1604, he began teaching the Hanafi madhab to the residents of the area. He rapidly began to acquire estates in and around the city which he used to plant thousands of orchards including olives, figs and other fruits. Although he did not receive funds from the Ottoman state nor from the waqf, al-Ramli ordered the rehabilitation of a number of mosques and shrines in the surrounding area. He also funded religious personnel and his students who came from various parts of the Ottoman Empire. It is understood that al-Ramli used the revenues of his agricultural pursuits to bankroll most of his financial activities, allowing him to become a philanthropist in his community. According to biographer Ibrahim al-Janini, he collected roughly 1,200 books with multiple copies which he provided to provincial officials, '''ulema, and sheikhs who requested them. Al-Ramli immediately issued numerous fatawa once he settled in al-Ramla, although he was not officially appointed the position of mufti by the state. Nonetheless, his rulings—which apparently were able to override fatawa issued by official muftis—reportedly reached Jerusalem, Damascus, Mecca, Istanbul and the Maghreb (northwestern Africa). He awarded legal certificates of approval to several Muslim scholars from these places. According to Muhibbi, "anyone who asked received one, either orally or in written form." Muhammad al-Ashari, the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem who adhered to the Shafi'i madhab, was one of many high-ranking Muslim jurists who requested a certificate from him. The muftis (Shafi'i and Hanafi) of Damascus and other major cities in Damascus Province would consult al-Ramli whenever problems arose regarding religious rulings. It was noted that even the Bedouin of the region who generally disregarded sharia law respected any fatwa issued by him due to cordial relations between them and al-Ramli. During this time period, al-Ramli also began importing various seeds from Egypt, and introduced them to Ramla. Legacy Al-Ramli died in his hometown in 1671 at the age of 86. Al-Muhibbi described him as "the last of the great ulema." Al-Ramli's fatawa ("multiple edicts") were compiled into final form in 1670, in a collection entitled al-Fatawa al-Khayriyah. These fatawa are a contemporary record of the time, and also give a complex view of agrarian relations. Modern scholars are using his works to trace the path of embryonic territorial awareness, specifically that of Palestine. His fatawa reference the Roman province of Palaestina Prima, or as it was known in the early Islamic period,