Fazıl Ali Bey

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 Belgrade and Baghdad expeditions, he returned to İznik, his birth place, and continued learning science. In that context, he chose zühd (piety, devoting oneself to worship) and riyazet (abstemiousness, self denial). He went to many foreign countries to learn rational and religious scholarships. Hence in his Turkish work called “Mecmûat el-mücerrebât”, he said that he had left the hometown Anatolia because of his interest to chemistry, he had travelled every city of Maghrib, Hıta and Hoten and Indian, Arabic, and Persian countries, and collected and examined the reputable and valid works on chemistry, he had taken lessons from scholars on this subject and these science journeys had lasted for thirty seven years.

Fazıl Ali Bey came to Istanbul during the late period of Sultan Mehmed III and settled in Sütlüce near Ebâ Eyüp Ensarî. Thanks to many works wrote on the Islamic science, especially on tafsir (interpretation of Koran), sufism, kalam (argumentation of scientific principles through rational evidences) and philosophical and chemical sciences, he was called and known as “müellif-i cedîd” (new writer) among the scholars. He was summoned before the padishah many times while he was in Istanbul. He resolved difficult kalam and philosophy problems in most of the scholarship councils; he interpreted firm and analogous verses. He especially interpreted the fate and destiny issues differently.

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).