Khaled Al-Atassi

Khaled Efendi al-Atassi al-Husseini (1837 – October, 1908) ( ar, خالد الأتاسي) was a famous

Syrian Syrians ( ar, سُورِيُّون, ''Sūriyyīn'') are an Eastern Mediterranean ethnic group indigenous to the Levant. They share common Levantine Semitic roots. The cultural and linguistic heritage of the Syrian people is a blend of both indig ...

religious authority, scholar and poet. Born in Homs to the famous

Atassi Atassi, also spelled Atassi ( ar, الأتاسي) ( tr, Atasi/ Atasizade) is the name of a prominent family in Homs, Syria, of a noble and ancient lineage, dating back to the 15th century AD. More recently, members of the family lead the nationa ...

family in 1837, he went through the traditional preparation for the position of

Mufti A Mufti (; ar, مفتي) is an Islamic jurist qualified to issue a nonbinding opinion ('' fatwa'') on a point of Islamic law (''sharia''). The act of issuing fatwas is called ''iftāʾ''. Muftis and their ''fatwas'' played an important rol ...

, a post his family filled for over 400 years. His father, Mohammad Efendi Al-Atassi was the

Grand Mufti The Grand Mufti (also called Chief Mufti, State Mufti and Supreme Mufti) is the head of regional muftis, Islamic jurisconsults, of a state. The office originated in the early modern era in the Ottoman empire and has been later adopted in a num ...

of Homs, and so was his uncle, Saeed Al-Atassi. Khaled Efendi studied under famous Islamic scholars of his time in Homs and Damascus. In 1876 he was elected as deputy of Homs and

Hama Hama ( ar, حَمَاة ', ; syr, ܚܡܬ, ħ(ə)mɑθ, lit=fortress; Biblical Hebrew: ''Ḥamāṯ'') is a city on the banks of the Orontes River in west-central Syria. It is located north of Damascus and north of Homs. It is the provinci ...

to the parliament of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

. He was also given the post of Mudarres (teacher) in the Mosuqe of Khaled ibn Al-Waleed in Homs, a post that was held by his family for generations. In 1861, and while his father was still alive, Khaled Efendi assumed the position of the Mufti. However, Islamic court registers of Homs later designate him as the Deputy-Mufti, and his father as the Mufti. In 1882 the Mufti of Homs, Mohammad Al-Atassi died, but the Ottoman administration handed the Mufti position to sheikh Hafez Al-Jindi Al-Abassi, who served as a Mufti till 1885. Khaled Efendi became the Mufti of Homs in 1885 by an official decree, and was removed from his post in 1894, to be filled by his brother, Abdu-Lateef Al-Atassi. Khlaled Atassi was also a poet and an author. He left several books in the topic of Islamic jurisdiction. His most famous work was "Sharh Al-Majallah", which is an interpretation of the Ottoman Islamic Law Code based on the

Hanafi The Hanafi school ( ar, حَنَفِية, translit=Ḥanafiyah; also called Hanafite in English), Hanafism, or the Hanafi fiqh, is the oldest and one of the four traditional major Sunni schools ( maddhab) of Islamic Law (Fiqh). It is named ...

Fiqh ''Fiqh'' (; ar, فقه ) is Islamic jurisprudence. Muhammad-> Companions-> Followers-> Fiqh. The commands and prohibitions chosen by God were revealed through the agency of the Prophet in both the Quran and the Sunnah (words, deeds, and ...

school. Atassi died in 1908 before finishing the book, but it was later completed by his son Taher al-Atassi, also Mufti of Homs, and was published in 7 volumes. Several of his sons and grandsons were prominent figures and assumed high offices in Mandatory Syria. His son Hashem Al-Atassi headed the struggle against the French mandate and became president of Mandatory Syria and Syrian Republic. His son Taher Efendi took over the post of Mufti of Homs, and was elected to the Council of the Syrian States Union in 1922. Several of his grandsons became ministers in the Syrian government and deputies in the parliament. {{DEFAULTSORT:Atassi, Khaled 1837 births 1908 deaths Male poets from the Ottoman Empire Ottoman Sunni Muslims People from Homs 20th-century poets from the Ottoman Empire Khaled 19th-century poets from the Ottoman Empire 19th-century male writers Syrian people of Turkish descent 20th-century male writers Ottoman Arabic poets