Molla Şemseddin Fenari

Molla Shemseddin Fenari
Born	1350 Bursa, Ottoman Empire
Died	1431 Istanbul (Constantinople), Ottoman Empire
Residence	Istanbul, Bursa
Citizenship	Ottoman Empire
Fields	Theology, Islamic jurisprudence, Logic, Lexicography

Molla Shemseddin Fenari (Turkish: Molla Şemsüddin-i Fenârî, 1350^{[citation needed]}–March or April 1431^[1]) was an Ottoman logician, Islamic theologian, and Islamic legal academic.

Fenari was born in Bursa, then in the Ottoman Empire, and now in Turkey. He completed his education at Egypt's Ekmeluddin Madrasah. Upon graduating, he returned to Bursa and was appointed professor (müderris) at the Manastır Madrasah.

Bayezid I subsequently appointed Fenari judge (qadi) of Bursa in 1390. The death of Bayezid I precipitated a civil war, which caused Fenari to leave the country, after which he lectured in Egypt and in Hejaz (part of present-day Saudi Arabia). In 1421, Murad II ascended the throne as the sixth Ottoman Sultan and recalled Fenari to the court. Murad appointed him Sheikh ul-Islam in 1424, a position that he filled in addition to his other positions as professor and judge. He retained all three positions until the end of his life in Bursa in 1431.

During his academic career, he specialized in logic and (Islamic) jurisprudence. His papers on logic were reputed throughout the Islamic world. He also wrote an encyclopedia^{[citation needed]}. His major writings are:

• Enmuzec ül-ulum: A concise encyclopedia.
• Husul ül -bedaci fi usul iş-şeraci: Discussion on the innovations in law.

Sources

1. ^ İsmail Hâmi Danişmend, Osmanlı Devlet Erkânı, Türkiye Yayınevi, İstanbul, 1971, p. 110. (Turkish)

Persondata
Name	Fenari, Molla Semseddin
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1350
Place of birth	Bursa, Ottoman Empire
Date of death	1431
Place of death	Istanbul (Constantinople), Ottoman Empire