Writer (b. 1868, Şerifçe /
Manastır - d. 1945, İstanbul). He finished the School for Civil Servants in
İstanbul, where he had come after finishing high school in Thessalonica (1888).
After graduation, he worked as a teacher in Alexandroupolis and Edirne, as a
manager at the Ministry of Education in Diyarbakır, secretary, provincial
governor in Taif, Ammare and Balıkesir, and governor in Harput, Yanya and
Trabzon. He was appointed to İstanbul University as a philosophy professor in
1914, he gave history of philosophy and Sufism lessons. He also worked as the
Dean of the Faculty of Literature. He represented Turkey at international
philosophy congresses. Mehmet Ali Ayni, who published about 35 works, is known
for his articles that advocated Sufism which were published in newspapers and
for his research on the masters and history of Sufism
WORKS:
Hüccetülislâm (Proof of Islam, 1907), İlim ve Felsefe (Science and Philosophy, 1913), İbn-i Sina’da Tasavvuf (Sufism in İbn-i Sina, 1922), Tasavvuf Tarihi (History of Sufism, 1922), Hacı Bayram Veli (Hacı Bayram Veli*, 1924, 1986), Darülfünun Tarihi (History of İstanbul University, 1930), İbn-i Arabi’nin Felsefesinin Zübdesi (Quintessential Philosophy of İbn-i Arabi, in French, 1926), Türk Ahlâkçıları (Turkish Moralists, 1939; new publication prepared by İsmail Kara, 2002), Abdülkadir Geylâni (Abdülkadir Geylâni, in French, 1939), Milliyetçilik (Nationalism, 1944).
REFERENCE: İbrahim Alaeddin Gövsa / Türk Meşhurları (1946), Mücellidoğlu Ali Çankaya / Yeni Mülkiye Tarihi ve Mülkiyeliler (c. III, 1968), Türkiye Ansiklopedisi (1974, c.2, s.536), Peyami Safa / Objektif: 6-Yazarlar Sanatçılar Meşhurlar (1976), Abamüslim Akdemir / Mehmed Ali Aynî’nin Düşünce Dünyası (1997), İsmail Arar / TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi (c. 4, 1991), Niyazi Hüseyin Bahtiyar / Balkanlar’da Türk Ünlüleri (1999, s.79), Ali Büyükçapar, Türk Ahlakçıları (Alkış dergisi, K. Maraş, Eylül 2002), İhsan Işık / Resimli ve Metin Örnekli Türkiye Edebiyatçılar ve Kültür Adamları Ansiklopedisi (2006, gen. 2. bas. 2007) - Ünlü Bilim Adamları (Türkiye Ünlüleri Ansiklopedisi, C. 2, 2013) - Encyclopedia of Turkey’s Famous People (2013).
