Ömer Nasuhi Bilmen was born in the village of Salasar in Erzurum in 1882.He started his primary education by taking lessons from his uncle Abdürrezzak İlmî who was a mudarris (a teacher who gave lessons in mosques during the Ottoman period) at Ahmediye madrasa (Muslim Theological School) and Hüseyin Raki Efendi who was a mudarris and the mufti of Erzurum. He came to Istanbul in 1908 and continued to take lessons from Tokatlı Sakir Efendi who was a madrasa teacher (dersiam) in Fatih and got his consent (1909).Then he passed an exam for the Faculty of Law (Medreset’ül Kudat) where he studied law for four years. He passed a teacher certification (ruus) examination and started working as a madrasa teacher (dersiam) in Fatih.

In 1913 he was appointed a trainee clerk in

the office of Shaykh-al islam-the chief religious official in the Ottoman Empire- (Fetvahane), a year lated he was promoted to the position of clerk and in August 1915 he was appointed a member of Hey’et-i Te’lifiyye. On May 18 1916 he was appointed a mudarris (a teacher who gave lessons in mosques during the Ottoman period) of Islamic law at Darül-Hilafe Madrasa, in April 1917 he was appointed an examiner in the Court of Appeals

( Mahkeme-i Temyiz Şer’iyye Dairesi Terekeye Müteallik I’lamat Telhis Mümeyyizliğine). In 1922 he became a member of  Meclis-i Tedkikat-ı Şer’iyye. The same year this department was abolished and he continued to work as a madrasa teacher. In 1923 he became a mudarris of theological philosophy (kelam) in Sahn madrasa but this madrasa was shut down a year later. On February 14 1926 he was appointed a müsevvid (a clerk who made a fair copy of fatwas fiven by muftis) in the office of the mufti of Istanbul and on June 16 1943 he was appointed the mufti of Istanbul.

He gave lessons in Fatih mosque, Sahn Madrasa and Ottoman secondary school for orphans. He also gave Islamic law and theological philosophy lessons in Imam Hatip (religious) high school and high Islamic Institute in Istanbul. He as appointed President of the Directorate of Religious Affairs on June 30, 1960 but retired on April 6, 1961 less than a year after taking office. He passed away on October 12 1971 in Istanbul and was buried in Sakızağacı Martrys cemetery in Edirnekapı. His works had a significant effect on Turkish people. His well-known works are “Islamic law and Scientific Terms and Definition of Islamic Law’, ‘Meaning and Interpretation of the Quran” and “Great Islamic Manual of Faith Worship and Ethics”.He wrote many other works that have been published or unpublished.