Zenbilli Ali Cemali Efendi (1445 – 1526)[1] Ottoman mufti, Islamic scholar (alim), shaykh al-Islam, Sufi, and minister.
[2] Zenbilli Ali Cemali Efendi received his first education from Mevlana Hamza of Larende, who was the grandfather of Piri Mehmed Pasha from his mother's side.
When Molla Hüsrev was appointed to the office of mufti, he went to Bursa and began to take lessons from Mevlana Hüsamzade Mustafa Efendi, who was the instructor of Sultaniye.
Upon this, Zenbilli Ali Cemali resigned from his duty, entered the service of the Halvetiyye Sufi order Sheikh Mesud-i Edirnevi and tried to get his support.
Here, besides Sinan Pasha, he attended the lodge (tekke) of Sheikh Ibn ul-Vefa Muslihuddin Mustafa from Konya and met with him frequently.
Sultan Bayezid II probably wanted to show his loyalty to his sheikh by sending him to Amasya, the residence place of Çelebi Khalife (Cemal-i Halveti) from the Cemali family, who played an influential role during his reign.
[7] In addition to this, Sultan Bayezid II handed him the madrasa built in Istanbul in 911 AH (1505-1506) – now the Turkish Calligraphy Foundation Museum – along with 50 coins to teach one day a week.
In 912 AH (1506-1507) the Sultan appointed Ali Cemali Effendi a minister for the trusts (waqifs) of his charitable foundations in different parts of the Ottoman Empire.
[7] Sultan Selim the Resolute (Yavuz in Turkish) ascended the throne after Bayezid II and left Zenbilli Ali Efendi as mufti during his reign.
Ali Cemali joined the Ottoman conquest of the island of Rhodes in the time of Sultan Suleiman and led the first Juma (Friday congregational prayer) in the Cathedral of Saint Jean, which was converted into a mosque.
[7] According to sources, Zenbilli Ali Cemali Efendi was a dignified scholar who had authority in the fields of literature, fiqh, usul, lughat (vocabulary), nahw (syntax), tafsir, and hadith.
According to the statement in Risale-i Hirz al-Muluk, he enjoyed making people's work easier and would conclude the affairs of those who applied for a fatwa in a short time.
Rumor has it that he once openly told Sultan Selim that he would issue a fatwa for his abdication if he were to order executions that were "contrary to the Sacred Law (Sharia)".
[9] It is very likely that such narrations about Zenbilli Ali Efendi and Sultan Selim I are aimed at emphasizing the importance of the station of shaykh al-Islam, which was in fact in the forming as a new official institution.
Cemaleddin Mehmed (Cemal Çelebi) worked as a judge and governor, and his daughter Sitti Şah Hatun had a mosque and madrasah built in Istanbul.