Fatma Zehra Hanım

Fatıma Zehra Hanım, whose date of birth has not been identified, was the wife of Gürcü Mehmed Şerif Efendi, one of the notable figures of the late Ottoman learned establishment. Mehmed Şerif Efendi was a scholar associated with high ilmiye ranks; sources record that he was honoured with the rank of Rumelian Kazasker.

Gürcü Mehmed Şerif Efendi was among the Istanbul scholars who came to prominence during the Talebe-i Ulûm movement of 1876 and the debates over the Kânûn-ı Esâsî. His name appears together with Şirvânîzâde Ahmed Hulûsi Efendi in connection with the events in which madrasa students gathered before the Sublime Porte. He was later also mentioned among the scholarly circles that opposed the constitution.

Fatıma Zehra Hanım’s son Ahmed Cevdet Bey was a member of the Meclis-i Tedkîkât-ı Şer‘iyye. This council was a high judicial body that reviewed, on appeal, decisions coming from the sharia courts after the Tanzimat reforms. Established in 1861, it functioned as an important supervisory body within the sharia judiciary.

Fatıma Zehra Hanım died on the night of Friday, 17 Muharram 1325, corresponding to 2 March 1907. She was buried in the Fatih Mosque Cemetery.