Chemist, philosopher (B. ?,
İznik - D. 1608). His full name is Şeyh Alaeddin Ali Bey b. Hüsrev el-Saruhanî
el-İznikî. He was known
as Ali Çelebi or Fazıl Ali Bey. Since
he was a person outstanding with his virtues (fazilet), he was given the name
“Fazıl”. He was a relative of Vahyizade, who descended from Şeyh Edebalı. After
joining
Fazıl Ali Bey came to
In December 1603, Ali
Bey had Sultan Ahmet gird on sword in the Tomb of Ebâ Eyyûb Ensarî. According
to the work of Müstakimzade named “Menakib-i
melâmiye-i bayramiye”, it is believed that Ali Bey, who received caliphate
(authorised representative) from Hoca Ali el-Rumî of Tırhala, who was one of
the notable sheiks of Bayramî melâmîs and known with the name of İdris-i
Muhtefî, was a member of Celvetiye Dervish Order. When
he died, he was buried in the Ebâ Eyyûb Ensarî Tomb. The fact that Fazıl Ali
Bey had an işrâkî
philosophical orientation shows that he possessed a Stoic and Platonist
character.
In order to mention his
high productivity, Kâtip Çelebi expressly said that he was the “divine secret” owner of chemistry. Apart
from the sayings of Ataî and Kâtip Çelebi, considering in the scope of
Ottoman-Turkish science history, Fazıl Ali Bey is the most productive chemistry
writer. In this respect, he can be said to be the main and biggest
representative of old chemistry in the Ottoman-Turkish world. In order to be
able to understand his place within Ottoman-Turkish chemistry history in the
old chemistry tradition, the Ottoman-Turkish chemistry studies before him must
be reviewed. However, almost none of his works has been reviewed scientifically.
During its years of
foundation, Ottoman-Turkish chemistry utilized the heritage of classical Islam
civilisation of which he is a natural continuation. In that framework, it
collected the chemistry knowledge of religious or official issues that society
and government need, from the chemistry works of the classical period. Personally
the Ottoman writers wrote many works in Turkish and Arabic. Yet during the
early times, Aşık Pasha (1272-1333) wrote a poetic work named “Risâle-i Kimya” (T.N. Booklet of
Chemistry). Eşrefoğlu Rumî wrote his work named “Kamer el-akmar fî keşf el-esrâr” and .Bostanzade Mustafa Efendi (D. 1561) wrote “Necât el-ahbab ve tuhfet zevi-el-elbâb” utilizing
the works of “the olds”. In this context, many more names can be mentioned
here. Fâzıl Ali Bey, who has grown within this chemistry heritage we mentioned
briefly and who improved his related knowledge thanks to his scientific
journeys to Islamic countries, is recognized in the Islamic history of
chemistry as the renovator successor of Câbir b. Hayyân and Ebû Bekr el-Râzî
and especially Ali Aydemiroğlu, a scholar from Mameluke. There are nearly forty
Turkish and Arabic works of Fazıl Ali Bey. Most of them have been written within
the old chemistry tradition. Besides the works he has written utilizing the works
of previous big chemists, Fazıl Ali Bey also has written some works about the
chemistry experiments he has conducted.
WORKS:
CHEMISTRY: Durer el-envâr fî esrâr el-ehcâr, Keşf
el-esrâr ve hetk el-estâr, Mecmûât el-mücerrabât fî el-kimyâ, Cevâhir el-esrâr
fi meârif el-ehcâr, el-Durret el-beyzâ fî el-iksîr el-hamrâ, el-Sır el-rabbânî
fî el-ilm el-cismânî ve el-rûhânî, Kitâb dekâik el-mîzân fî mekâdir el-evzân, el-Misbâh
fî ilm esrâr el-miftâh, Tevâli el-budûr fî şerh el-şuzûr, el-Muntehab fî sınâat
el-zeheb (on turning
cheap metals into gold), Mefâtîh el-kunûz
fî hall el-rumûz, Semeret el-irşâd ve tahrîc el-ervâh ve el-ecsâd, el-Sırr
el-rabbânî fî ilm el-mîzân, el-Durret el-beyzâ fî sedef el-hukema (On mother-of-pearl stone), Dîvân fî el-iksîr, Durret el-ğavvâs fî esrâr
el-havvâs, Mukaddimet el-vasl, Tervîh el-ervâh fî esrâr el-miftâh, Envâr
el-terkîb, Kitâb envâ' el-durer fî îzâh el-hacer, Kitâb levh zeheb el-esrâr fî
meârif el-ehcâr, Kitâb el-muntahab fi el-iksîr, Durret el-durer ve tuhfet
el-ğurer.
OTHER: Risâle fî el-tasavvuf (On sufism), Risâle fî el-kaza ve el-kader (On fate
and destiny), Aşrete ebvâb, Miftâh
el-hikme (On philosophy), Risâle fî
ilm el-ilâhî (On metaphysics), el-Firâse
ilâ marifet el-hisâl el-kâmine (On agriculture), Dîvân-i hikmet, Resf el-âlem
fî vasf el-kalem, Risâle fî zuhûr
el-fitne, Şerh kasîde el-sa’lûkiyye
(On Arabian literature).
REFERENCE:
Prof. Dr. İhsan Fazlıoğlu / Fazıl Ali Bey (ihsanfazlioglu.net, erişim tarihi:
23 Şubat 2012), İhsan Işık / Ünlü Bilim Adamları (Türkiye Ünlüler
Ansiklopedisi, c. 2, 2013) - İhsan Işık / Ünlü Bilim Adamları (Türkiye Ünlüler
Ansiklopedisi, c. 2, 2013) - Encyclopedia of Turkey’s
Famous People (2013) - Resimli ve Metin Örnekli Türkiye Edebiyatçılar ve Kültür
Adamları Ansiklopedisi (C. 12, 2017).