Ahmet Feyzi Efendi
Ahmet Feyzi Efendi (1839-1909) was born in Çorum’s Azap Ahmed neighbourhood, into a family of Islamic scholars. According to the TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi entry by Kâmil Şahin (Turkey’s standard reference encyclopedia of Islamic studies), his father, Ali Ârif Efendi, and his grandfather, Osman Râif Efendi, had both served as muftis before him.
Education and Career
Ahmet Feyzi Efendi completed his studies under various scholars in his hometown and received a diploma (icazet) from the renowned İskilip scholar Arapzâde Mehmed Emin Efendi (d. 1888). He belonged to the Hâlidiyye branch of the Naqshbandi order. He taught at the Kurtzâde and Alaybeyoğlu madrasas in Çorum and served intermittently as mufti between 1851 and 1884, while also holding posts as chief clerk and judge (kadı) at the local Sharia court. That he issued diplomas to a large number of students is clear from the icazetnames held today at the Çorum Provincial Public Library.
His Library
Combining works inherited from his father and grandfather with books he acquired himself, Ahmet Feyzi Efendi built up a collection of 6,112 volumes and established Çorum’s first independent library; this collection later formed the core of the Çorum Provincial Public Library, founded during the Republican era. Although his was the first independent (privately held) library in the city, Çorum already had another library before his: one founded in 1787 by Süleyman Fevzi Paşa within the Feyziyye Madrasa, which was managed for many years by the professor Yusuf Bahri Efendi. Ahmet Feyzi Efendi’s library, together with this and other later collections, formed the foundation of today’s provincial library.
Works
Known as a capable teacher, Ahmet Feyzi Efendi also authored numerous works, most of them in Arabic. Among those held at the Çorum Provincial Public Library are el-Feyżü’l-ʿalî fî şerḥi Ḥizbi’n-Nevevî, el-Fevâʾidü’l-Feyżiyye şerḥu Risâleti’l-Emîniyye, and Taḥḳīḳāt ʿalâ Muḳaddimeti’t-Telvîḥ. His only Turkish-language work, the 471-page refutation of Shi’ism Feyz-i Rabbânî Redd-i Bâtıl-ı Îrânî, survives in manuscript form in a private collection.
Ahmet Feyzi Efendi died in Çorum.