Tafsir for the Crimean Khan and Ottoman Sultan

This research explores the exegetical legacy of Ibrāhīm al-Qirīmī/İbrâhim el-Kırımî (d. 1593) a prominent 16th century Crimean Sufi scholar affiliated with the Halveti order and closely connected to Ottoman Sultan Murad III. Although often overlooked in the broader landscape of Islamic intellectual history, al-Qirīmī’s writings (particularly his Qur’anic commentary on the “Light Verse”, (Q. 24:35) reveal an important synthesis of Ibn ‘Arabī-inspired Sufi allegorical interpretation (tafsīr ishārī) and Sunni orthodoxy. Recent scholarship has corrected past attributions of his work and begun to uncover his role not only as a commentator but also as a key political actor and spiritual advisor in the Ottoman court. The article places al-Qirīmī within the historical and intellectual context of late 16th century Ottoman-Persian conflicts, demonstrating how his writings reflect the religious and political discourse of his time. By analysing his hermeneutic methodology (particularly his Halveti-based theory of the soul’s stages of ascent and descent), this article covers al-Qirīmī’s contribution to the Qur’anic exegesis outside the medrese system and shows the political angles of Sufi commentary in early modern Islamic empire.