety by Mahmud Pasha. The Sultan had no intention of keeping the promise, however, and summoned al-Bistami. Al-Bistami delivered a [[fatwa]]h declaring Mahmud Pasha's promise non-binding, drew his sword and beheaded the last King of Bosnia.{{sfn|Babinger|1992|p=222}}

==References== {{Reflist|2}}

== Bibliography== *{{cite book|last=Babinger|first=Franz|author-link=Franz Babinger|title=Mehmed the Conqueror and His Time|publisher=Princeton University Press|location=USA|year=1992|isbn=0-691-01078-1}} *{{cite book|last=Atçıl|first=Abdurrahman|title=Scholars and Sultans in the Early Modern Ottoman Empire|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2016|isbn=978-1107177161}} *{{cite book|last=Cici|first=Recep|title=Osmanlı dönemi İslâm hukuku çalışmaları: kuruluştan Fatih devrinin sonuna kadar|publisher=Arasta Yayınları|year=2001|isbn=9758484079|language=tr}}

[[Category:1403 births]] [[Category:1470 deaths]] [[Category:Persian Sunni Muslim scholars of Islam]] [[Category:15th-century writers from the Ottoman Empire]] [[Category:Deaf writers]] [[Category:Afghan people with disabilities]] [[Category:Deaf people]] [[Category:Hanafis]] [[Category:Maturidis]] [[Category:Deaf scholars and academics]]