Constitutionalism And Islam In The SecondConstitutional Period: An Analysis Of Dergezenizade Hasan Rıza’s Şer’-İ Siyâsî Şerh-İ Kânûn-I Esâsî

This thesis focuses on the late Ottoman professional attorney Dergezenizade HasanRıza’s Şer’-’i Siyasi Şerh-i Kanun-ı Esasi, a legal commentary on the Ottoman constitution,to understand a legal professional’s perception of the constitution duringthe Second Constitutional Period. It aims to reconstruct his biography to evaluatehis subjectivity in locating the Ottoman constitution within the siyaset-i şer’iyyeliterature. It also traces siyaset-i şer’iyye back to early examples to understand positionof Hasan Rıza’s commentary in Islamic legal-political thought. Third, it focuseson concepts in the legal commentary, such as caliphate, imamate, maslahat, istihsan,and vahdet. Accordingly, it argues that by articulating a professional outlookon the Ottoman constitution, he seeks ways to formally authorize the constitution,formalize it within the Islamic legitimacy model, and reveal the tension between theshari authority and legal formalism. As a legal professional, by employing siyaset-işer’iyye literature in discussing the Ottoman Constitution, Hasan Rıza interpretsthe constitution not as a Western import and an entirely secular regime. Instead,by locating the constitution within this tradition, it creates a space for rulers andsociety to adhere to principles of unity, justice, and consultation within the frameworkof a constitution based on Sharia. By doing so, he reclaims a sphere of politicsthat aligns with the sharia in the post-Hamidian era, challenges the confinement ofsharia to fıqh by utilizing extra-fıqhi practices in the Islamic discourse.