ULUM
Dini Tetkikler Dergisi
Journal of Religious Inquiries
ﻋﻠﻮم ﻣﺠﻠﺔ اﻟﺪراﺳﺎت اﻟﺪﯾﻨﯿﺔ
e-ISSN 2645-9132
SCOPE Religious Studies Dinî Araştırmalar KAPSAM
PERIOD Biannually (31 July & 31 December) Yılda 2 Sayı (31 Temmuz & 31 Aralık) PERİYOT
VOLUME/ISSUE 2/1 2/1 CİLT /SAYI
ONLINE PUBL. DATE August 26, 2019 26 Ağustos 2019 E-YAYIN TARİHİ
PUBLICATION LANGUAGE English İngilizce YAYIN DİLİ
ULUM is an academic refereed journal dedicated to publishing articles, essays, symposium
reviews, and book reviews primarily within the fields of Religious and Islamic Studies.
ULUM is published twice a year in July and December and adopts double-blind peer-review
process. There are at least two reviewers for the total number of articles in each issue. In
addition, all articles are checked by means of a software program in order to confirm that
they are unpublished and avoid plagiarism. ULUM accepts paper submission from research-
ers with only doctoral degrees in research articles and book review.
It requires writers to use the ISNAD Citation Style
www.isnadsistemi.org
EDITOR IN CHIEF | EDİTÖR
Dr. Abdullah Demir
Ankara Yıldırım Beyazıt University, Faculty of Islamic Sciences, Department of Kalam and History of Islamic Sects
Ankara, TURKEY abdillahdemir@hotmail.com ORCID 0000-0001-7825-6573
FIELD EDITORS | ALAN EDİTÖRLERİ
Prof. Dr. Ali Osman Kurt
Social Sciences University of Ankara, Faculty Of Religous Education, Department of History of Religions
Ankara, Turkey alosman66@gmail.com
Assoc. Prof. Ali AVCU
Social Sciences University of Ankara, Faculty of Religous Education, Department of History of Islamic Sects
Ankara, Turkey aliavcu01@hotmail.com
Assoc. Prof. Harun Çağlayan
Kırıkkale University, Faculty of Islamic Education, Department of Kalam and Islamic Sects
Kırıkkale, Turkey caglayanharun@gmail.com
ULUM e-ISSN 2645-9132 ULUM 2/1 (2019)
Dr. Mustafa Selim YILMAZ
Karabük Universıty, Faculty of Theology, Department of Kalam and Islamic Sects
Karabük, Turkey s.mutekellim@gmail.com
Dr. Özcan AKDAĞ
Erciyes Unıversity, Faculty Of Theology, Department of Philosophy of Religion
Kayseri, Turkey ozcanakdag@erciyes.edu.tr
Dr. Ömer SABUNCU
Harran University, Faculty of Theology, Department of Islamic History
Şanlıurfa, Turkey omersabuncu@gmail.com
Dr. Peyman ÜNÜGÜR
Ankara Yıldırım Beyazıt Univesity, Faculty of Islamic Sciences, Department of Hadith
Ankara, Turkey peyman.unugur@gmail.com
Research Assistant Hacer ERGİN
Ankara Yıldırım Beyazıt University, Faculty of Islamic Education, Department of Islamic Philosophy
Ankara, Turkey hacergin91@gmail.com
ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDITOR | İNGİLİZCE DİL EDİTÖRÜ
Dr. Arif BAKLA
Sivas Cumhuriyet University, Faculty of Education, Department of Foreign Language Education
Sivas, Turkey arifbakla@gmail.com
TURKISH LANGUAGE EDITOR / TÜRKÇE DİL EDİTÖRÜ
Prof. Dr. Celal DEMİR
Afyon Kocatepe University, Faculty of Education, Department of Social Sciences and Turkish Language Teaching De-
partment Of Turkish Education
Afyonkarahisar, Turkey cdemir@aku.edu.tr
EDITORIAL AND ADVISORY BOARD
Prof. Dr. İsmail ÇALIŞKAN
Ankara Univesity, Faculty of Divinity, Department of Tafsir
Ankara, Turkey duralaroltu@hotmail.com
Prof. Dr. Ali Osman KURT
Social Sciences University of Ankara, Faculty of Religous Education, Department of History of Religions
Ankara, Turkey alosman66@gmail.com
Prof. Dr. Muhammet TARAKÇI
Uludağ University, Faculty of Theology, Department of History of Religions
Bursa, Turkey mtarakci@uludag.edu.tr
Assoc.Prof. Mehmet KALAYCI
Ankara Univesity, Faculty of Divinity, Department of History of Islamic Sects,
Ankara, Turkey mehkala@gmail.com
Assoc. Prof. Harun ÇAĞLAYAN
Kırıkkale University, Faculty of Islamic Education, Department of Kalam and Islamic Sects
Kırıkkale, Turkey caglayanharun@gmail.com
Assoc. Prof. Ali AVCU
Social Sciences University of Ankara, Faculty of Religous Education, Department of History of Islamic Sects
Ankara, Turkey aliavcu01@hotmail.com
www.dergipark.gov.tr/ulum
ULUM e-ISSN 2645-9132 ULUM 2/1 (2019)
Assoc. Prof. Mehmet Nesim DORU
Mardin Artuklu Unıversity, Faculty of Letters, Department of History of Philosophy
Mardin, Turkey nesimdoru@hotmail.com
Dr. Abdullah Demir
Ankara Yıldırım Beyazıt University, Faculty of Islamic Sciences, Department of Kalam and History of Islamic Sects
Ankara, TURKEY abdillahdemir@hotmail.com
Dr. Emrah KAYA
Sakarya University, Faculty of Theology, Department of Islamic Philosophy
Sakarya, Turkey emrahkaya@sakarya.edu.tr
Dr. Özcan AKDAĞ
Erciyes University, Faculty Of Theology, Department of Philosophy of Religion
Kayseri, Turkey ozcanakdag@erciyes.edu.tr
Dr. Kadir GÖMBEYAZ
Kocaelı University, Faculty of Theology, Department of Kalam and Islamic Sects
Kocaeli, Turkey kgombeyaz@hotmail.com
INDEXING
INDEX ISLAMICUS (Accepted: 18.09.2018 Volume/ Issue: 1/1 (July 2018)
ABSTRACTING
DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals (Accepted: 03/12/2018)
ROAD: Directory Of Open Access Scholarly Resources (Accepted: 07/08/2018)
OPENAIRE (S. Date: 15/08/2018)
J-GATE: E-Journal Gateway (Accepted: 22/08/2018)
PhilPapers (Accepted: 01/08/2018)
Zenodo (01/08/2018)
EXECUTIVE OFFICE
Ankara Yıldırım Beyazıt University, Faculty of Islamic Studies
Esenboga Kulliyesi C-325, Ankara, Turkey
ulumdergisi@gmail.com
www.dergipark.org.tr/ulum
ULUM 2/1 (2019)
ULUM
Dini Tetkikler Dergisi
Journal of Religious Inquiries
ﻋﻠﻮم ﻣﺠﻠﺔ اﻟﺪراﺳﺎت اﻟﺪﯾﻨﯿﺔ
e-ISSN 2645-9132
Volume: 2 Issue: 1 (2019)
CONTENTS | İÇİNDEKİLER
ULUM Journal of Religious Inquiries 1/1 (July 2019)
ULUM Dini Tetkikler Dergisi 2/1 (Temmuz 2019)
Abdullah Demir (ed.) 3 – 4
ARTICLES | MAKALELER
Islamophobia in European Schools: A Multinational Phenomenological Research
Avrupa Okullarında İslamofobi: Çok Uluslu Fenomenolojik Bir Araştırma
Ali Baltacı - Murat Kayacan 5 – 28
Methods and Varieties of Guidance According to Imām Māturīdī
İmām Mātürīdī’de Hidayetin Yöntem ve Çeşitleri
Harun Çağlayan 29 – 50
Attachment Theory and Child’s Perception of God at 4-6 Ages
Bağlanma Teorisive 4-6 Yaş Arası Çocuklarda Tanrı Algısı
Ayşe Aydar - Behlül Tokur 51 – 74
Murtakib al-Kabīra (Cardinal Sinner) and Takfīr (Excommunication) from the Perspective of Ibn Ḥaẓm:
A Political and Theological Review
İbn Hazm Perspektifinden Büyük Günah ve Tekfîr: Politik ve Teoolojik Açıdan Bir Değerlendirme
Fikret Soyal 81 – 101
The Transformation of Ottoman Criminal Law in the 19th Century: The Example of Crime of Complicity
19. Yüzyıl Osmanlı Ceza Hukukundaki Dönüşüm: Suça İştirâk Örneği
Kübra Nugay - Abdullah Kahraman 103 – 120
www.dergipark.org.tr/ulum
ULUM e-ISSN 2645-9132
TRANSLATED ARTICLES | ÇEVİRİ MAKALELER
A Sufi’s Interpretation of Ḥadīth: The Case of Ibn ʿArabī and the Ḥadīths about Holding up the hands during
the prayer (Raf‘ al-yadain)
Bir Sūfī’nin Hadis Yorumu: Raf’u’l-Yedeyn Hadisi - İbn Arabî Örneği
Mehmet Ayhan 121 – 132
The Criticism of Materialism in Late Ottoman’s New Science of Kalām
Osmanlı Yeni İlm-i Kelâmında Materyalizm Eleştirileri
Mehmet Bulğen 133 – 167
A Guide for Book Reviews
Kitap Değerlendirmesi Yazım Kılavuzu
Kadir Gömbeyaz 169 – 174
SUMMARIES OF DOCTORAL DISSERTATIONS | DOKTORA TEZ ÖZETLERİ
Ibn Taymiyya’s Contextual Biblical Hermeneutics in Al-Jawāb al-Ṣaḥīḥ/The Correct Response
İbn Teymiyye’nin el-Cevâbü’s-sahîh İsimli Eserindeki Kitâb-ı Mukaddes Metinlerinin Yorumu
Zeynep Yücedoğru 177 - 179
Hildegard as a Mystic and her Place in the Christian Thought
Bir Hıristiyan Mistik Olarak Hildegard ve Hıristiyan Düşüncesindeki Yeri
Halil Temiztürk 181 - 186
The Perception of Human Being in al-Māturīdī
Mâtürîdî’de İnsan Tasavvuru
Osman Nuri Demir 187 - 191
The Relation of Ḥanafī-Māturīdī Kalām System with Sufism in the Early Period
Erken Dönemde Hanefî-Mâtürîdî Kelâm Sisteminin Tasavvufla İlişkisi
Yunus Eraslan 193 - 196
The Production of Space: Everyday Life in Medina in The Period of The Prophet Muḥammad
Mekânın Üretimi: Hz. Muhammed Dönemi Medîne’de Gündelik Hayat
İlyas Uçar 197 - 201
Textual Criticism In Shīʿa
Şīʿa’da Metin Tenkidi
Peyman Ünügür 203 - 208
www.dergipark.gov.tr/ulum
4 | ULUM Journal of Religious Inquiries 2/1 (July 2019)
EDİTÖRDEN
ULUM Dini Tetkikler Dergisi 2/1 (Haziran 2019)
Saygıdeğer Okurlar,
ULUM Dini Tetkikler Dergisi, 31 Temmuz ve 31 Aralık tarihlerinde yılda iki sayı olarak yayınlanan uluslararası
akademik bir dergidir. ULUM, dini araştırmalar alanına dair makale, kitap kritiği ve sempozyum değelendir-
mesi gibi çalışmaları yayınlamayı ve kamuoyu ile paylaşmayı amaçlamaktadır. Dergiye gönderilen makale-
ler çift taraflı kör hakemlik ilkesi çerçevesinde hakem değerlendirmesinden geçirilmekte ve iThenti-
cate programı ile intihal taramasına tabi tutulmaktadır. Dergiye gönderilen çalışmalarda İsnad Atıf Siste-
mi'nin kullanılmasını da gerekli görülmektedir.
Sizlere bu sayımızda dini konulara dair birbirinden dikkat çekici makaleleri sunmaktan mutluluk duymak-
tayım. Bu değerli makalelerle sizleri yalnız bırakmadan önce, ULUM editörü olarak yazarlarımıza, hakemle-
rimize, alan editörlerimize ve Yayın Kurulu üyelerimize teşekkürü bir borç bilirim. Ayrıca ULUM’un 3’üncü
sayısında değerli çalışmalarına yer verilen meslektaşlarımı başarılarından dolayı kutlar, katkılarının deva-
mını dilerim.
Abdullah Demir
Dr. Öğr. Üyesi, Ankara Yıldırım Beyazıt Üniversitesi
İslami İlimer Fakültesi, Kalam Anabilim Dalı, Ankara, TURKEY
abdillahdemir@hotmail.com
0000-0001-7825-6573
www.dergipark.org.tr/ulum
% $ # "!
Dini Tetkikler Dergisi
ULUM Journal of Religious Inquiries
ﻣﺠﻠﺔ اﻟﺪراﺳﺎت اﻟﺪﯾﻨﯿﺔ
www.dergipark.org.tr/ulum
Islamophobia in European Schools: A Multinational Phenomenological
Research
Ali Baltacı * Murat Kayacan **
Abstract
This study, which aims to investigate the existence of Islamophobia in European schools, an important part
of the social structure, is designed as a phenomenological study. Data were collected through interviews
with 36 teachers working in seven different European countries. As a result of the study, Islamophobia has
been identified as an unignorable and a major problem in European schools. Moreover, it reveals that the
teachers do not have enough knowledge about Islam, but the majority of participants have open or hidden
Islamophobic tendencies. In addition, the teachers think that Islamic lifestyles and Muslims are not part of
European cultures and that Muslim students should be subjected to intense cultural training. Again, the
majority of the participants argue that the fight against Islamophobia can be achieved through prejudice
and communication training for teachers. This study is important in that it is a pioneering work in the
literature that investigates the entity of Islamophobia among teachers in Europe.
Keywords
Religious Education, Islamophobia, Europe, School, Teacher
*
Assistant Professor, University of Muş Alparslan Faculty of Islamic Sciences, Department of Philosophy and Religion
Sciences, Branch of Religious Education, Muş, Turkey
Dr. Öğr. Üyesi, Muş Alparslan Üniversitesi İslami İlimler Fakültesi, Felsefe ve Din Bilimleri Bölümü, Din Eğitimi Anabilim Dalı
a.baltaci@alparslan.edu.tr ORCID 0000-0003-2550-8698
**
Associate Professor, University of Muş Alparslan Faculty of Islamic Sciences, Department of Basic Islamic Sciences,
Branch of Qur’anic Commentary, Muş, Turkey
Doç. Dr., Muş Alparslan Üniversitesi İslami İlimler Fakültesi, Temel İslam Bilimleri Bölümü, Tefsir Anabilim Dalı
m.kayacan@alparslan.edu.tr ORCID 0000-0003-2131-0692
Article Types: Research Article
Received: 22 November 2018
Accepted: 21 March 2019
Published: 31 July 2019
Cite as: Ali Baltacı – Murat Kayacan, “Islamophobia in European Schools: A Multinational Phenomenological
Research”, ULUM 2/1 (July 2019): 5-28, https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3353411
6 | Baltacı - Kayacan, “Islamophobia in European Schools: A Multinational Phenomenological Research”
Avrupa Okullarında İslamofobi: Çok Uluslu Fenomenolojik Bir Araştırma
Öz
Avrupa okullarında, sosyal yapının önemli bir parçası olan İslamofobinin varlığını araştırmayı amaçlayan
bu çalışma, fenomenolojik bir çalışma olarak tasarlanmıştır. Veriler, yedi farklı Avrupa ülkesinde çalışan 36
öğretmenle yapılan görüşmeler sonucunda toplanmıştır. Araştırma sonucunda İslamofobi, Avrupa
okullarında göz ardı edilemez ve büyük bir sorun olarak tanımlanmıştır. Ayrıca, araştırma öğretmenlerin
İslam hakkında yeterli bilgiye sahip olmadıklarını, ancak katılımcıların çoğunluğunun açık veya gizli
İslamofobik eğilimlere sahip olduğunu ortaya koymaktadır. Buna ek olarak, öğretmenler İslami yaşam
tarzlarının ve Müslümanların Avrupa kültürlerinin bir parçası olmadığını ve Müslüman öğrencilerin yoğun
kültürel eğitime tabi tutulması gerektiğini düşünmektedir. Yine, katılımcıların çoğunluğu İslamofobiye
karşı mücadelenin öğretmenler için bir önyargı ve iletişim eğitimi yoluyla sağlanabileceğini savunmaktadır.
Bu çalışma, literatürde İslamofobinin varlığını Avrupa'daki öğretmenler arasında araştıran öncü bir çalışma
olması bakımından önemlidir.
Anahtar Kelimeler
Din Eğitimi, İslamofobi, Avrupa, Okul, Öğretmen
INTRODUCTION
Europe, which historically has internalized its religious tendencies after an intense struggle, has been
well adapted to the diversified cultural life after the industrial revolution. In Europe, which has recently
received immense migration from Asia and Africa, the social structure has begun to change and social
mobilization has increased. It is inevitable that the education system and schools will be influenced by such
a change. Every debate and change in the society, due to social mobility, somehow affects the school system.
For example, migrants moved to Europe in recent years have become visible primarily in social areas;
because of this increase, unemployment rates escalated and employment areas narrowed. Due to the
increasing number of migrants, health and education services offered to the society in Europe have been
disrupted. This situation led to criticisms, which were not perceived as xenophobia at first, and then
growing xenophobia has become visible in the social areas.1 This negative attitude towards foreigners in
society has spread to schools. Especially in England and in the Baltic countries, negative attitudes towards
migrants have increased. In these countries, bullying, violence, and barbarism against foreign and especially
Muslim children were reflected in the press.2It is important to examine schools in order to reduce such
1
Ulrich Beck, The reinvention of politics: Rethinking modernity in the global social order (John Wiley & Sons, 2018), 28.
2
Alina Rzepnikowska, “Racism and xenophobia experienced by Polish migrants in the UK before and after Brexit
vote”, Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies 45/1 (2019): 61-77; Peter Morey, “Introduction: Muslims, Trust and
Multiculturalism”, Muslims, Trust and Multiculturalism (Springer, 2018), 1-23; Abdeslam Marfouk, “I’m neither racist
nor xenophobic, but: dissecting European attitudes towards a ban on Muslims’ immigration”, Ethnic and Racial
Studies, 2018, 1-19.
www.dergipark.org.tr/ulum
Baltacı - Kayacan, “Islamophobia in European Schools: A Multinational Phenomenological Research” | 7
negativities in society. From this point of view, it is unthinkable to separate schools and school staff from
contemporary debates.
In Europe, Islam has been a known phenomenon for centuries. However, rhetoric against Islam has
begun to be developed, especially the recent terror attacks and other negative developments. It was actually
developed in the late 1990s and early 2000s by political activists to draw attention to harmful rhetoric and
actions canalized towards Islam and Muslims in Western countries. In recent years, Islamophobia has been
flourished as a chiefly political concept. Since Islamophobia is debated and widespread in society, it is seen
that schools are also affected by this phenomenon. Especially in recent years, there have been studies aimed
at increasing attitudes and behavior towards Muslim students such as physical and psychological violence,
i.e. bullying and discrimination. For example, Zine3 addressed the problems of Muslim girls living in Canada
and Poynting & Mason4discussed the anti-Islamic attitude in the UK and Australia. As part of the anti-Muslim
rhetoric, restrictions have been placed on the use of religious symbols in public spheres in many European
countries. The necessity of examining such a controversial subject in detail is the main motivation for us.
This study focuses on the phenomenon of Islamophobia observed in European schools and aims to examine
the opinions of teachers especially about Islam, Islamophobia and Muslim students.
1. THE CONCEPT AND FORMATION OF ISLAMOPHOBIA
Islamophobia is the fear and alienation of, or prejudice against, the Islam or Muslims commonly,
notably when it was seen as a geopolitical force or the origin of terrorism. The term was first used during
the beginning of the 20th century and it developed as a neologism in the 1970s, then it shifted frequently
prominent during the 1980s and 1990s, and it influenced public policy influence with the report by the
Runnymede Trust's Commission on British Muslims and Islamophobia (CBMI) entitled Islamophobia: A
Challenge for Us All (1997). The introduction of the term was explained by the report's assessment that "anti-
Muslim prejudice has grown so considerably and so quickly in recent years that a new item in the vocabulary
is needed".5Although the etymology of the Islamophobia, which implies fear of Islam and its followers6,
developed as a concept in the late 1990s7, it is possible that the motivation that Western Christians resort to
the Crusades, which Western Christians have organized against Muslims in the East and organized with
economic factors in large scale, may be called "Islamophobia". The causes, conditions, and characteristics
of Islamophobia are still discussed. Some scholars have asserted an increase in Islamophobia resulting from
the September 11 attacks, the rise of Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, some from various terror attacks
in Europe and the United States, while others have linked it with the expanded appearance of Muslims in
3
Marrie Jasmin Zine, “Unveiled sentiments: Gendered Islamophobia and experiences of veiling among Muslim girls
in a Canadian Islamic school”, Equity & Excellence in Education 39/3 (2006): 239-252.
4
Scott Poynting - Victoria Mason, “The resistible rise of Islamophobia: Anti-Muslim racism in the UK and Australia
before 11 September 2001”, Journal of sociology 43/1 (2007): 61-86.
5
Robert Miles - Micheal Brown, Racism (New York: Routledge, 2004), 197.
6
Zafar Iqbal, “Islamophobia or Islamophobias: Towards developing a process model”, Islamic Studies, (2010), 91.
7
Erik Bleich, “Defining and researching Islamophobia”, Review of Middle East Studies 46/2 (2012): 180.
ULUM 2/1 (July 2019)
8 | Baltacı - Kayacan, “Islamophobia in European Schools: A Multinational Phenomenological Research”
the United States and in the European Union. Some scholars likewise investigate the legality of the
term.8Sayyid and Vakil declare that Islamophobia is a reaction to the emergence of a separated Muslim
public status globally; the appearance of Muslims is in itself not a notice of the level of Islamophobia in
society. Besides, they advance that there are societies where practically no Muslims live but many
standardized forms of Islamophobia still exist in them.9
According to Imhoff and Hocker, two particular criticisms are regularly raised about Islamophobia:
“One claims that Islamophobia is an expendable neologism that merely describes a rather well-known phenomenon of
prejudice and discrimination against immigrants (particularly from Muslim countries). The other, more intransigent
objection denounces Islamophobia as a discursive weapon intended to silence well-justified critique of Islamic practices
and dogmas”.10 Both of these criticisms have a share of truth, although the truth degrees of them are not
equal.
It is a fact that Islam does not fall from the agenda of the world media in the direction of negative or
positive views. We have today a problem called Islamophobia due to some wrong behavior of some Muslims
or intentional direction of anti-Islamists. This issue has been the subject of many scientific works in the
Western world. Especially on September 11, 2011, many of the victims of the attack at the Twin Towers in
the USA lost their lives. This attack was instrumentalized in the occupation of Afghanistan and then Iraq. It
also triggered Islamophobia and, anti-Muslim and anti-Qur'anic actions. Additionally, as Allan & Nielsen
puts it, Islamophobia is used as a cover for general racism and xenophobia.11
Although Islam has had a central role in Europe since the eighth century - southern Spain, Sicily, and
central and south-eastern Europe were all parts of Islamic empires- a part of the West is trying to create a
distance between Muslims and non-Muslims by spreading the fear of Islam.12 For that purpose, sometimes
states sometimes racist groups and sometimes religious groups propagate against Islam. The rise of
Islamophobia in Western countries, where democratic governments exist, seems like a contradiction, but
its existence cannot be ignored. As Bunzl puts it, unlike anti-Semitism, which is the means of establishing
8
Richard Wike - Bruce Stokes - Katie Simmons, “Europeans fear wave of refugees will mean more terrorism, fewer
jobs”, Pew Research Center 11 (2016): 2016; Nasar Meer - Tariq Modood, “Refutations of racism in the ‘Muslim
question’”, Patterns of prejudice 43/3-4 (2009): 335-354; Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire
(Haymarket Books, 2012), 53-55.
9
Salman Sayyid - AbdoolKarim Vakil, Thinking Through Islamophobia: Global Perspectives (Columbia University Press,
2010), 53.
10
Roland Imhoff - Julia Recker, “Differentiating Islamophobia: Introducing a new scale to measure Islamoprejudice
and secular Islam critique”, Political Psychology 33/6 (2012): 812.
11
Christopher Allen - Jørgen S. Nielsen, “Summary Report on Islamophobia in the EU after 11 September 2001” (EUMC
Vienna, 2002): 54; Paul Weller, “Addressing religious discrimination and Islamophobia: Muslims and liberal
democracies. The case of the United Kingdom”, Journal of Islamic Studies 17/3 (2006): 318.
12
Esra Özyürek, “The politics of cultural unification, secularism, and the place of Islam in the new Europe”, American
Ethnologist 32/4 (2005): 511.
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Baltacı - Kayacan, “Islamophobia in European Schools: A Multinational Phenomenological Research” | 9
pure nation-states in Europe, Islamophobia has been used as a tool to safeguard supranational Europe.13
Muslims are being demonized beyond otherization. The influence of this propaganda homogenizing
Muslims negatively also increases hate crimes against them and can be seen –if the phrase is appropriate-
spitting on a religion of the weak.
2. ISLAMOPHOBİA İN EUROPEAN SCHOOLS
Europe is traditionally based on values related to rights and freedoms. It is unthinkable that these
rights and freedoms obtained by struggling for centuries are given only to a certain person or group.
Increasing non-European migration with industrialization has reached its peak through the colonial period,
and immigrants from the colonies of European countries have gradually become a part of European
culture.14 In this respect, a purely European identity cannot be claimed. Similarly, throughout Europe,
different religions existed and European civilization reached its present level with the influence of these
religions. From this point of view, in the European states based on secular values, the phenomenon of
religion in the public arena should be ignored.15 Although there is cultural diversity in Europe, religious life
is not independent from Christian traditions. Europe's Christian history is at the root of anti-Jewish and
anti-Muslim rhetoric that is experienced in schools openly or secretly.16
When today's students are thought to be citizens of tomorrow, schools are an important part of the
social structure. In addition, schools are an important social area in which you can follow all situations and
events in society. Social institutions are often affected by events such as culture and religion. From this
point of view, schools are important as institutions where Islamophobia lives and spreads.17 People from
different religions come together there. Especially with the increasing immigration after World War II,
European schools have impersonated a multicultural structure. It is also an important part of European
education policy that students from different religions learn in harmony.18 However, racist and anti-Islamic
rhetoric and behavior in European schools have begun to be seen more because of increasing anti-Islamism,
xenophobia and far-right tendencies in recent years.
13
Matti Bunzl, “Between anti‐Semitism and Islamophobia: Some thoughts on the new Europe”, American Ethnologist
32/4 (2005): 499.
14
Stathis N. Kalyvas, The rise of Christian democracy in Europe (Cornell University Press, 1996):101.
15
Grace Davie, Religion in modern Europe: A memory mutates (OUP Oxford, 2000):122.
16
Gerard Delanty, “Dilemmas of secularism: Europe, religion and the problem of pluralism”, Identity, belonging and
migration 17 (2008): 78.
17
Ameena K. Jandali, “Muslim Students in Post-9/11 Classrooms.”, School Administrator 69/9 (2012): 33.
18
Ulf Fredriksson, “Changes of education policies within the European Union in the light of globalisation”, European
Educational Research Journal 2/4 (2003): 524.
ULUM 2/1 (July 2019)
10 | Baltacı - Kayacan, “Islamophobia in European Schools: A Multinational Phenomenological Research”
There are also some students, especially Muslim ones, who encounter stiff physical interventions as
well as behavior that can lead to insults or bullies.19 In European schools where physical and psychological
violence is cumulatively widespread, the biggest victims of this violence are Jewish and Muslim students.20
Increased restrictions on the use of religious symbols in the public sphere in European countries have led
to the enforcement of similar sanctions in schools.21Countries across Europe have wrestled with the issue of
the Muslim veil, which covers the face apart from the eyes. The headscarf or veil issue is part of a wider
debate about multiculturalism in Europe, as many politicians argue that there needs to be a greater effort
to assimilate ethnic and religious minorities. The debate takes in religious freedom, female equality, secular
traditions and even fears of terrorism.22The headscarf is particularly restricted in the public sphere as an
important religious symbol. Students wearing headscarves in schools were perceived as terrorists because
the headscarf was a religious symbol used by jihadist terrorist organizations.23In addition, students with
headscarves were alienated from school and other social areas by applying "obscure pressure". Even though
the reality in schools was reported to different institutions, no result could be obtained for Muslims; on the
contrary, an increase in the intensity of the Islamophobia attacks was observed.24 It can be said that there is
an ambivalent attitude of Europe against different religions. The reason for the restriction of the use of
religious symbols is secularism -an important European value. Because of inconsistencies in laicism-based
practices, it can be said that especially Muslim students are influenced by these practices.25 In addition,
Muslim students are referred to as "potential terrorists" in schools, creating a different direction of
psychological violence, stigmatization, and separation.26 The isolation of Muslim students who are not
interested in terrorism and who are still in childhood with such rhetoric makes discrimination in European
schools visible.27 It is known that some teachers and students, who are influenced by the recent anti-
19
Peter Hopkins, “Towards critical geographies of the university campus: understanding the contested experiences
of Muslim students”, Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers 36/1 (2011): 161; Donn Short, “Queers, bullying
and schools: Am I safe here?”, Journal of Gay & Lesbian Social Services 19/3-4 (2007): 39.
20
Renate Ysseldyk - Kimberly Matheson - Hymie Anisman, “Religiosity as identity: Toward an understanding of
religion from a social identity perspective”, Personality and Social Psychology Review 14/1 (2010): 60-71.
21
Ali Baltacı, “The Legality of Religious Symbols in European Schools”, Cumhuriyet İlahiyat Dergisi 21/2 (2017): 801.
22
Anna Vanzan, “Ever, Hilal. The Headscarf Controversy: Secularism and Freedom of Religion. xiii+ 256 pp. Oxford:
Oxford University Press, 2012.”, Anthropology of the Contemporary Middle East and Central Eurasia 3/1 (2018).
23
Ahmed Al-Rawi, “Video games, terrorism, and ISIS’s Jihad 3.0”, Terrorism and Political Violence 30/4 (2018): 740-760;
Shridhar Sharma et al, “Symbols and Identity in Islamophobia”, Islamophobia and Psychiatry (Springer, 2019), 95-100.
24
Zine, “Unveiled sentiments: Gendered Islamophobia and experiences of veiling among Muslim girls in a Canadian
Islamic school”, 58; Iqbal, “Islamophobia or Islamophobias: Towards developing a process model”, 83; Sayyid - Vakil,
Thinking Through Islamophobia, 63.
25
Isabelle Rorive, “Religious symbols in the public space: In search of a European answer”, Cardozo L. Rev. 30 (2008):
2670.
26
Jandali, “Muslim Students in Post-9/11 Classrooms.”, 11.
27
Baltacı, “The Legality of Religious Symbols in European Schools”, 803.
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Baltacı - Kayacan, “Islamophobia in European Schools: A Multinational Phenomenological Research” | 11
immigrant far-right currents in Europe, have called Muslim students as 'terrorists, jihadists or crime
machines' even if they are innocent.28 This situation in European schools is not a problem of prejudice but a
tendency of violence to be considered. While prejudice is rarely evolving into violence, the tendency to
violence can cause extreme emotions to be easily exhibited.29
From the Middle Ages, the cultural values of the peoples of Europe emphasizing the Christian identity
were in conflict with the idea of a multicultural Europe, and especially in less multicultural societies such as
Eastern Europe, the Christian identity and values came to the fore. As a result of this great reference to
Christianity, individuals, although not related to religion, tend not to give up their traditions and exhibit
racist and Islamophobic tendencies towards Muslims and foreigners.30This cultural transformation in the
social sphere has also been reflected in schools; Intense Islamophobic tendencies have also become a
common cultural phenomenon in schools.31Islamophobia experienced in European schools is not only
among students but also teachers and staff working at school may also have Islamophobic tendencies. The
Islamophobic tendencies of teachers are more alarming; because teachers give direction to students' future.
Rather than the qualities of teachers assigned to European schools, their cultural and religious values are
influential on their Islamophobic tendencies. Because cultural values are a very complex structure that
affects a phenomenon that is open to orientation, such as Islamophobia. Despite the racial, ethnic, and
cultural diversity of the European Muslim population, they continue to be cast as potentially threatening
persons based on perceived racial and cultural characteristics by teachers. Islamophobic thinking,
tendencies, and actions, which develop independently of the prejudices of teachers, are essentially part of
a racist, sexist and xenophobic thought.32 Yet, it is known that Islamophobic tendencies mostly develop with
prejudice and stereotyped behaviors.33 In this respect, teachers' prejudiced attitudes and behaviors towards
Islam are the determinants of the prevalence of Islamophobia. It is known that teachers’ attitude, racist and
Islamophobic discourses, and discriminative behaviors may cause stress and social isolation in Muslim
28
Shirin Housee, “What’s the point? Anti-racism and students’ voices against Islamophobia”, Race Ethnicity and
Education 15/1 (2012): 101-120; Lorraine P. Sheridan, “Islamophobia pre–and post–September 11th, 2001”, Journal of
interpersonal violence 21/3 (2006): 317-336.
29
Paul Mepschen et al, “Sexual politics, orientalism and multicultural citizenship in the Netherlands”, Sociology 44/5
(2010): 962-979; Christine Ogan et al, “The rise of anti-Muslim prejudice: Media and Islamophobia in Europe and the
United States”, International Communication Gazette 76/1 (2014): 27. In this context, the tendency of violence in
schools is mostly emphasized in physical and psychological violence. While the psychological violence against
Muslim or foreign students is usually exclusion and alienation, physical violence has a spectrum ranging from
simple bullying events to more advanced injuries.
30
Chris Allen, Islamophobia (Routledge, 2016).
31
Farouk Farid Hafez, “Schools of Thought in Islamophobia Studies: Prejudice, Racism, and Decoloniality”, Islamophobia
Studies Journal 4/2 (2018): 210-225.
32
Mepschen et al., “Sexual politics, orientalism and multicultural citizenship in the Netherlands”, 28.
33
Erik Bleich, “What is Islamophobia and how much is there? Theorizing and measuring an emerging comparative
concept”, American Behavioral Scientist 55/12 (2011): 1599; George Morgan, Global Islamophobia: Muslims and moral panic
in the West (Routledge, 2016): 58.
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12 | Baltacı - Kayacan, “Islamophobia in European Schools: A Multinational Phenomenological Research”
students. In addition, recent findings show that Muslim students isolated in schools and other social areas
can seek retaliation, are susceptible to radicalization and become harder to integrate into society.34
However, it is known that teachers give lower grades to Muslim students than Christian, Jewish or
Buddhists.35 Teachers give more homework to Muslim students and they are given lower scores by
examining their homework in more detail than the other students.36It is also known that teachers tend to
place Muslim students in parts of the class that are not preferred by other students, such as the cold and the
glass edge.37In this respect, it is important to determine the Islamophobic tendencies of teachers. Thus the
existence of Islamophobia in European schools will become visible.
The way to measure Islamophobia in schools means trying to find the most direct indicators of
‘indiscriminate negative attitudes or emotions’ directed at Islam or Muslims.38 However, it seems that the
majority of studies in the schools about Islamophobia are based on experiences among students. Although
there are some studies on the opinions of teachers about Islam, Muslims and Muslim students in the
literature, it has been determined that these studies are mostly examined in a single sample group and
quantitative scales are used to determine the attitudes of teachers.39 This study is important in that it is a
pioneering work that focuses on teachers' Islamophobic attitudes in different countries of Europe. The main
aim of this study is trying to reveal the Islamophobic attitudes, behaviors, and tendencies that exist in the
schools in various European countries, in a limited context, with a limited sample of teachers through
phenomenological research methodology. The secondary aim of the study is to determine the perceptions
of teachers who were selected based on the discriminatory attitudes and behaviors experienced in previous
years- working in European schools about Islam, Islamophobia, Muslim students and struggle against
Islamophobia. In addition, this study also aims to present the available data on Islamophobia in literature.
34
Short, “Queers, bullying and schools: Am I safe here?”; Morgan, Global Islamophobia: Muslims and moral panic in the
West; Bunzl, “Between anti‐Semitism and Islamophobia: Some thoughts on the new Europe”; Sheridan,
“Islamophobia pre–and post–September 11th, 2001”; Jandali, “Muslim Students in Post-9/11 Classrooms.”; Rorive,
“Religious symbols in the public space: In search of a European answer”.
35
Reyn Van Ewijk, “Same work, lower grade? Student ethnicity and teachers’ subjective assessments”, Economics of
Education Review 30/5 (2011): 1045-1058.
36
Natasa Zenic et al., “Gender-specific analyses of the prevalence and factors associated with substance use and
misuse among Bosniak adolescents”, International journal of environmental research and public health 12/6 (2015): 6626-
6640.
37
Karen J. Aroian, “Discrimination against Muslim American adolescents”, The Journal of School Nursing 28/3 (2012):
206-213; Daron Acemoglu - James A. Robinson, Economic origins of dictatorship and democracy (Cambridge University
Press, 2005), 88-89.
38
Van Ewijk, “Same work, lower grade? Student ethnicity and teachers’ subjective assessments”, 1046.
39
Hafez, “Schools of Thought in Islamophobia Studies: Prejudice, Racism, and Decoloniality”; Short, “Queers, bullying
and schools: Am I safe here?”; Zine, “Unveiled sentiments: Gendered Islamophobia and experiences of veiling
among Muslim girls in a Canadian Islamic school”; Aroian, “Discrimination against Muslim American adolescents”;
Weller, “Addressing religious discrimination and Islamophobia: Muslims and liberal democracies. The case of the
United Kingdom”.
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Baltacı - Kayacan, “Islamophobia in European Schools: A Multinational Phenomenological Research” | 13
3. METHOD
3.1. Pattern
This research is designed by using a qualitative research method. In this study, the phenomenological
approach, which is one of the methods of flexibility that allows detailed and in-depth focus on qualitative
research, is taken as a basis. Phenomenology examines phenomena that are known about any subject but
cannot be determined in detail, sharpening the facts.40In this research, unlike Edmund Husserl's conscious-
based phenomenological approach, Alfred Schutz's interpretive research is used. In order to be able to solve
the disagreement, social phenomena or individual actions and behaviors, it is necessary to examine the
experiences of those who practice these events. In the interpreting pattern, reasons for attitudes and
behaviors exhibited by people are religious, ethical or cultural value judgments often held with personal
interests and purposes.41The interpretive design is possible by understanding the experiences of the
persons, grasping the nature of the phenomena that appear under their own conditions, resolving and
capturing the essence.42 This process requires a careful focus on research data. The concentration of this
research is on the views of teachers working in European schools and on their Islamophobic or anti-Islamic
actions and behaviors.
3.2. Participants
The study was conducted on non-Muslim and ethnically European teachers working in high schools
in Germany, France, England, Belgium, Holland, Denmark, and Sweden. In the research, critical state
sampling is used from the purposeful sampling approaches. Critical situations are situations that clearly
reflect a significant event or have special importance under normal conditions.43 Specific criteria have been
determined in the selection of teachers in the sample group. First, it was stipulated that teachers should
provide at least two years of education to a minimum of ten Muslim students. Another criterion is that
teachers are not Muslims or have no spiritual experience related to Islam. Moreover, the other criterion in
the selection of teachers is the discriminatory attitudes and behaviors experienced in previous years and
the punishments of the teachers on these actions.44It is also necessary that teachers work in public schools
and these schools should accept students from a multicultural environment. Within the scope of the study,
the first teacher in any country was asked to propose different teachers who could contribute to the
research. Thus, snowball sampling has been tried to be done. However, since this sampling method could
40
Edward S. Casey, Remembering: A phenomenological study (Indiana University Press, 2009): 13.
41
Jonathan A. Smith - Mike Osborn, “Interpretative phenomenological analysis”, Doing social psychology research (2004):
231.
42
Christopher R. Burton, “Living with stroke: a phenomenological study”, Journal of advanced nursing 32/2 (2000): 301.
43
Ali Baltacı, “A Conceptual Review of Sampling Methods and Sample Size Problems in Qualitative Research”, Journal
of Bitlis Eren University Institute of Social Sciences 7/1 (2018): 231–274.
44
The penalties they received in order to protect the personal safety of the teachers and the reasons for taking these
penalties are not considered within the scope of this research. In this context, a confidentiality statement has been
prepared for each teacher and assurance is given that their personal information will not be decrypted within the
scope of this study.
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not be applied in certain countries, the practice of recommending teachers to other colleagues was
abandoned. In the selection of the teachers who were reached within the scope of the research, assistance
was received from Muslim associations in Europe. The Muslim associations informed the researchers about
which schools could be reachable and provided easy access to teachers in different countries.
The sampling group of the study: eight working in six cities of Germany (Munich, Cologne, Hamburg,
Frankfurt, Berlin, Stuttgart); six working in five different cities of France (Paris, Marseille, Lyon, Toulouse,
Nice); eight working in four UK cities (London, Manchester, Southampton, Liverpool); three working in two
cities of Belgium (Brussels, Ghent); four working in three different cities of Holland (Amsterdam, Rotterdam,
Utrecht); three working in two cities of Denmark (Copenhagen, Odense); four of which are working in three
cities of Sweden (Stockholm, Malmö, Goteborg) so it consists of thirty-six (36) teachers.45 In this study, since
every teacher did not accept the interviews, the ones who accepted the interview were determined as
"participant". Each participant was given detailed information on the purpose and scope of the research
and a voluntary declaration form was filled with those who agreed to participate in the study. In the context
of this research, we did not focus on any personal information of any participant but considering the
majority of the participants’ request, the nicknames were used instead.
3.3. Collection of Data
An open-ended interview form has been prepared to collect the participants' views. The draft form
was presented to experts who had previously conducted phenomenological research and were familiar with
qualitative research designs and made the necessary arrangements according to the feedback received. The
interview form was tested by interviewing two teachers who were not in the research group. That form
consists of these questions: "(1) What do you think about Islam? (2) How do you see the way of life suggested
by Islam? (3) What do you think about anti-Islamism? (4) What are your views about Muslims in the region
you live in? (5) What do you think about Muslim students in the schools you teach? (6) Are there any
differences between your attitudes towards Muslim and non-Muslim students in the school you work in? (7)
How can we fight against Islamophobia or reduce it in society and schools?” All answers were recorded by
voice or camera recorder. The questions were asked in different ways when they were not understood by
the participants. Negotiations were recorded at different time intervals, face-to-face or in real-time audio
and video transmission programs (Skype, CamSurf, etc.). In all calls, English was used as the communication
language. The participants were asked to read the dictated interview forms and to correct any mistakes. The
interviews with the teachers were completed in 86 days and the video interview records lasted 58 hours 43
minutes in total. During the interview, the withdrawal of two teachers who did not want their voice or image
to be recorded was excluded. In order to minimize the "researcher influence" while qualitative data were
gathered, attitudes and behaviors that could negatively or indirectly influence the participants were not
made as possible. Repeated calls were made on different days in order to avoid exhibiting behavior that
could affect the participants' views, such as "gesture, mimicry, comment or implication".46 With the open-
45
Demographic information of participants can be found in Annex.
46
Elizabeth A. Hoffmann, “Open-ended interviews, power, and emotional labor”, Journal of contemporary ethnography
36/3 (2007): 344.
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Baltacı - Kayacan, “Islamophobia in European Schools: A Multinational Phenomenological Research” | 15
ended interview form, the collected data were dumped into the lettering by electronic dictation program,
and necessary corrections were made by hand and tried not to lose data.
3.4. Analysis of Data
In this research, phenomenological analyzes began with the reading of interview texts at different
times. First, all interview texts were read and tried to grasp the participants' views on Islam and Muslim
students from a deductive point of view. These views were categorized. In this first group, the researcher's
knowledge, opinions, attitudes and prejudices about the subject were limited by a technique known as
bracketing, in order to reduce the researcher's influence to a minimum level. Therefore, the researchers
repeatedly iterated all texts at different times. The other phase of the analysis is the phenomenological
reduction. At this stage, the units of meaning were created by clearing the qualitative data. The next step in
the phenomenological analysis is the 'imaginative differentiation', which is the identification of the
relations between the meaning units and the footprints after the first coding. Imaginative differentiation is
the phase in which the first categories are created. These first categories are repeatedly tested with different
encodings and reduced to secondary categories. The final stage of the phenomenological analysis is the
determination of meaning. The determination of meaning emphasizes the nature of interpretative research.
In the analysis of these research data, Miles and Huberman model (1994) was applied.47 This model can be
defined as a classification of verbal or written data in terms of a specific problem or purpose, summarization,
measurement of certain variables or concepts, and categorization by culling to extract a specific meaning.
The answers to the questions in the interview form were examined in four steps: (1) coding the data, (2)
specifying the categories, (3) organizing the data by code and category, and (4) ensuring reliability.48
3.5. Organizing and Validating Data
The credibility of phenomenological research depends on the validity and trustworthiness of the
research. It is important that phenomenological investigations are convincing, reproducible, transferable,
and verifiable. The credibility of this study is ensured by the use of the data obtained from the teachers
without being changed. The data obtained at the end of the interviews are only dictated. No grammatical
correction has been done on dictated texts. For the research to be reproducible, it was noted that the
sampled teachers had critical available knowledge. From then on, it is evident that the research is repeatable
since similar studies can be selected in the literature to be done on this topic. To ensure the validity of the
study, three different coding specialists trained at the doctoral level coding concurrently. Experts gathered
at different times to compare coding; thus the coding process was deepened. The encodings made by
different encoders were compared using the "reliability percentage formula" determined by Miles and
Huberman (1994). In this study, the consensus between the researcher and the coders was calculated as 85%,
88%, and 86%. The reliability ratio is determined to be 'reliable' based on the view that Miles and Huberman
(1994) have at least 80% of the reliability coefficient in an ideal interview form. In order to ensure external
47
Matthew B. Miles - A. Michael Huberman, Qualitative data analysis: An expanded sourcebook (Sage, 1994): 81-84.
48
Ali Baltacı, “Miles-Huberman Model in Qualitative Data Analysis”, Ahi Evran University Journal of the Institute of Social
Sciences 3/1 (2017): 1-15.
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validity, the method and application guidelines of the research were tried to be described in detail, and the
findings were also compared with the literature.
4. FINDINGS
In this section, the answers given by participants to the interview questions are examined. These
findings do not reflect all set of data. Because in phenomenological studies, it is possible to reach different
points from the subject are being investigated. In this respect, very rich and various findings have been
reached. This diversity will be discussed in the conclusion section.
4.1. Views on Islam
All participants expressed their views on Islam, which have been examined under social, economic
and cultural themes, and findings for each theme have been set down below.
4.1.1. Findings Related to Social Theme
Participants reported that Islam affects European public sphere negatively. They think that especially
Islamic terrorist incidents and incompatible experiences of Muslims without Western values restricted
public spaces. States are resorting to excessive security measures to protect their citizens against Islamic
threats, causing intense concern. Some of the participants' opinions on this theme are below:
… “Islam affects our social life every day in a negative way. In streets, parks, everywhere there is a
headscarved woman or a Muslim refugee. Mosques are becoming increasingly common. Our public space is
becoming narrower due to the spread of Islam” (Sebastian, Male, 32, Hamburg).
… “Muslims say that Islam is a social religion and that it brings people closer. They collect money on
their behalf called zakat; where is this money going? Is Islamic terrorism financed by these funds? I think
Islam is not a religion in the West, it is just cumulative of systematic beliefs, yet it is seen as a religion that
is prejudiced against the Jews and trying to send everything to hell. From a Western standpoint, Islam is the
only basis for the underdevelopment of Muslims.” (Lizbeth, Female, 47, Malmö).
4.1.2. Findings Related to Economic Theme
Participants do not know the views and aspects of Islam on current economics; however, they regard
the negativities of immigrants and Islamic countries as part of Islam. The majority of the participants
criticize immigrants not being qualified and being a burden to the economy. There are also participants who
think that Muslims are incompetent, unqualified and lazy for various reasons. Some of the participants’
views on the economic theme are as follows:
… “Islam is threatening continental Europe in economic terms. The increase in the number of
immigrants is fuelling unemployment. Perhaps the unemployment in Germany is decreasing, but increasing
Muslim immigrants cause our resources to be consumed faster. There is no such thing as an Islamic
economy, Muslims are unskilled slaves. They are on the streets when they wait to be picked up or sold.”
(Martha, Female, 34, Cologne).
… “I will soon be unemployed due to the religion of Islam. Unemployment is rising again because of
Islam. Islam is everywhere. Newcomer Muslims and immigrants are limiting our business areas if they are
qualified. Historically Europe is Catholic, but it is now becoming something called "Islamo-Catholica". This
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transformation has started economically. Those who came first enriched and worked in simple jobs; the
followers came to replace them. First arrivals were bourgeois; Islam became bourgeois or oligarch. Traders
on the stock market, buyers of football clubs, everywhere is filled with Muslims, old Christian Europe,
unfortunately, fade away.” (Kingsley, Male, 33, Southampton).
4.1.3. Findings Related to Cultural Theme
Participants said that Islam affects Western culture and cultural life negatively. Islam shows an
intense cultural spread; corrupts aesthetic values in society. Muslims have forced non-Muslims to comply
with Islam's own lifestyle and cultural values. In addition, they pointed out that traditional religious and
cultural values were corrupted; People take away from traditions and religion. Participants reported that
Islam transformed them into separate and lonely people; moreover, art, education, and aesthetic values
were also negatively affected. The participants’ views on the subject are down below:
… “I regret to say that Islam affects our culture negatively. As far as I remember even every corner in
the city, there was a kebab restaurant, now we see Arab dressed Muslims or headscarved girls everywhere.
They deliberately change our culture by intermingling themselves. We are different from them, our lifestyle
and our culture are based on the fear of Islam and strangers. Now we cannot ignore all these values, we
cannot ignore Christianity or history. We must take Muslims out of society and make our culture unique.”
(Edgar, Male, 30, Amsterdam).
According to this study findings, in the majority of the participants’ views, Islam seems against by
modern culture or modern values. There is prejudice when something is not recognized or unknown. Such
negative prejudices and attitudes towards Islam make it basically not well-known and misidentified in
European public opinion. It has a negative image in the West, but it is thought-provoking that the teachers
who are in charge of educating members of the society are of such prejudices and unreal opinions about
Islam.
4.2. Views on the Way Suggested by Islam
All participants expressed their views on Islamic practices or lifestyle. Views on the way of lifestyle
by Islam have been examined under social, economic and cultural themes, and findings for each theme have
been set down below.
4.2.1. Findings Related to Social Theme
Islamic principles lead the way of life of Muslims. For example, praying five times a day is an Islamic
obligation. Muslims plan their lives according to these obligations. Non-Muslims see these practices as a
different culture, lifestyle, or coercive pressure. Some of the answers given by participants in the context of
social themes are mentioned below:
… “The public sphere, especially the shopping malls, had churches and synagogue, etc.; but now the
mosques have begun to open. This increasing of places reserved for Muslims creates uneasiness in society.
We are afraid that the Muslim's way of life will harm our social structure. In addition, radical Muslims are a
particularly dangerous source. It is known that the younger Muslims gathered in Muslim associations in the
mosques are radicalized. However, the state also offers financial assistance to Muslim associations by
supporting them. When it comes to 9/11, London, Nice, and other Islamic terrorist acts, this reminds me of
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the movie named 'sleeping with the enemy'. I am not saying that Muslims are our enemies, but we should
isolate them from social spheres.” (Sven, male, 33, Stockholm).
… “I have never understood the pilgrimage and prayers of Muslims when I first saw these strange
beliefs and rumors of Muslims in Morocco. Just as we go to church, they also have a time frame called 'Friday
prayer' and worship together in the mosque. But these extreme prayers and practices must not be part of
Europe; when we give them religious freedoms, they can work to preach this religion to us. Christianity and
perhaps being Jewish are among the historical values of Europe, but I oppose the existence of Islam. Islam
is not our cultural value. I think that Islamic associations, mosques or prayers that we witnesses are bothered
our social life (Kevin, male, 40, Brussels).
4.2.2. Findings Related to Cultural and Economic Theme
In this theme, participants noted that Islamic practices and lifestyle are contrary to the modern
world's economic life and mode of production. It is also a problematic of the fact that the exclusion of
economic means from Islam cannot be understood by the participants. Moreover, they are reported that
Islam is far from meeting the conditions of the modern economy within this theme. Participants, who
thought that the cultural life in Europe was limited by Islamic practices, emphasized that Islam is an invader
culture. Islamic practices contradict European cultural values. Also, the deterioration of Christian cultural
values has been examined within this theme. Some of the participants' opinions within this theme are
below:
… “Europe, which has a tradition of the industrial revolution, is based on work discipline. While
Europe is experiencing an industrial revolution in the face of reason and enlightenment, Islamic societies
continue to live in tents and as primitive tribes. Over time, this primitive lifestyle changed with the
intervention of the Europeans and they now have modern cities. But Islamic societies far from an important
economic competence: economic reason and work discipline. The prayer that takes place in Islam is 5 times
a day and the most important production hours of the day are passed by prayer. Each prayer lasts for at least
30 minutes. This time is longer in most cases; which requires a choice for many manufacturers. Employees
generally use this choice for their jobs and stop praying instead of going out from work and living their
religion. Yet, Islam is based on prayer and it is a big contradiction that the working Muslims prefer Islamic
lifestyle to their work.” (David, male, 44, London).
… “Historically, Islam is culturally an invader religion. The Islamic prayer event is contrary to the
religious experience of the Europeans. Our culture and Christian values are being put under pressure by the
collective practices of Islam. Islamic terrorism also compels us to stay in the restricted public spheres.”
(Bridgette, female, 29, Rotterdam).
According to this study finding, Islamic practices have been studied in social, cultural and economic
themes. The view that Islamic practices limit social spheres and that it does not match the cultural values
of Europe has been widely expressed by participants. It has also been reported that Islamic practices cause
a serious labor loss.
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4.3. Views on Islamophobia
Participants have expressed different opinions about Islam and Islamophobia, which they mostly
mean negatively. Some of the participants' opinions about Islamophobia are below:
… “Islam is a swamp; so Islamic thought radicalizes people and directs (leads) them to the Islamic
terrorism. Islam is not a religion of peace, friendship or brotherhood. I consider Muslims who follow the
people with their knives and kill them or constantly thinking of violence, cutting people's throat or burning
them, etc. Islamophobia is a necessity of modern the Western world; it is a kind of social reality. Because we
“modern Europeans” do not want to live with reactionary/fundamentalist Muslims. I am also aware that I
define myself as a Buddhist, that is, I do not care about Christian beliefs, but I am also aware that Islam is an
enemy belief in all other religions. The writers of the Qur'an have used such a language of violence that we
cannot ignore this racist / anti-Semitic rhetoric. Islamophobia reflects particularly fearful aspects of the
invading identity of Islam. Modern Western values have a secular faith against the absurd beliefs of Islam. I
know that values such as freedom and justice are not in Islam; because today there are strange Shari'a
practices in many countries. How is it possible to unaware of this absurdity and still follow Islam?” (Nicolas,
male, 33, Munich).
… “There are four different religious thought aspects in Islam today: (1) The "Salafists", whose
numbers are extremely minor, but relatively common in the Arab world (ISIL), (2) The Hanafi-Maturidi
"Sunnism" which had been implicated by Nakshī-Hâlidi Sufism. (3) The "universalists" who regard the
Qur'an as "universal/absolute" and critical of other sources. (4) "Constant Religion or Dynamic Shariah"
(Historicalists). Islam is the religion of conflict within itself. Today, Muslim countries are at war and most
Muslims kill other Muslims. There is no peaceful Muslim for them. Muslims are ignorant and easily
radicalized, and they tend to terror and militia movements. Muslims are powerful worshippers; something
to be worshipped according to them. Arab countries love to live British and American values, and they also
have a religiously modified capitalist/evangelist idea. Spiritual heretics such as mystics create a new deity
(sheik, mentor, spiritually leader, etc.). Islam is such a heretical religion. The Arab world is in strange
delusions and obsessions and the Arabs are so radical in themselves that they do not accept any other culture
members as Muslims. Even in the Palestinian case, the Islamic world cannot cope with being unity. So it is a
dream to expect them to be united.” (Linette, female, 34, Manchester).
According to research findings, a large majority of participants view Islamophobia as an important
concept. The view of Islamophobia is accepted and supported by all of the participants. The main cause of
Islamophobia is cultural values, religious traditions, and the spreading of Islamic terrorism. In addition, the
media and politicians have a special place in the rise of anti-Islamic thought.
4.4. Views on Regarding Attitudes and Behaviors against Muslim Students
Teachers who have internalized Christian and Western values, attitudes and behaviors towards
Muslim students in schools are very important for the understanding of Islamophobia in schools. The views
of the participants on the Islamophobic behaviors and attitudes towards the Muslim students are given
below.
… “I usually do not discriminate among my students. However, after the Muslim terrorist attacks
especially in the Western world, unfortunately, I am making such discrimination. Although I do not define
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20 | Baltacı - Kayacan, “Islamophobia in European Schools: A Multinational Phenomenological Research”
myself as anti-Islamic, it gives me worry that the foreigners and especially the Muslim students increase
geometrically in the schools. I think that Muslim students cannot have the values of the Western world and
they should be extracted from our schools… Plus I hate Muslim students and discriminate them to the
Catholics or others. Especially in student evaluations, and I give them to lower marks than non-Muslims… I
even think that Muslim students do not have the right to a good education.” (Marie, female, 40, Paris).
… “A secret Muslim enmity is being made in European schools. If we openly express our Islamophobic
thoughts, we can expose to the kind of Muslim react and we can even be fired. I know that the majority of
European schools, Christian, and Jewish teachers, hate Muslim students. We talk secretly among ourselves
and say: "How can we get revenge from Muslim students?” In fact, even though Muslim students are not
directly responsible for the terrorist attacks now, they will also be a potential threat to our society in the
future.” (Patrick, male, 43, Utrecht).
Participants' views on Muslim students are differing. According to participant opinions,
discrimination is still a privileged phenomenon in European schools. In addition, the participants do not
trust Muslim students and see them as a potential threat. However, the participants assume that Muslim
students can easily radicalize. There are also participants who indicate that the use of religious symbols in
schools increases the likelihood of a physical and psychological attack on students.
4.5. Views on the Fight against Islamophobia in Schools
When Islamophobia is defined as an act of hatred based on prejudice against non-Muslims, it is
important to reduce these prejudices and Islamophobic behaviors in schools. Participants' views on how to
fight Islamophobia in schools are given below.
… “I think struggling with Islamophobia is like achieving the impossible. Prejudices can only be
eliminated by spending time together and understanding each other. But Muslims do not have to care about
spending time with Christians for their religious beliefs. Islam forbids friendship with other religions; for
this reason, we do not know enough Muslims. Muslim students in European schools are also introverted and
antisocial and communicate only with other Muslims. Thus, the possibility of preventing the Islamophobic
behaviors that are living in schools today also goes away.” (Charlotte, female, 29, Liverpool).
… “First, we must listen to the problems of Muslim students and understand them, which we cannot
associate with them without knowing their problems. Of course, there must be mutual tolerance for the
effectiveness of the communication. In addition, we must give each other time. In time, Muslims will
abandon the rhetoric of violence and approach the Western values and lifestyle; we must, of course, try to
change our own discriminatory thinking. To halt the Islamophobia only this can be done.” (David, male, 44,
London).
As seen on participants views', the participants have different ideas about the fight against
Islamophobia. Most of the participants reported that Islamophobia is a prejudice attitude; they suggested
that prejudice can only be removed by communication. Besides, the point reached by the consensus is that
Islamophobia can be eliminated by communication and prejudice education.
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Baltacı - Kayacan, “Islamophobia in European Schools: A Multinational Phenomenological Research” | 21
5. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION
This study aims to define the variability range between the Islamophobic teachers and determine the
status of Islamophobia in European schools. Within the scope of the study, the focus was on participant’
views on the religion of Islam, Islamic lifestyle, Islamophobia, Muslim students, and fight against
Islamophobia in schools. Participants' views on Islam religion have been examined under social, economic
and cultural themes, and it can be said that the majority of these views are contradictory. Within the scope
of the study, it was determined that the majority of the participants were biased, non-questioned and
negatively approaching Islam. The participants, who stated that they were influenced by the negative news
about Islam, also expressed that politicians are also exposed to the way they do in a prejudiced manner
about Islam. They also agree that Islam is a religion that is called together with terrorism and war.
Participants, who thought that the Islamic symbols (headscarf, etc.) restricted the public sphere, also stated
that the mosques were also spreading. It is also remarkable that there are also participants who think that
Muslims working in Europe are providing monetary support to radical Islamic or jihadist groups. It was also
determined that migrants coming to Europe due to wars also had a negative impact on the security of the
cities and that they had narrowed their business areas.
It can be said that the participants' views on Islam religion are not related to the knowledge and
practices of Islam. Islam is a religion of peace and reason, but it is an important consequence of this study
that terror and other negative epithets which are mentioned together with Islam in the recent period harm
the image of Islam. This result of the research is similar to the various research made in the literature.49
Islam is a religion that is open to interpretation in terms of practices like other religions and contains
various denominations. In this respect, a controversial concept such as jihad, misinterpreted by the Western
world and associated with terrorism, is an important prejudice reflex against Islam. The reduction of the
prejudices concerning Islam can be achieved by a balanced communication of the precise knowledge and
practices that constitute the essence of Islam. In this respect, it is important that the Muslims living in
Europe are equipped with the correct Islamic knowledge. In addition, these people who live in accordance
with Islamic philosophy and practices in an exemplary way and present Islam towards the Western world
will contribute to reducing prejudices of Islam.
Some of the participants who argued that Islamophobia is a social necessity rather than a cultural
orientation points out that almost every Christian has to be Islamophobic, although not directly exhibited.
Emphasizing that Islamophobia is a historically evolving concept, the participants signified that this
negative attitude of Christianity towards Islam is undeniable. Moreover, the Islamophobic attitudes and
behaviors of the media and politicians are also influencing the public and schools. In addition, participants
noted that Islamophobia is often triggered by the negative attitudes and behaviors of some Muslims in
European society. At this point, it can be said that this situation in the society is exaggerated by the media
and politicians and announced to the public, which in turn increases anti-Islamism or Islamophobia in the
public opinion. In many types of research in the literature, it is reported that the media and politicians can
49
Jandali, “Muslim Students in Post-9/11 Classrooms.”: 34; Dhaya Ramarajan - Marcella Runell, “Confronting
Islamophobia in education”, Intercultural Education 18/2 (2007): 88; Zaal, “Islamophobia in classrooms, media, and
politics”: 553.
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22 | Baltacı - Kayacan, “Islamophobia in European Schools: A Multinational Phenomenological Research”
direct the attitudes and behaviors of the people.50 It can be said that Islam and Islamophobia as a constantly
discussed subject in the Western world, especially Islam, will be subject to the direction of the media and
politicians. In this respect, the reaction of the social paradigm, which governs media and politics, towards
anti-Islamic discourses is important.
One of the important facts revealed in this study is that teachers who have an important cultural role
in the public sphere and who constitute the sample group have Islamophobic attitudes and behaviors. Of
course, the education system and the teachers are not separate from the social system. Teachers serving the
majority of society cannot be expected to be in a separate and sophisticated experience from society.51
However, the opinions or actions of teachers’ anti-Islamism are an indication of the far-right and racist
political formations that are increasing in Europe. In the West, it is noteworthy that the news and comments
of the media institutions and the intensification of anti-Islam thoughts in the statements of the politicians.
This concentration in anti-Islamic discourse shows its effect in social areas, a divergence occurs in society
and individuals are increasingly exposed to negative opinions or misinformation about Islam. In these
debates that divide the society, the recent far-right movements also play a role. Generally, the far-right
currents observed in non-multicultural societies are supported by groups who do not want the society to
have a multicultural structure. In addition, wars in Asia and the Middle East, the immigrant issue and the
terrorist attacks such as 9/11 have been associated with radical Islamist / jihadist terrorist organizations,
and the Islamophobia offense has become widespread in the Western world. Of course, every thesis contains
an anti-thesis, in this context; the criticisms directed to Islam, the relative correctness is obvious. It is
especially problematic to try to show Islam as a pro-violence with radical interpretations. Although Islam is
not a violent religion, the emergence and spread of Islam in the historically dominant geographic areas of
the war creates a sense of conceptual integration between Islam and violence. In this sense, the culture of
war has been perceived as a part of Islam and identified with Islam. Eventually this misunderstanding, even
in schools which have a special position in the Western world, the religion of Islam is mentioned together
with terror and war. As a result of this study, teachers working in European schools were found to be anti-
Islamic in a large measure, the importance of correct presentation and introduction of Islam also emerged.
Participants, who stated that Islamophobia is a reality in European schools, say that Islamic symbols
draw the attention of other students to Muslim students who use those symbols and may cause
discrimination against them. It is also important that teachers consider Muslim students as "slaves of the
modern age" or "primitive tribe". Teachers stated that they discriminate against Muslim students, especially
in student evaluations, and give them to lower marks than non-Muslims. Besides, another important finding
of the study is the perception of participants that minority groups such as foreigners and immigrants cannot
adapt to the Western values of Europe. According to the theories of radicalization, the social and cultural
50
Amir Saeed, “Media, racism and Islamophobia: The representation of Islam and Muslims in the media”, Sociology
Compass 1/2 (2007): 448; Diane Frost, “Islamophobia: examining causal links between the media and ‘race hate’ from
‘below’”, International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy 28/11/12 (2008): 569; Rod Gardner et al., “Islamophobia in
the media: A response from multicultural education”, Intercultural education 19/2 (2008): 123.
51
Ali Baltacı - Mehmet Kamil Coşkun, “The Development of Teacher Perception Scale towards Religious Education
Teachers”, OPUS International Journal of Society Researches 8/15 (August 2018): 1463.
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Baltacı - Kayacan, “Islamophobia in European Schools: A Multinational Phenomenological Research” | 23
discordance experienced by the person evolve into an increasingly alienated character and thus
radicalization at the individual level occurs. There are also teachers who think that Muslim students will
become radicalized over time, and harm Western society. Moving from the findings of the research, it can
be concluded that discrimination is still a major problem for European schools. Moreover, separating
students because of their existential qualities such as race, mother tongue, and religion is also contrary to
European values. From this point of view, it can be understood that open or confidential discrimination is
against basic human rights and that the teachers behave erroneously. However, of course, it is unthinkable
that an issue such as anti-Islamism, which has been socially overturned, can be reduced to a fact like
discrimination. At this point, it is important to reconsider educational policies in order to reduce prejudiced
and discriminatory teacher behavior.
To reduce prejudiced behaviors among social groups, it is necessary to bring these groups closer
together. Thus, prejudiced behaviors that occur between individuals or groups are reduced by mutual
interaction. But this is not as easy as it seems.52It is quite complicated to provide social interaction in
conflicting issues, especially in the case of religion. Since Islamophobia is a fact that is based on prejudiced
behaviors, a social solution requires a complex interaction. The majority of participants think that struggle
with Islamophobia is a complex and difficult process. The participants who emphasize that the easiest way
to reduce prejudices against Islamophobia and Muslims, are to spend time with Muslims, and underline the
importance of social projects and cultural events. There are also teachers who think that the reduction of
Islamophobia in the schools can be achieved by accepting Western values of Muslim students. In addition,
participants point out that Islamophobia is not only a case of school life, but that anti-Islamism is spreading
throughout the society, emphasizing the importance of the government to create policies that prevent
prejudice. However, the majority of participants stated that an important method of reducing Islamophobia
is to communicate. At this point, communication is effective in reducing prejudice-related events such as
Islamophobia. It is known that societies that communicate with each other and understand each other's
problems are less prejudiced. Islamophobia is a communication problem developed by people who have in
essence a prejudiced attitude but who do not really try to understand each other. It may be possible to
transform into a group and to understand each other by keeping communication channels open even if
there is no connection between race, religion and mother tongue.
The most criticized aspect of qualitative research is the difficulty in obtaining generalizable results
with limited samples. However, with the help of qualitative studies, as in this research, very important and
detailed information can be reached. Small sample groups appear to be a significant limitation in studies
investigating the social prevalence of, particularly difficult and contradictory concepts. Although this
research was conducted on a group determined in accordance with the qualitative sampling methods, the
most important limitation was the low sample size and the problems encountered in sampling access
opportunities. Within the scope of the sample, care and attention have been paid to selecting teachers from
different countries in order to provide maximum diversity. Nevertheless, working in a larger and wider
environment is essential for such detailed research. In future studies, it may be advisable to use different
52
Lincoln Quillian, “New approaches to understanding racial prejudice and discrimination”, Annu. Rev. Sociol. 32 (2006):
321.
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24 | Baltacı - Kayacan, “Islamophobia in European Schools: A Multinational Phenomenological Research”
types of samples. In addition, quantitative methods are required to ensure universality, which is the greatest
limitation of this research. Based on the assumption that these research results are limited to participant
opinions and that changes in social events will affect the participants’ views, it may be the case that future
studies will reach different findings from these research results.
ANNEX
No Nickname Gender Age City No Nickname Gender Age City
1 Sebastian Male 32 Hamburg 19 Caren Female 41 Manchester
2 Rodina Female 35 Stuttgart 20 Elisa Female 29 London
3 Martha Female 34 Cologne 21 Kingsley Male 33 Southampton
4 Nicolas Male 33 Munich 22 Steven Male 37 Liverpool
5 Henning Male 27 Frankfurt 23 David Male 44 London
6 Clara Female 51 Berlin 24 Linette Female 34 Manchester
7 Hans Male 32 Hamburg 25 Charlotte Female 29 Liverpool
8 Ursula Female 55 Munich 26 Shaun Male 41 London
9 Yannick Male 32 Lyon 27 Ulrich Male 29 Odense
10 Marie Female 40 Paris 28 Niklas Male 50 Copenhagen
11 Sophie Female 51 Marseille 29 Henrik Male 47 Copenhagen
12 Roland Male 37 Nice 30 Edgar Male 30 Amsterdam
13 Jacque Male 44 Toulouse 31 Anette Female 33 Amsterdam
14 Jasmine Female 28 Paris 32 Bridgette Female 29 Rotterdam
15 Lizbeth Female 47 Malmö 33 Patrick Male 43 Utrecht
16 Sven Male 33 Stockholm 34 Kevin Male 40 Brussels
17 Isabella Female 45 Goteborg 35 Thomas Male 35 Ghent
18 Gustav Male 52 Stockholm 36 Joliet Female 29 Brussels
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ULUM Journal of Religious Inquiries
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Methods and Varieties of Guidance According to Imām Māturīdī
Harun Çağlayan *
Abstract
Māturīdī, one of the prominent Kalām scholar, is mostly considered to have played a significant role in the
construction of a sustainable religious approach today. This recognition originates from his joint reference
to intellect and divine inspiration with regard to issues in Kalām in addition to his contributions to the Sunni
way of thinking. His balanced use of the intellect and divine inspiration in his solutions for issues of Hidāyat
increased his popularity. In the Muslim world, just as in any other community, perception of reality or
guidance not as a process but as outright values of their community causes such problems as religious
fanaticism and advocacy for sole truth. To solve such problems, a sound understanding of guidance in
Muslim communities should be constructed in the light of scientific and social realities. In this respect,
determining unique and comprehensive interpretations of Māturīdī of the issue will be of great help for
establishing a peaceful religious understanding for the common future of humanity. In the center of
Māturīdī’s interpretations of guidance lies his approach to guidance with respect to its methods and
varieties. Besides presenting the definitions of these methods and varieties, the current study analyzes
Māturīdī’s interpretations of how these methods and varieties interact.
Keywords
Kalām, Māturīdī, Hidāyat, Bayān, Luṭf
*
Asssociate Professor, Kırıkkale University, Faculty of Islamic Sciences, Department of Kalam, Kırıkkale, Turkey
Doç. Dr., Kırıkkale Üniversitesi, İslami İlimer Fakültesi, Kelam Anabilim Dalı
caglayanharun@gmail.com ORCID 0000-0002-0228-5164
**
The results of this study were inspired by the ideas that are presented in Harun Çağlayan, Etik Açıdan Mâturîdî’nin
Hidayet Anlayışı (Ankara: Grafiker Yayınları, 2015).
Article Types: Research Article
Received: 23 January 2019
Accepted: 26 July 2019
Published: 31 July 2019
Cite as: Harun Çağlayan, “Methods and Varieties of Guidance According to Imām Māturīdī”, ULUM 2/1 (July 2019):
29-50, https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3354604
30 | Çağlayan, “Methods and Varieties of Guidance According to Imām Māturīdī”
İmām Mātürīdī'de Hidayetin Yöntem ve Çeşitleri
Öz
Müslüman kelāmının başat karakterlerinden olan Mātürīdī’nin günümüz açısıdan sürdürülebilir bir din
anlayışın kurgulanmasında önemli bir kişilik olduğu Kabul edilen bir gerçektir. Bu kabul, onun Sünnī
düşünceye katkılarının yanısıra kelāmi konularda sergilediği akıl-vahiy birlikteliğinden kaynaklanmaktadır.
Onun hidayet konusunda akıl-vahiy arasında kurduğu dengeli çözüm önerileri, Mātürīdī’ye rağbeti
artırmıştır. Her toplumda olduğu gibi Müslüman dünyasında da hakikat veya hidayetin bir süreç değil,
kendilerinde tamamlanmış bir değer olarak görülmesi, katı bir din anlayışı ve yegâne hakikat savunuculuğu
gibi sıkıntılara neden olmaktadır. Bu sıkıntıların giderilmesi için Müslüman hidayet anlayışının bilimsel ve
sosyal gerçekler ışığında sağlıklı bir şekilde kurgulanması gerekir. Bu bağlamda Mātürīdī’nin konuya ilişkin
özgün ve kuşatıcı yorumlarını tespit edebilmek, insanlığın ortak geleceği açısından barışcıl bir din algısının
teşekkülünde yararlı olacaktır. Mātürīdī’nin hidayet anlayışına ilişkin değerlendirmelerin merkezinde, onun
yöntem ve çeşit açısından hidayete nasıl yaklaştığı durmaktadır. Çalışmada hem bu yöntem ve çeşitlerin
neler olduğuna değinilmiş, hem de bunlar arasındaki karşılıklı etkileşimin nasıl sağlandığına ilişkin
Mātürīdī’nin yaklaşımları analiz edilmiştir.
Anahtar Kelimeler
Kelām, Mātürīdī, Hidayet, Beyān, Lütuf
INTRODUCTION
Nowadays, no culture has the luxury to exist in its own world. In our time when humanity progresses
towards common truths and values, the way of grasping the concept of guidance (hidāyat) from religious
perspective bears significant importance. Ways of reaching guidance are various. Seeing the differences in
approaches for reaching guidance not as a cultural richness but as a cause of conflict would cause a
disruptive and meaningless debate between the civilizations and it would give harm to the journey of
humanity to realize itself.
The thoughts of Abū Manṣūr Muḥammad al-Māturīdī (d. 333/944) on guidance bear qualities that
would contribute to such common humanitarian values as peace and tolerance especially needed today. He
developed a universal method which forges a general consensus by evaluating the subject of guidance
within the framework of rational and ethical principles.1
There are significant differences between guidance approach of Islamic thought and other salvation
theories. In Islamic opinion the aim is not to free oneself by redeeming from sins but rather to find peace of
one’s own free will. In Islamic perception of guidance, living in accordance with mental and conscientious
principles is accepted as the way to achieve peace of mind both in this world and in the Hereafter, which is
the aim of religious teaching. In this context, guidance approach of Māturīdī distinguishes itself with its
stable and conciliatory approach between reason and revelation.
1 Harun Çağlayan, Etik Açıdan Mâturîdî’nin Hidayet Anlayışı (Ankara: Grafiker Yayınları, 2015), 7.
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1. CONCEPTUAL FRAME
1.1. Reaching Guidance
The word hidayat (in English guidance), is a noun derived from the Arabic root verb of hadā, has such
meanings as leading the way, heading,2 granting guidance,3 reaching to what is desired.4 As a concept,
guidance is mainly defined as a person’s finding guidance with a divine grace.5
Guidance is touched upon in the Qur’ān more than three hundred times with its conceptual meaning.6
The word, guidance as used in the Qur’ān verses generally has the meanings of knowledge, (reason/aql,
intelligence/zakā, a priori knowledge/‘ilm al-ḍarūra) report (messenger/rasūl and book/al-kitāb), divine
support (tawfīq) and paradise.7 In the Qur’ān, guidance is used as having a positive meaning such as leading
the guidance, showing the truth, or conveying someone to the truth.8 Only very few of these bears the
meaning of leading towards evil (al-Aʿrāf 7/23; al-Ḥajj 22/4). The concept of guidance as a name has mostly
positive meanings such as leading, guiding, true belief and gift.9 ‘Al-Hādī’, which is one of the most
frequently used names of Allah in the Qur’ān, means ‘The one who shows the path through guidance’.10
1.2. Approaches on Guidance
In Kalām, the subject of guidance, mainly related with the acts of servants (af‘āl al-‘ibād), is explained
with three approaches namely ‘jabrī’, ‘i‘tizālī’ and ‘sunnī’.11 According to Jabriyya, as humans have no
effectiveness and they are obliged to the life appreciated to them by God, being the absolute power in their
wills and acts, guidance is completely dependent on the appreciation of the God.12 In other words, since God
2
Abū al-Fadl Camāluddīn Muhammad Ibn Manzūr, Lisān al-Arab, ed. Abdullah Ali al-Kabīr, Muhammad Ahmed
Hasabullah, Hashim Muhammad Shāzalī (Cairo: Dār al-Maārif, nd.), 51: 4638; Ebū al-Qāsim Husayn b. Muhammad
b. al-Fadl al-Rāghib al-Isfahānī, al-Mufradāt fī gharīb al-Qurān, critical ed. Muhammad Sayyid Kaylānī (Beirūt: Dār al-
Marafah, nd.), 538.
3
Abū al-Husayn Ahmed b. Zakariyyā Ibn Fāris, Mu’jam makāyīs al-lugha, critical ed. Abdussalām Muhammad Hārūn
(Damascus: Dār al-Fikr, 1979), 6: 42.
4
al-Sayyid Sharīf al-Jurjānī, Kitāb al-Taʿrīfāt (Beirut: Maktab Lubnān, 1985), 277.
5
Isfahānī, Mufradāt, 538.
6
Muhammad Fu’ād ‘Abd al-Bāqī, al-Mu’jam al-mufahras li’l alfāẓ al-Qur’ān al-karīm (Cairo: Dār al-Kutub al-Misriyya,
1364), 731-735.
7
Isfahānī, Mufradāt, 538.
8
Muhammad Hamdi Yazır, Hak Dini Kur’an Dili (Istanbul: Eser Yayınları, 1979), 1: 119.
9
Ibn Manzūr, Lisān al-Arab, 51: 4639; Jurjānī, Kitāb al-Taʿrīfāt, 277.
10
Ibn Manzūr, Lisān al-Arab, 51: 4638.
11
Abdulmalik al-Juvaynī, Kitāb al-Irshād, ed. Muhammad Yusuf Mūsa, Alī Abdulmunīm Abdulhamīd (Baghdad: al-
Maktab al-Hanjī, 1950), 381.
12
Abū al-Muʿīn al-Nasafī, Bahr al-kalām fī ʻilm al-tawhīd, critical ed. Muhammad Sālih al-Farfūr (Damascus: Maktab Dār
al-Farfūr, 2000), 145.
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is the one who determines all thoughts, statements and attitudes of an individual, people have no other
option but to show their consent to belief and deny his faith.13 We can perceive jabrī approach to guidance
as denying human freedom in the name of divine dominance.14
According to Mu‘tazila, as individuals are free, they are the creator of their free will and acts.15
Therefore, people either reach guidance or evil solely with their own efforts.16 What is meant with the
expression in verses is that guidance comes from God, and that guidance is declared through revelation.
Without making any discrimination, God has desired guidance for all humans but not all of them have
reached guidance.17 Those who have reached the guidance have improved their guidance further with their
good acts.18 In this case, guidance is not a value that is already present in the hearts but is an invitation or a
declaration made to all in order for them to see the truth and comply with it.19 We can perceive guidance
approach of Mu‘tazila as an attempt to save the free will.20
In general, according to the Sunnī approach, a person is responsible from his free will and acts, but
he is not the creator of his acts. According to them, the reason why people are responsible for their acts is
that they intend and tend to realize an act of their earned (kasb) or particular will (juzī irāda) because right
after free will of a person, the act is created by God. Accordingly, human and God act together in the
formation of individual acts.21
In the definitions of guidance made by Muslim theologians, it is seen that meanings of granting and
showing the way, which are related with the root “to indicate” were influential. Jabrī, and sunnī approaches
claim that reaching guidance is a gift, since the root “heda” means to grant, whereas Mu‘tazila claims that
guidance is a declaration since it has the meaning of showing the way.22
Since Māturīdī lived in ideologically dynamic geography, he had a more tolerable policy towards
different opinions. When evaluating the topics, he relied on rationalism as much as or even more than
13
Abū al-ḤasanʿAlī ibn Ismāʿīl ibn Isḥāq al-Ashʿarī, Maqālāt al-Islāmiyyīn, critical ed. Muḥammad Muḥyī al-DīnʻAbd al-
Ḥamīd (Cairo: Maktaba al-Nahdat al-Misriyya, 1950), 1: 312.
14
Çağlayan, Etik Açıdan Mâturîdî’nin Hidayet Anlayışı, 20.
15
Ashʿarī, Maqālāt, 1: 273; Nasafī, Bahr al-kalām, 147.
16
Metin Özdemir, İslam Düşüncesinde Kötülük Problemi (Istanbul: Kaknüs Yayınları, 2014), 231-311.
17
Abū Mansūr al-Māturīdī, Ta’wilāt al-Qur’ān, critical ed. Majdī Bāsalūm (Beirut: Dār al-Kutub al-Ilmiyya, 2005), 1: 583;
4: 155; Ashʿarī, Maqālāt, 1: 298.
18
Ashʿarī, Maqālāt, 1: 298, 299.
19
Māturīdī, Ta’wilāt, 1: 368; Ashʿarī, Maqālāt, 1: 298; Juvaynī, Kitāb al-Irshād, 211.
20
Çağlayan, Etik Açıdan Mâturîdî’nin Hidayet Anlayışı, 20, 21.
21
Abū Mansūr al-Māturīdī, Kitāb al-Tawhīd, critical ed. Bekir Topaloğlu, Muhammad Aruçi (Ankara: Turkey Diyanet
Foundation, 2003), 365, 366.
22
Çağlayan, Etik Açıdan Mâturîdî’nin Hidayet Anlayışı, 22.
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Mu‘tazila. We can regard him as one of the pioneers of theological rationalism.23 In that respect, we can
define Māturīdī’s academic method as a blend of scientific and social accumulations of his period in terms
of reason.
1.3. Māturīdī’s Understading of Guidance
Muslim theologians generally investigate guidance under two categories being ‘Guidance in General
’and ‘Particular Guidance’. While general guidance is reason and the ability to think (istidlāl), which humans
have as they are born, private guidance means messenger and revelation that are granted to humans as a
grace.24 In order to have a more sound understanding of Māturīdī’s various analyses of the issue of guidance,
the concept of gained guidance was used for general guidance and the term given guidance was used for
particular guidance.
Māturīdī, who linked the source of correct information to reason and report,25 thinks that the God has
granted general guidance to everyone but that as most people were not aware of this, they remained
deprived of guidance.26 He states that no one will be responsible for guidance of someone else since reaching
guidance is left to the person himself.27
Epistemology of Māturīdī that is based on the principles of Sensation, Reporting and Reasoning,28 is
the source of his guidance approach at the same time. He defines hearing, seeing and reason of existence of
hearts as being granted to humans to reach guidance knowingly.29
Māturīdī states that the Arabic verb ‘hada’ has two meanings, which indicate the unity of the God and
ensuring obedience to Him.30 According to him, concepts of reaching and heading to guidance are
synonymous. However, since it expresses reaching to truth in a better way and as its usage is more
widespread, concept of ‘guidance’ has become more famous. Māturīdī states the basis of his opinion relating
with the topic of guidance, as he interprets (al-Fātiḥa 1/6) the verse as “Direct us to the guidance!” right at
the beginning of his exegesis (in Ta’wilāt al-The Qur’ān). According to him, guidance can be understood in
three ways which are declaration (bayān), divine support (tawfīq), and pray (du‘ā’). There are two meanings
23
For Māturīdī’s rationality and his place in al-Hanafī tradition, See. Şaban Ali Düzgün, “Semerkant İlim Havzası ve
Mâtürîdî”,Mâtürîdî’nin Düşünce Dünyası, ed. Şaban Ali Düzgün (Ankara: Republic of Turkey Ministry of Culture and
Tourism - Kuban Yayınları, 2018), 18-20; Sönmez Kutlu, “Bilinen ve Bilinmeyen Yönleriyle İmam Mâturîdî”, İmam
Mâturîdî ve Maturidilik, ed. Sönmez Kutlu (Ankara: Otto Yayınları, 2011), 27-29.
24
Ashʿarī, Maqālāt, 1: 298; Saʻd-al-DīnʻUmar al-Taftāzānī, Sharḥ al-Maqāṣid: Maqāṣid fī ʻilm al-kalām, critical ed. Sālih
Mūsā Sharif, (Beirut: Ālem al-Kutūb, 1988), 4: 310, 311.
25
Māturīdī, Kitāb al-Tawhīd, 5, 620, 621; Id, Ta’wilāt, 2: 109; 6: 144.
26
Māturīdī, Kitāb al-Tawhīd, 184, 185.
27
Māturīdī, Ta’wilāt, 7: 10, 166; 9: 92.
28
Māturīdī, Kitāb al-Tawhīd, 13-17; Id, Ta’wilāt, 8: 591.
29
Māturīdī, Ta’wilāt, 10: 128.
30
Māturīdī, Ta’wilāt, 2: 95.
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in the praying of believers to reach guidance as specified in verse (al-Fātiḥa 1/6). First one of them is the
desire not to leave from the blessing of guidance and the second one is to wish to realize the act of guidance
continuously. In this way, a person who is a believer wishes to express that he is far away from acting as
contradictory to his faith.31 Therefore, the expression of ‘guidance’, which is referred to in the verse (al-
Fātiḥa 1/6) has the meaning of faith that prioritizes knowledge and reason.32 Māturīdī deems believers who
wish to be directed to the path of people whom the God has blessed in their prayers (al-Fātiḥa 1/7) as an
evidence for refutation of the aslah theory33. According to him, if the God had to do the best for His people
as a requirement of aslah principle, he would have created guidance for everyone. However, it is stated that
guidance is only for those who are blessed.34
Guidance, which is defined as showing the right way by Māturīdī, is related both with the desire and
creation of the God and with the wish and power of humans. That is, guidance is the outcome of common
efforts open to divine and human influences.35 According to Māturīdī, guidance, which takes someone from
darkness into the light takes place in four different ways36. First one of these is the declaration of the truth,
the second one is encouragement for the truth, the third one is invitation to the truth and the final one is
reaching to the truth by means of reasoning. First three types of guidance are realized with the mediation
of messengers, while the last one is realized with divine support.37 Accordingly, we can define Māturīdī’s
guidance understanding as Allah’s showing humans the right path as a result of divine grace, though He is
not obliged to do so. He argues that guidance is granted as a reminder of blessings He granted and
encouraged people to seek refuge in Allah.38
2. GAINED GUIDANCE
In theology of Muslim, gained or attained guidance means a person’s reaching the truth as a result of
his own investigations. While this can occur as a result of comprehensive research, it can also take place as
a result of internal enlightenment happening as outcome of a short contemplation. Internal enlightenment
is a divine grace, but it is not revelation.39
31
Māturīdī, Ta’wilāt, 1: 366.
32
Māturīdī, Ta’wilāt, 1: 366, 367; 6: 32, 309, 358.
33
Aslāh is obligation of the god to do the best in the literature of Kalām. Abū al-Muʿīn al-Nasafī, al-Tamhīd fī usūl al-
dīn, critical ed. Abdulhay Kābīl (Cairo: Dār al-Sagāfa, 1987), 84.
34
Māturīdī, Ta’wilāt, 1: 368.
35
Māturīdī, Kitāb al-Tawhīd, 358, 359; Id, Ta’wilāt, 1: 366.
36
Māturīdī, Ta’wilāt, 10: 40.
37
Māturīdī, Ta’wilāt, 6: 359.
38
Māturīdī, Ta’wilāt, 1: 369.
39
Taftāzānī, Sharḥ al-Maqāṣid, 4: 310, 311.
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Knowledge found with attained guidance occurs as the outcome of a mental process that is gained as
a result of intellectual experiences.40 The fact that this knowledge was attained with inspiration, perceptions
(khavāṭır), comprehension or heart enlightenment does not change the truth that it has come out with one’s
own efforts.41
Since attained guidance is related with individual efforts, it is closely related with the information
sources. Māturīdī related the fact that humans came to exist on earth with the capabilities of sight, hearing,
and comprehending with guidance, while they did not know anything in the Qur’ān (al-Naḥl 16/78). Because
humans can only make reasoning with these capabilities to learn, they have to be grateful to the God and
reach guidance.42
2.1. Sensual Perception
Māturīdī uses the terms of ‘senses’ and ‘observing’ (‘iyān) for the sense organs themselves or for
sensual perception. While there are small differences of meaning among them43, it can be considered that
they are synonymous. According to Māturīdī, main source of our knowledge about the reality of existence
is observing. The word observation defines the data and information that are perceived by healthy sense
organs. As ‘eye’ is the first sensory organ that comes to the mind, the concept of observation has been
derived from Arabic noun of ‘eye’ (‘ayn).44 In the information theory of Māturīdī, the word observation
represents the perception rather than the organ itself. With this perception or comprehension, a person
can be relieved from lack of knowledge and he can find guidance.45
According to Māturīdī46 clear perception is the most powerful information source to deal with
insufficiency of sense organs and delusions that can occur as results of such qualities of the object to be
perceived as distance and being massless47 because observing provides information about the universe that
is perceived as a pure fact,48 compared to reported information, it is more stable and less suspicious.49
In the information theory of Māturīdī, the place and importance of what is apparent or sensual
perception can vary. Such that, as being different from other living creatures, humans are not only limited
with sensual information, but they make reasoning as based on this information and produce new
knowledge and transfer this knowledge to the future generations by means of report. According to this
40
Ashʿarī, Maqālāt, 1: 298.
41
Taftāzānī, Sharḥ al-Maqāṣid, 4: 309, 310.
42
Māturīdī, Ta’wilāt, 6: 645.
43
Hanifi Özcan, Mātürīdī’de Bilgi Problemi (Istanbul: MÜ İFAV Yayınları, 1993), 58.
44
Özcan, Māturīdī’de Bilgi Problemi, 59.
45
Māturīdī, Kitāb al-Tawhīd, 11, 12.
46
Māturīdī, Kitāb al-Tawhīd, 15, 229.
47
Māturīdī, Kitāb al-Tawhīd, 15; Id, Ta’wilāt, 8: 153.
48
Māturīdī, Kitāb al-Tawhīd, 12.
49
Māturīdī, Ta’wilāt, 8: 153.
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equation, in reality, reasoning and reporting occur as observing. Therefore, it is possible to consider
observing perception as the source of information.50
Even though they follow similar mental processes, there are important differences between observing
and reasoning.51 While information about universe is especially attained with observing, general
information about sensual and beyond sensual universe is perceived by means of reasoning.52In this way, by
using sensual, rational, and report, humans get to know particulars such as beneficial-harmful, clean-dirty
and sweet-bitter.53
Māturīdī interprets the fact that owners of a sense do not know the content and functioning of sense
organs as the evidence of existence of a power that is independent of sensual awareness and that owns
knowledge and wisdom. According to him, existence of someone who creates and observes him is logically
required.54 For this reason, someone who knows himself also knows his Lord because even though he knows
his deficiencies regarding particulars such as continuity and stability, he is not capable of eliminating them.
Therefore, it is required for a creator to exist who can eliminate his incapability.55 Similarly, as per its
structure, a creature should exist afterwards (ḥādith), because his existence before his creator would be
logically conflicting.56
Since Māturīdī knew that there will be no perceptional and mental process without clear perception,
he states that a person cannot be far away from sensual information. According to him, only stubborn people
do not accept clear sensual perception because even the plants and animals tend towards life giving things
and avoid deadly particulars by using their sense organs.57 Hence, apart from some of the sophists, sensual
perception is a clear information source, which everyone agrees to be an absolute information source.58
Māturīdī proposes that opinionated people (sceptic) who don’t accept the reality of sensual
information should be physically punished and he deems their not being able to stand with the pain and to
shout as evidences for rootlessness of their assertions that sensual information has no truth.59 What
Māturīdī wishes to do with this proposal is not to torture his competitors but to emphasize the inconsistency
in rejecting what is apparent with a methodological opinion.
50
Māturīdī, Kitāb al-Tawhīd, 281; Id, Ta’wilāt, 4: 144; 6: 545.
51
Māturīdī, Ta’wilāt, 5: 26, 27; 10: 351.
52
Māturīdī, Ta’wilāt, 4: 382; 5: 97; 10: 128.
53
Māturīdī, Ta’wilāt, 7: 486.
54
Māturīdī, Kitāb al-Tawhīd, 199, 268; Id, Ta’wilāt, 4: 455.
55
Māturīdī, Kitāb al-Tawhīd, 159, 160.
56
Māturīdī, Ta’wilāt, 5: 194, 195.
57
Māturīdī, Kitāb al-Tawhīd, 12.
58
Māturīdī, Kitāb al-Tawhīd, 235; Id, Ta’wilāt, 5: 97.
59
Māturīdī, Kitāb al-Tawhīd, 12-14, 20, 234.
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According to Māturīdī, direct information about the God cannot be obtained by observing
perception60 but by knowing the God in an indirect way, however, observing perception has an important
contribution. This contribution enables us to find opportunity to be informed about physical universe by
observing perception. With this information, a person makes preparation for reasoning process, which he
will use in topics of theology. Similar with this information, the faulty of ‘Mudjassima’ that embodies God
and ‘Mushabbiha’ that assimilates God with other creatures can be proven.61
Universe is made of different substances (jawhar)62 and accidents (aʿrāḍ).63 Substance, which
constitutes the essence of a body (jism), needs to be together with other substances and accidents.64 This
dependency of substances show that they are not absolute and that they need other things to continue
existing. However, being a pre-eternal necessitates self-existence and not needing anything to continue
existing, whereas being a non-eternal means having temporary qualities that can come together and
become separated. So, the universe is an important evidence in knowing God in a correct way and it is not
possible for God to be created by nature that has formed in an unconscious way from the substance that
existed later on.65
2.2. Reasoning
Human is the only creature that can understand what is happening around him together with the
reasons and outcomes. With this capability, he knows that a truth is needed that could keep him away from
conflicting so that the universe and community in which he lives can sustain its existence.66 For a person to
acquire this information, it is possible with the ability to reason that is granted to him.67
Māturīdī uses the concepts of reasoning (istidlāl) and speculation (naẓar), which are used by Muslim
theologians, in the same meaning as the ability to think.68 Similarly, he deems expressions such as reasoning,
contemplation and deliberation to be synonymous with the concept of speculation.69 In this respect,
speculation denotes a common language used by humans to agree upon a truth.70In the epistemology theory
60
Māturīdī, Kitāb al-Tawhīd, 13; Id, Ta’wilāt, 4: 135.
61
Māturīdī, Kitāb al-Tawhīd, 47-51; Id, Ta’wilāt, 9: 420, 421.
62
Jawhar is constant and basic quality of the existence that cannot be independent of itself in the literature of Kalām.
Nasafī, al-Tamhīd, 4.
63
Aʿrād is variable attributies of the existence that can be independent of itself such as colors and motion-stop in the
literature of Kalām. Nasafī, al-Tamhīd, 4.
64
Māturīdī, Kitāb al-Tawhīd, 25; Id, Ta’wilāt, 2: 520; 3: 143.
65
Māturīdī, Kitāb al-Tawhīd, 25, 26; Id, Ta’wilāt, 8: 701; 2: 104.
66
Māturīdī, Kitāb al-Tawhīd, 5-7; Id, Ta’wilāt, 4: 459.
67
Māturīdī, Kitāb al-Tawhīd, 254.
68
Māturīdī, Kitāb al-Tawhīd, 27.
69
Māturīdī, Kitāb al-Tawhīd, 17; Id, Ta’wilāt, 6: 525; 9: 150, 194.
70
Māturīdī, Kitāb al-Tawhīd, 47.
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of Māturīdī, speculation, which is one of the three fundamental information sources,71 corresponds not to
the mind itself as a noun but to the processing of the mind as a way of using the mind. According to Māturīdī,
speculation is one of the sources enabling us to reach the information relating with the existence, unity,
and nature of the God.72 Furthermore, according to him, a human can be seen as a contact only with respect
to religious aspects by means of his mind, it cannot be mentioned about guidance where there is no reason.73
Importance of speculation with respect to reaching guidance is significant.74 Humans are granted with
senses, and the reason is to enable them to know the paths that will lead them to things which are to their
benefit.75 The most important quality that differentiates humans from other living creatures is their ability
to reason.76 Even though they have senses just like all other living creatures, deniers who deny the truth
that the God has revealed could not find guidance as they could not reason.77 In this respect, according to
Māturīdī deniers are at a status that is even lower than that of animals because unlike animals deniers are
deprived of guidance even though they have the chance to reason and find the truth.78
According to Māturīdī, speculation is a quality that is present in the essence of humans and the idea
that information provided by it can be wrong is satanic. By means of perception, a person can find guidance
in his life in the world and hereafter and he can find the opportunity to make preparations for after-life
before it comes. As a matter of fact, human involuntarily begins to think when he pays attention to events.
Speculation is an essential quality for the person.79
By means of reasoning, a person can see the similarity and closeness between rational truths and
revelation truths.80There is no order in any part of the Qur’ān that states inconveniences relating with
reasoning. Since a person who wishes to prove that reasoning is not a source of information as per logical
aspects, has no other option but to create ideas by means of reasoning. It is apparent that each attempt he
makes will not serve anything but to confute his statements because he tries to prove that making reasoning
71
Māturīdī, Kitāb al-Tawhīd, 12.
72
Māturīdī, Kitāb al-Tawhīd, 3-271; Id, Ta’wilāt, 7: 262, 333; 8: 55.
73
Māturīdī, Ta’wilāt, 9: 71; 3: 601.
74
Māturīdī, Ta’wilāt, 7: 482.
75
Māturīdī, Ta’wilāt, 10: 128.
76
Māturīdī, Ta’wilāt, 2: 118.
77
Māturīdī, Ta’wilāt, 5: 175, 176; 3: 547, 548,
78
MātürīdīTa’wilāt, 5: 97.
79
Māturīdī, Kitāb al-Tawhīd, 20.
80
Abdülgaffar Aslan, “Kelam’da Aklın Epistemolojik Fonksiyonu”, Dini Araştırmalar 4 (2001): 112.
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is not sufficient by reasoning.81 Therefore, as reasoning is a need in every circumstance, it is impossible to
consider abandoning it.82
According to Māturīdī, in order for the mind to fulfill its function, it is required to reason on
information provided by sense organs83 because according to him, only the universe can be an evidence to
know the God.84 Therefore, reason of existence of ground and skies, night and day, wind and clouds is for
the existence and oneness of the God to be known.85 Universe is equipped with signs in order for the God to
be known by humans.86 Just like smoke requires fire, brightness requires sun and writing requires an author,
universe requires God, as being its creator.87 Hence, a person can observe the processing of the universe and
he can witness the qualities of God.88
Māturīdī interprets such statements as “Don't you think?” (Afalā Tatafakkarūn) and “Don’t you
reason?” (Afalā Ta‘qilūn) in Quran verses, to mean that human beings do not use their mind as required.89
Warnings and recommendations are only for those who use their minds correctly.90 Those who use their
mind not to receive advice but for evilness cannot reach guidance.91 In this respect, the reason for attracting
attention to the processing of nature in the verses (al-Baqara 2/164; al-Dhāriyāt 51/20-21) is to enable people
to know that these are designed by someone.92 Those who don’t consider the processing in nature and the
warnings, can get away from guidance as they are deprived of lesson that must be derived from these.93
In the world of thought of Māturīdī, reaching guidance with the mind is composed of stages of
verification of the reason and the approval of heart, which are the continuation of one another. If we would
define it generally, a person’s reaching guidance by making reasoning is realized by analyzing the
particulars to be believed by means of verification of the reason and by believing in them through approval
of the heart, after being sure about their correctness.94
81
Māturīdī, Kitāb al-Tawhīd, 21; Id, Ta’wilāt, 1: 373.
82
Māturīdī, Kitāb al-Tawhīd, 207.
83
Māturīdī, Kitāb al-Tawhīd, 200; Id, Ta’wilāt, 6: 144; 8: 591.
84
Māturīdī, Kitāb al-Tawhīd, 199.
85
Māturīdī, Ta’wilāt, 1: 613.
86
Māturīdī, Kitāb al-Tawhīd, 200, 201; Id, Ta’wilāt, 8: 55, 56.
87
Māturīdī, Kitāb al-Tawhīd, 281, 282.
88
Māturīdī, Kitāb al-Tawhīd, 199; Id, Ta’wilāt, 2: 334.
89
Māturīdī, Kitāb al-Tawhīd, 16, 17; Id, Ta’wilāt, 1: 621, 622; 2: 464.
90
Māturīdī, Kitāb al-Tawhīd, 13; Id, Ta’wilāt, 2: 262.
91
Māturīdī, Ta’wilāt, 10: 310, 311; 8: 226.
92
Māturīdī, Kitāb al-Tawhīd, 5-7; Id, Ta’wilāt, 1: 613; 9: 381, 382.
93
Māturīdī, Ta’wilāt, 1: 397.
94
Çağlayan, Etik Açıdan Mâturîdî’nin Hidayet Anlayışı, 58.
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2.2.1. Verification of Reason
Everyone has a belief whether it is right or wrong.95 As Māturīdī saw that what causes war and
destruction is that everyone does not agree upon a truth, he began to search for a common truth.96 While
there is only one truth, people following previous generations without questioning reveals that imitation
(taqlīd)97 cannot be a method for reaching the truth.98 Path to the right way passes through prudence.
Prudence is to be purified from lust, desire (havā) and envy and to invite to the God with knowledge and
evidences.99
According to Māturīdī, correctness of opinions is not related with majority of its supporters but with
its content. By means of imitation, it is possible for an incorrect path to get widespread but it cannot
continue existing unless it does away with inconsistency. Therefore, in order for a belief to be continuous,
it needs to go from imitation to the level of inquiry and it is required to comply with mental principles.100 In
this respect, it cannot be stated that the term guidance in the Qur’ān corresponds to imitated belief.101
When a person thinks about the universe, he understands that it has been created for some purpose
and he wonders about the aspects of this reason. The creator of the universe cannot be a human;102 despite
all his superior capabilities. Besides, fundamental substances such as moving celestial bodies, oppositions,
essence (hayūlā) and temperament (ṭiynat) cannot be the creator either, because all of these are particulars
that existed together with the universe later on. In this case, it is required for the creator to be God that is
outside the universe.103 God is the creator and the organizer of everything that exists in the universe.104 As
attention is paid, Māturīdī takes information provided by sensual perception (observation) to the forefront
while he proves that the universe has been created and he takes information provided by spiritual
perception (reasoning) to the forefront while he proves that the universe has a creator.
For Māturīdī, what is more important than knowing that the universe has a creator while reaching
guidance is the requirement for this creator to be only one because if this creator is not one, it is inevitable
for certain problems to come out. Māturīdī evaluates these problems with respect to ‘Contradictory
Argument’. If there were more than one creator, by observing the order in the universe, we would think
95
Māturīdī, Kitāb al-Tawhīd, 4; Id, Ta’wilāt, 9: 432.
96
Māturīdī, Kitāb al-Tawhīd, 11.
97
As a religious term taqlīd is to believe and to act as others without reasoning in the literature of Kalām. Māturīdī,
Ta’wilāt, 4.
98
Māturīdī, Ta’wilāt, 4; Id, Ta’wilāt, 9: 432; 1: 621; 8: 311.
99
Māturīdī, Ta’wilāt, 6: 297; 3: 547.
100
Māturīdī, Kitāb al-Tawhīd, 4; Id, Ta’wilāt, 2: 440, 562; 3: 3.
101
Māturīdī, Kitāb al-Tawhīd, 4; Id, Ta’wilāt, 2: 440, 441.
102
Māturīdī, Kitāb al-Tawhīd, 34, 35.
103
Māturīdī, Kitāb al-Tawhīd, 171-174.
104
Māturīdī, Kitāb al-Tawhīd, 93, 227, 238; Id, Ta’wilāt, 10: 548.
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that they had agreed to create the universe together. There can be no God who realizes his wishes by
agreement. When we think that they have not agreed but fought, the situation does not change because no
matter who the winner of war is, as neither the winner nor the loser can be the absolute power; it cannot
be God.105 Contradictory argument is an evidence is based on the Qurān (al-Muʾminūn 23/91).106
Māturīdī, who reaches to the existence and the unity of the God from the existence and continuity of
the universe, does not mention much about the nature of the God. To the question of “What is it?” relating
with God, Māturīdī replies with a negation (salbī): “He is the unique one with no similar ones.”, and he keeps
away from confusing the minds.107 In fact as there is no similarity between the criteria of the material world
and the divineness,108 the negation method used by Muslim theologians is the most solid method that
eliminates all the similarities between divine and material qualities.109
As much as it is understood, Māturīdī considers physical universe as an evidence for metaphysics from
two respects. He accepts that the universe points out to hereafter as real/material evidence and he considers
the sign of God as rational/mental evidence.110 According to this, a human being who witnesses the current
status of universe does not have difficulty in accepting that the same or a similar one can be created.
Similarly, as the universe cannot logically exist on its own, he rationally accepts that it must have a
creator.111
2.2.2. Approval of Heart
According to Māturīdī, there is not a real separation between verification of the reason and approval
of the heart because functions of both of them are the same.112 Probably Māturīdī has made such separation
in order for the concepts to be more easily understood and to explain the stages of realization of belief that
help one reach to guidance. According to him, while reason is related with reasoning through sensual
perception, the heart reasons through sensual and emotional perception.113
Probably according to Māturīdī, place of sensual perception in verification of the reason is the same
as the place of emotional perception in approval of heart, because according to his understanding of
guidance, when the heart sees the information, correctness of which has been approved by the mind, it
activates decision making ability of the person and enables him to accept them.114 According to this, the
105
Māturīdī, Kitāb al-Tawhīd, 32-35, 115, 170, 214; Id, Ta’wilāt, 8: 521, 517, 518.
106
Māturīdī, Ta’wilāt, 9: 336; 8: 477.
107
Māturīdī, Kitāb al-Tawhīd, 47-50,193; Id, Ta’wilāt, 8: 267.
108
Māturīdī, Kitāb al-Tawhīd, 384, 391, 392; Id, Ta’wilāt, 8: 267.
109
Māturīdī, Kitāb al-Tawhīd, 194, 203.
110
Māturīdī, Kitāb al-Tawhīd, 221.
111
Māturīdī, Kitāb al-Tawhīd, 49, 93, 142, 171, 217, 252.
112
Māturīdī, Kitāb al-Tawhīd, 608; Id, Ta’wilāt, 1: 374.
113
Māturīdī, Ta’wilāt, 9: 144.
114
Māturīdī, Kitāb al-Tawhīd, 608; Id, Ta’wilāt, 1: 374.
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heart, for Māturīdī, is both the place where reasoning is made to reach the truth and it is the place where
truth is approved.115 In other words according to him, psychological aspects of belief are represented by the
heart and its scientific aspects are represented by the reason. However, these are melted in the same pot
and form the belief. In this way, conscience and logic meet in the heart.116
Māturīdī states the following about the unity of belief and the mind: “Being involved in belief is
required with the existence of mind but information relating with the content of particulars forming the
belief are gained by thinking and reasoning. This act (reasoning) is also a function of heart just like the
belief.”117 He has the opinion that having belief can only be possible with approval of the heart based on
information.118 Hence, when there is no information, approval has no meaning and when there is no
approval, belief has no meaning. In other words, being uninformed causes ignorance, ignorance causes
denial and denial causes getting away from guidance.119
According to Māturīdī, knowing (ma‘rifa) is not enough on its own for believing although it has the
capability of opening the way of approval,120 because belief is not knowing but approving. If believing was
related with knowing, its opposite would not be denial but ignorance.121 Meaning that knowing that
something exists is not approval and not knowing it is not denial.122 Therefore, cognitive concepts such as
delusion, suspicion, supposition and knowledge are not belief on their own, but they are the stages of
development.123
Māturīdī asserts that belief which is the source of guidance should be away from all kinds of
suspicions. Therefore, he says that the Quranic ‘Hopefully’ for the issues that are beyond the capability of
Muslims (al-Kahf 18/23, 24), he thinks that saying of ‘hopefully’ (inshallāh) in faith matters is meaningless
because ‘hopefully’ is stated in case any doubt or suspicion exists. Furthermore, in the Qurān, believers are
referred as: “Those who never doubt afterwards” (al-Ḥujurāt 49/15), and hypocrite non-believers (munāfiq)
are referred as: “Those who are subject to suspicion and supposition” (al-Ḥadīd 57/14). In situations where
there are no suppositions, predictions and suspicions, it is not possible to say ‘hopefully!’ Therefore, if a
person who has reached guidance says: “Hopefully there is no god but Allah” (Lā Ilāha Illā Allāh Inshallāh), as
this would cause weakness of belief and loss of blessing of guidance, it is not correct.124
115
Māturīdī, Ta’wilāt, 6: 545; 5: 545; 8: 333.
116
Hülya Alper, İmam Māturīdī’de Akıl-Vahiy İlişkisi (Istanbul: İz Yayınları 2009), 57.
117
Māturīdī, Kitāb al-Tawhīd, 608.
118
Māturīdī, Kitāb al-Tawhīd, 532, 535, 567, 604; Id, Ta’wilāt, 1: 374.
119
Māturīdī, Kitāb al-Tawhīd, 567; Id, Ta’wilāt, 5: 456.
120
Māturīdī, Kitāb al-Tawhīd, 563, 611-613; Id, Ta’wilāt, 9: 183.
121
Māturīdī, Ta’wilāt, 3: 520, 419; 5: 242.
122
Özcan, Mātürīdī’de Bilgi Problemi, 144.
123
Hanifi Özcan, Epistemolojik Açıdan İman (Istanbul: MÜ İFAV Yayınları, 1992), 35.
124
Māturīdī, Kitāb al-Tawhīd, 624-635; Id, Ta’wilāt, 7: 158.
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3. GIVEN GUIDANCE
In theological literature, guidance which is readily found by someone, without efforts, is named as
given guidance. Given guidance is defined as one’s reaching the truth by getting help from outside. This help
coming from outside is divine message or revelation brought by angels and human messengers. So, reaching
to the guidance with guidance of revelation is named as given guidance.125 Therefore, without having a guide
that makes someone reach guidance and an explanatory book, it cannot be called as given guidance.126
Importance of report information is significant both in the coming of revelation and in its being
transmitted to the future generations. Māturīdī, who is aware that religious information mainly comes
through notification,127 counts the reports among necessary information sources. According to him, there
is no report that is more reliable than the ones brought by messengers due to miracles which prove the
truth of reported information. Therefore, it is not possible for anyone to reject the news of a messenger
apart from stubborn and arrogant people.128
Just like news, which is necessary for the order of communities, prophethood is an information source
which everyone asserting to have wisdom should accept.129 Hence, information about far places, kingdoms,
wars and various other issues can only be spread by means of news. While news is so important and essential
for carrying out world issues, it is not correct to consider report invalid for knowing about particulars
relating with theology. Without doubt, messengers and reports they bring with themselves are clear
evidences for humans to reach guidance.130
Leaving the news aside, due to the probability that they can be false or faulty is not only useless but
it is also a harmful attitude. Because after people learn about things that can provide benefit or harm to
them by experimenting, they transfer these experiences to others by means of news. Therefore, it is wrong
for wise people not to rely on information provided by news that are based on expertise. According to
Māturīdī, who says that news doesn’t have any informative value to humans is satanic. When a human
cannot deny the sensual reality of information he has heard with his ears, satan states that this information
is false, and he wants the person to get away from what is beneficial for him. However, with the reason, it is
possible to verify both hearing and the news being heard. According to this, both sensual information and
news are methods in obtaining correct information and as long as they are not superior to one another in a
clear way, they are equal with respect to being information sources.131
125
Ashʿarī, Maqālāt, 1: 298; Taftāzānī, Sharḥ al-Maqāṣid, 4: 310, 311.
126
Māturīdī, Kitāb al-Tawhīd, 3; Id, Ta’wilāt, 7: 393; 8: 553.
127
Māturīdī, Kitāb al-Tawhīd, 164, 282.
128
Māturīdī, Kitāb al-Tawhīd, 14, 271, 308; Id, Ta’wilāt, 2: 109.
129
Māturīdī, Kitāb al-Tawhīd, 5.
130
Māturīdī, Kitāb al-Tawhīd, 25, 281, 282; Id, Ta’wilāt, 9: 332.
131
Māturīdī, Kitāb al-Tawhīd, 19, 20; Id, Ta’wilāt, 9: 420.
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In the transfer of divine message into future generations, since those narrating cannot be free from
faults, it is always required to analyze reports with the mind. In this respect, reports which are seen as
reliable reports (mutawātir) by Muslim theologians are even not absolute132 because majority of news relating
with the killing of Holy Jesus are not true even though they are reliable reports.133 As individual reports
(āḥād/khabar al-wāḥid) that have not reached to reliable level can be most probably faulty, according to
Māturīdī individual reports should be analyzed with respect to reference and text, and their correctness
should be verified. All types of reports that do not contradict with scientific and religious facts in final
evaluation have a truth that bears information value in Muslim culture.134
3.1. The Messenger
The God has sent messengers so that humans can reach guidance and find peace. With the messages
they brought, messengers have given the good news of paradise to those preferring guidance and they were
assigned to warn those not accepting or denying it with torment.135 In this context, it is a beneficial attitude
for humans to tidy up within the frame of message brought by messengers and to reach guidance.136
Messengers have no private powers to make people reach guidance, other than fulfilling their
assignments related with good news and warnings. In other words, what is expressed in verses such as “It is
for sure that you are heading towards the right way.” (al-Shūrā 42/52) and “Each tribe has someone who
makes them reach the guidance” (al-Raʿd 13/7) is that messengers are guides for reaching guidance and
guidance is notified in a healthy way.137 According to this, messengers are obliged to explain the message
they receive from God without making addition and hiding any part of it.138
Māturīdī considers that reason is sufficient for people to find the truth and he does not consider it to
be appropriate for other opportunities to be insufficient. According to him, if it is thought even further, it
is asserted that reason itself proposes other opportunities to be used for reaching guidance. Since mind
operates on the principle of getting closer to the beneficial and getting away from the harmful things, it
does not get into danger if there is opportunity. For example, against the probability that food about which
a person does not have any information about whether it is poisonous, it is the reason that recommends
him to make investigation before consuming it. Just like advises of a person, who is experienced about this
food, is important for the person being in this situation, in a similar way for a person searching for guidance,
the reports brought by messengers are as important. Therefore, mind itself approves that messengers make
132
Māturīdī, Kitāb al-Tawhīd, 15; Id, Ta’wilāt, 2: 18.
133
Māturīdī, Kitāb al-Tawhīd, 14; Id, Ta’wilāt, 3: 409, 410.
134
Māturīdī, Kitāb al-Tawhīd, 15; Id, Ta’wilāt, 9: 257, 332.
135
Māturīdī, Kitāb al-Tawhīd, 308, 321; Id, Ta’wilāt, 8: 144, 145.
136
Māturīdī, Kitāb al-Tawhīd, 7.
137
Māturīdī, Ta’wilāt, 1: 572.
138
Māturīdī, Ta’wilāt, 3: 557, 630; 6: 354, 509; 7: 186.
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significant contribution to him as he reaches guidance.139 Furthermore, as the reason remains insufficient
regarding particulars establishing the basis of religion, the reports of messengers are required to decree.140
Māturīdī is of the opinion that even if the mind would not need it, it would be permissible for
messengers to be sent to believers as a grace by God because the God qualifies Himself with being grateful
and He qualifies his believers as being in need of grace. Hence, while only one of them was enough, God has
created many of human organs as double and while less would be sufficient, he has provided plenty and
variety of sustenance. All of these prove that God is very gracious to humans. Therefore, in order to help
them find guidance, God’s sending messengers to humans in addition to giving them the ability to reason
are indicators of His grace.141
According to Māturīdī, God sends messengers not only because of His being gracious but also for
justice. Thanks to messengers, human beings cannot make excuses for not reasoning. Hence, in the verses
for humans not to say: “Our God! If a messenger was sent to us, we would have followed your orders before
finding ourselves in this vile situation.” (Ṭā Hā 20/134) and “After the messengers, in order for believers not
to have excuses against their creator” (al-Qaṣaṣ 28/47), the God has sent messengers.142
In the delivery of messengers, there are various benefits with respect to practical aspects. For
example, even though the reason has superior capabilities, we witness that its opportunities are limited and
that it cannot decree correctly regarding every issue.143 We witness that it can be misleading even for issues
it is authorized to decree.144 Therefore, while a human is surrounded with various earthy involvements and
sensual desires, it would not be appropriate for him to leave the path leading to guidance, which he can
reach without putting in more efforts for finding the truth.145
According to Māturīdī, the need of humans for messengers in their religious and earthy affairs, turns
it into a requirement beyond favor. Requirement for messengers with respect to religious aspects is related
with the fact that a person knows how to be grateful to his God, logically the healthiest method is
messengers because he best knows what kind of gratitude God expects from himself. Requirement for
messenger regarding earthy affairs is related with the need to have an unbiased authority to make
reconciliation regarding social and political disputes among humans. Apart from them as the best authority
for humans is God, it is wrong to neglect news brought by messengers.146
139
Māturīdī, Kitāb al-Tawhīd, 275.
140
Māturīdī, Kitāb al-Tawhīd, 282; Id, Ta’wilāt, 3: 420, 421; 9: 36, 37.
141
Māturīdī, Kitāb al-Tawhīd, 283; Id, Ta’wilāt, 8: 477.
142
Māturīdī, Kitāb al-Tawhīd, 282; Id, Ta’wilāt, 3: 420, 421; 9: 36, 37.
143
Māturīdī, Kitāb al-Tawhīd, 179.
144
Māturīdī, Kitāb al-Tawhīd, 290.
145
Māturīdī, Kitāb al-Tawhīd, 284, 285, 277; Id, Ta’wilāt, 5: 360; 1: 611.
146
Māturīdī, Kitāb al-Tawhīd, 278, 279, 282; Id, Ta’wilāt, 6: 144.
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3.2. The Book
In reaching guidance, Māturīdī also considers believing in divine books besides messengers and
reason as one of the essences of faith because the source of divine message or revelation is God. The evidence
that revelation has been sent by God is its being in harmony with rational and real principles.147
Concepts such as evidences (bayyināt) and the book of enlightenment (al-kitāb al-munīr) (ĀlʿImrān
3/184), which are used in The Qur’ān are synonymous for Māturīdī. According to him, the word ‘book’ in the
phrase illuminating book refers to the book that is comprised of religious provisions and word of
‘illuminating’ denotes the value that enlightens the hearts of people reaching guidance. Therefore, as they
differentiate between what is right and what is null and as they make people reach guidance, all divine books
feature light (munīr) and differentiating (furqān) good from evil.148
According to Māturīdī, the most clear evidence that the books are source of guidance is the verse:
“This book is the guide for reaching the guidance, with which God leads whomever He wishes to the
guidance” (al-Zumar 39/23).149 Books can only be evidence and guide for guidance for those who wish to
harmonize with him.150 Book’s being evidence that makes someone reach guidance and that differentiates
the truth from the faulty151 necessitates it to be clear and reasonable. Or else, revelation will have no
meaning proposing and providing guidance.152
Even though they contain the same evidences for all humans, divine books lead some people towards
guidance and some towards unruliness.153 In this respect Māturīdī returns back to the debate about whether
guidance is a declaration or not and he is of the opinion that what is meant by the term “guidance” used in
such verses as “This book which does not have any suspicion in itself leads those having devotion to the
guidance” (al-Baqara 2/1) is not ‘clear declaration’. If it was a ‘declaration’ that the book stated in the verse
was a source of guidance, there would be no difference between the person having devotion or not.
However, in such verses, it is stated that the book can only be a guide for pious people.154 Those who see the
truth and believe in the book and who still don’t act in accordance with it and who hide the truth stated in
it, cannot reach guidance.155
According to Māturīdī, revelation is a source of light, spirit, healing and reaching guidance. Human
beings reach information about truth with the light, the existence with the spirit, get rid of problems with
147
Māturīdī, Ta’wilāt, 3: 273.
148
Māturīdī, Ta’wilāt, 2: 550.
149
Māturīdī, Ta’wilāt, 8: 675.
150
Māturīdī, Ta’wilāt, 4: 168, 170, 437.
151
Māturīdī, Ta’wilāt, 3: 431.
152
Māturīdī, Ta’wilāt, 3: 578.
153
Māturīdī, Ta’wilāt, 7: 383.
154
Māturīdī, Ta’wilāt, 1: 373, 583.
155
Māturīdī, Ta’wilāt, 10: 8, 9.
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the healing, and have awareness of goodness with the guidance, and he finds peace.156 Revelation enhances
guidance and belief of the believers, and sin and denial of the deniers.157 While the book is the source of
guidance for believers on earth that guides them in their affairs, it becomes a source of mercy in the afterlife
and a reason for them to be forgiven.158 Invitation of divine books for reaching guidance is a general call
including everyone, but on private level, it only addresses those who obey this call.159
In the thought system of Māturīdī, we can define delivery of divine message to the messenger as
‘revelation’ (waḥy) and we call its being transmitted from the messenger to humans as ‘the report of the
messenger’ (khabar al-rasūl) coming from the messenger of the God.160 For the last messenger, meaning of
the report of messenger for generations coming after the prophet is the Holy Qur’ān.161 In other words, the
book that is sent with Prophet Muhammad is the Qur’ān.162 According to Māturīdī, the Qur’ān will continue
existing without being distorted until the doomsday because it is both being transferred from generation to
generation as reliable report and it remains valid as an intellectual miracle.163
According to our opinion, the Qur‘ān is an intellectual miracle as it is different from other literature
works with respect to source, meaning and method. The Qur’ān is unique with respect to its source and it is
impossible for a similar one to be brought in that sense. Māturīdī argues that Qur‘ān is an intellectual miracle
with its richness in meaning and style. According to him, proper and effective wording art is divided in two
types: poems and prophecy. The Qur’ān is different and superior to poems with respect to the order and it
is different and superior to prophecy with respect to the influence. This feature of the Qur’ān shows that it
is a divine book.164 Most probably, due to his emphasis that the Qur’ān is a miracle with respect to its meaning
and provisions, Māturīdī mentions a narrative about fatwa of Abū Hanife that salat can also be performed
in languages other than Arabic because with respect to reaching guidance, the main particular is not the
language of divine books but it is related with the message given.165
According to Māturīdī, all of the words, integration and sentence sequences that are used in the
Qur’ān were known by the Arabic people but none of these were offered in a unity of harmony and meaning
that The Qur’ān has. The fact that such a message has come out of the mouth of someone who has not
received any formal or non-formal education in his life is nothing but miracle according to Māturīdī.
156
Māturīdī, Ta’wilāt, 2: 261.
157
Mātürīdī,Ta’wilāt, 4: 438.
158
Māturīdī, Ta’wilāt, 8: 134.
159
Māturīdī, Ta’wilāt, 7: 12.
160
Özcan, Mātürīdī’de Bilgi Problemi, 64.
161
Māturīdī, Kitāb al-Tawhīd, 320.
162
Māturīdī, Ta’wilāt, 9: 168; 7: 161.
163
Māturīdī, Kitāb al-Tawhīd, 300, 308.
164
Māturīdī, Kitāb al-Tawhīd, 325, 329; Id, Ta’wilāt, 8: 235.
165
Māturīdī, Ta’wilāt, 3: 200, 201.
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48 | Çağlayan, “Methods and Varieties of Guidance According to Imām Māturīdī”
Therefore, the Qur’ān, the similar of which can only be brought by the God, is a unique miracle just like
other miracles.166
The Qur’ān is the source of reaching guidance for each generation until doomsday because the news
it gave with regard to the past and the future comply with historical facts and the evidences it uses are away
from deficiencies and conflicts. Furthermore, the Qur’ān states that it is not an upstart and that it approves
the previous divine books and prophets. Therefore, Māturīdī has shown that the Qur’ān is a source of
guidance in people of the scriptures (ahl al-kitāb).167
CONCLUSION
With respect to quality and opportunities, it is possible to explain all types of guidance basically under
two approaches: ‘declaration’ (bayān) and ‘grace’ (luṭf). According to the approach led by Mu‘tazila, guidance
means explanation of the right path to all humans so that they can reach the truth with their own efforts.
As grace that is emphasized by Ahl-i Sunne, guidance is a private gift to which no one else other than
previously determined special people can reach.
Guidance theory of Māturīdī has a structure that contains parts from declaration and grace theories.
As he explains the issue of guidance, he thinks like Mu‘tazila at the stage of formation and development, and
like Ahl-i Sunne at the conclusion stage. From his attitude, it is possible for us to see that he does not see
declaration and grace theories as substitutes of one another. Therefore, while Māturīdī states that guidance
is not a declaration as he opposes Mu‘tazila, he does not mean that he has no connection with him because
sensual perception (‘iyān) and reasoning (naẓar), which he considers as sources of guidance are already
declaration as per their structures.
In kalam, there are two basic methods for reaching guidance: given guidance, which is reached by
notifying information, and gained guidance, which is reached by mental information. With that being said,
guidance is defined as reaching the right way with the accompaniment of an external guide such as a
messenger or a book, and gained guidance is defined as reaching guidance with the accompaniment of a
guide such as mind and ethics. Māturīdī does not make preference among methods of guidance, and he
shapes his guidance approach in accordance by deeming both of them as correct. For this reason, what is
essential in reaching guidance is not what the method is but whether it yields a correct outcome or not.
According to Māturīdī, while revelation is necessary source of given guidance for knowing the God, it
is a must for knowing religious provisions. While the reason, source of gained guidance, is a requirement for
knowing the God, it is a necessity for knowing religious provisions. According to this, when revelation does
not reach a person, he can find the God by considering general goodness and badness principles. But when
he reaches revelation, he can reach guidance by learning religious provisions and by living in accordance
with them. In this situation, revelation is a requirement not for knowing the God but related with fiqh
provisions.
166
Mātürīdī,Ta’wilāt, 320; Id, Ta’wilāt, 2: 375, 376.
167
Māturīdī, Kitāb al-Tawhīd, 300-302; Id, Ta’wilāt, 3: 533.
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In the final analysis, Māturīdī argues that sources of guidance are the reason and the heart. Humans
can know the truth by reasoning and by believing with their hearts and they can reach guidance. What is
important in the issue of guidance is that it must be away from unquestioned imitation and must
be unconditioned no matter which method it uses. Only in this way a person accepting guidance can make
his preference with information and a person denying can again make his preference based on information.
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Misriyya, 1364.
Alper, Hülya. İmam Māturīdī’de Akıl-Vahiy İlişkisi. Istanbul: İz Yayınları, 2009.
al-Ashʿarī, Abū al-ḤasanʿAlī ibn Ismāʿīl ibn Isḥāq. Maqālāt al-Islāmiyyīn. Critical Ed. Muḥammad Muḥyī al-
DīnʻAbd al-Ḥamīd. Cairo: Maktab al-Nahdat al-Misriyya, 1950.
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al-Jurjānī, al-Sayyid Sharīf. Kitāb al-Taʿrīfāt. Beirut: Maktab Lubnān, 1985.
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al-Maktab al-Hanjī, 1950.
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Hārūn. Damascus: Dār al-Fikr, 1979.
Ibn Manzūr, Abūal-Fadl Camāluddīn Muhammad. Lisān al-Arab. Ed. Ali al-Kabīr - Muhammad Ahmed
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Isfahānī, Abū al-QāsımHusayn b. Muhammad b. al-Fadl al-Rāghib. al-Mufradāt fī gharīb al-The Qur’ān. Critical
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Kutlu, Sönmez. “Bilinen ve Bilinmeyen Yönleriyle İmam Mâturîdî”. İmam Mâturîdî ve Maturidilik. Ed. Sönmez
Kutlu. 23-64. Ankara: Otto Yayınları, 2011.
al-Māturīdī, Abū Mansūr. Kitāb al-Tawhīd. Critical Ed. Bekir Topaloğlu, Muhammad Aruçi. Ankara: Diyanet
İşleri Başkanlığı Yayınları, 2003.
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al-Māturīdī, Abū Mansūr. Ta’wilāt al-The Qur’ān. Critical Ed. Majdī Bāsalūm. Beirut: Dār al-Kutub al-Ilmiyya,
2005.
al-Nasafī, Abū al-Muʿīn. Bahr al-kalām fī ʻilm al-tawhīd. Critical Ed. Muhammad Sālih al-Farfūr. Damascus:
Maktab Dār al-Farfūr, 2000.
al-Nasafī, Abū al-Muʿīn. al-Tamhīd fī usūl al-dīn. Critical Ed. Abdulhay Kābīl. Cairo: Dār al-Sagāfa, 1987.
Özcan, Hanifi. Mātürīdī’de Bilgi Problemi. Istanbul: MÜ İFAV Yayınları, 1993.
Özcan, Hanifi. Epistemolojik Açıdan İman. Istanbul: MÜ İFAV Yayınları, 1992.
Özdemir, Metin. İslam Düşüncesinde Kötülük Problemi. Istanbul: Kaknüs Yayınları, 2014.
al-Taftāzānī, Saʻd-al-DīnʻUmar. Sharḥ al-Maqāṣid: Maqāṣid fī ʻilm al-kalām. Critical Ed. Sālih Mūsā Sharif. Beirut:
Ālem al-Kutūb, 1988.
Yazır, Muhammad Hamdi. Hak Dini Kur’an Dili. Istanbul: Eser Yayınları, 1979.
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Attachment Theory and Child’s Perception of God at 4-6 Ages
Ayşe Aydar * Behlül Tokur **
Abstract
Attachment theory has been studied in numerous researches since it was put forward by Bowlby who had
that all infants were born with biological and emotional needs toward their mothers or caregivers. Since
Bowlby’s attachment theory has been taken part in several fields beside Psychology, such as Psychology of
Religion in which especially the attachment to God is tried to be understood, Pathology which does give
attachment theory wide coverage to explain some mental disorders derived from unsecure attachment.
After the birth, the relationship between child and caregiver shapes perspective of child toward religion
and God and gives him/her perception of God. The attachment patterns that children gain in their childhood
form the attachment to God that they gain afterwards in their life, in that to understand children’s
attachment to God, it is substantial to understand the primary attachment patterns of children. Perception
*
Masters’ student, Ankara Yıldırım Beyazıt University, Institute of Social Sciences, Ankara, Turkey
Yüksek Lisans Öğrencisi, Ankara Yıldırım Beyazıt Üniversitesi, Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü
aaydar34@gmail.com ORCID 0000-0002-6711-506X
**
Asssociate Professor, Ankara Yıldırım Beyazıt University, Faculty of Islamic Sciences, Department of Psychology of
Religion, Ankara, Turkey
Doç. Dr., Ankara Yıldırım Beyazıt, İslami İlimer Fakültesi, Din Psikolojisi Anabilim Dalı
behlultokur@hotmail.com ORCID 0000-0002-6509-3100
Article Types: Research Article
Received: 14 December 2019
Accepted: 26 August 2019
Published: 26 August 2019
Cite as: Ayşe Aydar - Behlül Tokur, “Attachment Theory and Child’s Perception of God at 4-6 Ages”, ULUM 2/1 (2019):
51-74, https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3376960
52 | Aydar - Tokur, “Attachment Theory and Child’s Perception of God at 4-6 Ages”
of God shapes not only individual’s religious life, but also his/her behaviors toward his/her social
environment and individual’s sense of self. For this reason, it is very essential to understand the attachment
and how the attachment forms child’s perception of God. The problems of the study are how the attachment
occurs, what it is affected by, and how the attachment pattern occurring between child and caregiver shapes
child’s perception of God. In this context, the study aims to understand children’s perception of God on their
attachment patterns they have acquired as well as providing scientific information for religious educators
and religious education institutions. For the study, 5 main and 8 deeper questions aiming to find out
children’s perception of God have been asked a study group consisting 13 children at the ages of 4-6 in Yeşil
Elma Kinder Garden in Ankara by using interview technique. Interviews have been conducted with one
student and one interviewer at a time regarding children’s psychological conditions. This study is a
qualitative research, and the collected data have been interpreted by using descriptive analysis. According
to findings of the study, it has been noted that the questions were answered with some sentence patterns
which they might have heard from their families regarding that the kinder garden is mostly preferred by
conservative the families, and that the children have positive-love based God perception, beside that they
have a concrete God image accordingly their ages.
Keywords
Psychology of Religion, Psychology, Attachment, Perception, God, Child
Bağlanma Teorisive 4-6 Yaş Arası Çocuklarda Tanrı Algısı
Öz
Bağlanma teorisi, tüm bebeklerin annelerine ve bakım verenlerine karşı biyolojik ve duygusal olarak bazı
ihtiyaçlarla doğduklarını iddia eden Bowlby tarafından ortaya atıldığından beri birçok araştırmaya konu
olmuştur. Bowlby’den itibaren bağlanma teorisi Psikoloji alanının yanı sıra özellikle Tanrı’ya bağlanmanın
anlaşılmaya çalışıldığı Din Psikolojisi alanında ve güvensiz bağlanma sonucu ortaya çıkan bazı ruhsal
sıkıntıları açıklamada geniş bir yelpaze sunan Patoloji alanında çalışılmaktadır. Çocukların bebeklikten
itibaren geliştirdikleri bağlanma tarzları sonradan edindikleri Tanrı’ya bağlanma tarzlarını şekillendirir bu
da göstermektedir ki çocuğun Tanrı’ya bağlanma tarzını anlamak için çocukta ki ilk bağlanma tarzlarını
anlamak önemlidir. Doğumdan itibaren çocuğun bakım veren ile geliştirdiği ilişki, sonrasında dünyaya, dine
ve Tanrı’ya olan bakış açısını da şekillendirir ve ona bir Tanrı algısı kazandırır. Bireyin edineceği Tanrı algısı
sadece dini yaşantısını değil, bireyin kendilik algısını ve sosyal çevresine karşı davranışlarını da
şekillendirmektedir. Bu sebeple bağlanma ve bağlanmanın çocuktaki Tanrı imgesini nasıl şekillendirdiğini
anlamak oldukça mühimdir. Bu araştırmanın ele aldığı problemler çocuklarda bağlanmanın nasıl ortaya
çıktığı, nelerden etkilendiği ve sonrasında da bakım veren ile çocuğun arasında gelişen bağlanma modelinin
Tanrı algısını nasıl şekillendirdiğidir. Bu bağlamda çalışma, çocukların edindikleri bağlanma deseni ile
alakalı olarak Tanrı’ya bakış açılarını anlama, bunun yanı sıra din eğitimcilerine ve din eğitimi veren
kurumlara bilimsel bilgi sağlama amacındadır. Araştırma için, Ankara’da bulunan Yeşil Elma Anaokulunda
öğrenim gören 4-6 yaş arasında 13 kişilik öğrenci grubuna, çocukların Tanrı algılarını saptamayı amaçlayan
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Aydar - Tokur, “Attachment Theory and Child’s Perception of God at 4-6 Ages” | 53
5 ana, 8 de yardımcı soru mülakat tekniği kullanılarak sorulmuştur. Çocukların psikolojik durumları esas
alınarak mülakatlar bir görüşmeci ve bir katılımcı ile gerçekleştirilmiştir. Bu araştırma yöntem bakımından
nitel bir araştırma olup, elde edilen veriler klasik anlamda betimsel içerik analizi yapılarak
yorumlanmaktadır. Araştırmanın bulgularına göre, kreşin muhafazakâr ailelerce tercih edildiği göz önüne
alındığında sorulan soruların bir kısmının aileden duyulan kalıp cümlelerle cevaplandığı, çocuklarda olumlu
ve sevgiye dayalı bir Tanrı algısının var olduğu, bunlarla birlikte yaşları dolayısıyla zihinlerinde somut bir
Tanrı imgesi olduğu görülmektedir.
Anahtar Kelimeler
Din Psikolojisi, Psikoloji, Bağlanma, Algı, Tanrı, Çocuk
INTRODUCTION
All human beings are born in needs. These can be some basic needs such as nourishment and safeness.
However, all humans are also born with needs of loving and being loved. Responding those needs exactly
creates attachments. These attachments occur after birth and babies start to show some reaction toward
their care givers. Attachment mostly occurring between mother and baby is not only confined with
childhood period, but it also has affects during whole of life and sets a precedent for a child’s all future
attachments. During the whole life, people experience attachments and those attachments appearing in
post period of life are mostly affected the primary attachments which occur between babies and care givers.
The theory put forward by Bowlby especially is dealt by Lee Kirkpatrick and seen that attachment occurring
at the beginning of the life has similarities with feelings like attachment to a religion and God, acting like
wishing help from God, finding peace and relief. The effects of the primary attachment of children are seen
in their perception of God from 0 age to 6 ages beside the thoughts which children have as a natural process
of cognitive development such as egocentric and anthropomorphic thoughts. This study has tried to show
that children perceive God by using their attachment background forming between children, their care
givers in their natural childish thoughts.
The study begins with theoretical considerations, then goes on to the method of the study. While
explaining attachment to God in the terms of attachment theory, some other triggers which form children’s
perception of God at certain ages such as imitation, animism and anthropomorphism appearing and
disappearing in time according to a child’s cognitive development have involved in the study in which
several early researches were interpreted, dictionaries and relevant books were searched and studied and
finally a qualitative study test has been applied to children in order to understand the issue’s essence.
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1. ATTACHMENT THEORY
All human beings are born in needs such as nourishing and harbouring. Beside these physical needs,
most people need to love and to be loved to live. When people are born, they require attaching to the persons
taking care of and showing intimacy toward them.
The fundamental hypothesis about attachment theory basically was put forward by John Bowlby as
an alternative theory against object relation and psychoanalytic theories. Since then, it has made rapid
progress and become one of the irreplaceable theories in psychology.
Attachment; developed between twosome, appearing with the seeking of affiliation of the child and
becoming clear especially in stressful occasions is described as consistent and constant emotional bond
between a child and a caregiver.1 Attachment in infants includes patterns of emotions and behaviours
entirely such as positive reaction to initial caregivers, orientation toward them, seeking them and relief
right after the perception of existence among them This attachment mostly occurring between mother and
child is not only confined with childhood period, it also has affects during whole life and sets a precedent
for a child’s all future attachments.
The main functions of this theory about coming up mother-child relationship in early period are like
these: Infants showing too much or too little awareness to their caregivers give social signs which will affect
these kinds of behaviours such as cuddling and crying. When those foreseen functions develop as expected,
that state formulates secure attachment of children towards their mothers who symbolize protector and a
security. According to this theory, the secure attachment relationship enables children to explore safely
and comfortably all the world under normal circumstances. To the researchers of this theory, mother serves
for a child as a remover child from danger to provide child’s basic trust. In this attachment relationship,
child’s aim is not only to have physical intimacy but also to feel secure in the process of exploration of
environment.2
Preservation of intimacy is a supplementary feature of attachment and the main function of
attachment is security from danger. There is a relationship between attachment behaviour and exploration
behaviour. The main characteristics of attachment are;
i. Humans are born with the ability to ease attachment,
ii. Preservation of intimacy responds the need of intimacy of the other one,
iii. After having experience during his/her childhood, child makes of the world and himself/ herself
then generalizes it and formulates internal working models.3
The period of attachment, if divided into phrases, which develops right after the birth accordingly to
the nature of human beings reveals itself as seeking for breast, turning head, sucking breast and finger,
1
A.Sermin Kesebir et al., “Bağlanma ve Psikopatoloji”, Psikiyatride Güncel Yaklaşımlar 3/2 (2011): 321-342.
2
Akif Hayta, “Anneden Allah’a: Bağlanma Teorisi ve İslam’da Allah Tasavvuru”, Değerler Eğitimi Dergisi 4/12 (2006):
30.
3
Kesebir, “Bağlanma ve Psikopatoloji”, 326.
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Aydar - Tokur, “Attachment Theory and Child’s Perception of God at 4-6 Ages” | 55
catching, moving toward mother, and anticipation of feeding time. The first sign of attachment appears in
8th week on a child’s paying much more attention to mother than anyone else. In this phase, a child
distinguishes mother from others, smiles at her, sounds more to her than others and feels more comfortable
when with her mother than with anyone else.4
With the 7th month, infants start to understand the patterns of their environment. Before that month,
mother is not that much important but from this month infant pays almost all attention to mother, abstains
and fears from strangers. In this time, interval attachment develops itself seeking for intimacy and in case
of separation from caregivers uneasiness and tension reveal. Infant, right after birth, directs attachment
behaviour to someone whom he/she can reach. But only 6 months old, most of infants direct this attention
to someone they want to get closer according to their choices.5
While being responded the need of a child wholesomely develops attachment, not being responded
of the needs unsatisfactorily brings about co-dependency. Attachment is a normal process which is expected
to develop every human being but co-dependency is a pathological. This process not only hinders for a
person’s self-realization but also in the event of having the source, it causes deprivation in person. And these
deprivation symptoms point out co-dependency. Co-dependency in the first instance might be satisfactory
but then starts to turn into obsessive thought and droning behaviours. Compassionate co-dependency is a
tendency to foster some feelings such as trust and compassion from different sources since those feelings
have not been supplied before. In compassionate co-dependency, person put forward others instead of
himself/herself. People trust others to deal with problems and avoid from pain and fear passive.
By the units of personality (id, ego, superego), Freud explains attachment of a child to the mother
with this. According to the psychoanalytic theory, mother is an object and the first interaction to the world
of an infant is via his/her mother breast orally. While breast feeding responds a child’s need of nutrition, it
also functions as a sexual stimulation in erogenous zone. So, a child attaches to the breast, he thereby
attaches to the mother through urges of pleasure and famishment. The object means internal represents
which are important and precious things or someone’s gaining a seat in the internal world in the
psychoanalytic terminology. The first important object, generally, is mother. According to urge theory, each
urge has its own goal and object. The main goals of the urges are to take pleasure and urges use objects to
fulfil this aim.
That World Health Organization (WHO) invited Bowlby to London to study on mental hygiene of
homeless children, which was a starting point for Bowlby to introduce attachment theory. Bowlby, in his
study, stated stress on effects of mother deprivation over children’s later life after they drew apart from
their mothers. Despite being effective and being confirmed, the report had a lot of deficiency such as why
and how early mother deprivation led to such horrible effects which were not able to be explained. Bowlby’s
psychoanalytic background provided an advantage him to see inadequacy of psychoanalytic theory to
explain this kind of situations. Psychoanalytic theory sustains the idea that children fondle their mothers
so that they establish a relation between their mothers to be fed. But to Bowlby, this could not totally explain
4
Soysalı, “Bebeklik Dönemindeki Bağlanma Sürecine Genel Bir Bakış”, 89.
5
Soysalı, “Bebeklik Dönemindeki Bağlanma Sürecine Genel Bir Bakış”, 89.
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the situation of children who were still depressed and anxious although their needs were supplied by
caregivers at a home environment.6
According to Bowlby, all infants are born with biological and emotional needs supplied with their
mothers or caregivers.7 These needs have a very important place in human life. After birth, infants need to
be provided their requirements to survive so they take their first breath with the help of a caregiver.
Between caregivers (mother, father, a relative or a babysitter) and infants, an interaction occurs, and this
interaction forms a bond between twosome gaining strength in time. If infants experience caregiver close
and respondent and feel themselves in secure and comfortable, they exhibit social and exploratory
behaviours but if infants perceive caregiver indifferent, far away or threat for him/ her, infant feels anxiety
and exhibits antisocial behaviours.
To Bowlby, provided that infants achieve healthy attachment to caregiver and to be responded of
their need, they undergo accurate progress while growing up. Infants conceive themselves worthiness to be
loved and reflect this sense to others. The children who have appropriate communication between their
caregivers and have secured bond character, which is open to communicate with others, feel themselves
precious, social and consistent. If not so, some unfavourable circumstances such as unhealthy relationship
and lack of social aptitudes are observed in children. Bowlby concluded this early attachment affected other
attachment behaviours forming over adulthood and the attachment developed during childhood and lasted
during the whole life but then falsifiability of this idea has been asserted.
Ainsworth was a Canadian psychologist who studied with Bowlby and tried to explain Bowlby’s
findings with some experiments. Ainsworth observed children and their mothers more closely by visiting
their houses with her students. Through the Strange Room Test improved by her, Ainsworth had an
opportunity to study on Bowlby’s theory and aimed to activate children’s attachment system/ attachment
behaviours during the test. In the experimental method named The Strange Room Test, 12-18 month- old
infants are separated from their mothers for short breaks and left with a strange and then got together with
their mothers again. After this test, Ainsworth concluded that with attachment patterns and then divided
them into three groups: secure, anxious-ambivalent and avoidant.8
Children who had secure attachment pattern when left in the room by their mothers showed some
uneasiness but did not get panic during the test. Without any signs of tension, they tried to seek for their
mothers but even their mothers were not around, they continued exploring the room and after they came
together with their mothers, they easily smoothed. Children who have secure attachment pattern/patterns
do not experience any tension in their intimacy with their families. They always feel certain that their
mothers are with them and ready for help when they need them. To develop this attachment pattern, it is
significant that child has a consistent, coherent, sensitive caregiver.9
6
Kesebir, “Bağlanma ve Psikopatoloji”, 325.
7
Soysalı, “Bebeklik Dönemindeki Bağlanma Sürecine Genel Bir Bakış”, 90.
8
Hayta, “Anneden Allah’a: Bağlanma Teorisi ve İslam’da Allah Tasavvuru”, 36.
9
Kesebir, “Bağlanma ve Psikopatoloji”.
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Children having anxious-ambivalent attachment pattern felt intense tension. Anxiousness and anger
were also observed in them, when their mother left the room. Even after their mothers were back, they did
not easily smooth, and they rejected to explore environment. Although their mothers were in the room with
them, they denied leaving their mothers. Children who have this attachment pattern show unfavourable
behaviours and fail at relationships for the reason that they have not been sure that their caregivers would
respond them when they have been in need. These mothers are not consistent with their responds and they
threaten to abandon their children with the intent of controlling them. These are mostly aggressive,
nervous, maladaptive children.10
During the test, children having avoidant attachment pattern remained unresponsive when their
mother left the room. Similarly, when their mothers were back to the room, they kept their distance from
them by remaining unresponsive and they kept searching the room instead of being interested in their
mothers.11 Children having avoidant attachment pattern do not rely on their mothers to respond their
needs. They do not accept their mothers as a safe haven. Those children’s mothers turn their children’s
needs down consistently or reject them. These children generally have difficulties to have relationships for
later. It is observed that these children cannot control and express their anger and they also try to manage
people around them.12
Children having de-organized attachment pattern, which was added to the attachment patterns later,
do not demonstrate organized and appropriate behaviours. Frozen or slow of movements are seen and these
children’s mothers are ones who abuse children physically or neglect them and they generally have highly
psychiatric disorders, or they have still unsolved problems with their own attached objects. It is stated that
the reason of this attachment pattern is the fear derived from caregiver.13
The fact that attachment patterns are unchangeable, as the phrase goes from the cradle to the grave,
should not be supposed; even in children who have the most secure attachment pattern, peaks and troughs
might be seen.14 Unsecure attachment patterns might evolve into secure attachment patterns in a child’s
future life. While experiences in their future might affect these pattern changes, disposition effect is also
significant too. Disposition that is believed to be an inherent feature is a formation which emerges from
birth and determines behavioural patterns.15 It is important to regard characteristics of a child as much as
quality of responds of caregiver.
A child develops internal working models about other people according to whether or not his/her
emotional and physical needs are responded during on-going experiences. These models include self-
10
Kesebir, “Bağlanma ve Psikopatoloji”, 94.
11
Kesebir, “Bağlanma ve Psikopatoloji”, 94.
12
Soysalı, “Bebeklik Dönemindeki Bağlanma Sürecine Genel Bir Bakış”, 96.
13
Kesebir, “Bağlanma ve Psikopatoloji”, 327.
14
Hayta, “Anneden Allah’a: Bağlanma Teorisi ve İslam’da Allah Tasavvuru”, 367-38.
15
Kesebir, “Bağlanma ve Psikopatoloji”, 334.
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worthiness, relying on others and intimacy in relationships.16 When it is responded for the needs of a child
wholesomely and supported by caregiver, he/she forms a secure bond, perceive herself/himself worth to
be loved and additionally, he/she relies on others by developing favourable models, while not responded by
the caregiver for the needs of them or is responded in an aloof and negatory way develops unfavourable
models. This child believes others are not reliable, worth to love and even she/he is not worth to be loved.
These internal working models formalize and lead one’s way of life from beginning to end. These models
form many predictive factors such as expectations from others in the future and perception of a romantic
partner in adulthood. Bartholomew and Horowitz studied attachments over adulthood by basing on
Bowlby’s internal working models and introduced the quart attachment patterns.17
i. Secure Attachment: People having secure attachment pattern develop some representations such as
‘I’m precious and worth to be loved’ and perceive others reliable since their physical and emotional needs
are responded wholesomely. They have healthy personal structures and when left or rejected, they can
quickly handle with it.
ii. Obsessive Attachment: They do not assume themselves to be worth to be loved yet, they assume others
are precious and valuable. Their most distinct feature is the lack of confidence. In their relations, they have
exaggerated dependent attitudes towards others and also express their emotions turgidly. They cannot
accept being rejected or left and when it happens, they cannot handle with it. They are the ones who are
obsessive in their relationships.
iii. Dismissive Attachment: They are keen on their freedom and they avoid from attachments. However,
unlike people who have fearful attachment, they do not keep their distance from others because of anxiety.
Instead, they have this distance because they do not value others and do not want to experience
abandonment.
iv. Fearful Attachment: They always experience problems of trust and avoid from being rejected or left
they keep their distance in their relationships. As they do not perceive themselves to be worth to be loved,
they also do not perceive others to be loved or trustworthy.
There might be disunity between a mother and a child, and it is known to have harmful effects on
child. In babies who were separated from their mothers after birth for research, retardation of development
and unfavourable behaviours like social withdrawal were observed. Bowlby has believed that maternal
depravation has some consequences such as dwarfism (retarded growth), aggressiveness, dependency,
anxiety, social maladjustment, affectionless, psychopath (showing no feelings for others), depression and
delinquency.18
One of the pathological disorders in childhood is infancy depression. Studies on babies, which were
hospitalized and could not see their mothers for this reason, showed that while a child was healthy and
16
Hayta, “Anneden Allah’a: Bağlanma Teorisi ve İslam’da Allah Tasavvuru”, 36.
17
K. Bartholomew - L.M. Horowiz, “Attachment Styles Among Young Adults: A Test of Four-Category Model”, Journal of
Personality and Social Psychology 61/2 (1991): 227-228.
18
Mokhtar Malekpour, “Effects of Attachment on Early and Later Development”, The British Journal of Development
Disabilities 53/105 (2007): 86.
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cheerful at the beginning, however as time passed by, loss of appetite, joy and weight were observed in the
child. Another one is separation anxiety disorder which causes a great anxiety when a child is separated
from attached person. Also, child is substantially afraid of getting lost or never reaching to his/her parents
again, so they reject going to school or leaving home. When they have to face these situations, they might
show various somatic symptoms such as stomach or headache, nauseating and dizziness. The other one is
reactive attachment disorder that usually starts before the age of 5 and becomes characterized by a child’s
showing unexpected attachment patterns. Children might not keep their distances from strangers and may
build close relations with them in any way. The reasons of this situation are mostly the neglect of a child or
non-responded needs.19
As anxious-ambivalent attachment which is one of the unsecure attachment patterns is related with
anxiety disorder, de-organized attachment is noted to be related with dissociative disorders.20 Many
disorders such as depression, agoraphobia, borderline disorders which occur in adulthood are related with
the separation anxiety disorder.21 Also to Bowlby, the source of phobias in adulthood has a background in
childhood and phobic people are ones who have been abused, neglected or witnessed loss of one of their
parents.22
2. Child’s Perception of God at 4-6 Ages
The concept of God is discussed under two headings as cognitive and relational.23 While it is difficult
to distinguish the two from each other firmly, cognitive explanations hold that the image of God emerges
in accordance with the mental development of the individual, while the relational explanations hold that
the image of God is formed by the interaction of the individual with the environment. The theory of
attachment explains the concept of God with relational explanation.24 The emotional-based relationship
between child and caregiver affects the individual's future relationship with God. But this image is not
shaped only under the influence of the parent figure. Experiences and crises of the individual also shape the
perception of God.
Childhood period is considerable importance in the terms of forming a basis of one’s future life and
the formation of character by developing behaviours which formulate one’s whole life. In fact, some
psychologists claim that %90 of formation of character occurs in the first 6 years of childhood.25 It can’t be
19
Esen, Eylem Özge, “Bağlanma Kuramı ve Psikopatolojiyle İlişkisi”, 10.
20
Kesebir, “Bağlanma ve Psikopatoloji”, 321.
21
Özge, “Bağlanma Kuramı ve Psikopatolojiyle İlişkisi”, 11.
22
Özge, “Bağlanma Kuramı ve Psikopatolojiyle İlişkisi”.
23
W.J. Ruchgy, “The Relationship of Mental Represantation of God to Levels of Mercy”, (Michigian, 2004): 78-79.
24
Akif Hayta, “Anneden Allah’a: Bağlanma Teorisi ve İslam’da Allah Tasavvuru”.Değerler Eğitimi Dergisi 4/12 (2006): 31.
25
Mustafa Köylü, “Çocukluk Dönemi Dini İnanç Gelişimi ve Dini Eğitimi”, Ankara Üniversitesi İlahiyat Fakültesi Dergisi
11/2 (2004): 137-154.
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thought that religious life develops independently from childhood period in which a child transfers to
concrete operational period from preoperational period and starts to get used to social environment out of
family with regards to psycho-social and a child’s intelligence level peaks.26 Someone’s perceptions of God,
his/her attachment pattern to God, sensitivity to worship are the formations which are based on childhood.
For Harms, childhood religious development has 3 stages and the ages of 3-6 are in the stage of fairy tales
stage in which individual religious experience starts to root.27 A child's education and habits determine the
way he/she perceives religion in the future. For instance, the celebration of religious holidays with family
is known as significant in the terms of forming a special bond with family and ideas/thoughts about religion
in the future.
Freud, here states that religion is nothing but a reflection of the dynamic conflicts between ego, id
and superego. He claims that there is no essential need than father protection in childhood, and also feelings
of weakness and helplessness rooting from childhood cause occurrence of the idea of God so as to replace
the image of the father in adulthood. Even if one is an adult anymore, he/she still needs help. For this reason,
he/she sustains the idea of God as his/her father. Because a child wants to return to memory of the image
of father; and father, in Freud’s view, is the model of all humanity’s God.28
Following Freudian tradition, Erikson does not put notion of fear in the centre of religious thoughts
unlike Freud. According to him, the main emotion creating religious thought is the feeling of ‘security’. He
states that security forming in childhood takes shape from the relationship between a mother and a child.
A child who has secure attachment to caregiver seeks for the same attachment pattern and the same feelings
in God in such a way that he/she has experienced during childhood, and so religious thoughts take shape.
According to Erikson, in all universal religions, there are some attributions and behaviours which are similar
with behaviours and attributions developing between a mother and a child such as a creator granting to His
creatures, childish submitting, incapable behaviours, appealing, evolution of goodness into common faith.29
From a child’s birth, a child develops ambidextrously. Mental development is also observed in child
correspondingly with his/her. While growing up, a child’s social skills and learning capacity develop more
when compared the former years.
Piaget’s cognitive development theory deals with successive stages in which each of them has more
complicated and advanced content/contents. In some researches, religious thoughts have not been
considered separate from cognitive development and have studied together. Although the studies of Freud,
Erikson and Kohlberg are frequently benefited, the most-cited theory undoubtedly belongs to Piaget. In
26
Mustafa Doğan Karacoşkun, “Okul Öncesi Çocuklarında Dua”, Cumhuriyet Üniversitesi İlahiyat Fakültesi Dergisi 9/1
(2005): 121.
27
Ernest Harms, “The Development Of Religious Experience in Children”, American Journal Of Sociology 50/2 (1944): 116
28
Ali Ayten, Psikoloji ve Din (İstanbul: İz, 2017), 55-60.
29
Cemil Oruç, “Okul Öncesi Dönemde Dini Duygunun Kökenleri ve Gelişimi”, Dinbilimleri Akademik Araştırma Dergisi
10/3 (2010): 84.
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Piaget’s theory, it is seen that God and religious thoughts occur as a cognitive need.30 However, in his theory,
it is not understood whether the idea of God is inborn, and God is a parent that responds mental needs.
The first stage sensor motor stage includes 0-2 ages in which infants use inborn reflexes such as crying
and sucking. They show and repeat behaviours which they find out by trial and error. With occurrence of
separation from the nature, they perceive there is a world out, so they start to explore the world by trial
and error or imitation. It is also seen of the starting of acquisition of object permanence, in children. Until
the 4th month after birth, children do not reveal any awareness about object permanence but then, they are
aware of a toy which has been taken away does not get lost and they should look for it around where it has
been taken. Infants who cannot obtain object permanence when an object goes missing in field of view, they
only assume it disappears. They do not understand anything but what their senses perceive, and they have
egocentric thoughts.28
The second stage in cognitive development is preoperational stage which includes duration from 2-
6 ages. In this stage, children learn how to use a language properly and they still have egocentric thoughts.
They think since they exist, others exist. They can categorize objects according to a dimension, and what is
more, children in this stage have the idea that goings-on have magical and supernatural features. They have
animism understanding so they assume that all objects possess a spirit and they are able to reason, think
and live as children do. They develop symbolizes for objects they cannot see by attributing them their own
symbols. And they cannot make a distinction between reality and imaginations.
Before dealing with the how the perception of God in these periods, it will be helpful to mention how
to develop perception of God over time. From the 2nd month until the 6th month, infants develop self-
perception and they start to be conscious of that they and their mothers (or another caregiver) are separate.
2-year-old children grow jealous that addresses consciousness developing in children.31 Upon the age of 3,
sovereignty of a language is observed in children and they comprehend themselves as communicators to
others. The age of 4 is a period in which children’s imagination gains straight and some time they are not
able to distinct between reality and fantasy. So mostly they say something which they made up in their
minds as if they are real, and parents who are not aware of this might accuse their children of lying.32
Whether belief of God is inborn or not has been dealt with and put forward many arguments by most
philosophers. For example, whereas some thinkers such as Descartes, W. James, and Spancer upheld that
the belief was inborn, others such as Berkeley, Freud, Dewey and Hume claimed vice versa.33 Religion of
Islam also declares that humans are born with the disposition of faith so they are ready to accept religion
30
Cemil Oruç, “Erken Çocukluk Dönemi Dini Gelişim Teorileri Bağlamında Din Eğitimi”, Turkish Studies-International
Periodical For the Languages Literature and History of Turkish or Turkic 8/8 (2013): 973.
31
W. H. Clark, “Çocuklukta Din”, Trans. Adil Çiftçi - Murat Yıldız, Dokuz Eylül Üniversitesi İlahiyat Fakültesi Dergisi 10
(1998): 186.
32
Mustafa Öcal, “Okul Öncesi ve İlköğretim Çocuklarının Allah Tasavvurları Üzerine Bir Araştırma”, Ankara Üniversitesi
İlahiyat Fakültesi Dergisi 13/2 (2014): 63.
33
Ali Kuşat, “Bilişsel Gelişim Açısından Din-Fıtrat İlişkisi”, Erciyes Üniversitesi İlahiyat Fakültesi Dergisi 4/12 (2012): 36.
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and God inborn. Friedrich Schleiermacher adopting the idea that humans are born with the faith of God
claims that humans have holiness inborn and this is experienced as emotions.34 W.H. Clark, in his article
titled Religion of Childhood, expresses that child does not have religious feelings, and furthermore
psychologists accept new born baby as an existence that is close to animals rather than a human.35 He also
examines how such a sophisticated issue might be inborn in children. At the present time, it is seen that a
child learns how to speak religious development at the age of 3. However, since children do not have enough
language skills before that age, whether children have these religious thoughts formerly is not known.
Piaget’s cognitive development stages make a great contribution to understand how animism,
artificialism and egocentric thoughts evolve to abstract thoughts in time. According to these stages, age of
3 is accepted as occurrence of religious thoughts and before 3 years of age, it is named ‘pre-religious’ period.
There are some limits in occurrence of religious thoughts. For example, a child is not able to think
reasonably at the beginning of the childhood. Also, egocentric thought prevents him/her from
understanding events correctly. A child having monofocal thought takes one approach to the events and
this thought construction lasts until the age of 7and 8.36 The other reason is the limitation of the language.
A religious language prevents children from drawing a reasonable conclusion about religious issues. Limited
experiences, in the beginning, confine children from understanding life and religion.
Although children have religious thought inborn is still a matter of view, that seeking for caretaking
of children is inborn is generally accepted. Seeking for protection is differential feature of childhood. After
birth, a child is utterly in the need of caring, protection and uttermost defenceless. A child needs to be
responded for physical needs, but the feeling that he/she is under protection creates on a child’s world great
pleasure.37 Person on whom the child depends to satisfy the protection need is mostly parent. That need is
indispensable, and it is essential as much as nutrition need for the child to survive.35
Children’s seeking for protection does not disappear or decrease in time. On the contrast, it continues
during whole life and resembles feeling of taking refuge of God. So, inborn seeking protection provided by
parents might be said to lead to believe in God in time. Whenever a child feels hopeless or wants to feel in
safe, she/he havens to God on the purpose of seeking for help. When a child believes in God, he/she feels
comforted and safe, so he/she tries to know God well and shows interest to worship.38
Children in those ages want to feel themselves special and need appreciation. Some basic reasons for
this situation are that child has grown up or new baby has joined family, so attention on child decreases,
34
Kuşat, “Bilişsel Gelişim Açısından Din-Fıtrat İlişkisi”, 38.
35
Clark, “Çocuklukta Din”, 184.
36
Kuşat, “Bilişsel Gelişim Açısından Din-Fıtrat İlişkisi”, 43.
37
Clark, “Çocuklukta Din”, 185.
35
Clark, “Çocuklukta Din”, 185.
38
Celalettin İçemli, “Çocuklukta Dini Duygu ve Düşüncenin Gelişimi”, Konuralp Tıp Dergisi 5/3 (2013): 65.
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finally he/she tries to be the centre of attention again. In such a case, a child seeks for attention from God
instead of family.39
It is stated that perception of God is related with children’s comprehension about their parents. While
children perceive their parents omnipotent, their protectors from everything and absolute authority at
young ages, later on they might start to explore that their parents are incapable of most issues. In progress
of time, their parents are not absolute omnipotent anymore. Parents are not able to realize everything they
wish and protect them from everything.40
This causes a crisis in children. In this crisis, children start to discriminate their parents from God. All
perceptions of around 5-6-year-old children about superiority of their parents start to tend towards God.
According to Baldwin Theory, attachment of God steps in at this point. It is pointed that in the first step
child completely focuses on his or her caregivers who respond child’s need and the child does not sense
metaphysical issues. In the second step, named intellectual stage, the child perceives his or her parents as
problem solvers. In this step, attachment to God is occurred. Some other beliefs such as metaphysical or
moral beliefs appear in later stages.41
There are some features occurring in children form children’s perception and understanding. Despite
their disappearance in time, during childhood period while they shape children’s any ordinary thoughts,
they also give a form children’s religious thought. Imitation causes religious development in children so that
children start to imitate what they see in their parents and their social environment. Children who observe
parents praying imitate them, and although in the beginning they do not have any idea about the aim and
meaning of what they imitate, they accustom to this habit in time, and when they are old enough, they
understand the aim and the meaning of this worship. Also, another feature in this period is the need for
approval. This feature reveals a full-court press over them to gain affection and approval. Children imitate
their parents to be approved by them. The other one is easy-credibility which makes children encourage to
believe easily anything that is spoken. Children cannot be thought that they can adopt any idea with
reasonable arguments because of their limited experiences and perception skills; they do not have difficulty
to accept their parents’ beliefs. They do not question the religion they have adopted from their family until
end of the preoperational period. Ego-centric thought is another qualification that leads children to evaluate
everything in their point of views. They cannot predict that a person can look at the same object from a
different perspective. They see themselves in the centre of the events and this belief affects their religious
thoughts. For example, God is the creator of children and has given them families. God has bestowed them
food and clothes. Everything around them exists to serve them. This belief of children leads them to believe
a Supreme Being following and watching them. Animism-anthropomorphism makes children assume
everything around them is alive. Stones, tables, toys are living creatures for them. Because of this belief it
is hard to understand whether they play, or they really think toys are alive while they talk to their toys. This
animistic view leads them to assume everything breaths, eats and feels as they do. With anthropomorphic
39
Köylü, “Çocukluk Dönemi Dini İnanç Gelişimi ve Dini Eğitimi”, 141.
40
Oruç, “Erken Çocukluk Dönemi Dini Gelişim Teorileri Bağlamında Din Eğitimi”, 975.
41
Faruk Karaca, Dini Gelişim Psikolojisi (İstanbul: Eser Ofset Matbaacılık, 2016), 58.
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belief, children perceive God with concrete existence. Many studies show that children describe God with
features which belong to humans and other living things. The most common ones are an old, bearded man
or a king with a crown. As growing up, especially in formal operational stage, they start to understand God
is abstract and cannot be defined and anthropomorphic thought decreases. But in preoperational and
concrete operational periods, it is hard, almost impossible, to expect them to understand that God is not
definable. The final feature is sense of wonder. Existing in the child inborn, this sense leads him or her to
understand and give meaning of everything. They ask several questions such as ‘What is it?’, ‘Who made
this?’. With this sense, the children question about how everything around them, including themselves,
exist when they are grown enough. No matter what parents’ beliefs are, they face this question and have to
give a clear answer regarding to their faith. Those given answers shape children’s beliefs.42
As it is mentioned in previous chapter, there are some children’s features which are the basics that
lead to perception of God such as animism, anthropomorphism, ego-centric thought etc. By taking them
into consideration in this chapter, it is discussed how the perception of God appears in children according
to the ages. These ages are classified in this work in the context of Piaget’s cognitive development stages.
Children until the age of 2 are ranked in sensor motor period and children aged 2 to 6 are classified in
preoperational period.
In sensor motor period (0-2 ages), children start to control their motor functions and intellection,
and also exhibit primitive behaviour patterns to deal with objects.43 They start to observe and explore
environment incrementally and satisfy their sense of wonder by trial and error. In this stage if children
develop secure and healthy attachment with their caregivers, which Erikson associates with feeling of
security, their religious developments make a progress according to the attachment developed beforehand
with caregivers.
While Piaget states that object permanence occurs with the 8th mouth after the birth, there are studies
providing that it actually occurs earlier. Acquisition of object permanence is the basic for child to develop
mental representations. Beside acquisition of this ability is accepted as a precondition for learning words
moreover according to Bowlby, it is a provision for self-recognition and also a step to gather for later
thoughts.44
Children, in this stage, do not have track of time. For children, there are no concepts of the past,
present or future. Furthermore, these children do not have any metaphysical conception and do not accept
anything other than objects received by sensory receptors. They are not ready to understand intangible
concepts such as God, heaven and hell. Above all in this stage children are not able to use language efficiently
and make clear sentences to express themselves. So, it cannot be understood fairly whether they have
religious thought.
42
Köylü, “Çocukluk Dönemi Dini İnanç Gelişimi ve Dini Eğitimi”, 138-140.
43
Kuşat, “Bilişsel Gelişim Açısından Din-Fıtrat İlişkisi”, 47.
44
Kuşat, “Bilişsel Gelişim Açısından Din-Fıtrat İlişkisi”, 48.
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In preoperational period (3-6 ages), children who acquire object permanence develop a great interest
in things they are not able to see. Especially, this is why children in this period rummage around their houses
with hope to find something hidden. Children also start to search representations by developing their
language skills with symbols for things they can or cannot see. Similarly, after accepting the existence of
God, child looks for representation for God. But in these ages, since abstract reasoning is not developed yet,
child cannot comprehend God’s essence and attributes in detail, although they start to develop an image of
God and their faith begins to take a shape. However, they do not comprehend about life, religious etc. so
deeply.
Child looking for an envisagement for God uses his/her dreams or observations to symbolize God.
Because of animistic and anthropomorphic thoughts, child images a superhero, an old white bearded man
or a king with a crown living on the clouds as God. After the age of 7, this thoughts start to evolve into
abstract conception however, while children between the ages of 7-9 are observed that they still describe
God as if He is on the clouds, after the ages of 10-12 idea that God is everywhere dominates in children
(Içmeli, 2013:68). After these ages, they are able to think more reasonably since their notions enrich with
their experiences. In the studies led by Mustafa Öcal, that while some 8 year-old children continue to
comprehend God as an concrete existing, it has been noted that some are likely to think ‘God who cannot
be known how He is’ and in the same studies, anthropomorphic God idea in 9 year-old children has hardly
ever seen.45
Mustafa Öcal and his students also have noted that children at the age of 4 mostly describe God as
‘big’. These children ask their parents about how God is and receive ‘big’ as an answer leads them to think
46
that God is big as much as something they have seen around before, so for some of them God is big as much
as a minaret or a mountain.
Anthropomorphic thought also may cause children to image their God as their fathers. So, when
divine power is mentioned, children may perceive that God is powerful as much as their fathers. Children’s
inborn need of security primarily is aimed at their parents who are perceived by children as ‘the most
powerful’. Especially, his/her father is the most powerful figure but by the time of progress, children
proceed to make out their fathers are incapable, cannot afford everything either. Also, by distinguishing
their parents from God, children recognize that deficient superiority in their fathers when at the ages of 5-
7.47
Since children at these ages have ego-centric thoughts, they reason about God around this thought.
For example, if a 5-year-old child is asked what God is, it is expected that he/she answers it like ‘He created
me’. According to this thought, God is the one who creates and gives him/her a family, food and toys.
Children in this period exhibit a conception of God related with games and entertainment. God is associated
with simple pleasures and answers children’s dreams. While how God notion is expressed and described
45
Öcal, “Okul Öncesi ve İlköğretim Çocuklarının Allah Tasavvurları Üzerine Bir Araştırma”, 73.
46
Öcal, “Okul Öncesi ve İlköğretim Çocuklarının Allah Tasavvurları Üzerine Bir Araştırma”, 64.
47
Antoine Vergote, “Çocuklukta Din”, Trans. Erdoğan Fırat, Ankara Üniversitesi İlahiyat Fakültesi Dergisi 22/1 (1966): 318.
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forms the perception of God, mostly children have an idea of favourable, friendly God perception. God is
generally perceived as a playmate and relationship with God is amusing.48
Children have also fiery, demonic God conception over these years. These children perceive God as a
creator who behaves sadistically, cannot control His temper and causes disasters such as earthquake and
flood, and as someone who does not have compassion and affection. The fear of God dominates children at
these ages. Indeed, children do not have this fear naturally.49 The reason why these children have this fear
is that these children come from parents who are violence prone and are one sided parents.50 It is also noted
that these children are threatened and dismayed with God and as a result of this they have unfavourable
God perception. When God is defined as a creator that is griever burning humans and children in hell,
children are prone to run away from God and seek for a place in which God does not exist.51
3. Attachment to God
Attachment beginning with right after the birth contains some feelings and behaviours such as desire
of spending time with someone who is attached, seeking for him or her when one fears or feels anxiety and
relief occurring right after being felt existence of one who is attached.52 This theory put forward by Bowlby
especially is dealt by Lee Kirkpatrick and underlines that attachment occurring at the beginning of life has
similarities with some feelings like attachment to religion and God, wishing help from God, finding peace
and relief.53
Many researches in Psychology of Religion show that religion and especially God who is attached and
interiorised relations are appropriate for secure attachment whose main functions are to provide secure
base and safe haven.54 Kirkpatrick, who indicates that in almost all religions, God is a secure attached to
object, argues that religion is one of the main factors which help of stress and anxiety conditions. That pious
people know God is omnipresence with themselves and protects them from any evil provides them relief
and sense of security.55
One’s perception of God or religion does not form only with attachment in childhood. Beside this,
his/her parents’ manner of religion and God, social environment are also as much important as attachment.
Two general hypotheses have been suggested and are seen as describing two distinct developmental
48
Köylü, “Çocukluk Dönemi Dini İnanç Gelişimi ve Dini Eğitimi”, 145.
49
Öcal, “Okul Öncesi ve İlköğretim Çocuklarının Allah Tasavvurları Üzerine Bir Araştırma”, 65.
50
Köylü, “Çocukluk Dönemi Dini İnanç Gelişimi ve Dini Eğitimi”, 145.
51
Öcal, “Okul Öncesi ve İlköğretim Çocuklarının Allah Tasavvurları Üzerine Bir Araştırma”, 65.
52
Hayta, “Anneden Allah’a: Bağlanma Teorisi ve İslam’da Allah Tasavvuru”, 34.
53
Lee Kirkpatric, “Din Psikolojisinde Bağlanma Teorisi”, Trans. Mustafa Koç, Bilimname 10/1 (2006): 140.
54
Hayta, “Anneden Allah’a: Bağlanma Teorisi ve İslam’da Allah Tasavvuru”, 42-43.
55
Kirkpatric, “Din Psikolojisinde Bağlanma Teorisi”, 143.
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Aydar - Tokur, “Attachment Theory and Child’s Perception of God at 4-6 Ages” | 67
pathways in religion-the compensation hypothesis and the correspondence hypothesis. According to
correspondence hypothesis, the most important reason that attachment theory has been dealt in religion is
that internal working models which develop through first relations in one’s life develop basis for one to set
models for God image and other religious issues.56Studies have showed that contrary to Freudian allegations,
people perceive God as mother rather than father.57 So if attachment figures are mother and father at the
beginning, God is perceived as mother-father image. To this hypothesis, what affects one’s piety is the
attachment pattern developed in childhood. One who attaches to his or her parents in a secure way also
attaches to God in the same way. When compared to ones who have “weak bonds” with their parents, ones
who have secure attachment pattern are most likely to follow their parents’ piety.58 People whose parents
are piety are noted to attach to God in a secure way, while people whose parents are non-believers are
expected to follow their parents’ views about religion. It is concluded that parents’ piety affect children’s
future God perception.
According to compensational hypothesis, unwholesome and deficient attachment developed in
childhood lead one to complete that lack of confidence and affection. These people attach to God to
compensate their feelings and the deficiency in attachment. They experience relief and security bonding to
God. Beside this argument, some studies about this issue have noted that absence of faith may be related
with weak parents-child attachment, in addition atheism and agnosticism are considered to be
consequences of avoidant attachment.59 People having avoidant attachment pattern have ‘I do not need
anyone’ perception and this perception may evolve into ‘I do not need a God’ perception.
4. Qualitative Study Test
In this study, to investigate of children’s perception of God at the ages of 4-6, two different kinds of
kinder garden have been supposed to be studied with. Beside a kinder garden in which religion education is
given to children, a kinder garden in which religious education is not approved has not been also included.
The second kinder garden in which religious education is not given has not approved to be asked questions
to children about their perceptions of God because of the fact that families would not approve it assuming
that this study and questions about God might harm children’s cognitive development and create confusion
in children. The kinder garden in which religious education is given since families’ demand it accepted to
be asked questions to children about their perceptions and what they know about God, however they have
rejected children to draw God on the account of the fact that complaints might be received by families.
This study has been conducted with 13 students in Yeşil Elma Kinder Garden which provides religious
lessons in Ankara. Qualitative research method has been used and 5 main, 8 deeper questions have been
asked students by using interviewing technique. The reason why qualitative research method and
interviewing technique has been preferred is that the children’s age is too young, and they either don’t
56
Hayta, “Anneden Allah’a: Bağlanma Teorisi ve İslam’da Allah Tasavvuru”, 42.
57
Kirkpatric, “Din Psikolojisinde Bağlanma Teorisi”, 150.
58
Kirkpatric, “Din Psikolojisinde Bağlanma Teorisi”, 160.
59
Kirkpatric, “Din Psikolojisinde Bağlanma Teorisi”, 159.
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know how to read and write or know them little. The obtained data have been subjected to descriptive
analysis and interpreted. Throughout the meeting that children have felt comforted and calm has been
assured and any pressure has not applied.
Since our test has been applied to limited number of children it is hard to generalize their perceptions
of God for all children at these ages. Besides, this test has been applied only to children who take religious
classes in their kinder garden and have religious families, so perception of God of children who do not take
those classes and are not familiar with religious concepts is not involved in this study. As their perceptions
of God might be totally different from the children we studied with, they also might be similar too. It is also
worth to note that specifically implementation tests about child’s perception of God at certain ages are
limited. These kinds of implementation tests have been hoped to be continued and allowed us to understand
of children world and of their perspectives.
According to the findings of the study, although the questions refer to abstract concepts the children
have not had trouble understanding the questions. In former studies60it was noted that children can perceive
the concept of the hereafter and God. Similar studies were also conducted in China, and the same results
were achieved 61
4-6 AGES CHILDREN’S PERCEPTION of GOD: QUESTIONNAIRE
GENDER:
AGE:
1) What comes to your mind while thinking about God?
• Do you know God?
• What do you know about Him?
2) What do you think of God?
• Who or what does He look like?
• Where is God?
• Do you think everything is created by God?
60
H. Wellman, D. Cross, J. Watson., “Meta-analysis of theory of mind development: The truth about false belief”, Child
Development 72 (2001): 655-684.
61
M.A. Sabbagh, F. Xu, S.M. Carlson, L.J Moses, K. Lee., “The development of executive functioning and theory of mind: A
comparison of Chinese and U.S. preschoolers.”, Psychological Science 17 (2006): 74-81.
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Aydar - Tokur, “Attachment Theory and Child’s Perception of God at 4-6 Ages” | 69
3) What do you feel when you think of God?
• How close do you feel to Him?
4) Do you pray? What do you demand while praying?
• What do you think about realization of prayers?
• Is there anything special you do for realization of your prayers?
5) Could you draw me a picture of God?
After the test, it has been seen that most of the children have answered the question, “What does it
occur in your mind while thinking about God? by counting some religious motifs such as performing salaah,
saving the extra food, creation and heaven. 4 of them answered this question counting some attributes of
God such as ‘powerful’ and ‘giver of everything we wish’, adding to this only one of them counted some of
God’s names which occurred in his mind during the test. The students counting the attributes of God have
been noted they do not have a full knowledge about the words they have used and have repeated them as
they already heard from their social environment. Whereas 2 of them have not answered this question,
however any unfavourable God image has not been noted. And while almost all children have stated that
they knew God, only one of them has not answered the question, and one has said that she did not know
Him. It is expected that God image exists in every person who has knowledge of God. In this respect, it is
very surprising that the student answered question so, although she both has religious lessons in the kinder
garden, and she is old enough cognitively to understand the concept of God. It is possible that the student
has been bored or hesitated.
They have generally answered the question about the things they knew about God by saying that “God
created us”, “He gives toys”, “He realizes our prayers” and “He loves children”. Similarly, 2 of the students
have said that they only knew God’s names. Distinctly, one of the children have answered it by saying God
is nonesuch and there is no like Him as he might have heard Him from parents or older people around him.
That the students who are considered to be in concrete operational stage and have not gained abstract
thinking skill yet have answered questions counting the attributes of God might be deduced that they repeat
what they have heard from social environment or what they have been told. Although children are largely
known to achieve acquisitions by imitation of parents, Bandura claims that children often learn through
imitation rather than direct teaching, even though families often do not aim to teach directly62. The children
are likely to have learned their answers from their parents or classes because their parents are considered
conservative and they take religious lessons in their schools.
After the main and their helper questions, it has been seen that children have given answers to the
questions according to knowledge they acquired from lessons in the kinder garden, families or parents.
62
Albert Bandura. “The Role of Imitation In Personality Developmen”, The Journal of Nursery Education 18/3 (1963): 2.
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Beside this, even some of them have not given any answer, there has not been observed any negative God
perception in children’s manner.
The second question, “What do you think of God?” has been mostly answered that He is good,
beautiful, big, enormous and old one. While one of the children has not answered the question, one of them
has stated that she did not know anything. Three of the children have stated that God looked like Prophet
Muhammad; even one of them said that God’s name was Muhammad. Also, one of them has pointed that
God was one who was with Prophet Muhammad. While two of them have not answered the question, one
said that she is not able to image Him, and one said that He is invisible (adding that she heard this from her
mother). Some of them have said He was enormous, and also one of them has added that he dreamed about
Him and told that He had enormous hands and His head touched to sky. And one of them has stated that
God had a beautiful face and smelled like a rose. Variously, one of them has expressed that God looks like
Himself.
Anthropomorphic thought has become more distinguishable with this second question, and concrete
God image has appeared. Because of the religious lessens and being told the name of the Prophet along with
God’s, it has formed a God image integrated with Prophet Muhammad. Children have given various answers
for the question about where God is. While some of them have stated that He is in heaven, one has stated
that He is in our hearts. There have been some children who have said that He is in Kabaa or in mosques.
This is due to the children’s anthropomorphic thought and also shows that children try to distinguish God
from human beings.63 3 of them have answered it by saying they have not known. There have been also 2
children saying that He is everywhere.
Similar results were found in previous studies.64 It can be said that the image of God of children who
are still in the concrete period is generally dominated by the image of parents. Especially in the concrete
period, the father figure is frequently seen in the image of God in the concrete period since father is
considered to be stronger. However, no image of the parents has been noted in any of the answers during
the interview. In another study65 it was noted that children at the age of 4-5 attributed many false beliefs to
God, but none of them were an image of a superhero
It has been seen that children mostly thought that everything was created by God. Almost each of
child has given ‘yes’ as an answer when asked whether everything is created by God, although there are
some who have not answered the question or who said they did not know. But one of them has told that God
gave materials to humans and humans made them.
When children have been asked what they feel while thinking about God, most of them have said
‘good’ or ‘happy’. While 2 of the students have not answered the question, rest of them have given different
answers such as “ I feel as if He is in Kabaa”, “I assume He has given me a toy” (another has stated ‘clothes’),
63
Faruk Karaca. Dini Gelişim Psikolojisi. İstanbul: Eser Ofset Matbaacılık, 2016: 170
64
Mustafa Öcal. “Okul Öncesi ve İlköğretim Çocuklarının Allah Tasavvurları Üzerine Bir Araştırma”, Ankara Üniversitesi
İlahiyat Fakültesi Dergisi 13/2 (2014): 59-80;
65
J.D. Lane et al. “Children’s understanding of ordinary and extraordinary minds”, Child Development 81/5 (2010): 1475-1489.
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Aydar - Tokur, “Attachment Theory and Child’s Perception of God at 4-6 Ages” | 71
“I feel He has created everything”, “I feel I love Him” or “I feel He is close to me”. When children have been
asked about their feelings about God, they often said positive things. Children's perception of God also
shapes their emotional orientation towards God. The individual who considers God compassionate is
expected to have a love-oriented perception of God. This positive or negative imagination is not only the
product of the child's mind. The child develops a perception of God based on fear or love based on the
parent's attitude. When the period between 7-12 years of Elkind’s theory is examined, it is seen that the
social life of children is important in shaping God's perception.66
While the children mostly have stated that they have felt themselves so close to God (some added that
they feel Him as if He is near them.), 3 of them stated that they have felt He is away from them. That these
children feel God is away from them could be caused by either they do not favour to think that He is close
to them or they understood the question as concrete closeness, so they have answered the question so. If it
is because of the previous reason, that children have unfavourable God image may be considered.
Almost all children have stated that they pray when it has been asked whether they pray or not. It
has been noted that children have personal demands in their prayers during the test such as a sister, book,
money; protection for themselves and their families, toys, coke, gifts etc. making the general acceptance
that ego-centric thought dominates children’s wishes obvious. Also, it has been seen that most of the
children thought that their prayers were realized. Furthermore, that some children have stated their
answers for this question with examples has been noted. For instance, one of the children has said that she
had lost her ring and she prayed to God to find it, and after getting in car she found her ring, so her prayer
was realized. She has also said after putting her teeth under her pillow, she found candies under her pillow
the next morning. Another one has stated that he asked his demands from parents at first and if they do not
do it, then he asked from his brother, and then he and his brother can afford this. When they have been
asked whether there is anything special they do for realization of their prayers, whereas some have
answered that there was not any (2 of them have not answered the question), 9 of the students have stated
that they performed salaah or ablution, prayed in holy days, recited Quran, also one of them have said that
he played with his toys.
As a result of the test, it has been seen that while children answered the questions as they had been
taught beforehand, they anyhow displayed anthropomorphic and ego-centric thoughts describing their
images of God.
CONCLUSION
The image of God, as a psychological structure, is both a person's thoughts about how he feels about
God, but also mental perceptions of how God feels about him.67 The perception of God shapes not only the
religious life of the individual, but also his absolute life, so it is an essential subject that needs to be
examined. The individual's perception of God is decisive in his/her behaviours towards other people in
66
David Elkind., “The Origins of Religion In The Child”, Review Of Religious Research 12/1 (1970): 39.
67
Christopher Grimes., “God Image Research: A Literature Review”, Journal of Spirituality In Mental Health 9 (2007):12.
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his/her social environment. Another important point is that the perception of God influences people's
relations with the social environment as well as being influenced by them.68 According to Attachment
Theory, the relationship of baby with caregiver is the determinant element for his/her relationship with
God in the future. It is important that children have positive self and secure attachment patterns for gaining
positive God perceptions. Attitudes and perceptions of caregivers whom children spend the most time with
shape child's mental and emotional world.
The study has been conducted in Yeşil Elma Kindergarten in Ankara in order to understand the
perception of God of kindergarten students at the ages of 4-6. In the interviews with the students, the
students have been asked 5 main and 8 deeper questions and tried to reach their perception of God. As a
result, it has been noted that the students have the concept of God and have a positive perspective in general
and that their ego-centric and anthropomorphic thoughts are dominant in their images of God.
In this study, attachment theory and development of perception of God have been revived; its related
subjects and early studies have been researched by using different sources, and also comparing them with
each other. Moreover, simple and short questionnaire of which results have showed that our study is
supported by early research results has been applied on 4-6-year-old children That some distinctive features
in children such as easy-credibility, animism, imitation formulate children’s perception of God have been
revealed again. Although that it may be said that studies about both attachment theory and children’s
perception of God is not few, several works are available.
During the test, the children have answered questions about how they perceive God by quoting what
they heard from others beforehand. However, since they still have some distinctive features which are
obvious at these ages, they have also given answers according to their perceptive. These features, like
anthropomorphism, have led children to perceive God as Prophet Muhammad or confused them to
distinguish both figures from each other, adding to assuming He is huge and enormous. Also, it has been
seen that children are tend to think God is in sky, heaven or in Kabaa. How children gave answers for God
related questions has revealed that children’s backgrounds, such as religious families or religious education,
form their God and religious perceptions.
As a result of the children’s religious backgrounds, they have been seen to tend to pray which they
mostly verbalize their ego-centric wishes. While they wish money and toy, their wishes for protection for
their families have also been noted.
Finally, any negative on/about God perception has been emerged during the test, even there are
some children who have hesitated or have not answered some of the questions. It is noted that most of the
children have favourable, friendly God perception and they have believed in a God as He was told.
68
Leslie Francis, J.S. Craft, A. Pyke., “Religious Diversity, Empathy And God Images: Perspectives From The Psychology of
Religion Shaping A Study Among Adolescents In The UK”, Journal of Beliefs & Values 33/3 (2012): 293.
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Aydar - Tokur, “Attachment Theory and Child’s Perception of God at 4-6 Ages” | 73
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ULUM Journal of Religious Inquiries
ﻣﺠﻠﺔ اﻟﺪراﺳﺎت اﻟﺪﯾﻨﯿﺔ
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Murtakib al-Kabīra (Cardinal Sinner) and Takfīr (Excommunication)
from the Perspective of Ibn Ḥaẓm: a Political and Theological Review
Fikret Soyal *
Abstract
From the beginning of the first periods of Islamic theology, the concept of kufr is the most important
amongst other terminology related to the judgement of murtakib al-kabīra (cardinal sinner) in this world and
Hereafter. The purpose of this article is to focus on the problems in the use of takfīr (excommunication),
which is the final judgement of murtakib al-kabīra representing the very extremism itself, against other views
of other theological readings within kalām methodology. Ibn Ḥaẓm is another major scholar who
investigates the judgement of murtakib al-kabīra within the scope of faith in itself. Examining the
understanding of takfīr in different kalam schools, Ibn Ḥaẓm also evaluates the use of this judgement in
intellectual disputes. The relationship of īmān and ‘amal (faith and deed) in the debates of kalam schools,
some concepts such as īmān, kufr, fisq, shirk, nifāq and al-manzila bayn al-manzilatayn, some mentioned in the
Qur’ān and some not, are in constant use. It is observed that some of these discussions were institutionalized
and transformed into a school in the process. Thus, takfīr was not only a matter of only cardinal sins in later
periods, but was also utilized for differences of opinions due to the different readings and interpretations
arising from social and political factors. Thus, takfīr has been the issue for both religious and political
purposes, which are two separate areas. Therefore, takfīr has been studied relying on its political disputes in
a theological paradigm and its major feature, being weaponized to silence and overpower the opponent, has
been emphasized in this work.
Keywords
Kalām, Theology, al-Kabīra, Cardinal sin, Takfīr, Excommunication, Ibn Ḥaẓm
*
Assistant Professor, Istanbul University, Faculty of Theology, Department of Kalam, Istanbul, Turkey
Dr. Öğr. Üyesi, İstanbul Üniversitesi, İlahiyat Fakültesi, Kelam Anabilim Dalı
fikret@istanbul.edu.tr ORCID 0000-0001-5549-9791
Article Types: Research Article
Received: 28 April 2019
Accepted: 30 July 2019
Published: 31 July 2019
Cite as: Fikret Soyal, “Murtakib al-Kabīra (Cardinal Sinner) and Takfīr (Excommunication) from the Perspective of
Ibn Ḥaẓm: a Political and Theological Review”, ULUM 2/1 (July 2019): 81-101,
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3355738
82 | Soyal, “Murtakib al-Kabīra (Cardinal Sinner) and Takfīr (Excommunication) from the Perspective …”
İbn Hazm Perspektifinden Büyük Günah ve Tekfîr: Politik ve Teolojik Açıdan Bir Değerlendirme
Öz
İlk dönemlerden itibaren mürtekib-i kebîrenin dünyevî ve uhrevî hükmü ile alakalı gündeme gelen farklı
kavramlar arasından en önemlisini küfür oluşturmaktadır. Bu makalenin amacı, büyük günahın hükmü olan
ve haddizatında bir aşırılığı temsil eden tekfîrin kelâm metodolojisi bağlamında farklı okumaya dayanan
görüşlere karşı kullanılmasının mahzurları üzerinde durmaktır. İbn Hazm imânın mahiyeti bağlamında
büyük günahın hükmü konusunu incelemektedir. Mürtekib-i kebîrenin hükmü olan tekfîr ile ilgili kelâm
ekollerinin görüşlerini ele alan İbn Hazm bu hükmün fikrî ayrılıklarda kullanılmasını da
değerlendirmektedir. Kelâm ekolleri imân-amel ilişkisine dair tartışmalarda imân başta olmak üzere küfür,
fısq, şirk, nifâk ve el-menzile beyne’l-menzileteyn gibi bir kısmı Kur’an’da geçen bir kısmı Kur’anî olmayan
kavramlar üzerinde durmaktadır. İlgili tartışmaların, süreç içinde kurumsallaşarak birer ekole dönüştüğü
görülmektedir. Adı geçen kavramlardan tekfîr, sadece büyük günahın hükmü olmakla kalmayarak sosyal ve
politik faktörlerden ötürü ortaya çıkan farklı okuma ve yorumlama biçiminde de karşımıza çıkmaktadır.
Böylece tekfîr, iki ayrı alan olan dinî ve politik maksatlarla mevzu bahis edilmektedir. Bu yönüyle, çalışmada
siyasî bağlamıyla birlikte gündeme gelen tekfîrin teolojik bir boyutta değerlendirilmesiyle dinî ve siyasî
alanda muhalifini susturmaya ve ona üstünlük sağlamaya yarayan bir silaha dönüştürüldüğüne dikkat
çekilecektir.
Anahtar Kelimeler
Kelâm, Teoloji, Büyük Günah, Tekfîr, İbn Hazm
INTRODUCTION
From the beginning, it was not possible for the followers of different sects to retreat from extremism
while evaluating the views of others. Although it is possible to evaluate some rigid attitudes in the course of
history, the nature of the event has changed completely after it was moved to the belief channel. 1 As a
matter of fact, those who have different views towards the end of the first century did not only criticize
each other, but these differences were maintained within a framework of creed and reached the point of
takfīr, thus the situation completely differentiated. The scholars of the Ahl al-sunna criticized some of the
views of their opponents, and from time to time dealt with them in the form of takfīr. 2
Although the principles of faith should be based on the trustable evidence,3 many concepts and issues
related to religious, political and cultural problems experienced by Muslims have been brought up in kalām
since the beginning of the first periods. For example, concepts such as īmān, kufr, fisq, and nifāq have been
1
Mehmet Kalaycı, “Kutuplaşma, Konumlanma ve Ayrışma Zemini Olarak Mezheplerde Tekfîr ve Tadlîl Olgusu”,
Hayatın Anlamı İmân, ed. Murat Sülün (Istanbul: Ensar Neşriyat, 2018), 184.
2
İrfan Abdulḥamid, İslam’da İtikâdî Mezhepler ve Akaid Esasları, trans. Mustafa Saim Yeprem (Ankara: Türkiye Diyanet
Vakfı Yayınları, 2011), 140-149.
3
Nuʿmān b. Sābit Abū Ḥanīfa, al-ʿĀlim wa al-mutaāllim, ed. Muḥammad Zāhid b. al-Ḥasan al-Kawtharī (Cairo: al-
Maktaba al-Azhariyya li’al-Turas, 2001), 11-12.
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Soyal, “Murtakib al-Kabīra (Cardinal Sinner) and Takfīr (Excommunication) from the Perspective …” | 83
subjected to different interpretations and evaluations by kalām schools. Since each of the mentioned
concepts has its own dynamics, they form provisions of different nature.4 The most important of the
mentioned provisions was undoubtedly takfīr. In this study, it will be evaluated that takfīr is not only used
as a provision of major sin, but also as a reference to the different forms of reading of Kalām.
Kalām schools mentioned various judgments about the name given to someone who commits a sin
while they are Muslims. According to Murji'a, a person who commits a major sin is a muslim, disbeliever
according to the Khārijites; but according to Ḫasan al-Baṣrī and Qatāda, he is a hypocrite. While Muʿtazilete
is placing him in between īmān and kufr, the Ashʿarītes and Māturīdītes define such person a perverse
believer (fāsiq). Takfīr,5 one of the previous provisions, gained different dimensions with the
institutionalization of Kalām6 debates in the process and transformed into a school.
By the end of the first century, there was no tolerance for the owners of opposite views.
Moreover, this intolerance has gone up to takfīr7 with the aim of providing psychological superiority
against his counterparts. However, if the discussions had remained at the level of mutual criticism and
rejection of opinions, the historical course and development of Islamic thought would have been different.
How to explain this critical situation that transcends the rule of major sin is important. For example, the
evaluation of some thinkers' opinions has different importance. One of them is Ibn Ḥaẓm. Ibn Ḥaẓm, draws
attention to the danger of the mentions of takfīr about the differences in views in his work, al-Faṣl. 8 Ibn
Hazm, who expressed such an important principle, entered into a contradictory stance by not standing in
the line he spoke of.
Although being a theologian and whose approaches will be evaluated, Ibn Ḥaẓm, is more compatible
with / leaning to the line of Salaf. 9 Because of this identity, Ibn Hazm studied the exclusion of Murji'a, Shiʿa
and Muʿtazila10 independently in the sections of his book, where he evaluated the Islamic sects, but in the
4
Abū Muḥammad b. ʿĀli b. Aḥmad b. Saīd ez-Zāhir Ibn Ḥazm, al-Faṣl fi al-milal wa al-ahwāʾ wa al--niḥal, ed. Aḥmad
Shams al-Din (Beirut: Dār al-Kutub al-Ilmiya, 1996/1416), 2: 250.
5
Muḥammad Fuād Abd al-Bāqī, “Kfr”, al-Muʿjam al-mufahras li-alfāẓ al-Qurʿān al-Karīm, 3th Edition (Cairo: Dār al-
Ḥadīth, 1991/1411), 769.
6
The first two centuries following the death of the Messenger of Allah is an important period for the formation of
theological schools. In terms of the formation of Mu’tezilite and the issues raised by it, this period has been quite
active in the name of theology. Therefore, we come across many subjects, concepts and ideas put forward in the
name of theology in this period. See Orhan Şener Koloğlu, “Mu‘tezile’nin Temel Öğretileri”, İslâmî İlimler Dergisi12/2
(2017): 44.
7
Yusuf Şevki Yavuz, “Tekfîr”, TDV Encyclopedia of Islam (Istanbul: Türkiye Diyanet Vakfı Yayınları, 2011), 40: 351.
8
Ibn Ḥazm, Faṣl, 2: 231.
9
Murat Serdar, İbn Hazm’ın Kelâmî Görüşleri (Doctoral thesis: Erciyes University, 2005), 57-58, 105.
10
Ibn Ḥazm, Faṣl, 3: 111-168.
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section where he criticized some Ashʿarī theologians, he used a more harsh style against the Ashʿarī
theologians. 11
Ibn Ḥaẓm, who did not mention the kufr about the major sin, was in a position to oppose the idea of
takfīr in disagreements. Although the continuity of his tolerant attitude was expected, the result did not
manifest in this way.
On the other hand, if it is used based on unfounded, arbitrary and arbitrariness, it becomes a 'charging
of apostasy'12 rather than a takfīr. Because the use of something in a different sense is completely separate
from being oneself and by becoming different with being included in the scope of bigotry. Besides, takfīr is
not an issue that is left to human decision. The main importance of the issue was not only discussed in terms
of its relations / dimensions with the Hereafter but also noted the existence of the worldly dimension. As a
matter of fact, the killing of the person who is charged with takfīr is deemed necessary for the salvation of
religion. 13
Before entering the subject of takfīr as a judgment in relation to murtakib al-kabīra, it is useful to give
some information about the major and minor sins.
1. SEPARATION OF MAJOR AND MINOR SIN
Since takfīr is related to the major sin rather than to the minor sin, it is important to determine the
limit between the major sin and the minor sin. In terms of the concept of sin which is introduced with the
following terms such as; ẕanb, fisq, ism (sin), ‘isyan / rebellion in the Qur’ān is made the distinction between
major or minor sins.14 However, it is not clear which sins are the major and which are the minor. The fact
that sins are major or minor by mentioning themselves is more of the information we obtain from hadiths.
In the discussions of kalām schools, it is possible to see that there is no significant disagreement about
the provision of minor sin. The main argument about the provision of major sin is the various provisions of
the kalām schools which are brought on the agenda within the limits of īmān – kufr.
Although we cannot abstract what is major and minor sin from the Qur’ān, it can easily be said that
there is a separation between sins, since Allah has informed us that a man who fears major sins, Allah will
11
Cağfer Karadaş, “İbn Hazm ve Eşarilik Eleştirisi”, Uludağ Üniversitesi İlahiyat Fakültesi Dergisi, 18/1 (2009): 89-102;
Murat Serdar, “İbn Hazm’ın Eş‘arî Kelâmına Yönelik Eleştirileri” Uluslararası İmam Eş‘arî ve Eş‘arîlik Sempozyumu
Bildirileri 21-23 Eylül 2014. 2: 89-120 (Istanbul: Beyan Yayınları, 2015) 2: 89-90.
12
Mehmet Ali Büyükkara, “Hâricîliğin Modern Bir Görüntüsü Olarak Tekfîrcilik”, İç Tehdit ve Riskler Işığında İslâm
Dünyasının Geleceği (Istanbul: İnsamer, 2016), 13.
13
Abū Ḥamīd Muḥammad b. Muḥammad al-Ġazzâlī, İslam’da Müsamaha (Fayṣal al-tafriqa), trans. Süleyman Uludağ
(Istanbul: Dergah Yayınları, 2013), 51.
14
al-Nisā 4/31; al-Shūrā 42/36-37; al-Qāf 18/49.
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Soyal, “Murtakib al-Kabīra (Cardinal Sinner) and Takfīr (Excommunication) from the Perspective …” | 85
forgive15 his minor sins. The words “kabāir al-ism” and “ẕunūb” refer to the major sin, and the words
“sayyia” and “lamam” refer to the minor sins.16
Mu’tezilite accepts the separation of minor and major sins. However, there are several opinions about
the definition of these two types of sins. These definitions include the concept of “every sin that has threat
(waīd), every sin that has no threat (waīd),” and “because every sin that has been committed intentionally
is major, there are also those who call the person who has committed this sin as “murtakib al-kabīra.”17
Minor sins are also described as those that do not have a clear punishment and do not have a threat to the
fire of Hell.18
Another characteristic of minor sin is that it is said that repentance is required for the remission of
major sin, whereas such a condition is not required for the removal of the responsibility of minor sin, and
some other reasons are sufficient for the remission of such sins.
In the Murji’a, there are those who say that all kinds of sins that involve rebellion against Allah are
major, and that the existence of those who acknowledge that there are two types of sins, such as major and
minor.19
One of those who accept that the disobediences (ma’siya) are divided into two groups as minor and
major is Abū al-Huzayl al-‘Allāf (d. 235/849-50 [?])20 According to Qadī ʿAbd al Jabbār) (d. 415/1025), Khāricīta
ruled that, by denying minor sins, all sins were great. 21
Another aspect of the distinction between major and minor sin is whether or not it depends on reason
(‘aql) or Sharia. According to al-Jabbār, Abu 'Ali and Abū Hashim have disagreed about it. According to Abū
'Ali, the knowledge of the major sins is only possible by the notification of the Sharia. 22
Māturīdītes theologian Sābūnī (d.) 580/1184) states that there is a conflict between the people on the
subject of minor and major sin. According to him, every sin in which repentance and istighfar (chastisement)
15
al-Nisā 4: 31.
16
Mustafa Türkgülü, “Günah Kavramı ve İman Problemi Haline Getirilen Büyük Günah/Kebire Hakkındaki Kelâmî
Tartışmalar”, Diyanet İlmi Dergisi, 36/ 4. (2000): 65.
17
Abū al-Ḥasan Ibn Abū Bishr Alī b. Ismaīl b. Isḥak Ashʿārī, Maqālāt al-islāmīyyīn wa-iḫtilāf al-muṣallīn, ed. Hellmut Ritter.
2th Edition. (Wiesbaden: Franz Steiner Verlag, 1963), 270-271.
18
Türkgülü, “Günah Kavramı ve İmân Problemi”, 67.
19
Ashʿārī, Maqālāt al-islāmiyyīn,150.
20
Abd al-Raḥman Badawī, Mazahib al-ıslamiyyīn. 2th Edition. (Beirut: Dār al-Ilm li al-Malayīn, 1979), 1: 174.
21
Qāḍī ʿAbd al-Jabbār, Sharḥ al-Uṣūl al-khamsa, 632.
22
Qāḍī ʿAbd al-Jabbār, Sharḥ al-uṣūl al-khamsa, 633.
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are concerned is a minor sin.23 According to this, major sin can be defined as any attitude and behavior24 that
God has forbidden for sure and which requires a worldly or the other-worldly punishment in return.
According to the information given above, the point about major-minor sin and generally the
punishments of sin is the obligation of this belief. In other words, the question of whether a religious flaw
and misdemeanor will hold him in the state of īmān; in other words, what is the judgment of such a person
in the sense of belief is the most sensitive point of the matter. Therefore, although there are different
evaluations about the minor and major separation of sin, it is clear that the main argument is to determine
what will be the verdict of the major sin.
2. THE PROVISION OF MURTAKIB AL-KABĪRA
The religious status and position of murtakib al-kabīra has been the subject of intense discussions
between Kalām schools.
The judgment of the major sin rather than the minor sin is emphasized by the opinion of the advocates
of takfīr for the major sin. Since it is discussed as a major sin, the name (Asmā) and the judgment (Ahkām)
that will be given to him in the worldly sense constitute the main issue in the life of the Hereafter. Since this
is a bilateral situation, it is recorded in the sources of Kalām as asmā and ahkām. There are some conflicts
between kalām schools about the preferred names depending on the belief of murtakib al-kabīra. In this
regard, various names such as Mu'min, Kāfir, Munāfiq, Fāsiq, al-Manzila Bayn al-Manzilatayn25 were
preferred.
Although different views have been expressed on the use of mentioned names, it is possible to talk
about an agreement26 on the fāsiq.
Ibn Ḥaẓm indicates that in the event of major sin, there are other preferences, along with basic
concepts such as īmān and kufr, in the event of major sin. 27 Among the rulings to be given to the person
who commits the major sin is that there are some concepts which are not Qur’ānic and are similar to those
of earthly and other-worldly values. It should be noted that those other than Manzila Bayn al-Manzilatayn
are also Qur’ānic concepts.
23
Nur al-Dīn al-Sābūnī, al-Kifāya fi al-hidāya, ed. Muḥammad Aruçī (Beirut: Dār Ibn Ḥazm; Istanbul: Türkiye Diyanet
Vakfı İslam Araştırmaları Merkezi, 2014/1435), 339-340.
24
We encounter different definitions and evaluations of what is the major sin. According to this, (1) Those for whom
Allah has appointed a punishment and has openly threatened with his punishment; (2) Everything in which there
is a rebellion against Allah; (3) Everything Allah threatens with hell; (4) It is possible to make a classification as;
“every sin which the servant insists upon ”. For further information, see Cihat Tunç, “Kelâm İlminde Büyük Günah
Meselesi”, Ankara Üniversitesi İlahiyat Fakültesi Dergisi, 23 1978: 326.
25
Ibn Ḥazm, al-Faṣl, 2: 341.
26
Ibn Ḥazm, al-Faṣl, 2: 251; Abū al-Muīn Meymūn b. Muḥammad al-Nasafī, Tabṣırat al-adilla fī usūl al-dīn, ed. Hüseyin
Atay - Şaban Ali Düzgün (Ankara: Diyanet İşleri Başkanlığı Yayınları, 2003), 2: 371.
27
Ibn Ḥazm, al-Faṣl, 2: 341.
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Other concepts, even if they are Qur'ānic ones, are used in a sense other than the context from time
to time. One of the rulings given about murtakib al-kabīra is a separate argument for the concept of Fisq.
Relating the concept of the fisq to the infidels or believers is a controversial issue in our sources. Ibn Hazm,
who argues that the fisq should be used in the sense of the believer, would surely say that it would be a
disbeliever if it meant something other than īmān.28
In the first years of Islamic history, the relationship between faith and deeds and the kufr and takfīr,
which came upon the agenda in relation to the major sin, are among the first conflicts experienced by
Muslims.29 Among the various provisions preferred by Kalām schools, especially kufr was used persistently
and radically by Khārijīte. The general view of Khārijīte is that a person who commits a major sin will be
infidel, and if he dies without repentance, he will remain in hell forever.30 In addition to this general attitude,
some more specific views of Khāricī groups are known. According to Azārika, one who commits any major
or minor sin is a disbeliever.31 According to Sufriya, murtakib al-kabīra is a mushrik, while the Section of
Najadāt defends32 that those who insist on sin are mushriks.33 Ibāziyya claims that the major sinner is not
infidel in the belief that he is only in the kufr al-ni’ma.34 Ibaziyya is known to be the most tolerant of Khārijīte
parties because of its many views, especially the Kufrān al-ni’mat approach.
In response to the Kufr leaning views of Khārijīte, Murji'a uses35 the name of mu’min for murtakib al-
kabīra while Ḥasan al-Baṣrī prefers munafiq36 for such person. However, the opinion of Ḥasan al-Baṣrī with
28
Ibn Ḥazm, al-Faṣl, 2: 261.
29
Abū al-Fath Tāj al-Dīn (Lisān al-Dīn) Muḥammad b. Abd al-Karīm b. Aḥmad Shahristānī, al-Milal wa al-niḥal, ed.ʿAbd
al ʿAzīz Muḥammad Wakil (Cairo: Muassasa al-Ḥalabī, 1968), 1: 25-26.
30
Ash‘arī, Maqālāt al-islāmīyyīn 86; Abū Mansūr Abd al-Qāhir b. Tāhir b. Muḥammad Tamimī Abd al-Qāhir al-Baghdādī,
al-Farq bayna al-fıraq wa bayān al-firqat al-nāciya minhum, ed. Muḥammad Muḥyī al-Dīn Abd al-Hamīd (Cairo: Dār al-
Turas, nd.), 73; Shahristānī, Milal, 1: 114.
31
Baghdādī, Farq, 83-87; Shahristānī, Milal, 1: 122.
32
Ash‘arī, Maqālāt al-islāmīyyīn, 89-92; Shahristānī, Milal, 1: 124; Baghdādī, Farq, 86-90.
33
Ashʿārī, Maqālāt al-islāmīyyīn 118; Baghdādī, Farq, 90-91; Shahristānī, Milal, 1: 137.
34
Ashʿārī, Maqālāt al-islāmīyyīn al-, 110; Baghdādī, Farq, 103-104; Shahristānī, Milal, 1: 135; Muḥammad b. Omar b. al-
Ḥusayn Fakhr al-Din al-Rādī, Nihāyat al-ʿuqūl fī dirayat al-uṣūl, ed. Saīd Abd al-Latīf Fūde (Beirut: Dār al-Zahāir,
2015/1436), 4: 305.
35
Qāḍī ʿAbd al-Jabbār, Sharḥ al-uṣūl al-khamsa,137.
36
Rādī, Nihāyat al-ʿuqūl fī dirāyāt al-uṣūl, 4: 306; Sābūnī, al-Kifāya fī al-hidāya, 326; According to Qāḍī ʿAbd al-Jabbār, who
analysed Ḥasan al-Baṣrī 's recognition of murtakib-i kabīra as "munafiq"; fasiq, like a munafiq, is deserved to be
disparaged and cursed, and it is appropriate to give him that name. See Qāḍī ʿAbd al-Jabbār, Sharḥ al-uṣūl al-khamsa,
715; According to Nasafî, another name evaluating Ḥasan al-Baṣrî's recognition of murtakib al-kabīra as “munafiq,”
his aim is that a person who professes that he is a believer in his language is munafiq because he opposes what he
says with his actions. See Nasafī, Tabṣırat al-adilla, 2: 370.
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the provision of "hypocracy" indicates that such a person is not mature enough, and his view in this regard
is open to interpretation.37 On the other hand, there are rumors that Ḥasan al-Baṣrī gave up this view later.38
Zaydiyya has joined with other Khārijīte groups saying39 that they will not exit from the hell because
a major sinful individual will deserve eternal punishment.
Ḥasan al-Baṣrī’s student and founder of Muʿtazilezite Waṣil bin ʿAtāʾ claims that al-manzila bayn al-
manzilatayn provision is for murtakib al-kabīra, because whoever commits a major sin is neither a believer
nor a disbeliever. 40 Ġaylān Damashqī believes that it is permissible (jāiz) for God to forgive the major sinner.
Again for him, it is not permissible for God to punish those who commit a similar sin when such a person is
forgiven by Allah. 41
Qāḍī ʿAbd al-Jabbār (d. 415/1024) does not object to a person who commits a major sin, to be called
“limited believer”, while he opposes the name of the “full believer”.
He argues that even though he (murtakib al-kabīra) deserves to be reproached and condemned, it is
permissible to call him a believer even though he says42 that he cannot be deprived of praise, ta'zim and
muwālāt because of his belief in Allah and his messenger.
According to Ibn Ḥaẓm, some groups believe that kufr will only be for sins that are not punishable by
hadd punishment.43 According to this, committing sins that are punishable by hadd is not counted as kufr.
Ibn Ḥaẓm says that according to Caliph Omar and Ibn Abbas the eternal punishment in hell is not
about the sinner, but that it will apply to the murderer. 44 According to a group that Ibn Hazm did not name
it, the minor sinner remains in hell forever. 45
Ibn Hazm also refers to the stance of Muʿtazila and the stance of Khārijīte in the context of
punishments about Murtad. According to Ibn Ḥaẓm, they accept that the person who committed a major sin
should not be killed. According to Ibn Ḥaẓm, referring46 to some of the hadds (punishments) prescribed by
the members of the two sects or the penalties imposed for the purposes of ta'dib indicates that there is no
such situation as disbelievers or idolaters.
37
Ġazzālī, Fayṣal al-tafriqa, 52.
38
Ahmed Saim Kılavuz, İmân-küfür Sınırı: Tekfîr Meselesi (Istanbul: Marifet Yayınları, 1984), 155.
39
Ashʿārī, Maqālāt al-islāmīyyīn,74.
40
Qāḍī ʿAbd al-Jabbār, Sharḥ al-uṣūl al-khamsa, 697.
41
Nasafī, Tabṣırat al-adilla, 2: 369.
42
Qāḍī ʿAbd al-Jabbār, Sharḥ al-uṣūl al-khamsa, 701-702.
43
Ibn Ḥazm, Faṣl, 2: 276.
44
Ibn Ḥazm, Faṣl, 2: 340.
45
Ibn Ḥazm, Faṣl, 2: 340-341.
46
Ibn Ḥazm, Faṣl, 2: 261.
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Indeed, in Khārijīte, a marginal small group argues that those who commit major sins should be killed
if they do not repent. Mu'tezilite, one of the systematic kalām schools, Ashʿarī and Māturīdītes wanted to
acquire a position in the context of the relationship between mān – ‘amal (deeds). The perception of the Ahl
al-sunna is based on the belief that Abū Ḥanīfa defends that ‘amal (deed) is not part of īmān. Muʿtezilite
discussed whether it was possible to call the fāsiq a believer or not, and gave different opinions on this
subject: Some Muʿtezilite, such as ʿAbbād, defends that even if it can be said for a fāsiq person who is
transgressed by sin “he believed,” he can not be called “mu’min.” Some of them have the belief that “they
neither believed nor believers”. Jubbāī says: “In terms of the attributes of Lugat / Lexicon he is called
“believed,” but, “in terms of the names of lugāt, he is called “believer."47
So far, the first Kalām schools had their opinions on the provision of major sin. As we can see, among
the mentioned provisions, the most rigid one is the takfīr. In fact, takfīr is a problem for Muslims in all
periods of history. In history, takfīr, which describes the basic characteristics of the Khārijīte and reflects
their concept of faith (īmān), is currently maintained by various groups called “contemporary Khārijīte”.
Moreover, jihad, which includes conquest (fath), has been misinterpreted as an act of deception against
Muslims and not against those who set up traps, but against Muslims. 48
Besides Khāricīta, which has been prominent in history as an understanding that flags takfīr, it is
obligatory to conduct various analyses by investigating the reasons why contemporary salafism addicted to
takfīrism. In this sense, different preferences such as “minor Kufr” were made instead of "kufr,” which is
the main concept in order to prevent takfīrism perceptions. The concepts that Ibn Taymiyya (d. 728/1328)
and Ibn al-Qayyim Al-Jawziyya (d. 751/1350) adopted and used were evaluated to express that murtakib al-
kabīra was in kufr, but not apostate / murtad.49
Contrary to the harsh attitudes of the historical Khārijīte, Muʿtazila has at least shown a more
moderate attitude towards the person who commits major sins in terms of worldy judgment. The principle
of al-manzila bayn al-manzilatayn, adopted by Muʿtazila for the first time, is not a concept in the Qur'ān.
While Khārijīte uses the concept of kufr, Muʿtazila’s preference of the more moderate way in this regard is
based on the provision between īmān and kufr.
The fact that the Ahl al-sunna and Salafiyya adopt that a committer of major sin would be fāsiq is the
reason that anyone who commits a sin should still be considered a believer. The Muʿtazila, who
discriminated between the kafir who deserved the major torment (punishment), and murtakib al-kabīra
who commit the major sin (The Muʿtazila) wanted to prove that murtakib al-kabīra is not a genuine
disbeliever (kafir) by using the concepts of Fāsiq and Fājir.50 Accordingly, it is possible to read the "al-manzila
bayn al-manzilatayn” provision initiated by Wāsıl b. ʿAtāʾ and then adopted by Muʿtazila theologians and
made a systematic system, as an attempt to find an intermediate formula. Because this effort seems to
47
Ashʿārī, Maqālāt al-islāmīyyīn, 274.
48
Bekir Topaloğlu, “Cihad” TDV Encyclopedia of Islam (Istanbul: Türkiye Diyanet Vakfı Yayınları, 1993), 7: 531-534.
49
Büyükkara, Hâricîliğin Modern Bir Görüntüsü, 18.
50
Koloğlu, “Mu‘tezile’nin Temel Öğretileri”, 73. Qāḍī ʿAbd al-Jabbār’'s understanding of the “limited believer”
mentioned earlier must be the same as what he meant. See, Qāḍī ʿAbd al-Jabbār, Sharh al-uṣūl al-khamsa, 701-702.
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reconcile the two in exchange for the conflict between the Khārijīte and the Murji’a. Because, by not
counting murtakib al-kabīra" as completely kāfir, Muʿtazila separate themselves from Khārijīte; and by not
counting him as mu'min, they separate themselves from Murjia.51
The great sin - takfīr relationship is brought up not only in the context of the sin committed, but also
in different matters of Kalām. Then, to talk about the takfīr, some matters must be cristal clear. These are;
considered to be knowingly accepting a situation that is contrary to Allah and his messenger's commands,
to adopt the prohibitions as lawful and to ridicule Islam.
The way in which such an important issue is dealt with in the hadiths is remarkable.
The fact that the messenger of Allah (pbuh) informs52 us that someone who is Muslim by accepting
the tawhīd and praying is under the guarantee of Allah and himself is telling us that we should have a
sensitivity to takfīr.
The second point that is as sensitive and important as the first one regarding takfīr, which is brought
up as a provision of major sin, is to mention takfīr about different views. According to this, takfīr is used for
someone who interprets a text / nass. In the next section, this aspect of the takfīr will be evaluated.
3. TAKFĪR IN THEOLOGICAL AND POLITICAL ASPECTS
As a concept, takfīr does not pass explicitly in the Qur'ān. However, there are various uses derived
from kfr-root.53 In particular, kufr is used for stubborn people who do not accept Islam. (al-Tavba 9/74). Kufr
used for those who abandoned religion after becoming Muslim: (al-Baqara 2/217; Āl ʿImrān 3/106); in this
case, it is used for those who insist on it and who have lost hope of them in this sense (Āl ʿImrān 3/90).
Besides that, kufr is used to deny the existence of Allah, His prophets, His books, some provisions of
the Qur’ān, the resurrection after death, and the life of the hereafter, and committing shirk, and for those
who make lawful the prohibitions, and for those who make mock of Islam and for hypocrites.54
When it comes to religious and ī’tiqādī (theological) use, it is obligatory to distinguish between those
who say that they are Muslims, and more importantly, those who turn to Qibla and those who perform
prayer (salah)55 having disagreements in some theological matters and deliberately denying them. For this
51
The article of Akoğlu, which provides detailed information about the historical and cultural background in the
formation of Muʿtazila's attitude on the subject, and provides satisfactory information as it is a study that examines
the interaction and the separation of Kharijism - Muʿtazilite can be examined. See, Muharrem Akoğlu, “Kebîre ve
İman Bağlamında Hāricilik-Mu‘tezile İlişkisi”, Erciyes Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü Dergisi 2/23 (2007): 331.
52
Bukhārī, “imān”, 17.
53
Abd al-Bākī, “Kfr”, al-Muʿjam al-mufahras, 769.
54
Abd al-Bākī, al-Muʿjam al-mufahras, “Kfr”, 769; “Cdl”, 210; “Hzʾe”, 905-905; “Hrm”, 251.
55
There have been various discussions among the theologians regarding the relationship between îmân and kufr.
When believers have faith, emphasis is placed on the concepts of prayer (salât) and qibla in the context of the
discourses of defending their disbelief. Accordingly, the ahl al-qıbla ve ahl al-salâ, were used as a concept that refers
to all Muslims connected to different sects who believe that it is obligatory (fard) to perform salât in the direction
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reason, those who defend the denial of the adjectives for example, claiming that Allah has no knowledge,
those who commit some concepts to Allah, and those who say that there is no pre-destination (meaning that
Allah is eternal) are unbelievers. However, takfīr can not be applied for those who derive some rulings on
the basis of the commentary of the nass / text. 56 Accordingly, when evaluating different views, it is
understood that the owners of these views should be in a tolerant manner without taking any takfīr.
Ashʿarī and Māturīdī, who made up the Kalām of the Ahl al-sunna, wanted to avoid any doubt about
the worldly and other-worldly rulings by specifying the limit of īmān-kufr. The determination of precise
boundaries between the two things will allow a person to be alert and protected against the mixing of these
two with each other, the emergence of a dark and blurry situation. If takfīr is something that can be used at
random, it will reveal social and political chaos and disturbance as seen in the early periods of Islamic
history.
Ibn Ḥaẓm argues that it is possible for someone who says that he belongs to Islam to be removed from
it only with a naṣṣ and ijmā.57 Since leaving Islam is revealed by abandoning faith, Ibn Ḥaẓm wants to express
that it is not possible to know that someone who is clearly Muslim has come out of this circle. However, it is
observed that he took a very hard and rigid attitude where he evaluated the kalām schools. He has taken a
radical attitude about the kalām schools in general in the section he talks about Islamic sects. Although there
are some statements in hadiths about separation58 from different parties, not blaming his brother with
kufr59, Ibn Ḥaẓm has openly stated that some of the kalām sects and kalām sects are related to this subject
(takfīr).60
Two views are related to Aḥmat bin Ḥanbal on the subject of takfīr: The first is that someone who is
protected (abstained) from the shirk and prays towards qibla cannot be charged with takfīr. The second;
Unlike Ahl al-hadīth, in some of the issues of belief, such as Sifāt Allah (The Attributes), he charged kalām
schools that they adopt various theological interpretations with kufr / takfīr.61 It is necessary to think about
of the Ka'ba. See, Muhiddin Bağçeci, “Ehl-i salât", TDV Encyclopedia of Islam (Istanbul: Türkiye Diyanet Vakfı
Yayınları, 1994), 10: 524-525.
56
Beyazizāda Ahmet Efendi, Ishārāt al-marām min ʿibārāt al-Imām, ed. Yusûf ‘Abd al-Razzāq (Istanbul: Dār al-Kitab al-
Islāmī, 1949/1368), 105-106. By taking advantage of the Risâlât of Abū Ḥanīfa, Beyazīzade Aḥmad Efendi, without
referring to the whole Muʿtazila as a sect, "some of the Mutezilîler" records, the defense of the Hudûs of the
Knowledge of Allah as kufr, should not be read in the form that the understanding of Attributes of Muʿtazila is
required by the kufr. Beyazizāda Ahmet Efendi, Ishārāt al-marām min ʿibārāt al-Imām, 149, 278, 307.
57
See Ibn Ḥazm, al-Faṣl, 2: 268.
58
Tirmizī, “İmān”, 18.
59
Bukhārī, “Edeb”, 73.
60
Ibn Ḥazm, Faṣl, 3: 144, 145, 159. Also see Hüseyin Güneş, İslam’da Zahiri-Sünni Düşüncenin Çekişmesi: İbn Ḥazm ve Eş’arilik
Örneği (Konya: Kitap Dünyası, 2007), 56-57.
61
Abū al-Ḥusayn Ibn al-Farrā Muḥammad b. Muḥammad b. Ḥusayn Baghdādī Ibn Abū Ya’lā, Ṭabaqāt al-Ḥanābila
(Beirut: Dār al-Ma’rifa, 1952/1371), 1: 26-27; Abū Saīd Utman b. Saīd al-Dārimī, al-Radd alā al-Jahmiyya, ed. Gosta
Vitastam (Lund: C. W. K. Gleerup, 1960), 101-103.
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the correctness of the second opinion narrated from Aḥmat bin Ḥanbal. On the other hand, it can be seen as
a contradiction that a Aḥmat bin Ḥanbal, who avoids takfīr for a sinful person, considers the abandonment
of the prayer to be the cause of Kufr.62
Although differences in the Kalāmist interpretation should never be discussed in takfīr, the historical
process did not conform to this ideal.63 The contradictory situation that emerged in Ibn Hazm's approach
was not only unique to him but also exhibited by the followers of other sects. In this sense, the takfīr used
by Ahl al-sunna for Muʿtazilite was sometimes used in the opposite direction.64 Therefore, a situation, as
contrary to the principle65 that the Ahl al-sunna defined that Ahl al-qibla cannot be charged with takfīr,66
has emerged. Differences in sectual interpretation have been made by members of the sect to evaluate the
opinions of the other sect, and takfīr has been shown for reasons.67 As an example, ʿAbdulqāhir al-Baghdādī
can be cited to refer to Jaḥiẓ as a kafir / takfīr68 for some of his views. Likewise, reaction of Abū Faḍl Jaʿfar
62
Yaşar Kandemir, “Aḥmed b. Ḥanbel”, TDV Encyclopedia of Islam (Istanbul: Türkiye Diyanet Vakfı Yayınları, 1989), 2:
75-80.
63
Muammer Esen, “Tekfîr Söyleminin Dinî ve İdeolojik Boyutları”, Ankara Üniversitesi İlahiyat Fakültesi Dergisi 52/2
(2011): 100.
64
Esen, “Tekfîr Söyleminin Dinî ve İdeolojik Boyutları”, 101.
65
Abu Hanifa started the issue of the fact that the Ahl al-Qibla could not be blamed with takfîr, and then as a principle
it was among the general principles of the Ahl al-Sunna. See Metin Yurdagür, “Ehl-i kıble”, TDV Encyclopedia of Islam
(Istanbul: Türkiye Diyanet Vakfı Yayınları, 1994), 10: 515-516.
66
Ġazzālī, al-İqtiṣād fī al-iʿtiqād, ed. İbrāhīm Agah Çubukçu - Hüseyin Atay (Ankara: Ankara Üniversitesi İlahiyat
Fakültesi, 1962), 250-251; Rāzī, Nihāyātu al-ʿuqūl fī dirāyāt al-uṣūl, 4: 305-306; Abū Ya’la, Ṭabaqāt al-Ḥanābila, 1: 26; It
was accepted in Kalam sources as a principle that the people who prayed in many places by turning to the Qibla
termed as “Ahl al-Qibla” and “Ahl al-Sala”, could not be charged with kufr. (Baghdādī, Farq, 231). Especially Curcānī’
in Sharḥu al-Mavāqif, makes extensive evaluations on the subject under the title “Whether the opponents of truth
(Haqq) from Ahl al-Sunna charged with kufr or not”. See Abū al-Ḥasan Alī b. Muḥammad b. Alī Sayyid Sharīf Ḥanafī
al-Jurcānī, Şerḥu al-mavāqıf, ed. Abd al-Raḥmān ʿUmayra (Beirut: Dār al-Jīl, 1997/1417) 3: 560-574; Also see Yūsuf
Qaradāwī, Zāhirat al-guluw fī al-takfīr, 2th Edition (Cairo: Maktaba Wahba, 1985/1406), 60-63.
67
Ġazzālī talks about four degrees of denouncing different Kalam sects. In the first degree; he states that there are
Jews, Christians, Zoroastrians (Majusi), pagans, and their kufr is fixed by the Qur'an. After the second degree, which
constitutes the refutation of the Brahmins and the Dehris (materialists), the third degree expresses the views of the
philosophers of whom he claims kufr. Those in this group actually believe in Allah and His messenger, but some of
their views contradict the Shari'a (legal codes). The fourth and extremely relevant topic is some of the parties /
sects, such as Muʿtazilita and Mushabbiha (anthropomorphists). According to Gazzālī, who states that the main
issue of these people is related to ta’wil / interpretation, their situation is similar to falling into error in ijtihad.
What needs to be done about these things is to avoid takfîr of them. Ġazzālī, al-Iqtiṣād fī al-ʿitiqād, 248-251.
68
According to Abdulkāhir al-Baghdādī, among the Muʿtazili scholars, takfir has been mentioned about Abū Ḥāshim.
See Abd al-Qāhir Baghdādī, Farq, 175-176.
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bin Ḥarb al-Hamādānī (d. 236/850), a kalām scholar who was attached to the Muʿtezilite of Baghdād to
Naẓẓām who was also belonged to Muʿtezilite can be an example of this situation.69
Various qualifications are encountered in order to make sense of the position of Kalām schools,
themselves and their offenders. For example, it is necessary to read how the Ahl al-sunna, especially
Salafiyya, describe Muʿtezilite as “Mu’attila” and “Majūsī”;70 how they call shiā as “Rāfiḍita”. On the one
hand, Ahl al-sunna theologians describe themselves as “Ahl al-qibla”, "Ahl al-sunna.71
Māturīdī refers Muʿtazila as “Ahl-al-tawhīd” when he talk about “Ahl-al-tawhīd”, however,
mentioning Muʿtezilite’s similar views with other parties, and his charging them72 with kufr from time to
time, can be considered in this context.
The subject of the Isbāt or cancellation of Divine Attributes to Takfīr is also addressed by theologians.73
Qāḍī ʿAbd al-Jabbār narrates in his book, al-Mughnī, al-Aswārī’s views on the creation, power and knowledge
of Allah.74 It is assumed that Aswārī’s was charged with takfīr, because he has limited Allah's will and power
and has put forth the power of man (kudra).75
Another example of the emergence of takfīr in the ideological differences between the thinkers of the
same sect was between Muʿtazilite theologian Jubbāī and Abū Huzayl al-ʿAllāf.76 Jubbāī, who followed the
views of al-‘Allāf, showed his opposition to him. According to Mālātī, who stated that Jubbāī opposes him on
nineteen issues, the mutual takfīr was raised due to disagreements between the Kalāmists of Baghdad and
Baṣra Muʿtazilite.77
69
Cihat Tunç, “Ca’far b. Ḥarb”, TDV Encyclopedia of Islam (Istanbul: Türkiye Diyanet Vakfı Yayınları, 1992) 6: 549-551.
70
Those who prove the Attributes, accuse those who refute them as the ones who worship to a being without
Attribute. Those who ignore (nafy) the Attributes; (Ibn Hazm refers Muʿtazila) accuse those who prove them as who
worship other than Allah, and also accuse them of worshipping some eternal beings. See Ibn Ḥazm, Faṣl, 2: 266.
71
Muammer Esen, “Tekfîr Söyleminin Dinî ve İdeolojik Boyutları”, Ankara Üniversitesi İlahiyat Fakültesi Dergisi 52/2
(2011): 100.
72
Abū Mansūr Muḥammad b. Muḥammad b. Maḥmūd al-Māturīdī (Māturīdī) al-Samarqandī, Kitāb al-tawḥīd (Ankara:
Türkiye Diyanet Vakfı Yayınları, 2003), 500-501.
73
Dawwânī (d. 908/1502) who evaluates the debates about whether or not the Attributes added up (zāid) on the
Essence (dhât) in the relationship between Zât and Sifat, states that such discussions are not the basic subjects of
the belief. See Abū Abdallah Jalâl al-Dīn Muḥammad b. Asad b. Muḥammad Dawwānī, Sharḥ al-ʿaqaid al-ʿadūdiya
(Istanbul: al-Ḥāc Ḥuseyin Efendi Matbaası, 1305), 4-5, 28-30, 53, 63-64.
74
Abū al-Ḥasan ʿAbd al-Jabbār b. Aḥmad Qādī ʿAbd al-Jabbār, al-Mughnī fī abwāb al-tawḥīd wa al-ʿadl, ed. Abd al-Hālim
Maḥmud, Sulayman Dunya (Cairo: al-Dār al-Mısriyya, 1963), 311.
75
Mustafa Öz, “Ali el-Esvârî”, TDV Encyclopedia of Islam (Istanbul: Türkiye Diyanet Vakfı Yayınları, 1989), 2: 391-392.
76
According to Abdulkāhir al-Baghdādī, among the Muʿtazili scholars, takfir has been mentioned about Abū Ḥāshim.
See Abd al-Qāhir al-Baghdādī, Farq,186.
77
Abū al-Ḥusayn Muḥammad b. Aḥmad b. Abd al-Raḥmān Malatī, al-Tanbīh wa al-radd ʿalā ahl al-ahwāʾ wa al-bidʿa
(Beirut: Maktaba al-Maārif, 1968), 40.
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According to Abū Huzayl al-‘Allāf, major sins are divided into two, leading to blasphemy (kufr), and
the one not leading to it. al-‘Allāf by pointing out that the takfīr, which starts with a great sin, and comes
upon other issues, can see the takfīr possible for those who liken Allah to various beings, who describes
judgments of Allah as cruelty, denies divine news, rejects the points that Muslims have agreed on (Ijmaʿ).78
In his work Tahāfut al-Falāsifa, al-Ġazzālī, referring to matters that require the disbelief of
philosophers, al-Ġazzālī sees it possible to direct various criticism because different terminologies related
to the Attributes of Allah is on the agenda. According to him, those who approach to denial (ta’tīl) or who
emphasize the tanzih (incompatibility) in order to preserve Tawhīd in this regard have not been put into
direct denial of the Essence and Attribute.79
al-Ġazzālī says that there are three different situations for takfīr in order to be certain, to know the
assumption with the most probability and to require hesitation. He recommends that he shows tawakkuf
instead of takfīr in “hesitant cases”, which he considers as the third kind. 80 In this regard, al-Ġazzālī wants
to say that it is an ignorant attitude to embrace the takfir discourse immediately.
Is it possible to mention the possibility of takfīr for those who performs ta’wīl on mutawātir nass.
According to al-Ġazzālī, it should be evaluated whether or not to charge someone who performs ta’wīl on a
mutawātir nass / script, with takfīr.81 If there is no logic in terms of language rules, this type of ta’wīl means
refutation (disbelief / kufr). On the other hand, the fact that al-Ġazzālī had philosophers in takfīr on the
basis of some reasons, left a turning point in the history of Islamic thought. He decided that some of the
philosopher’s ta’wīl were directly subject to denial.82 However, the claim that the takfīr mentioned by al-
Ġazzālī is not related to philosophers, it (takfīr) has been raised for those who say that the knowledge of
Allah does not encompass everything.83
al-Ġazzālī states in his book “Faḍāiḥ al-Bātıniyya”,84 where he gives extensive explanations about the
Bātınīs in the context of criticism (tankid)-takfīr, it is necessary to distinguish between the situation that
requires takfīr because of an error or different thinking based on the ta’wīl.85 According to al-Ġazzālī, the
basic problem of Muʿtazila, Mushabbiha and other parties other than the philosophers are just some of the
78
Abd al-Raḥmān Badawī, Madhāhib al-Islāmiyyīn, 1: 174.
79
Abū Ḥamīd Ḥujja al-Islām Muḥammad b. Muḥammad al-Ġazzālī, Tahāfut al-falāsifa, ed. Sulayman Dunya (Cairo: Dār
al-Maārif, nd.), 79-80.
80
Ġazzālī, Fayṣal al-tafriqa, 51.
81
Ġazzālī, al-Iqtiṣād fī al-iʿtiqād, 250-251.
82
Ġazzālī, Tahāfut al-falāsifa, 84-90, 282-292.
83
Dawwanī, Sharḥ al-ʿaqaid al-ʿadudiyya, 29-31.
84
The eighth part (p. 146-169) of al-Ġazzâlî’s work “Faḍāiḥu’l-bāṭıniyya”, which consists of ten parts, is completely
devoted to this subject. In the relevant section, he points out that some of their views require criticism and others
require takfîr. (Abū Ḥamīd al-Ġazzalī, Faḍāīḥ al-bāṭıniyya, ed. Abd al-Raḥmān Badawī (Cairo: al-Dār al-Qawmiyya,
1964) 146.)
85
Ġazzālī, Faḍāiḥ al-bāṭıniyya 148.
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mistakes that occurred when they were engaged ta’wīl in an open matter which subject to ijtihad.86 al-
Ġazzālī aims to reveal what is blasphemy with its conditions. According to him, those who openly deny the
idea of a single God, prophesy and the hereafter, hashr, apocalypse, who do not accept heaven-hell will be
disbelievers.87
al-Ġazzālī, who evaluates in his book al-Iqtiṣād fi al-iʿtiḳād, the intellectual disagreements caused by the
different thinking and inference based on the interpretation of the works, al-Ġazzālī states that this cannot
be the subject of kufr. The divisions between kalām schools or in the individual sense do not reflect the
general opinion, even88 though they are occasionally subject to takfīr.89
Fakhr al-Dīn al-Rāḍī (d. 606/1210) covered takfīr in his book Asās al-taqdīth in the third (last) section
of his fourth chapter. al-Rādī, who argues that the kufr of groups attributing to Allah is necessary, states
that Muʿtazila acted with the idea of tanzīh in the question of Attributes of God, they are separated from
Mujassima and Mushabbiha. Rāḍī states that the takfīr is not possible because of the Muʿtazila, who opposes
them in the relation of Zāt - Sifāt.90
Ibn Ḥaẓm makes an inference in bringing to the agenda the verses related to the naming of beings
and events:
They are not but [mere] names you have named them - you and your forefathers - for which Allah has sent down
no authority. They follow not except assumption and what [their] souls desire, and there has already come to them from
their Lord guidance. (al-Najm 53/23)
And He taught Adam the names - all of them. Then He showed them to the angels and said, "Inform Me of the
names of these, if you are truthful." (al-Baqara 2/31)
According to Ibn Hazm, angels or people do not have the authority to nominate a noun in the context
of these two verses. Ibn Ḥaẓm, who argues that this principle should be followed, states that seeking a name
other than this means lying against Allah and slander the Qur'ān.91 According to this, it is necessary to accept
a person who Allah calls the believer in that way; since the place of īmān is the heart, there is no right to
remove it from it.
86
Ġazzālī, al-Iqtiṣād fī al-iʿtiqād, 250; Yūsuf Karadāvī, Zahira-al-guluw fī al-takfīr, 2th Edition (Cairo: Maktaba Wahba
1985/1406), 60-63.
87
Ġazzālī, Faḍāiḥ al-bāṭıniyya, 151.
88
Abū Ya'lā’s (d. 458/1066) mentioning of the takfîr of the groups of faith except the Ahl-al-Sunna (Ibnu al-Farra
Muḥammad b. Ḥusayn Abū Ya'la al-Farra, al-Muʿtamad fī usūli al-dīn, critical ed. Vedī` Zaydān Ḥaddād (Beirut:
Dāru'l-Meşrik (Dar el-Machreq, 1974), 267-278) constitutes a contradiction with the tahammul (acceptance) and
tolerance mentioned above.
89
Ġazzalī, al-Iqtiṣād fī al-iʿtiqād, 246.
90
Fakhr al-Dīn al-Rādī Muḥammad b. Omar b. al-Ḥusayn, Asās al-taqdīs fī ilm al-kalām, ed. Aḥmad Ḥijāzī al-Sakkā (Cairo:
Maktaba al-Kulliya al-Azhariyya, 1406/1986), 257-258.
91
Ibn Ḥazm, Faṣl, 2: 211.
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According to Ibn Ḥaẓm, the existence of īmān draws attention to the fact that there is no kufr, and
that the existence of kufr is proof92 that there is no īmān he points out that where something exists, it is also
where it will disappear. Ibn Ḥaẓm stated that there is no doubt about a person who denies Allah and his
messenger is and there is a consensus of the scholars of the Muslims (ijmaʿ) mentioning that there is no
doubt that he is an unbeliever / kāfir.93 In spite of this, Ibn Ḥaẓm has not always remained in such a
reasonable line. In spite of the measures he has determined to be consistent with taqfir (takfīr), he blamed
the scholars of Ashʿarī, such as Bāqillānī, Ibn Fūrak, Sulaymān bin Ḫalaf al-Bājī with kufr because of some of
their commentaries.94
In Maqālāt al-Islāmiyyīn, where he summed up95 different opinions on the subject, Ashʿarī argues that
because they are Ahl-al qibla, they will not be considered disbelievers considering them like the people of
the sinners, who are considered as adulterers and thieves.96 Ashʿarī, who expresses that the Ahl al-qibla
cannot be blamed with takfīr, shows us what is the provision of both takfīr and the great sin, saying that
whoever accepts sin as lawful and does not believe that it is unlawful will be disbelieving.97 As Ashʿarī, states,
particularly, ʿĪjī (d. 756/1355), the author of Ashʿarī's basic sources and 756/1355) and Jurjānī (d. 816/1413),
and the majority of the theologians act with this principle.98 Qutbuddīnzāda (d. 885/1480) has written an
independent work in this regard.99
The difference between Muʿtezilite and Ahl al-sunna, who call the sinner “fāsiq", is that Muʿtezilite
used the term "fāsiq" in the meaning of al-manzila bayn al-manzilatayn to refer to it as a new name except
īmān and kufr.100 On the other hand, the meaning that the Ahl al-sunna, who gives the sinner the name of
92
Ibn Ḥazm, Faṣl, 2: 254.
93
Ibn Ḥazm, Faṣl, 2: 248.
94
Ibn Ḥazm, Faṣl, 3: 144,145, 159.
95
Ash'arī, Maqālāt al’l-ıslāmiyyīn 290.
96
Ash'ārī, Maqālāt’l-islāmiyyīn, 293; Also see Ġazzālī, al-Iqtiṣād fī’ al-ʿtiqād, 250-251.
97
Abū al-Ḥasan Ibn Abū Bishr Alī b. Ismaīl b. Isḥaq (Ashʿārī), al-Ibāne an usūl al-diyāna, ed. Fawqiyya Ḥusayn Maḥmūd,
2th Edition (Cairo: Dār al-Kitāb, 1987), 26.
98
See Ġazzālī, al-Iqtiṣād fī al-iʿtiqād, 250-251; Ibn Abū Ya'la, Ṭabaqāt al-Ḥanābila, 1: 26; Sa'd al-Dīn Masūd b. Omer b. Abd
al-Allah Taftāzānī’, Sharḥ al-maqāṣıd, ed. 3: 461-462, 560; İlyas Çelebi, Dinî Düşüncede İtidal ve Hoşgörü (Istanbul:
Çamlıca Yayınları, 2009), 139.
99
Muḥyī al-Dīn Muḥammad b. Qutb al-Dīn al-Iznīkī, Risāla fī ʿadami jawāzi takfīri ahl al-qibla, Süleymaniye Kütüphanesi,
Bağdatlı Vehbi Efendi, nr. 2041.
100
“Uṣūl al-thalasa” composition is the most succinct expression of the belief principles that form the systematic
structure of the Ahl-al Sunna's kalam / theological books. Muʿtazila, on the other hand, by expressing the basic
belief principles with the composition of “Uṣūl al-khamsa” studied the subjects of the Here-after by describing the
rewards and penalties for the person who is responsible (mukallaf) with the divinity (ulūhiyya) in the principle of
tawḥîd; prophethood in the principle of justice; al-Wa’d- wa’l-Wāʿīd and al-Manzila bayn al-Manzilatayn. See Orhan
Şener Koloğlu, “Mu‘tezile’nin Temel Öğretileri”, 45.
www.dergipark.org.tr/ulum
Soyal, “Murtakib al-Kabīra (Cardinal Sinner) and Takfīr (Excommunication) from the Perspective …” | 97
fāsiq, imposes on this name is that he is a believer because of the fact that he has īmān in himself and he is
a fāsiq because of the sin and fisq he committed.
According to Ibn Ḥaẓm, Muʿtezilite, who perceives īmān as righteous deeds, says that the fisq is not
īmān. Muʿtazilite, who says that the fāsiq is not a believer, takes the verse of “Thus the word of your Lord has
come into effect upon those who defiantly disobeyed - that they will not believe.) ” (Yūnus, 10/33) as evidence. 101
Thus fisq, because it does not have an opposite, is considered as kufr, and the idea of "murtakib al-
kabīra cannot be charged with kufr” is accepted. In addition, because the major sin is not the action of
organs, it is not necessary to cause the faith (īmān), which is the action of the heart, to be destroyed. Most
importantly, it is important to stay away from takfīr in this matter and in different ways of reading the
Kalām, as the believer in the prayer towards Qibla is Ahl al-Ṣalāh, which is accepted as a principle.
Although it is not possible for the takfir of the Ahl al-qibla,102 the subject has been evaluated in this
direction from time to time. As a result, takfīr has become a weapon used against the opposition groups of
the theological schools in the discussion of religious issues. Thus, the aim was to obtain a psychological
superiority against the challenge.
According to all these information, the kufr and takfīr problem encountered in the early periods
regarding the great sin is brought to the agenda again in the context of different issues in the history of
Islam. It is a fact that sometimes the criticism of the members of the sects against each other has reached
an insults beyond the limit of criticism, and from time to time, takfīr is a subject among the two thinkers
who are members of the same sects.
CONCLUSION
One of the first problems Muslims face after the death of the Messenger of Allah is the controversy
over the provision of great sin. Khārijīte was the first party to advocate takfīr as a provision of great sin.
Muʿtazila found it hard to judge the great sin as kufr when they said that ‘amal (deed) was a part from
īmān/faith, and instead, used the principle al-Manzila Bayn al-Manzilatayn. In this way, Muʿtezile was more
moderate in terms of worldly rule than Khārijīte. Ibn Ḥaẓm, who counted the murtakib al-kabīra as mu'min,
is one of the names that do not include murtakib al-kabīra under the scope of kufr.
Takfīr, not only a subject of great sin, was also used in the ideological differences between kalām
schools. It is important to note that Ibn Ḥaẓm should be met with tolerance in different reading forms on
the subjects of the Kalām, and in separations of intellectual values based on ta'wīl and the case of the ijtihād.
However, it is not possible to say that he himself fully obeys the principle that he determined not to turn
the intellectual disputes into i’tiqādī / theological secessionals.
This attitude of Ibn Ḥaẓm especially for Ash'ari and Muʿtazila, has been mentioned for the purpose of
differentiating one of the kalām schools from the other. Takfīr was experienced between thinkers who were
members of the same denomination from time to time.
101
Ibn Ḥazm, Faṣl, 2: 254.
102
Jurcānī, Şarḥ al-mavāqıf, 3: 560.
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98 | Soyal, “Murtakib al-Kabīra (Cardinal Sinner) and Takfīr (Excommunication) from the Perspective …”
Takfīr, which is located at the heart of the events that emerged in the early stages of the history of
Islam, was not dependent on the subject matter, in addition, to ensure the legitimacy of takfīr in the political
sphere, arguments were tried to be found in the field. The idea and intellectual conflicts that we can call
theological ta'wīl (interpretation) are met in a strict and hard way nowadays, as in the history. Ultimately,
the event can be taken as far as takfīr.
In fact, anyone who says that he is a Muslim should accept it in this direction. It is primarily necessary
to keep the believer away from the blame of kufr. In the context of scientific sensitivity, it is not possible to
accept that an event which should remain at a totally methodological level should be brought to the level
of takfīr by the transfer of it to the theological plane. The abandonment of takfīr discourse is important in
terms of maintaining the balance of Islam until the day of judgment without losing the dynamism of
universal Islam and ensuring the development of Islamic thought at all times.
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The Transformation of Ottoman Criminal Law in the 19 t h Century:
The Example of Crime of Complicity *
Kübra Nugay * * Abdullah Kahraman ***
Abstract
In the XIX. century, Ottoman State has witnessed changes in many areas. Looking at the content of both the dated
1840 and the dated 1851 Penal Codes legislated in Tanzimat Era, it has seen that the transformation in criminal
procedure, judicial system, administrative fields was attempted to be accommodated with penal codes. The aim
of this study is to seek answers to the question of how the criminal law of the Ottoman State changed in the
period starting with the 1858 Penal Code in the nineteenth century within scope of ta‘zir (discretionary
punishment) and more particularly, crime of murder and complicity as one of special forms of crime. The
discussions of the criminal law scholars of the period about the nature of Article 45 regarding complicity in the
1858 Penal Code and their seeking solutions and how they developed new rules due to need in the process and at
this point how they benefited from European penal codes, commentaries and their scholars will be attempted to
demonstrate. More importantly, it will be witnessed how Ottoman judges used the classical principles in their
minds when implementing the article of code. However, when looking from a broad perspective, we will see how
the Classical Law School, in which Ottoman State was included through it’s 1858 Penal Code, and the crime policy
of France and the French Penal Code have influenced Ottoman Criminal Law.
Keywords
Islamic Law, Ottoman Criminal Legal History, 1858 Ottoman Penal Code, Ta‘zir, Complicity, Crime, Ulama, Qadi
*
This article is extracted from my doctorate dissertation entitled “The Transformation of Ottoman Criminal Law in the
19th Century”, (PhD Dissertation, Marmara University, Istanbul, Turkey, already ongoing).
**
PhD Student, Marmara University, Institute of Social Sciences, İstanbul, TURKEY
Doktora Öğrencisi, Marmara Üniversitesi, Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü
kubra.nugay@marmara.edu.tr ORCID 0000-0002-0773-0335
***
Professor, Marmara University, Faculty of Theology, Department of Islamic Law, Istanbul, Turkey
Prof. Dr., Marmara Üniversitesi, İlahiyat Fakültesi, İslam Hukuku Anabilim Dalı
a.kahraman69@hotmail.com ORCID 0000-0002-5397-8841
Article Types: Research Article
Received: 11 June April 2019
Accepted: 26 August 2019
Cite as: Kübra Nugay - Abdullah Kahraman, “The Transformation of Ottoman Criminal Law in the 19th Century: The
Example of Crime of Complicity”, ULUM 2/1 (2019): 103-120. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3377498
104 | Nugay - Kahraman, “The Transformation of Ottoman Criminal Law in the 19th Century…”
19. Yüzyıl Osmanlı Ceza Hukukundaki Dönüşüm: Suça İştirâk Örneği
Öz
XIX. yüzyılda Osmanlı Devleti birçok alanda değişimlere tanık olmuştur. Tanzimat ile başlayan süreçte vaz’ edilen
gerek 1840 tarihli gerekse 1851 tarihli ceza kanunlarının içeriğine bakıldığında, muhakeme, adliye teşkilatı, idârî
alanlardaki değişimin ceza kanunları ile yerleştirilmeye çalışıldığı görülür. Bu çalışmanın amacı, 19. Yüzyılda
özellikle 1858 Ceza Kanunu ile başlayan süreçte Osmanlı Devleti ceza hukukunun nasıl değiştiği sorusuna tazir
suçu ve daha da özelde katl suçu ve suçun özel işleniş şekillerinden biri olan suça iştirâk konusu kapsamında cevap
aramaktır. Dönemin ceza hukuku alimlerinin, suça iştirak ilgili 1858 tarihli Ceza Kanununda yer alan 45.
maddenin mahiyetine dair tartışmaları ve çözüm arayışları, süreç içerisinde ihtiyaca binaen nasıl yeni kaide
geliştirdikleri, bu noktada Avrupa ceza kanunlarından, şerhlerinden, hukukçularından nasıl faydalandıkları
gösterilmeye çalışılacaktır. Daha da önemlisi, Osmanlı kadılarının kanun maddesini uygularken zihinlerindeki
klasik öğretiyi nasıl kullandıklarına tanık olunacaktır. Ancak büyük resme bakıldığında, Osmanlı’nın 1858 ceza
kanunu ile dahil olduğu Klasik Hukuk Ekolü’nün, Fransa’nın suç siyasetinin ve Fransa ceza kanunun, Osmanlı ceza
hukukunu nasıl etkilediği anlaşılmaya çalışılacaktır.
Anahtar Kelimeler
İslam Hukuku, Osmanlı Ceza Hukuku Tarihi, 1858 Osmanlı Ceza Kanunu, Ta‘zir, İştirak, Suç, Ulema, Kadı
INTRODUCTION
Tanzimat Era1, “subsequent to defeats and failures that were persistent for 150 years” as stated in The Gulhane
Imperial Edict (Gülhane Hatt-ı Hümâyûnu), can be defined as a period of reforms in various fields including military,
economic, social, cultural, administrative and judicial.2 The reforms began primarily in military, economic and
administrative fields at the end of XVIII. Century and they were superficial. The main reason that these reforms
had this character was regarding the process of adapting of the Ottoman State to modernity and its response to
the challenge of change.3 The most salient characteristics of the Ottoman State in the nineteenth century were
centralization and modernization.4 The reflection of these two concepts to the law has been in the form of
1
Tanzimat is considered to cover the period until the I. Meşrutiyet (First Constitutional Era), which started in 1876,
by some and until the II. Meşrutiyet (Second Constitutional Era), which stated in 1908, by others.
2
Its other name is the Edict of Tanzimat (Tanzimat Fermanı). Düstûr I. Tertip (İstanbul: Matbaa-i Amire, 1289), 1: 4; See
for more information: Reşat Kaynar, Türkiye’de Hukuk Devleti Kurma Yolundaki Hareketler (İstanbul: Tan Matbaası,
1960), 1; M. Şükrü Hanioğlu, A brief history of the late Ottoman Empire (Princeton : Princeton University Press, 2008),
42-52; Halil İnalcık, “Tanzimat Nedir?”, Tanzimat: Değişim Sürecinde Osmanlı İmparatorluğu, ed. Halil İnalcık -
Mehmet Seyitdanlıoğlu (İstanbul: Türkiye İş Bankası Kültür Publications, 2011), 13-16; Yavuz Abadan, “Tanzimat
Fermanı’nın Tahlili”, Tanzimat: Değişim Sürecinde Osmanlı İmparatorluğu, ed. Halil İnalcık - Mehmet Seyitdanlıoğlu
(İstanbul: Türkiye İş Bankası Kültür Publications, 2011), 37-63;
3
M. Şükrü Hanioğlu, A brief history of the late Ottoman Empire, 42-47.
4
M. Şükrü Hanioğlu, A brief history of the late Ottoman Empire, 3-4, 60-63; Şerif Mardin, Türk Modernleşmesi: Makaleler:
IV (İstanbul: İletişim Yayınları, 1991), 128-129.
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legalization.5 After the declaration of The Gulhane Imperial Edict, the first statute was legislated in the field of
criminal law in 1840. In 1851 the second penal code was legislated6. Both two of them had some articles not only
about crime and punishment, but also about the new penal proceedings and judicial system. Additionally, there
were some articles about the new administrative system, its functions and about different subjects.7 Both of these
two codes were abolished by another code issued in 1858.8 All these penal codes were considered legislative steps
taken within the domain of ta‘zir (discretionary punishment) in the Sharia.9 Though the first article of 1858 Penal
Code10 stated that this code was ta‘zir based on its content, its scope was expanded in course of time in a way that
it brought up laws instead of the Sharia law- inspired laws.
Both the Penal Codes, issued in 1840 and 1851, developed the new principles about the criminal procedure:
a) The evidence of sharia and qanun: The statement of “şer’an ve kanunen” in the penal codes was used to
state the ways of evidence in this period. These two codes had two evidence system: The Sharia
evidence and the qanun (law) evidence. Before these codes, it was a general rule that offender was
sentenced in case a crime was evidenced by only the testifiers or confessus. These codes provided
that the crimes evidenced legally were punished. Thus, the probability of punishment for an offense
is increased and this was provided within the limits of the law.
b) The principle of publicity: The case should have been heard as publicly.
c) The principle of hearing the case repeatedly until the offense becomes definite if necessary.
d) The principle of conducting the necessary investigations before hearing the case.
5
Hıfzı Veldet Velidedeoğlu, “Kanunlaştırma Hareketleri ve Tanzimat”, Tanzimat-I: Yüzüncü Yıldönümü Münasebetiyle,
(Ankara: Maarif Vekaleti, 1940), 140-145; Mehmet Gayretli, Tanzimat’tan Cumhuriyet’e Kanunlaştırma Çalışmaları,
(İstanbul: Nizamiye Akademi, 2015), 145-160.
6
The New Code (Kanun-u Cedid), a supplementary law was issued in 18516, in order to add new articles to The Imperial
Ottoman Penal Code of 1840 (Ceza Kanunname-i Hümâyunu). Some existing articles were rearranged, some others
were completely or partially removed. Certain crimes that were thought to be missed beforehand were formulized
and added to the Code. The point attracting the attention about the Penal Code of 1851 contained the articles
addressing the common people more than the Penal Code of 1840. In addition, the 1851 New Code of 1851 did not
abolish the 1840 Penal Code and both codes were continued to be used at the same time. See for the text of penal
codes: Turkish Presidency State Archives of the Republic of Turkey-Department of Ottoman, Bâb-ı Asâfî, Nizâmât, 44;
Ceza Kanunname-i Hümâyûnu, Süleymaniye Manuscript Library, Esad Efendi, 1877, 1-5.
7
This means that this Penal Code issued in 1840 was a multipurposed text that served both as a criminal code and
administrative penal code and informed about the judicial organization. See: Carter V. Findley,
Osmanlı İmparatorluğu’nda Bürokratik Reform: Babıâli, 1789-1922, translator: Ercan Ertürk, (İstanbul: Tarih Vakfı Yurt
Publications, 2014), 220-224; Ali Akyıldız, Osmanlı Bürokrasisi ve Modernleşme, (İstanbul: İletişim, 2004), 31-45; Yavuz
Abadan, “Tanzimat Fermanı’nın Tahlili”, Tanzimat: Değişim Sürecinde Osmanlı İmparatorluğu”, ed. Halil İnalcık- Mehmet
Seyitdanlıoğlu (İstanbul: Türkiye İş Bankası Kültür Publications, 2011), 52-61.
8
Düstûr I. Tertib, 1: 537.
9
It can be understood from the first article of 1858 Penal Code as follows: “as the execution of punishment for offenses
directly against the state pertains to the state and also it is the obligation of the state to prevent the disturbance of the public
order by offenses against an individual, this legal code is responsible for the specification of ta’zir punishment in various degrees,
of which legislation and execution belongs to the administrators by the divine law”. See: Düstûr I. Tertib, 1: 537.
10
This penal code, modelling itself on the French Penal Code issued in 1810, underwent a series of changes until its
abolishment in 1926.
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In the period after the declaration of Tanzimat Edict what those were innovated in the field of criminal
justice system were establishment of Grand Councils (Büyük Meclis) and Small Councils (Küçük Meclis) in the
periphery and hearing the cases of murders (katl) and robbery (sirkat) in these councils by the Sharia procedure
and submitting decisions of the cases to the center (Istanbul) and not implement the punishments before
obtaining the approval of the central intitutions (e.g., the Supreme Council of Judicial Ordinances (Meclis-i Vâlâ-
yı Ahkâm-ı Adliye; hereinafter, the Supreme Council), the Fatwa Office (Fetvahane, a branch working under the shaykh
al-Islam) and the office of Sultan). The Ottoman State aimed to establish tight junctions between the periphery
and the center through a hierarchical system providing to be informed of the center about any crime committed
in the villages, sanjaks or provinces.11 These councils were a mixed council composed of Muslims and non-
Muslims, and their main task was to maintain administrative and financial order.12
In this period a transformation of the crimes and the punishments was witnessed as well as making the
new principles in the criminal procedure and establishing a hierarchy in the judicial system:
a) In the articles of the penal codes, there was the dualism in the form of crimes committed by commons
and state officers: Offenses in many articles are ascribed only to state officers (military class,
Ottoman ulama, vizier, etc). At this point there was a crucial parallel in the transition from a system
where the sultan hold all the authority to a constitutional monarchy where the judicial and
especially legislative powers were transferred to the Supreme Council were taken.13 Therefore, it is
not surprising that the first regulations conducted at the beginning of this era were with regards to
the criminal code. Issued in 1840, The Imperial Ottoman Penal Code (Ceza Kanunname-i Humayunu)14
11
M. Şükrü Hanioğlu stated that the establishment of a new balance between center and periphery was an existential
imperative for the Ottoman State in the nineteenth century. See: A brief history of the late Ottoman Empire, 40-41; Omri
Paz asserted that the Ottoman State tried to accommodate a policy of “interventionist” state by utilizing this new
type of criminal justice system. See: Omri Paz, “Documenting Justice: New Recording Practice and the Establishment
of an Activist Criminal Court System in the Ottoman Provinces (1840-late 1860s), Islamic Law and Society 21, 1/2
(2014): 85; And see: Ebru Yakut Türker, Alternative Claims on Justice and Law: Rural Arson and Poison Murder in the 19th
Century Ottoman Empire (unpublished PhD dissertation, Boğaziçi University, 2011), 66-87; Rudolph Peters, Crime and
Punishment in Islamic Law: Theory and Practice from the Sixteenth to the Twenty-first Century (Cambridge :
Cambridge University, 2006)…; Kent F. Schull, Prisons in the Late Ottoman Empire: Microcosms of Modernity, (Edinburgh:
Edinburgh University, 2014), 17-18, 22-23.
12
Only a few studies have been published on the criminal court system between 1840 and 1864. See for example:
Rudolph Peters, Crime and Punishment in Islamic Law : Theory and Practice from the Sixteenth to the Twenty-first Century,
(Cambridge : Cambridge University, 2006), 125-133; Ekrem Buğra Ekinci, Tanzimat Devri Osmanlı Mahkemeleri
(İstanbul: s.l., 1999); Sedat Bingöl, Tanzimat Devrinde Osmanlıda Yargı Reformu: Nizamiye Mahkemelerinin Kuruluşu ve
İşleyişi 1840-1876 (Eskişehir : Anadolu Üniversitesi Edebiyat Fakültesi , 2004); Omri Paz, Crime, Criminals and the Ottoman
State: Anatolia between the late 1830s and the late 1860s (unpublished PhD dissertation, Tel Aviv University, 2011); Avi
Rubin, Ottoman Nizamiya Courts: Law and Modernity, (New York : Palgrave Macmillan, 2011).
13
Edouard Philippe Engelhardt, Tanzimat ve Türkiye, translator: Ali Reşad, (İstanbul: Kaknüs Publications, 1976), 48-49;
Şerif Mardin, Türk Modernleşmesi, 127-131; Şerif Mardin, “Tanzimat Fermanı’nın Manâsı: Yeni Bir İzah Denemesi”,
Tanzimat: değişim sürecinde Osmanlı İmparatorluğu, ed. Halil İnalcık, Mehmet Seyitdanlıoğlu, (İstanbul: Türkiye İş
Bankası Kültür Publications, 2011), 91-102; Necdet Hayta – Uğur Ünal, Osmanlı Devleti’nde Yenileşme Hareketi: (XVII.
yüzyıl başlarından yıkılışa kadar), (Ankara: Gazi Bookstore, 2003), 120.
14
See for the text of penal code: Ceza Kanunname-i Hümâyûnu, 22a-29a.
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was comprising both judicial and administrative criminal law. Because the new administrative
system determined the obligations of officials as well as it set penalties in case these obligations were
neglected or exploited.15
b) The principle of the equality before law applied for each muslims- nonmuslims and commons- state
officials: As being in the example of shepherd and vizier,16 this effort mainly aimed at putting an end
for the inequality between the different segments of the society such as state officers (military class,
Ottoman ulema) and the commonality. This period brought about a redefinition of the relationship
between the ruler and ruled.
c) Even if the offenses do not have any punishment for sharia (because the offense cannot be proved or
the offender is forgiven by the heir of murdered or a peaceful agreement (sulh) is made between
offender and the heir of murdered), there was a punishment for law. (the principle of maslaha and
huququ’llah)
d) The penalties of some crimes were more severe than its penalties in classic doctrine
e) The principle of legality: the maximum and minimum limits of some penalties defined as ta‘zir
punishment in the doctrine were defined in these criminal laws.
Along with to mention the general characters of the change of criminal law at the first half of the
nineteenth century, the aim of this article is to seek an answer to the question of how the penal law of Ottoman
State changed at the second half of the century. Many studies have been published on the Ottoman Criminal Law.
One of them is Studies in Old Ottoman Criminal Law written by Uriel Heyd. This study is divided into two chapters
and a conclusion in which mainly the development of the Ottoman Criminal Code (qanunnames and siyasetnames)
from the time of Mehmed II through Bayezid II and Süleyman II, and a privately compiled seventeenth century
code, which is the last Ottoman Criminal Code before the Tanzimat period, are studied. Additionally, the
definition of the terms of “qanun and urf”, the role of qadi and governors in the administration of justice, courts
system, trial procedures and methods of punishment are also studied.17 Rudolph Peters with his book titled Crime
and Punishment in Islamic Law18 and Mustafa Şentop with his study titled Tanzimat Dönemi Osmanlı Ceza Hukuku:
Kanunlar-Tadiller-Layihalar-Uygulama19 and Said Nuri Akgündüz with his book titled Tanzimat Dönemi Osmanlı Ceza
Hukuku Uygulaması20 and Ruth A. Miller with her study titled Legislating Authority: Sin and Crime in the Ottoman Empire
and Turkey21 made very significant contributions to the Ottoman Criminal Legal History.
These studies based upon the change of criminal code, justice system and trial procedure, offer the general
and theoretical information. This study will attempt to show how the Ottoman Criminal Law changed by focusing
15
Ruth A. Miller, Legislating Authority: Sin and Crime in the Ottoman Empire and Turkey, edited by Shahrough Akhavi, (New
York: Routledge, 2005), 28-40.
16
Ceza Kanunname-i Hümâyûnu, 1.
17
Uriel Heyd, Studies in Old Ottoman Criminal Law, ed. V. L. Menage, (Oxford : Oxford University, 1973).
18
Rudolph Peters, Crime and Punishment in Islamic Law : Theory and Practice from the Sixteenth to the Twenty-first Century,
(Cambridge : Cambridge University, 2006).
19
Mustafa Şentop, Tanzimat Dönemi Osmanlı Ceza Hukuku: Kanunlar-Tadiller-Layihalar-Uygulama [l.yya., t.y.] (İstanbul :
Yaylacık Matbaası, 2004)
20
Said Nuri Akgündüz, Tanzimat Dönemi Osmanlı Ceza Hukuku Uygulaması, (İstanbul: Rağbet Publications, 2017).
21
Ruth A. Miller, Legislating Authority: Sin and Crime in the Ottoman Empire and Turkey, edited by Shahrough Akhavi, (New
York: Routledge, 2005).
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and zooming on only one subject (complicity of murder). Therefore, ta‘zir punisment which the change can be
better monitored and the crimes committed against the person (katl) among the ta‘zir punishment were chosen
as the study area. Especially when considered together with the functions imposed on the criminal law in the
second quarter of the nineteenth century while answering the question of how the criminal law has changed in
the case of complicity of crime which is one of the special ways of this crime, also substantial information about
the problems encountered in the process, the attempt for the solution of the ulama and the implementation of
the law by the qadis is provided.
The present study seeks to contribute to a number of studies of the Ottoman Criminal Law by drawing on
the primary sources and several documents of Ottoman achieve. Some of these primary sources are;
- Mebâdi-i Hukuk-ı Ceza written in 1888 by Nazaret Haçeriyan, an Armenian attorney who taught criminal
law at Mekteb-i Hukuk.
- Mufassal Nazariyyat-ı Ceza written in 1898 by Mehmed Aziz, a criminal law scholar at Mekteb-i Hukuk and
one of the head adjuncts of the commercial court at the same time.
- Hukuk-ı Ceza written by Servet in 1909.22
1. The Concept of “Complicity” and Its Meaning Before 1858
Although complicity in crime is a concept used in the classical doctrine, it differs from the expression of
complicity in the penal code of 1858 at three points: Firstly, the meaning of the statement of the “complicity” is
that more than one person commit a crime together, in which case whole the perpetrators directly complicit in
the offence, thus their guilts are at the same degree. For example, if two people intend to kill a person together,
this is a complicity and both are penalized with retaliation.23 The second is that the statement of complicity is
used only for the crimes of murder and wounding. For example, the statement of complicity is not used for those
who commit the crime of robbery or other crimes. The third is that in the classical doctrine, the punishment
imposed on the offender who helped the primary offender is different from the punishment stated in the criminal
code of 1858. In the classic doctrine, while the punishment given to the offender who helped the primary offender
was stated as “severe ta‘zir” and the punishment of the primary offender was retaliation for sharia, it was seen
in the 1858 penal code that the primary offender and second offender were sentenced to same punishment. In
1306, Nazaret Haçeriyan attracted attention to this issue and criticized Ömer Hilmi Efendi due to confuse the
statements and meanings of complicity in both classic doctrine and penal code of 1858. Ömer Hilmi Efendi, one
of the ulama of the time, stated in his modern legal text entitled Miyar-ı Adalet the following expression in
22
These Ottoman Criminal Law books were written for the students of Mekteb-i Hukuk in 19th Century. Mekteb-i Hukuk
(The School of Law) is foundation of today’s the Department of Law at Istanbul University and was established in 1880
to raise judges for the Courts of Nizamiya. Dozens of Ottoman Criminal Law books were written at that time by qadis
and attorneys who were also served as academics at Mekteb-i Hukuk. Over time, the lecture notes of these qadis
and attorneys became the first written doctrines of modern criminal law in 19th Century. These books provide
systematic information on the theory of 19th century criminal law, illustrate the challenges associated with putting
the theory into practice. In addition, since the 1858 Ottoman Criminal Code was incorporated from French Penal
Code, these textbooks often derive from western criminal literature, particularly while interpreting the articles of
the 1858 Criminal Code.
23
İbn Abidin, Muhammed Emin b. Ömer b. Abdülazîz ed-Dımaşki, 1252/1836 Hâşiyetu Reddi’l-Muhtar ale’d-Dürri’l-
Muhtar: Şerh-i Tenviri’l-Ebsar (İstanbul: Kahraman Yayınları, 1984), X., 206-207.
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retaliation and blood money: “Issue 26: if a person is not complicit in the murder of a man but helps the murderer by
holding the arms and legs of the deceased, for example, and facilitate the act of killing, or gives order to the murderer to
commit such a crime or encourages him, he will be punished to severe ta‘zir (ta‘zir-i şedîd)”.24 He used the word of
complicity (iştirak) for those who murder a person together and he did not use any term for those who help to
someone to kill another one or encourage him or command him in this article. Haçeriyan points out that the
difference between these two should be well conceived.25
Another statement used in the classical doctrine to express the same meaning of the complicity of the
period is madhal (to be get involved in crime). But, the statement of madhal was also used to express the acts of
those who help to the primary offender. Briefly, in classic doctrine both the statement of complicity and the
statement of “madhal” are used to state both the primary offender and who those help the primary offender to
murder someone, namely there is no special definition to state the position of who those help to the primary
offender to murder.
In the penal codes issued in 1840 and 1851 after the declaration of Tanzimat Edict, the same mind relevant
to the scope of statement of “complicity” in the classic doctrine proceeded. There are two articles referring to
the crimes and punishments related to some aspects of the complicity:
First one is Article 5 of the annex of the 1840 Penal Code that if a person intends to kill another person bot
not to kill in person and he have someone killed by giving money or deceiving by another way, who those kill
and have someone killed will be sentenced to the same penalty, namely retaliation.26 Secondarily, in Article 14 of
the 1851 Penal, the penalty of the same offense was changed: The person who killed the man is considered as a
primary offender and he will be sentenced for sharia and law. On the other hand, the person who have someone
killed will be sentenced from one year to five years in prison, thus his punishment was reduced. Unlike the 1840
Penal Code, the statement of “accomplice” (fâil-i muin) was also mentioned in the 1851 Penal Code and his
punishment was defined as from one year to three years in prison.27 Compared with the concept of complicity in
the1858 Penal Code, the mind of the complicity and the scope of the concept in the 1840 and 1851 Penal Codes
are quite different.
2. The Conceptual Debates on Complicity After 1858
Complicity (iştirâk) was a statement known in the criminal law of Ottoman classical period (before XIX.
Century), yet there was a distinction between the concept in the classic period and the concept expressed in the
doctrine of criminal law today in terms of the comprehension and the nature. The concept of complicity used
today, entered into the Turkish criminal literature with The Penal Code of 1858. Article 45 of the aforementioned
statute says; “the principal offender or primary offender (fâil-i müstakil) who directly committed the crime and the
accomplice (fâil-i muîn) are punished in the same way in the event that the law doesn’t contain further clarification”.28 The
article didn’t define the concept of complicity and only stated that the punishment given to who those complicit
24
Ömer Hilmi Efendi, Mi’yâr-ı Adâlet (İstanbul: Hacı Muharrem Efendi Press, 1301), 9.
25
Nazaret Haçeriyan, Mebâdi-i Hukuk-ı Ceza (İstanbul: s.l., 1306), 48.
26
Ceza Kanunname-i Hümâyûnu, 2.
27
Turkish Presidency State Archives of the Republic of Turkey-Department of Ottoman, Bâb-ı Asâfî, Nizâmât, 44.
28
Düstûr I. Tertip, 1: 540.
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in crime was same as the principal offender in all cases except ones in which the law establishes additional
principles. This situation has led to a lack of understanding of the complicity for a long time.
Article 45 was the translation of Article 59 of the French Penal Code of 1810, the source of the Penal Code
of 1858. Therefore, the problems regarding the definition of complicity were based on the French Penal Code,
because it didn’t have the definition of the concept. However, Articles 60, 61 and 62 of the aforementioned statute
gave information about the nature of the complicity by mentioning which acts were considered as the complicity.
In this respect, the French Penal Code contains more explanatory information about this kind of crime than the
Ottoman Penal Code. However, the deficiency of the definition in the Penal Code of 1858 was tried to remove with
Article 209 of The Code of Criminal Procedure29 issued in 1879, but it also couldn’t solve the ambiguity of how
Article 45 should be understood.
The writer of the book titled Mebadi-i Hukuk-ı Ceza published in 1889 and the lecturer of criminal law in
Mekteb-i Hukuk, Nazaret Haçeriyan defined the complicity as; “sometimes, people can commit together a crime which a
person can commit alone, these are the primary offenders (fâil-i müstakil), and some people don’t commit to the crime but
contribute to the crime by helping, their status is called accomplice (fâil-i muîn)”.30 Although there is more than one act
in the complicity, all these criminal acts are divided among the perpetrators/offender and thus all their trials are
heard together in a single court and whole crimes committed are seen as a single crime and it is accepted that
these crimes are spread among the perpetrators- the principle of becoming undivided (şuyu‘).31
Ten years later in 1316 (1899), Mehmed Aziz, one of the lecturers of Mekteb-i Hukûk, defined the complicity
in his book titled Mufassal Nazariyyât-ı Ceza as; “Complicity is defined as to unite for an illegal purpose and assist a person
who directly commits an act that is forbidden by the law. The person who commits this act directly is called the primary
offender, while the person who helps the primary offender is called the accomplice”.32
In 1326 Servet initiated the most important conceptual debate about the concept of complicity. In his book
titled Hukuk-ı Ceza (Criminal Law), he complained about both of the terms “contribution” and “complice” were
translated to Turkish as “iştirâk”. However, “contribution” refers to an absolute “iştirâk” where there is no
agreement or reconciliation among the offenders. However, there was no word corresponding to the term
“complice” in Turkish, and he stated that he used the word “iştirâk-ı fer’î” (secondary complicity) and this term
referred to the complicity where a previous agreement took place between the offenders.33 Servet made an
important determination in terms of distinguishing these two from each other, especially because the courts
have great problems about distinguishing complicity (iştirâk) and secondary complicity (iştirâk-i fer’î) from each
other and they hesitate in jurisprudence.
In 1329 (1911) in course of changing Article 45 along with several other, the Chamber of Deputies (Meclis-i
Mebusan) negotiated the conceptual issue Servet drew attention. They realized that the statement of "complice"
translated from the French Penal Code as “iştirak/müşerek” should have been translated as “iştirak-i fer'î”. After
29
Article 209: That a group of people gather together upon the alliance between them in a way for one to facilitate
the commitment of a crime by another or help him in this.
30
Nazeret Haçariyan, Mebâdi-i Hukuk-ı Ceza, 114.
31
Dönmezer, Sulhi-Erman, Sahir, Nazarî ve Tatbikî Ceza Hukuku- Umumî Kısım (İstanbul: Beta Press, 1966), II, 488-501.
32
Mehmed Aziz, Mufassal Nazariyyât-ı Ceza (Dersaadet: s.l., 1306), 60-61.
33
Servet, Hukuk-ı Ceza (Dersaadet: 1326), 202-204.
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the discussion of the parliament, the statement of “iştirâk” was changed as “iştirâk-i fer’î” in Article 45.34 The lack
of definition of the complicity which was one of the deficiencies of the article and caused many problems,
continued despite the change of the article. However, the article clarified more than its previous version, as it
explained who the accomplices were and what acts they performed.
3. Principal Offender and Accomplice
The most important element that differentiates the issue of complicity from other special situations of
crime is that there are offenders more than one.35 There are some important subjects that stand out at this point:
a) Definitions of the principal offender and the accomplice,
b) Terms for the realization of the state of complicity,
c) Degree of offense handling of perpetrators (principal offenders and accomplices).
3.1. Who is Principal Offender and Who is Accomplice?
The perpetrators of complicity are defined as those who participate in the performing of an act prohibited
by law either directly commit the crime or help to those who directly commit. In the first status, all of those who
contribute to the crime is called as the principal offender (fâil-i müstakil or fâil-i asl), or those who is in the second
status is called as the accomplice (fâil-i muîn or fâil-i fer’î or zî-medhal).36
In this century, Ottoman criminal law men complaint about that there wasn’t any article defining who was
principal offender and accomplice and referring to the distinction between them.37 Particularly in some cases, it
was very difficult to distinguish the two. In Article 209 of The Code of Criminal Procedure of 1879, the acts of the
accomplice were partially described, but these statements in the law began to not to be adequate. Because the
number of these acts has increased over time and new events were encountered. At this point, questions on which
acts should be considered as complicity and answers to these questions proliferated and became more detailed
in time.38 Therefore, the jurists constantly tried to define the acts of the principal offender and the accomplice.
For example; Mehmed Aziz sorted their acts as:
According to this, primary offenders are;
a) Those who conduct an act that is defined as a crime by person or those who take part in the conduct
of such an act,
b) Those who make a person to commit the crime directly through threating, terrorization, cheating,
giving money or promises,
34
Court Record of The Chamber of Deputies (Meclis-i Mebusan Zabıt Ceridesi), I. Period, III. Session, III. Volume, XXXXX.
Conclusion, 17 February1326, 4.
35
Mehmed Aziz, Mufassal Nazariyyât-ı Ceza, 61-62; Servet, Hukuk-ı Ceza, 202-204.
36
Mehmed Aziz, Mufassal Nazariyyât-ı Ceza, 60; Nazaret Haçeriyan, Mebâdi-i Hukuk-ı Ceza, 115.
36
Nazarat Haçaryan, Mebâdi-i Hukuk-ı Ceza, 118; Servet, Hukuk-ı Ceza, 204-207.
37
Nazaret Haçeriyan, Mebâdi-i Hukuk-ı Ceza, 116.
38
Some of the acts of complicity requiring punishment are as follows: to keep watch during the realization of the
crime to inform about the passers; aiding and abetting to the primary offender; to hide a material used in a murder
or qabahat being partially or totally aware of the situation.
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c) Those who reinforce the crime through printed matter.
The accomplices are;
a) Those who give instructions for the realization of the crime,
b) Those who supply weapons and devices used in the commitment of crime,
c) Those who contribute to and facilitate the realization of crime, though the crime would still be
conducted without their contribution and help.39
Believing that the punishment assigned to the accomplices was not just and needed to changed, the ulama
of Ottoman engaged in long and detailed discussions regarding who should be counted as the principal offender
and who as the accomplice and which acts should be counted as complicity. Novel cases and situations
encountered by ulama led these discussions to stay topical in the course of a long period. In consequence of the
discussions advanced a principle for the distinction between the primary offender and the accomplice: “Among
those who were involved in the perpetration of a crime, those without whose acts and contributions the crime would not be
possible to be perpetrated are considered to be primary offenders, whereas those without whose acts and contributions the
crime would still be possible to be perpetrated are considered to be accomplices”.40 This principle made it possible to
differentiate between two terms. Mehmed Aziz seeking a solution for the same problem in 1316 by using the
French sources of the time, came across a rule and recounted it in his book: “The accomplice must know the crime
and help with his own consent. If one of these two-term (knowing and intending) is missing, we can’t mention the complicity
and the accomplice”.41
This can raise a question: If both types of offenders would be punished in the same way, why did they try
so hard to differentiate between the two terms? Servet is bringing together some of the answers given to this
question as follows:42
a) There exist some cases in which the distinction results in significant consequences. For example, the
killing of one’s father is a special crime and therefore, its punishment would be a death sentence.
However, if a man does not directly kill his father, but makes a secondary contribution to the
murderer, he is not sentenced to the same penalty as “murder of father” crime. On the other hand,
the higher the number of accomplices of a theft incidence, the more severe the punishment may get.
b) Both in the murder and qabahat (less serious criminal acts), the reasons that increase the severity of
the punishment are concerned with the primary offender.
c) In all crimes, the primary offenders are necessarily punished. However, in offenses that are
considered as faults, the accomplices are not punished.
d) In certain cases, determined by the law in effect, primary offenders and accomplices are punished
separately and differently.
Because of all these reasons, making a distinction between these terms became of a great importance.
39
Mehmed Aziz, Mufassal Nazariyyât-ı Ceza, 67-68.
40
Mehmed Aziz, Mufassal Nazariyyât-ı Ceza, 61-62.
41
Mehmed Aziz, Mufassal Nazariyyât-ı Ceza, 83-85.
42
Servet, Hukuk-ı Ceza, 225-228.
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As it was said before, even if the offenders commit more than one crime, the criminal law system of the
period conceived the whole crimes as only one crime and adopted to spread of these crimes among offenders. Its
consequences are in practice as:
a) the principal offender and accomplice have the same penalties
b) their suits were heard together in the same court. Thus, Articles 209, 418 and 419 of The Code of
Criminal Procedure referred to this subject.
3.2. Terms of Complicity
Ottoman Ulama debated on whether every secondary act assisting to the principal act could not be
considered as the complicity, and decided that there should be some terms that must be included in these
secondary acts:
a) If the principal crime is committed, complicity can be in question.43
b) Complicity is valid for the crimes committed by "doing" illegal activities. However, Articles 461 and
462 of the Code of Criminal Procedure mentioned some exceptions to which the complicity is valid
for the crimes committed by "not doing" activities need to be done.44
c) Intent is necessary in complicity. In other words, if a person doesn’t have an intent to complicit in a
crime, he can’t be punished.45
d) The act of complicity should be conducted before or during the committing of the crime. There
should be an agreement between accomplice and principal offender before or during the execution
of crime. To complicit in a crime after it was committed was considered as a different crime.46
3.3. Some Challenges Regarding the Deficiencies of Definition on the Complicity
Article 45 of the Penal Code of 1858 and the relevant articles of the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1879
were insufficient to answer many of the problems encountered over time. Therefore, the jurists sometimes
strained to solve some challenging issues they faced. This is due to the fact that the French Criminal Law which
was the source of the Ottoman Penal Code and the Code of Criminal Procedure, had many deficiencies on the
complicity. The famous lawman Garraud said that the French Penal Code has many inadequacies about the
complicity that leads to misunderstandings. Mehmed Aziz followed the latest controversies and debates in the
field of criminal law in France and mentioned them in his book. Some of the questions sought in this period are
as follows:47
- Is it possible the complicity in criminal attempt?48
- Should the principal offender be punished in case the accomplice commits another crime by exceeding
the illegal act he agreed with the principal offender previously?49
43
Nazaret Haçeriyan, 117; Mehmed Aziz, Mufassal Nazariyyât-ı Ceza, 65.
44
Nazaret Haçeriyan, Mebâdi-i Hukuk-ı Ceza,118; Mehmed Aziz, Mufassal Nazariyyât-ı Ceza, 66.
45
Servet, Hukuk-ı Ceza, 213-215; Mehmed Aziz, Mufassal Nazariyyât-ı Ceza, 66.
46
Nazaret Haçeriyan, Mebâdi-i Hukuk-ı Ceza,119; Mehmed Aziz, Mufassal Nazariyyât-ı Ceza, 60-61, 84.
47
Mehmed Aziz, Mufassal Nazariyyât-ı Ceza, 76-77.
48
See: Mehmed Aziz, Mufassal Nazariyyât-ı Ceza, 62, 86-89.
49
See: Mehmed Aziz, Mufassal Nazariyyât-ı Ceza, 63, 85-86.
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- Should an accomplice of the accomplice be punished?50
- Do the aggravating circumstances and the extenuating circumstances of the principal offender affect the
punishment of the accomplice?51
- Is it possible to complicit in the negligent crime?52
- If the accomplice regrets for commit the crime, does his sentence fall?53
- If a general amnesty is declared about the principal offender, will the accomplice be included?54
When encountered with new situations, the Ottoman criminal jurists sought solutions from other legal
systems, in particular from the legal systems to which they belonged to the same school, and tried to follow up
endorsements and views in their doctrine about how the articles were interpreted. In this sense, it should be said
that French Criminal Law doctrines are accepted as a source not only in the preparation of the penal code but
also in the implement of penal code, thus the sources of criminal law have begun to change.
3.4. Implement of Complicity
The determination of the punishment to be given to the principal offender and the accomplice has been
the scene of the most heated debates of the subject of complicity. Article 45 of criminal code stated as “the primary
offender (or principal, fail-i mustakil) who directly committed the crime and the accomplice (fail-i muin) are punished in the
same way in the event that the law doesn’t contain further clarification” was a general rule and it says that the
accomplices were punished as the primary offender in all cases but the ones in which the law establishes
additional principles. However, the exceptional cases mentioned by the law were excluded from this general rule.
The exceptional cases referred to in Article 45 were as Articles 63, 66/2, 119, 175, 206, 217, 330. The most important
of these is Article 175, and it says the person who is the accomplice of murderer should be sentenced hard
labour.55
Nazaret Haçeriyan, stated that this article would result in unjust consequences if applied especially to
serious murders and qabahat.56 Therefore, he tried to interpret the article to remove this injustice and he
suggested that the meaning of the expression with regards to the punishment of accomplice and the primary
offender as the same is they should be punished with the same kind of penalty. For example, if the primary
offender was sentenced to hard labour, the accomplice should also be sentenced to hard labour. However, he
emphasized that the gravity of reasons and the lightness of reasons may change the duration of the penalty.57
Article 45 of the penal code of 1858 was translation of Article 59 of the France Penal Code of 1810 and the
sentences of the principal offender and the accomplice were same. In France at that time, there has been a variety
of controversy about this article concerning the punishment to be imposed on those who have complicit in. The
issue of how to understand the article has been the subject of discussion throughout the process. The reason for
50
See: Mehmed Aziz, Mufassal Nazariyyât-ı Ceza, 63-65.
51
See: Mehmed Aziz, Mufassal Nazariyyât-ı Ceza, 70-73.
52
See: Mehmed Aziz, Mufassal Nazariyyât-ı Ceza, 86-87.
53
See: Mehmed Aziz, Mufassal Nazariyyât-ı Ceza, 88.
54
See: Mehmed Aziz, Mufassal Nazariyyât-ı Ceza, 95-96.
55
Mehmed Aziz, Mufassal Nazariyyât-ı Ceza, 69-70.
56
Nazaret Haçeriyan, Mebâdi-i Hukuk-ı Ceza, 48.
57
Nazarat Haçaryan, Mebâdi-i Hukuk-ı Ceza, 120.
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those who argue that both the principal offender and the accomplice should be punished in the same way in all
respects and interpret the article in this way is that both the principal offender and the accomplice had the same
intentions.58 But some criminal law men of the period argued that those who gather to commit a crime must have
been sentenced in accordance with their influence on the crime. One of them complained the verdict of Article
59 was Garraud stated that even if the principal offender and the accomplice were sentenced in the same way in
accordance of Article 59, the main purpose of the legislative was to be sentenced the principal offender and the
accomplice with same kind of punishment, not with same degree of punishment.59 However, in practice, this
article would continue to be applied.60 In countries such as Belgium, Germany, Japan, Denmark and Russia, the
accomplice was sentenced less than the principal offender and the only exception in this regard was France.61
The Ottoman Empire did not follow France in practice, and did not punish both of them with same
punishment, even if it was the same kind, as stated by Garraud.62 For example; if the principal offender is
sentenced with hard labour, the accomplice is also sentenced with hard labour. However, if the jurist sentences
the principal offender with ten years and the accomplice with five years transitory hard labour- According to
The Penal Code of 1858 the transitory hard labour’s maximum limit of sentence was fifteen years and minimum
limit of sentence was three years-, this article will adapt to the purpose of the legislative and general rules. At
this point what those draws attention is that the judge has the authority to determine the punishments of the
principal offenders and the accomplices. However, the absence of a clause that limits this authority given to the
judge in the law means that there will be no obstacle for the judge to use his authority arbitrarily.63 The fact that
this situation contains the possibility of causing injustice to a high rate was another deficiency of Article 45.
In the practice, it is seen that the accomplice in almost all of the complicity cases related to the murder
was punished in reference to Article 175 which is one of the exceptions of Article 45. For example; examination
of the cases of Şeyh bin Mustafa and Cercis bin Ahmed and Muhyuddin bin Ahmed and Ali and Semseddin who
were from Arabian community in Arbil and murderers of Seyyid İzzeddin bin Seyyid Veli, was conducted on 14
February 1324, in the case of the Criminal Division of the Court of First Instance of Kirkuk Sanjak and in
consequence of hearing of witnesses and the statements of murderers and the statement taken before the
murdered's death and the official report and doctor’s report the court ruled that Şeyh bin Mustafa killed Seyyid
İzzeddin bin Seyyid Veli and others complicit in the murder and Şeyh was sentenced fifteen years hard labour in
reference to Article 174 as a principal offender and others were sentenced three years hard labour in reference
to Article 175 as the accomplices.64 As it can be seen, the court sentenced with reference to Article 175 in this case
related to the complicity of murder. In light of researches, based on both of Cerîde-i Mehâkim (Journal of Courts)
and Presidential Ottoman Achieve I have seen that whole case related to the complicity of murder was referred
to Article 175 in place of Article 45.
58
Servet, Hukuk-ı Ceza, 231-233.
59
Mehmed Aziz, Mufassal Nazariyyât-ı Ceza 69-71.
60
Mehmed Aziz, Mufassal Nazariyyât-ı Ceza, 89- 91.
61
Mehmed Aziz, Mufassal Nazariyyât-ı Ceza, 76.
62
Servet, Hukuk-ı Ceza, 204-207.
63
Servet, Hukuk-ı Ceza, 231-233.
64
Cerîde-i Mehâkim (Journals of Courts), 11 Jumada al-ukhra 1290-23 July 1289, Number: 16, 196-198.
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Was this the situation only in cases of murder because the punishment of the murder was considered
severe? In cases where the punishment of the crime was lighter was Article 45 applied? A case of theft can be
examined to answer this question and to prove that Article 45 was not applied again:
“In 1895, defendants Behisnili Ahmed, Hüseyin Efendi, Arap Hasan, along with Zeyneb who aided and abetted the
defendants, were charged in the Lower Court of Criminal Division due to an act of theft of the money and valuables of Public
Defender Ali Rıza Efendi. Eventually Behisnili Ahmed, Hüseyin Efendi and Arap Hasan were sentenced to two years
imprisonment in accordance with Article 222 of the Penal Code, and Zeyneb was sentenced to one years of imprisonment
according to Article 230. It was decided by the court board that if the money and valuables are still available they will be
returned; if not, they would be compensated by the offenders and the court expenses would be collected from the offenders;
the case could be appealed.”65
According to the record, Article 230 of the Penal Code that was referred for the assignment of Zeyneb’s
punishment is in fact not an article related to the aiding and abetting. Zeyneb was going to be punished by the
same penalty as the primary offenders, but her penalty was reduced because she confessed and informed the
officials about the incidence and judgment was passed according to Article 230. Taking into consideration the
case studies, it is clear that Article 45 discussed at length in legal literature was not preferred in Ottoman courts,
based on the prevailing belief that it would result in an unjust sentence for accomplices.
In this point, the following question arises: why an article not cited in the cases is discussed so much, or
why an article discussed so much is not cited in the cases? The answer is regarding with French criminal policy
in the nineteenth century and with how Ottoman law men implemented the criminal code in practice.
It was stated before that the 1858 Penal Code was prepared with inspiration from the 1810 French Penal
Code. At this period, the question what the purpose and source of the punishment was, gained importance in
Europe, and as an answer of this question, theories of “social benefits” and “absolute justice” appeared. Later, both
of these theories were considered inadequate and a “mixed theory” was created. All these theories were referred
as “classical criminal law school” and then positivist school was established against the approach of this school. The
French Penal Code defended the mixed theory that was within the scope of the classical school. According to one
of the ideas of this theory, the punishment to be given an offender should be in line with the severity of the crime
and the harm that was caused on the society. It appeared that being in charge of a committed crime was spread
to a large area for protecting and maintenance of public order. This approach to punishment is thought to be
related to the change in French administration of the time. Napoleon Bonaparte, who abolished the republic in 1804
and brought the constitutional monarchy, gave an order for the preparation of a new criminal law. After the
French Revolution, republic was proclaimed in 1792; however, the struggle between the social classes made it
difficult to continue with the republican administration. After a period of terror and revolts, Napoleon Bonaparte
came like a savior and justified the proclamation of his kingdom by showing this hard period. Considering the
new penal code prepared in this background, it can be understood better why the crime and punishment were
wanted to be spread to a large area.
The policy of spreading the crime and punishment to a large area can be seen in all units of the criminal
law. As it is explained in this study that offender and the accomplice would be punished in the same way
according to the 1858 Penal Code. This situation can be considered as a result of the policies of the state. However,
this issue created long discussions among the Ottoman criminal jurists. Probably because this decision was
65
Turkiye Diyanet Foundation Center of Islamic Studies, Kahraman Maraş Qadi Register, 11, 45a.
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considered unjust for the accomplice, it can be seen that they avoided to use Article 45 by referring to the other
articles included in the law, sometimes with related justifications and sometimes even with unrelated ones.
The Ottoman criminal law, which was included in this criminal law system after The Penal Code of 1858,
had to accept the criminal policy and rules of this system and Ottoman law men noticed to accept whole criminal
system by adopting the French Penal Code. For example; Nazaret Haçeriyan attracted attentions to that point: “in
accordance with the principle that ‘The branches and consequences of an action is built on the same basis that it was based
on’, a lawmaker or jurist should assign crimes and punishments according to the same system and principles that he accepted
in criminal law philosophy. In our both criminal law and criminal procedure, French laws were accepted as a model. Therefore,
it will be beneficial for the dissection of our criminal law to know which theory and system were accepted and abided by.” As
it can be understood from this expression, criminal jurists were concerned that the integrity of the criminal law
would be spoiled because the explanations and literature of criminal laws belonging to different schools were
benefitted at the same time. According to him, if the criminal law is prepared by taking the French Penal Code as
a model, this also means to accept the school that the French criminal law belonged to and the criminal system
that it had. When a problem arises, the solution should not be looked for in criminal literature of other schools.
The same system and school that the French criminal law belonged to should be resorted.
Ottoman law men followed to the doctrines of French Criminal Law about the complicity. However, they
are separated from French Criminal Law in implement of law. By utilizing the gap in the statement of Article 45
“…except that law doesn’t contain further clarification” they legislated some exceptional articles not included in the
French Penal Code. The article 175, one of non-covered articles in the French Penal Code, was legislated when
preparing the code.
In the bill of the Penal Code, which was submitted to The Chamber of Deputies (Meclis-i Mebusan) in 1910, a
separate section consisting of four articles related to complicity was prepared by the Italian Penal Code of that
time.66 These articles would remedy the deficiencies of Article 45 of The Penal Code and of Article 209 of The Code
of Criminal Procedure and the punishment of the accomplice was rearranged to less more than the principal
offender’s in this new bill.
However, though this bill of the penal code was submitted to the parliament, there is no evidence that it
was negotiated in the parliamentary official records, so it was thought that it was cancelled after it was submitted
to parliament and the old code was continued with serious amendments realized in 1911. The amendments to
Articles 45, 175 and 230 concerning the complicity are crucial.
The Article 45, one of the most controversial articles of the Penal Code was amended in order to eliminate
the criticisms made about it in 1329 (1911). The new Article 45 was as follows: 67
“If more than one individual commits a murder or a qabahat together, or in a murder or qabahat composed of several
acts, more than one individual contributes to the crime by conducting one or more acts with the intent of committing the
crime, all of these individuals are called offenders and all of them are punished same as the primary offender.
Those who are the secondary contributors of a murder or qabahat are punished as the following unless the law makes
a clear statement:
66
Ceza Kanunu Layihası (İstanbul: Matbaa-i Amire, 1325), 65.
67
Düstur, II. Tertip (İstanbul: Matbaa-I Osmaniye, 1329), III, 440-441.
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If the main act requires death penalty or life hard labour, the accomplice should be punished with at least ten years of
temporary hard labour
If the main act requires life imprisonment, the accomplice should be punished with at least ten years of imprisonment
If the main act requires exile, the accomplice should be punished with three years of hard labour.
In other cases, the punishment is reduced to between one-third and one-sixth of the punishment specified for the
primary offender.
Those who force a person to commit a murder or qabahat by giving gift or money, cheating, using his/her power or
exploiting his/her position
Those who knew about a murder or qabahat before they were realized and helped its realization
Those who supply weapons, devices or other means to be used in the commitment of a murder or qabahat
And those who help with the completion of murder or qabahat or facilitate their preparation or realization on purpose
Are considered as the secondary accomplices of the murder or qabahat
Those who provide food, place to sleep, hide and gather to the offenders who commit thuggery or use force or violence
against the safety of the state, public order, safety of individuals or properties on purpose being aware of their actions are
called as secondary accomplices, as well.
Those who hide an object obtained through theft or robbery or used in a murder or qabahat being partially or totally
aware of the situation are also called the secondary accomplices of that act.”
The Penal Code of 1858 stood until the new Turkish Penal Code adopted in 1926. A separate section
consisting of four articles related to complicity was prepared in this new penal code and the articles of this new
penal code related to the complicity were the same as the articles of the complicity in the bill of the Criminal
Code prepared in 1910.68
Conclusion
Within the 19th century, especially in the second half, the Ottoman Empire witnessed a number of
developments and changes in the area of law. But, the character of change and change in criminal law has not
been in the same line. The purpose of the criminal laws of 1840 and 1851 is not the same as that of the criminal
law of 1858 and the innovations it introduces. This study tried to show the difference of Concept of complicity in
classic doctrine from its concept in 1858 Penal Code. the transformation is not only in the concept of "complicity"
but also in its implement and crime policy and source of law. Ottoman criminal jurists encountered with many
problems which France faced in that century, because the Ottoman Empire had taken France as a role model
while preparing its new penal code. Additionally, it means to accept the policy of spreading the crime and
punishment to a large area. In conclusion of this policy, as it is explained in this study, offender and the
accomplice would be punished in the same way according to the 1858 Penal Code. However, this issue created
long discussions among the Ottoman criminal jurists. Probably because this decision was considered unjust for
the accomplice, they avoided to use Article 45 by referring to the other articles included in the law, sometimes
with related justifications and sometimes even with unrelated ones. Considering along with the broad powers
68
Mehmed Sami, Şerhli ve Haşiyeli Ceza Külliyâti (İstanbul: Türk Press, 1926), 26-28.
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granted to judges and that many of the judges of that period were also judges of Sharia law, it can be interpreted
that they emphasized the doctrines of sharia law behind their minds in practice by interpreting the article and
implementing differently from France.
In addition, it attracts attention that the sources which the Ottoman criminal jurist applied to find
solutions to the problems, were not sharia sources, but were criminal law literature of various states such as
Belgium, Japan, Germany, Denmark and Russia. In this sense, it can be said that the sources of criminal law
changed. Moreover, there was a discrepancy between the classic doctrine and the expressions of the 1858 Penal
Code; that might be considered as one of the underlying reasons that they could not benefit from the fiqh
literature. However, Nazrat Haçeriyan attracted attentions to an important issue at this point: “In accordance with
the principle that ‘The branches and consequences of an action is built on the same basis that it was based on’, a lawmaker or
jurist should assign crimes and punishments according to the same system and principles that he accepted in criminal law
philosophy. In our both criminal law and criminal procedure, French laws were accepted as a model. Therefore, it will be
beneficial for the dissection of our criminal law to know which theory and system were accepted and abided by.” As it can be
understood from this expression, criminal jurists were concerned that the integrity of the criminal law would be
spoiled because the explanations and literature of criminal laws belonging to different schools were benefitted
at the same time. According to him, if the criminal law is prepared by taking the French Penal Code as a model,
this also means to accept the school that the French criminal law belonged to and the criminal system that it had.
When a problem arises, the solution should not be looked for in criminal literature of other schools. The same
system and school that the French criminal law belonged to should be resorted. These words of Haçeriyan remind
the concept of looking for solutions within one madhab.
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- Mehmet Seyitdanlıoğlu. 37-63. İstanbul: Türkiye İş Bankası Kültür Publications, 2011.
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Düstûr II. Tertip. İstanbul: Matbaa-i Amire, 1289.
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Gayretli, Mehmet. Tanzimat’tan Cumhuriyet’e Kanunlaştırma Çalışmaları. İstanbul: Nizamiye Akademi, 2015.
Hanioğlu, M. Şükrü. A brief history of the late Ottoman Empire. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2008.
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Heyd, Uriel. Studies in Old Ottoman Criminal Law. ed. V. L. Menage. Oxford: Oxford University, 1973.
İnalcık, Halil. “Tanzimat Nedir?”. Tanzimat: Değişim Sürecinde Osmanlı İmparatorluğu, editors: Halil İnalcık- Mehmet
Seyitdanlıoğlu. 13-35. İstanbul: Türkiye İş Bankası Kültür Publications, 2011.
Kaynar, Reşat. Türkiye’de Hukuk Devleti Kurma Yolundaki Hareketler. İstanbul: Tan Press, 1960.
Mardin, Şerif. Türk Modernleşmesi: Makaleler: IV. İstanbul: İletişim Yayınları, 1991.
Mehmed Aziz. Mufassal Nazariyyât-ı Ceza. Dersaadet: s.l., 1899.
Mehmed Sami. Şerhli ve Haşiyeli Ceza Külliyâtı. İstanbul: Türk Press, 1926.
Miller, Ruth A.. Legislating Authority: Sin and Crime in the Ottoman Empire and Turkey. edited by Shahrough Akhavi. New
York: Routledge, 2005.
Nazaret Haçeriyan. Mebâdi-i Hukuk-ı Ceza. İstanbul: s.l., 1306.
Ömer Hilmi Efendi. Mi’yâr-ı Adâlet. İstanbul: Hacı Muharrem Efendi Press, 1301.
Paz, Omri. Crime, Criminals and the Ottoman State: Anatolia between the late 1830s and the
Late 1860s. Unpublished PhD dissertation, Tel Aviv University, 2011.
Paz, Omri. “Documenting Justice: New Recording Practice and the Establishment of an Activist Criminal Court System
in the Ottoman Provinces (1840-late 1860s)”. Islamic Law and Society 21, 1/2 (2014): 81-131.
Peters, Rudolph. Crime and Punishment in Islamic Law: Theory and Practice from the Sixteenth to the Twenty-first Century.
Cambridge: Cambridge University, 2006.
Rubin, Avi. Ottoman Nizamiya Courts: Law and Modernity. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2011.
Servet. Hukuk-ı Ceza, Dersaadet: s.l., 1326.
Türker, Ebru Yakut. Alternative Claims on Justice and Law: Rural Arson and Poison Murder in the 19th Century Ottoman Empire.
Unpublished PhD dissertation, Boğaziçi University, 2011.
Velidedeoğlu, Hıfzı Veldet. “Kanunlaştırma Hareketleri ve Tanzimat”. Tanzimat-I: Yüzüncü Yıldönümü Münasebetiyle. 139-
209. Ankara: Maarif Vekaleti, 1940.
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ULUM Journal of Religious Inquiries
ﻣﺠﻠﺔ اﻟﺪراﺳﺎت اﻟﺪﯾﻨﯿﺔ
www.dergipark.org.tr/ulum
A Sufi’s Interpretation of Ḥadīth: The Case of Ibn ʿArabī and the Ḥadīths
about Holding up the hands during the prayer (Raf‘ al-yadain) *
Mehmet Ayhan * *
Abstract
This paper studies the understanding and interpretation of a specific ḥadīth by Muhy al-dīn Ibn ʿArabī. His
view on the ḥadīth about ‘holding up the hands during ṣalāh (raf‘ al-yadain)’ is explained in the light of his
well-known book, Futūḥāt al-Makkiyya. Besides the general knowledge and terminology of fiqh and ḥadīth,
Ibn ʿArabī also utilized his unique methods and methodologies of taṣawwuf to interpret the ḥadīth. It is
concluded that in interpretation of a ḥadīth, Ibn ʿArabī differed from other scholars as he skillfully used these
three areas of knowledge (fiqh, ḥadīth, and taṣawwuf) as a trivet and by synthesizing these three sciences, he
approached to the issue in a comprehensive way. The dreams, one of Ibn ʿArabī’s special methods and one
of Sufism’s wisdom sources, are presented within the context of the interpretation of ḥadīth. While Ibn
ʿArabī was inspired the ḥadīth by a dream, he also stated its place and status in ḥadīth sources. Moreover, he
derived several conclusions by critically reviewing the related ḥadīths.
Keywords
Hadith, Fiqh, Ṣufism, Ibn ʿArabī, Futūḥāt, Prayer, Holding up the hands, Interpretation
*
Previously published in Turkish: Mehmet Ayhan, “Bir Sūfī’nin Hadis Yorumu -Raf’u’l-Yedeyn Hadisi- İbn ʿArabī
Örneği”, Öneri Dergisi 10/37 (2012): 195-201).
**
Assistant Professor, Kocaeli University, Faculty of Teology, Department of Hadith, Kocaeli, Turkey
Dr. Öğr. Üyesi, Kocaeli Üniversitesi, İlahiyat Fakültesi, Hadis Anabilim Dalı
muhayhan02@gmail.com ORCID 0000-0003-1836-7807
Article Types: Translated Article
Received: 24 January 2018
Accepted: 10 July 2019
Published: 31 July 2019
Cite as: Mehmet Ayhan, “A Sufi’s Interpretation of Ḥadīth: The Case of Ibn ʿArabī and the Ḥadīths about Holding up
the hands during the prayer (Raf‘ al-yadain)”, ULUM 2/1 (July 2019): 121-132,
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3355742
122 | Ayhan, “A Sufi’s Interpretation of Ḥadīth: The Case of Ibn ʿArabī and the Ḥadīths about Holding …”
Bir Sūfī’nin Hadis Yorumu: Raf’u’l-Yedeyn Hadisi - İbn Arabî Örneği
Öz
Bu makalede İbn Arabî’nin bir hadisi anlama ve yorumlaması ele alınmıştır. İbn Arabī’nin raf‘ul-
yedeyn/namazda ellerin kaldırılması hadisine bakış açısı meşhur eseri el-Fütūhātü’l-Mekkiyye adlı eseri
ekseninde izah edilmiştir. İbn Arabī, hadisi yorumlarken fıkıh ve hadisin yanında tasavvuf ilmini ve özel
yöntemlerini de işin içine katmaktadır. Onun diğer bilginlerden farklı olarak bir hadisi izah ederken bu üç
sacayağını birlikte kullandığı ve bu üç ilmi mezcederek külli bir bakış açısıyla meseleye yaklaştığı
görülmektedir. İbn Arabī’nin özel rivāyet metotlarından ve tasavvufī bilgi kaynaklarından olan rüyanın
işlevi bir hadis yorumu özelinde nazara verilmektedir. İbn Arabī, hadisi rüya yoluyla alırken aynı zamanda
hadis kaynaklardaki yerini ve durumunu belirtmektedir. Bunların yanında ilgili hadisleri kritiğe tabi tutarak
çeşitli sonuçlara ulaşmaktadır.
Anahtar Kelimeler
Hadis, Fıkıh, Tasavvuf, İbn ʿArabî, Futūḥāt, Namaz, Ellerin Kaldırılması, Yorum
INTRODUCTION
Throughout history, Abrahamic religions have given particular importance to worship. Islam has a
special status among other religions with regard to valuing worship. One of the most fundamental worships
that Islam puts great emphasis on is ṣalāh (daily prayers). Certainly, ṣalāh is one of the most essential
worships for a believer. Thus, in fiqh and ḥadīth literatures, all decrees related to ṣalāh are carefully
documented and meticulously handled.
As a source of the judgments in religion, scholars refer to the Qurʾān in the first place and secondly
they refer to Sunnah (the practices of the Prophet [peace be upon him] that he taught and practically
instituted, including his specific words, habits, and silent approvals).1 After these two fundamental
referential sources, they refer to other sources.2 There are both controversial and commonly agreed issues
related to decrees of ṣalāh. One of the controversial issues debated among scholars is the raf‘ al-yadain
whether one could hold up hands or not during the prayer other than opening takbīr.
There are different practices about holding up hands during the prayer (other than opening takbīr)
among the madhhabs (religious schools of law). Ḥadīths constitute the supporting structures of these
1
There is a consensus among islamic scholars that the first source of Islamic Law is Qurān and the second one is the
Sunnah. For more detailed information, see Zekiyyüddin Şaban, İslam Hukuk İlminin Esasları: (Usulü’l-Fıkh), translated
by İbrahim Kafi Dönmez (Ankara: Türkiye Diyanet Vakfı Yayınları, 1990), 46.
2
For more information, see Abdullah Kahraman, Fıkıh Usûlü, (İstanbul: Rağbet Yayınları, 2016), 65.
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Ayhan “A Sufi’s Interpretation of Ḥadīth: The Case of Ibn ʿArabī and the Ḥadīths about Holding …” | 123
different practices.3 Every school holding a different view on an issue argues that its perspective is more
accurate and thus ends up in a different practice by referring to ḥadīths.4
According to schools5 except for Hanafism, raising hands while bending down and rising from the
bowing is considered to be in line with the Prophet’s act.6 However, according to the Hanafī scholars, raising
hands during the prayer other than opening takbīr is neither in line with the sunnah, nor an approved act.7
1. ḤADĪTHS RELATED TO RAF‘ AL-YADAIN
In ḥadīth sources, there exist many narrations about raising hands during the prayer other than
opening takbīr. Regarding the issue, there are many ḥadīths narrated from companions such as ʿUmar, ʿAbd
3
Khattābī’s assessment on the ḥadīths related to raf‘ al-yadain is as the following: “Most of the scholars agree on
raising hands during bending down (ruku). Leading companions (sahabas) such as Abū Bakr, ʿAlī, Ibn ʿUmar, Abū Sa‘īd
al-Khudrī, Ibn Abbās, ʿAbd Allāh b. Zubair and Anas, tābiins such as Hasan al-Basrī, Ibn Sīrīn, ʿAtā, Tāvūs, Mujāhid, Qasim b.
Muhammad, Salim, Qatāda, Maqhūl and in addition to these, al-Awza’i, Mālik, Shāfiʿī, Aḥmad, Ishaq, Sufyan al-Thawrī agree
on this view.’’ See, 3: 23; Azīmabādī, Ebu’t-Tayyib Şems al-hak, Avn al-ma’būd Sharhu Sunan-i Abū Dāwūd, nşr. İşraf
Sıdkī Muhammed Cemīl al-Attār (Beirut: Dāral-Fikr, 1415/1995), 'Avn al-ma’būd Sherhu sunen-i Abū Dāwūd, 2: 338; In
his book titled al-Sunan, Tirmidhī cites the narration of Ibni ʿUmar as hasan and sahih and it is narrated from Hz.
ʿUmar, ʿAlī, Vāil bin Hujr, Mālik bin al-Huveyris, Anas, Abū Hurayra, Abū Khumeyd, Abū Useyd, Sehl bin Sa'd,
Muhammed bin Maslamah, Abū Qatade, Abū Musa al-Aşhari, Jābir, Umayr al-Leysī. Also, he reports that Ibni ʿUmar,
Jābir b. ʿAbdallāh, Abū Hurayra, Anas, Ibni Abbas, ʿAbdallāh b. Zubeyr and some sahabas, Hasan al-Basrī, ʿAtā, Tavus,
Mujahid, Nafi, Salem b. ʿAbdallāh, Sa’id b. Jubayr from tabiin and İmam Mālik, Shāfiʿī, Aḥmad b. Ḥanbal, al-Awza’i,
Ma’mer, Ibni Uyaynah, ʿAbdallāh b. Mubārek, Ishak from subsequent mujtahids judge for the raising hands during
Ṣalah. See Tirmidhī, “Adhān”, 190; Mubārekfūrī, Tuhfet al-Ahwazī, 2: 96.
4
Examination of the views about raf‘ al-yadain indicates that there are many different judgments about it, ranging
from sunnah to wajib and even to judgments classifying this action as makruh. See Shaybānī, Kitab al-āthār, 1: 142;
Ibn Hazm, Muḥallā, 3: 88, 236; Ibn Rushd, Bidāyah al-Mujtahid wa nihayat al-Muqtasid, 191-193; Kutb al-Dardīr, al-Sharh
al-Kabir ala Mukhtasar Khalil, 1: 177; al-Qashani, Badai‘u al-sanai, 1: 208; al-Marghinānī, al-Hidāyā, 1: 131; al-Sharbini,
Mughni al-muhtaj 1: 236; Nawawī, Majmūʿ, 3: 255
5
According to some well-known books of Mālikī school, it is not necessary to hold up hands during the prayer. For
example, see Kutb al-Dardīr, al-Sharh al-Kabir ala Mukhtasar Khalil, 1: 177. However, according to Ibn Abd al-Barr, the
narration of Ibn al-Qasim about Imam Mālik’s judgement that “One should not raise his/her hands except opening
takbīr’’ is weak. Ibn Abd al-Barr asserts raising hands during the prayer to be correct. See Ibn Abd al-Barr, Ikhtilaf
aqwal Mālik wa ashabihi, 108.
6
Ibn Hazm, Muḥallā, 3: 88; Ibn Rushd, Bidaya, 1: 191-193; see Ibn Qudamah, Mughni, 2: 171; al-Shirbini, Mughni al-muhtaj,
1: 236; al-Nawawī, Majmu‘, 3: 255.
7
al-Shaybānī, Kitab al-āthār, 1: 142; al-Qashani, Badai‘u al-sanai, 1: 208; al-Marghinani, al-Hidāyā, 1: 131. For discussions
on the arguments of Hanafī scholars about raf‘ al-yadain, see Güler, Zekeriya, Zāhirī Muhaddislerle Hanefī Fakihleri
Arasındaki Münakaşalar ve İhtilaf Sebepleri, 89-94.
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Allāh ibn ʿUmar8, Mālik b. al-Huwayrith,9 Salim b. ʿAbd Allāh,10 Ibn Mas’ūd,11 Bara b. Azib,12 Abū Humeyd al-
Saidi, Vail b. Hujr, Mu‘az and Anas.13
Al-Bukhārī (d. 256/870) being prominent among others, many muhaddiths recorded these narrations
in their books. In addition to recording the narrations in his work called ‘Sahih’, Imam al-Bukhārī also wrote
a specific book on raf‘ al-yadain.14
Ibn ʿArabī’s propounding these narrations in Futūḥāt is in line with Muslim, Abū Dāwūd, al-Tirmidhī,
al-Nāsāī and Ibn Maja, who are the authors of Al-Kutub al-Sittah (Six Books), recording these narrations in
their studies.15
Given his scholarly life chronologically having been instituted to contain this sum of knowledge and
basing his view about the above issue on these records, Ibn ʿArabī considered the ‘Muslim ḥadīth’ regarding
the issue. However, he neither refers to the narrations recorded by al-Bukhārī, nor the narrations in other
8
“Allah's Apostle (be peace upon him) opening the prayer with the takbīr and raising his hands to the level of his
shoulders at the time of saying the takbīr, and on saying the takbīr for bowing he did the same; and when he said,
“Sami‘a-llah li-man hamida”, he did the same and then said, “Rabbana wa laka-l-hamd.” But he did not do the same
on prostrating and on lifting the head from it.” For the ḥadīth, see al-Bukhārī, “Adhān”, 85; Müslim, “Ṣalah”, 22; al-
Nasāī, “Iftitah”, 1 (874), 2 (875), 3 (876); Ibn Māja, “Iqamah”, 15 (858); Ibn Hibban, 5: 172 (1861); for other narrations
from Ibn ʿUmar, see al-Bukhārī, Raf‘ al-yadain fi al-salāh, 69.
9
“The Prophet (be peace upon him) opened the prayer with the takbīr and raised his hands. When bowing down and
straightening up from bowing, he (be peace upon him) raised his hands.’’ For the ḥadīth, see al-Bukhārī, “Adhān”,
84; Muslim, “Ṣalah”, 24; Ibn Hibban, Sahih, 5: 176 (1863).
10
“I saw ’Allah's Apostle (be peace upon him) raising his hands to the level of his shoulders at the time of saying
opening the prayer with the takbīr, before bowing down and after bowing up. He (be peace upon him) did not raise
his hands between prostrations.’’ For the ḥadīth, see al-Bukhārī, “Adhān”, 83; Muslim, “Ṣalah”, 21; Aḥmad, 2: 47; Ibn
Ḥibbān, Sahih, 5: 177 (1864); Abū Ya’lā, Musnad, 9: 416 (5564).
11
Abū Dāwūd, “Ṣalah”, 119; al-Tirmidhī, “Ṣalah”, 76; al-Nasāī, “Iftitah”, 87.
12
Abū Dāwūd, “Ṣalah”, 119; al-Tirmidhī, “Ṣalah”, 76.
13
al-Ḥākim al-Naysābūrī reports that he does not know any sunnah other than raf’ al-yadain which is narrated by the
Prophet (be peace upon him) and about which the four khalifs, ashara mubashshara and leading companions in a
widespread region agree on. In addition, al-Bayhaqi documents the names of approximately thirty companions who
narrated raising hands during the prayer. See al-Bukhārī, Raf‘ al-yadain fi al-Ṣalah, 30 (footnote). In his book, Ibn
Qayyim al-Jawziyya documents the names of approximately thirty companions who narrated raising hands during
the prayer and reports that there is no act of the Prophet (be peace upon him) contrary to the statements given in
these narrations. It is noted that the Prophet continued this practice till his death. See Ibn Qayyim, Zad al-Ma’ad, 1:
209. Similarly, the ḥadīths regarding the issue are narrated from a group of approximately 50 companions in which
there are also companions from the group known as ashara mubashshara. See, Raf‘ al-yadain fi al-Ṣalah, 30 (footnote).
14
See al-Bukhārī, Kitābü Raf’ al-yadain fi al-Ṣalah; Also see Jila al-ayneyn bi-takhriji riwayat al-Bukhārī fī juz raf’ al-yadain.
15
See Muslim, “Ṣalah”, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26; Abū Dāwūd, “Ṣalah”, 115, 116, 117. (Among the authors of Al-Kutub al-
Sittah, only Abū Dāwūd reports the narration regarding “raising hands to the level of his shoulders during Ṣalah’’.); al-Tirmidhī,
“Ṣalah”, 76; al-Nasāī, “İftitah”, 1, 2, 3, 4; İbn Maja, “Iqamah”, 15.
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Ayhan “A Sufi’s Interpretation of Ḥadīth: The Case of Ibn ʿArabī and the Ḥadīths about Holding …” | 125
sources. There are two possible explanations for this fact. Either Ibn ʿArabī was not aware of these
narrations, or he ignored them. The first explanation is considered to be extremely unlikely because it can
be inferred from Ibn ʿArabī’s studies on the ḥadīth on the subject of raf‘ al-yadain that he must have been
aware of the narrations mentioned above.16
His expertise on ḥadīth can easily be seen from his ordering of ḥadīths on the mystical insight, it is
important to note that although he is known as a person who emphasizes spiritual side, at the same time he
does not undervalue the reasoning at all.
2. IBN ʿARABĪ’S PERSPECTIVE ON RAF‘ AL-YADAIN
Muhy al-dīn Ibn ʿArabī follows a different methodology when interpreting raising hands during the
prayer. While he is studying raf‘ al-yadain through fiqh methodology, he also utilizes a sufi perspective.
Ibn ʿArabī mentions this issue in two separate sections of his book. The first one is Raising Hands
during the prayer;17 and the second one is the section titled as Knowing the Place of Naskh in Muhammadi
Sharia.18
The author of Futūḥāt initially summarizes the overall views on raf‘ al-yadain three categories in his
work: The decrees regarding raising hands during the prayer, the cases in which raising hands is required
and finally, when raising hands has to be completed.19
Ibn ʿArabī, who alternates between ḥadīth and fiqh, but gives more weight to fiqh while analyzing this
issue, reports that according to some Islamic scholars, raising hands during ṣalāh is considered as sunnah. He
also states that it is accepted as fard (obligatory) by some other scholars which are classified in three groups.
One group of these scholars, the first group, mentioned in Futūḥāt as the Zāhiri School20, argues that raising
hands for opening takbīr is fard.21 The second group argues that raising hands while bending down and while
16
We think that Ibn ʿArabī does not ignore narration of Buhârî, but he features narration of Muslim, as it is in line
with the order presented in Futūḥāt. Moreover, ḥadīths of Wāil b. Hujr ve Mālik ibn al-Huvayris can be presented as
examples showing that that Ibn ʿArabī must have been aware of the narrations mentioned. While summarizing the
discussions on the issue, Ibn ʿArabī explicitly emphasizes these two ḥadīths. It is stated that the ḥadīth about ‘Raising
hands on prostrating and on lifting the head from it’ (Aḥmad, 4: 317) is narrated from Wāil bin Hujr; the ḥadīth
about ‘raising hands after two rakah’ (Bukhārī, “Adhān”, 84; Muslim, “Adhān”, 24) is narrated from Mālik ibn al-
Huwayris. See Futūḥāt, 1: 437 (Chapter 69).
17
Futūḥāt, 1: 437 (Chapter 69).
18
Futūḥāt, 3: 70 (Chapter 318).
19
Futūḥāt, 1: 437 (Chapter 69). Ibn ʿArabī’s citation of different views on raf‘ al-yadain is in line with the method of Ibn
Rushd. However, Ibn Rushd discusses the related views and controversies in more detail. See. Ibn Rushd, Bidāyah,
1: 191-193.
20
Ibn Hazm, Muḥallā, 3: 236.
21
Futūḥāt 1: 436-7 (Chapter 69).
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rising from the bowing is fard. The last group claims that in addition to the cases mentioned above, raising
hands on prostrating and on lifting the head from it is also fard.22
In ḥadīth resources, there are many ḥadīth narrations regarding raising hands after two rakahs (two
units of ṣalāh).23 Moreover, some scholars argue with reference to some ḥadīth narrations, which are also
reported by Ibn ʿArabī, that raising hands on prostrating24 and after two rakah are sunnah.25
On the other hand, Ibn ʿArabī lists the four cases in which raising hands are obligatory. He presents
the evidence for the last two, but does not report their sources. The scholars arguing the obligation of raising
hands on prostrating and on lifting the head from it base their views on the ḥadīth of Wāil b. Hujr. The ḥadīth
that Ibn ʿArabī mentioned is recorded in Aḥmad b. Ḥanbal’s book, titled as Musnad.26 Moreover, it is noted in
Futūḥāt that scholars arguing that raising hands after two rakah is obligatory to do istidlal (a process of
inductive inference and seeking guidance from the source) according to the ḥadīth narrated from Mālik ibn
al-Huwayrith.27 This ḥadīth is also recorded in sahih (valid) resources such as al-Bukhārī and Muslim.28
The author of Futūḥāt first reviews the narrations on raf‘ al-yadain regarding their predication. Under
this criterion, ‘the ḥadīth about raising hands to the level of shoulders’ is the strongest one among all the ḥadīth
narrations regarding raising hands.29 Also, ‘the narration about raising hands to the level of ears’ is stronger (with
respect to its sened (the chains of their narration)) than ‘the narration about raising hands to the level of chest’.30
After the review of narrators’ chain, Ibn ʿArabī evaluates the contents. According to him, since there
is not any prohibition on this issue, one doesn’t have to neglect the ḥadīths regarding this issue and should
act proper to the ḥadīths. Moreover, there are both fards and sunnahs in the acts of the Prophet. Describing
a judgment as fard requires evidence for this.31
22
Futūḥāt, 1: 436-7 (Chapter 69). The group of scholars, whose name is not cited by Ibn ʿArabī, claiming that raising
hands while bending down and rising from the bowing and on prostrating and on lifting the head from it is fard are
Dāwūd Zāhirī and a group of his companions. See İbn Rushd, Bidāyah, 1: 191.
23
For example, see al-Bukhārī, “Adhān”, 86; Abū Dāwūd, “Adhān”, 117; al-Nasāī, “Sehv”, 2, 3; Ibn Maja, “Iqamah”, 15.
24
See Ibn Rushd, Bidāyah, 1: 191.
25
Ibn Rushd, Bidāyah, 1: 191; al-Nawawī, Majmūʿ, 3: 446-48.
26
Aḥmad, 4: 317.
27
Futūḥāt, 1: 437 (Chapter 69).
28
Al-Bukhārī, “Adhān”, 84; Muslim, “Adhān”, 24.
29
al-Nawawī reports that according to widely shared view in Shāfiʿī school, raising hands to the level of shoulders is
obligatory. See al-Nawawī, Majmūʿ, 3: 307.
30
Futūḥāt, 1: 437 (Chapter 69).
31
These views expressed in Futūḥāt are as the following: On this issue, my view is as the following: The narrations regarding
holding up hands during Ṣalah only reflect the acts of Hz. Prophet (peace be upon him). There is not actually any such order of
Hz. Prophet (peace be upon him). He (peace be upon him) said: “Perform Ṣalah as you see me perform Ṣalah.’’ (For the ḥadīth,
see al-Bukhārī, “Adhān”, 18, “Edeb”, 27, “Āhād” 1; Dārimī, “Ṣalah”,42; Aḥmad, 5: 53; al-Dāraqutnī, ʿAlī b. ʿUmar,
Sunan, ta‘līq, Shams al-Hak al-Azīmābādī, 4 Cilt, (Beirut: Dār Ihyā al-Turāth al-ʿArabī, 1413/1993) 1: 346 (10)). “As is
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Ayhan “A Sufi’s Interpretation of Ḥadīth: The Case of Ibn ʿArabī and the Ḥadīths about Holding …” | 127
As can be understood from the discussion above that Ibn ʿArabī primarily depends on the ḥadīths while
forming his chain of thoughts. In the same vein, by making a comparison with the issue of Ali’s niyyah
(intention) of hajj’32, he claims that not knowing the true judgment about holding up hands during the prayer
does not prevent one from practicing it.
As it can be inferred from his assessments above that the judgment on the issue depends on only nass
(scriptures), not on mystical insights or any other special methodology. The criteria used in the ḥadīth
review are the rules outlined in the ḥadīth methodology, not any other special methodology.
Acting in line with the manners of a consummate sufi, he notes that not ‘the judgment itself’ but
performing that act is the first and important concern regarding any sunnah of the Prophet. Thus, it does
not matter whether the judgment about that act is sunnah or fard. Furthermore, if the narrations are
combined as much as possible, all acts of the Prophet’s could be performed.33 We must note the enthusiasm
of Ibn ʿArabī to perform with all ḥadīths narrated from the Prophet. Ibn ʿArabī’s insistence on performing in
compliance with the statements of ḥadīths as much as possible can be considered as a common result of his
sufi side and his ḥadīth scholar side.
In addition to this, according to his perspective, it is not right to conclude an act of the Prophet as
fard if there is not a direct order regarding this act. Under the rules of ḥadīth methodology, the abūndance
of thiqa (trustable narrator) is desirable.34 Because of this, one can perform with the guidance of any
acceptable ḥadīth. As can be inferred, Ibn ʿArabī acts on this issue as a ḥadīth scholar rather than a fiqh
scholar. More precisely, his sufi side does not prevent him from relying on ḥadīths.
Moreover, after reciting the reviews regarding the ḥadīth, the author of Futūḥāt also notes his choice
and perception. While analyzing the issue, it is explicitly understood from his notes that he utilizes both
ḥadīth and fiqh methodologies.35
It is noteworthy that Ibn ʿArabī’s view on raising hands during the prayer other than the opening
takbīr is in line with the views of Ibn Hazm who also lived in the same region. Ibn Hazm argues that holding
known, the prayer is a worship that includes both fards and sunnahs. Thus, one could not conclude from this ḥadīth,
by opposing ijma, that all decrees regarding the prayer are fard.’’ See Futūḥāt, 1: 437 (Chapter 69).
32
Ibn ʿArabī explains his reasoning on this issue as the following: “We perform the prayer and raise our hands up with
accepting and being aware of that it is a religious decree, but without specifying whether it is fard or sunnah. Similar to this,
although ʿAlī b. Abī Tālib did not know Hz. Prophet’s intention of hajj (which kinds of hajj), he entered the state of ihram (a
sacred state that a Muslim must enter in order to perform the major pilgrimage) with Hz. Prophet’s intention of ihram. The
Prophet (be peace upon him) approved this act and did not react to him. Hence, we accept and hold up hands during the prayer
as stated in religious decree.’’ Futūḥāt, 1: 437 (Chapter 69). For the ḥadīth about ʿAlī’s entering the state of ihram with
intending the Prophet’s intention of hajj, see Aḥmad, 3: 320 (1437).
33
Futūḥāt, 1: 437 (Chapter 69).
34
See Futūḥāt, 1: 437 (Chapter 69). Ibn ʿArabī supports his view by reminding the rule of ḥadīth methodology ‘excess
of thiqa (trustable narrator) is desirable’. For more information about the excess of thiqa and desirability of this
excess, see al-Bāīs al-hasīs Sharh ikhtisār ulūm al-hadīth, 1: 190.
35
See Futūḥāt, 1: 437 (Chapter 69).
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up hands during the prayer other than opening takbīr is not fard. He also argues that since there exist
supporting narrations from Hz. Prophet’s (peace be upon him) life for both acts, whether or not holding up
hands during the prayer, sunnah will be performed by doing in either way.36
3. A DIFFERENT APPROACH TO RAF‘ AL-YADAIN BY IBN ʿARABĪ
When expressing his views on the issue of holding up hands during the prayer, Ibn ʿArabī refers to a
dream of his. At this point, we have an opportunity to evaluate his actual identity, meaning his sufi
characteristic, and he basically develops his conclusion by referring to this dream. He writes that in the
dream, The Messenger (peace be upon him) orders him to raise his hands for opening takbīr, while bending
down and rising from the bowing.37 It is important to note that while Ibn ʿArabī is discussing the issue related
with the prayer in the form of a fiqh book, suddenly he alters his attitude and chooses to express his views
by referring to his dreams.
A main characteristic distinguishing him from other fiqh scholars is his usage of special methods even
in analyzing the issues related to judgments (ahkām). While developing a view on any issue, he bases his
thoughts on dreams, which is different from other scholars. When analyzing the issue, Ibn ʿArabī clearly
utilizes one of his peculiar methods beside fiqh and ḥadīth methodologies.38 Another important point is that
the author of Futūḥāt does not mention his original method in a separate section, but discusses it in the same
section. This indicates that in his perspective, there is no distinction between Fiqh/Ḥadīth, the exoteric
(zāhirī) sciences, and Taṣawwuf/Ethics (akhlāq), the esoteric sciences.
On the other hand, he acknowledges at section 318 of Futūḥāt that he bases many of his judgments,
including holding up hands during the prayer, on Sūrat al-Nabi. However, while he mentions in Futūḥāt that
he relies on revealings through dreams in one part of the book, in another part he notes that he receives
this information from ‘Sūrat al-Nabi’.39
From Ibn ʿArabī’s expressions in Futūḥāt, it is explicit that ‘Sūrat al-Nabi’ is certainly a form of spiritual
element.40 However, these expressions also indicate that this concept is not related to the dreams. Thus, it
36
See Ibn Hazm, Muḥallā, 3: 235.
37
Futūḥāt, 1: 437 (Chapter 69).
38
More discussions on the İbn ʿArabī’s unique narration methods, See, Ayhan, İbn ʿArabī ve Hadis, 138-275.
39
Futūḥāt, 3: 70 (Chapter 318).
40
Ibn ʿArabī explains the meaning of the expression ‘Sūrat al-Nabī’ as the following:
“The meaning of Sūrat al-Nabī is exactly the soul and the essence (haqiqa) of the Prophet (peace be upon him) or a resembling
image of the Prophet (peace be upon him) and the image of an angel which knows religious orders (al-ahqam al-shar’iyya) of
the Prophet (peace be upon him). By this way, the given statements to that person also constitute the religious order of the
Prophet (peace be upon him). Any other alternative meaning for this is not possible. Since, undoubtedly, the devil can’t imitate
the image of any prophet.’’ Futūḥāt, 3: 70 (Chapter 318). For the ḥadīths regarding impossibility of devil’s interfering
or imitating the image of the Prophet (peace be upon him), see al-Bukhārī, “Ilm” 38, “Tabir” 10; Muslim, “Ru’ya”,
10, 11; Abū Dāwūd, “Adab”, 88; al-Tirmidhī, “Ru’ya”, 4, 7; Ibn Maja, “Ru’ya”, 2; al-Dārimī, “Ru’ya”, 4; Aḥmad, 1: 450,
279, 2: 232, 261, 342, 410.
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is possible that Ibn ʿArabī has received the related information about raf‘ al-yadain both through dreams and
from the Sūrat al-Nabi.41
4. SUFI INTERPRETATION OF THE ḤADĪTH OF RAF‘ AL-YADAIN
After reporting the ḥadīth and religious judgments on raf‘ al-yadain, Ibn ʿArabī points to the
implicational side of the issue. According to him, the interpretation of the ḥadīth from a taṣawwufi
perspective is as the following:
Raising hands implies that the declaration of that everything obtained, earned by these hands is nonexistent.
Allah teaches it to a person who performs ṣalāh and (as if) tells: ‘My slave! When you stand in my presence, be as a
destitute, impoverished man. Leave behind -while raising hands- the things that I favored and gave you for it is just me
who is in the direction of qibla.’
By this way, the person performing ṣalāh turns towards the direction of qibla, utters takbīr and raises his hands
while his palms are open and empty in order to show he has nothing. When he brings his hands to the sides and leaves
them earthwards, his palms are turned backwards facing the direction where he left his possessions behind. In return
for every act performed during ṣalāh, Allah bestows a favor on him. When Allah gives him something, he does not hold
onto it and leaves it behind. By raising hands, he expresses to Allah the following:
By raising hands when ordered and by not raising hands when ordered not to, he resigns himself to order of
Allah...’’42
The author of Futūḥāt says a lot about the interpretation of the ḥadīth. These are rather related with
his feelings and with sufi side of him. He interprets the exoteric meaning of the ḥadīth as well as its ishari
(vectoral)/Taṣawwufi meaning. He tries to explain not only the exoteric side (fiqh zāhir) of the ḥadīth/nass,
but also the esoteric side (fıqh bātin) of it. Here, an important point is to emphasize that ṣalāh is not only just
a series of some physical/mechanical movements, but it involves a spiritual, moral aspect.
Ibn ʿArabī claims that every action performed during ṣalāh such as opening takbīr, bringing hands
down and leaving them earthwards, standing up (qiyām) for ṣalāh, prostrating, giving greetings has a distinct
41
Ibn ʿArabī provided various information on Sūrat al-Nabī. He claimed that he didn’t learn the religious orders (al-
ahkām al-shar’iyya) that he took from a quasi-image of Sūrat al-Nabī from any kind of book or scholar. When this
information that was derived from this special method was shared with other reliable scholars, it was observed that
both information that was derived from both sources (the books and Sūrat al-Nabī) were exactly the same. Ibn ʿArabī
reported that this exact convergence surprised the scholars, who combined both Ḥadīth and Fiqh sciences, in his
region. He also stated that in every subject that he gave information from Sūrat al-Nabī, there was a sahih ḥadīth
which was an exact match to the letter with the given information. According to Ibn ʿArabī, the information about
holding up hands during the prayer is also in this category. Previously, he had never seen anybody who had
performed this practice or had seen any scholar who had held this view in his native land. When he shared this
information about raf al-yadain with a Ḥadīth scholar Muhammad b. ʿAlī b. al-Hajj, this scholar narrated a ḥadīth
form Muslim regarding this issue. Ibn ʿArabī himself also noticed this narration while examining some ḥadīths in
Sahih of Muslim. See Futūḥāt, 3: 70 (Chapter 318).
42
Futūḥāt, 1: 437 (Chapter 69).
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meaning.43 Therefore, he concludes that there are both exoteric/explicit side and esoteric/non-explicit side
of the ṣalāh and these two jointly constitute ṣalāh. Moreover, he tries to impart from the depths of his heart
that a person should confess his feebleness and should worship with considering his need for the
benevolence of Allah. 44
5. CONCLUSION
Ibn ʿArabī first analyzes the ḥadīth and fiqh literatures to ascertain the place of raising hands during
the prayer. He basically reports the different views on raf‘ al-yadain in the fiqh literature and provides
supporting arguments for these views from ḥadīth sources.
The author of Futūḥāt not only cites the judgments of scholars on the issue, but also closely scrutinizes
these views. In addition to this, he evaluates the ḥadīths regarding the issue as well as the reliance of them.
Therefore, we can safely conclude that he acts both as a ḥadīth and a fiqh scholar.
Moreover, Ibn ʿArabī does not interpret the issue by centering the view of any Islamic group and but
rather acts as an autonomous mujtahid (a person who knows the religion in all details). Also, an original
point here is that he chooses to combine all ḥadīth narrations on this issue as much as possible, rather than
opting to use only some part of them.
Furthermore, he states his arguments through presenting a specific dream of his. İn this way, he
considers the issue beyond the traditional fiqh and ḥadīth methodologies and actually develops a unique sufi
methodology to analyze this kind of a fiqh issue.
In addition to using his unique method to develop an understanding for this subject, he points to the
implied/taṣawwufi meaning of the ḥadīth in order to explicitly explain his method. Having his
interpretations not restricted to the-fiqh related aspect of the subject but elevating them to a spiritual level
can be considered as an important contribution to the contemplation (tafaqqur) side of the ṣalāh.
Ibn ʿArabī as a sufi ḥadīth scholar not only reports a debatable issue among religious schools but also
re-evaluates it and states his opinions, which is an extremely important point to consider in this literature.
Also, explaining a subject of fiqh through both exoteric and taṣawwufi (or sufi’) perspectives is perhaps the
result of Ibn ʿArabī’s totally inclusive thoughts on the subject. Furthermore, Ibn ʿArabī’s usage of his own
unique methods in addition to the fiqh and ḥadīth methodologies must be the result of his sufi characteristic,
which causes this practice to turn out to be a special case.
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ULUM Journal of Religious Inquiries
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The Criticism of Materialism in Late Ottoman’s New Science of Kalām *
Mehmet Bulğen * *
Abstract
Materialism, which reduces the whole existence simply to matter and its interactions, and respectively
ignores the intervention of a divine being concerning the universe; it is often traced back to a period in
which philosophy was born. However, when we study the historical process, we find that materialism was a
thought that was generally rejected by the majority. With the Enlightenment and secularism following the
Renaissance, Reformation and 17th Century Scientific Revolution in Europe, materialism gained more
followers. In the 20th century, in what was known as its golden era, it became a world view by manifesting
itself in the religious, social, political and economic spheres of life. Materialism came to the Ottomans
following the first half of the 19th century through the students who went to the West and via newly
established military and medical schools. Despite materialism forming the backbone of debates on
*
Previously published in Turkish: Mehmet Bulğen, “Osmanlı Yeni İlm-i Kelâmında Materyalizm Eleştirileri”,
Bilimname: Düşünce Platformu 30/1 (2016): 391-433.
I want to thank Zeliha Uluyurt for her contribution to the translation of the article into English.
**
Associate Professor, Marmara University, Faculty of Theology, Department of Kalam, Istanbul, Turkey
Doç. Dr., Marmara Üniversitesi, İlahiyat Fakültesi, Kelam Anabilim Dalı
mbulgen@hotmail.com ORCID 0000-0002-2372-471X
Article Types: Translated Article
Received: 29 June 2019
Accepted: 31 July 2019
Published: 31 July 2019
Cite as: Mehmet Bulğen, “The Criticism of Materialism in Late Ottoman’s New Science of Kalām”, ULUM 2/1 (July
2019): 133-167, https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3356845
134 | Bulğen, “The Criticism of Materialism in Late Ottoman’s New Science of Kalām”
westernization and secularism (perpetuating worldliness) towards the end of the 19th century, this did not
deter many intellectuals from endorsing much of the values that came with materialism, and it led to many
repercussions within the political and social realms of the Ottoman world. On the other hand, materialism
was not welcomed but rather disapproved of by many Ottoman scholars of kalām such as Abdullatif Harputi
(1842-1916), İzmirli İsmail Hakkı (1868-1946), Mehmet Şemsettin Günaltay (1883-1961) and Ömer Nasûhi
Bilmen (1882-1971). However, their criticism has caused them to break away from the ideas defended by the
Islamic theologians (mutakallimūn) of the classical period in some respect. We attempt to outline these late
Ottoman scholars’ critique of materialism and compare their views with the classical mutakallimūn’s
seemingly materialistic worldview.
Keywords
Kalām, Materialism, Ottomans, Atheism, New Kalām
Osmanlı Yeni İlm-i Kelâmında Materyalizm Eleştirileri
Öz
Bir bütün olarak varlığı madde ve etkileşimlerine indirgeyerek açıklayan, evreni kendisi dışındaki aşkın bir
varlığın müdahalesine kapatan bir görüş olarak bilinen materyalizm, ortaya çıkış itibariyle felsefenin
başlangıcına kadar gerilere götürülse de, tarihsel süreç içerisinde genelde azınlıkta kalan ve tepkiyle
karşılanan bir düşünce olmuştur. Ancak bu görüş Avrupa’da XVII. Yüzyıl bilim devrimi ardından gelen
aydınlanma ve sekülerleşme hadiseleri sonrasında yeniden taraftar bulmaya başlamış, XX. yüzyılın
başlarına gelindiğinde altın çağını yaşayarak dinî, siyasî, ekonomik ve toplumsal tezahürleri de olan bir
dünya görüşü haline gelmiştir. Materyalizmin Osmanlı’ya girişi ise XIX. yüzyılın ilk yarısından itibaren
askerî ve tıp alanında açılan modern okullar ile Batı’ya eğitim amaçlı gönderilen öğrenciler vasıtasıyla
başlamış; XIX. Yüzyılın sonlarında dünyevileşme, Batılılaşma gibi tartışmalara arka plan oluşturduğu halde
önemli sayıda Osmanlı aydınını etkisi altına alarak siyasal ve toplumsal sonuçlara neden olmuştur. Diğer
taraftan materyalizm Abdüllatif Harpûtî (1842-1916), İzmirli İsmail Hakkı (1868-1946), M. Şemseddin
Günaltay (1883-1961) ve Ömer Nasûhi Bilmen (1882-1971) gibi kelâmcıların da dâhil olduğu birçok Osmanlı
ulemâsı tarafından tepkiyle karşılanarak eleştirilmiştir. Makalede söz konusu Osmanlı kelâmcılarının
materyalizmi ne şekilde eleştirdikleri ve bu eleştirilerinde materyalistik imâlar taşıdığı söylenen klasik
dönem kelâmından birleşip ayrıldıkları noktalar tespit edilmeye çalışılacaktır.
Anahtar Kelimeler
Kelâm, Materyalizm, Osmanlı, Yeni İlm-i Kelâm, Ateizm
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INTRODUCTION
Approximately a century-long period from the Rescript of Gülhane (1839) in the Ottoman Empire until
the foundation of the Turkish Republic (1923) is known as the most intense, painful and long century in the
Ottoman history. In this period when there was dynamism and a search not only from military and political
aspects, but also in ideational terms, Ottoman intellectuals discussed many issues with the concern of
finding a solution to the negative conditions that the Empire had faced.1 Within these discussion topics,
materialism has a special place not only because it is one of the anti-religious thought movements that
emerged with the influence of Western thought, but also because it is seen as a prescription of salvation for
the troubles experienced by the Ottoman Empire during the collapse period. Western-oriented intellectuals
including Beşîr Fuâd (1852-1887), Bahâ Tevfik (1884-1914), Abdullah Cevdet (1869-1932), Celâl Nuri (1882-
1936) and Kılıçzâde Hakkı (1872-1960) claimed that the level of contemporary civilizations would be attained
if and only if the Muslim world adopted a materialist worldview, which is some kind of scientism.2
On the other hand, the spreading of materialism in the Ottoman Empire towards the end of the 19th
century brought with it the opposition of the traditionalist and conservative groups, who acted with the
intention of defending their religious and cultural values. In this context, one of the groups that criticized
materialism included the late Ottoman scholars of kalām such as İsmail Hakkı İzmirli (1869-1946), Abdüllatîf
Harpûtî (1842-1916), Şehbenderzâde Ahmad Hilmi of Filibe (1865-1914), Ömer Nasûhi Bilmen (1882-1971)
and M. Şemseddin Günaltay (1883- 1961).
In this article, I will try to show that the late Ottoman scholars’ critique of materialism is interesting
in two respects. First, linking the science of kalām with materialism in a positive or negative sense requires
sensitivity and attention because if materialism is to be criticized on the basis of spiritualism or idealism,
then we will encounter classical Islamic theologians (mutakallimūn). As is known, the classical period (i.e.,
third-fifth/ninth-eleventh centuries) kalām has a character expressed as “seemingly materialist”.3 This is
due to the fact that the kalām in that period had a cosmology based on atomism, which shaped the worldview
1
Süleyman Hayri Bolay, Osmanlılarda Düşünce Hayatı ve Felsefe (Ankara: Akçağ Yayınları 2005), 291-292.
2
Aydın Topaloğlu, “Materyalizm”, Türkiye Diyanet Vakfı İslam Ansiklopedisi (Istanbul: TDV Yayınları, 2003), 28: 140; also
see Ahmet İshak Demir, Cumhuriyet Dönemi Aydınlarının İslâm’a Bakışı (İstanbul: Ensar Neşriyat, 2004), 135 ff.
3
For the phrase “seemingly materialist” or “and even materialist” (“ve hatta materialist” in Turkish) that Prof. Dr.
M. Saim Yeprem uses to describe the general character of the classical period kalām see. Şerife Akyol, Materyalizmin
İnsan Anlayışının Modern Çağın İnanç Problemleri Açısından Değerlendirilmesi (Master Thesis, Marmara University, 2002),
10.
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of the classical materialism as well.4 In this context, “seemingly materialism” does not mean materialist but
means close to materialism.5
The second aspect that made the issue of the criticism of materialism intriguing in the last period of
Ottoman Kalām is that the struggle against materialism gave rise to the movement of “New Science of Kalām”
(Yeni İlm-i Kelâm in Turkish and ‘Ilm Kalām Jadīd in Arabic) in the Ottoman State.6 In other words, the Ottoman
State believes that the struggle against modern philosophical currents such as positivism and materialism,
which threaten its own existence, can only be achieved by updating the kalām. In this context, Islamic Board
of Examination and Publication, affiliated with the Ministry of Justice officially assigned Ismail Hakkı İzmirli
to write a book that brought the kalām up to date.7 Hence, his work, The New Science of Kalām, which he did
not succeed to finish, has the distinction of being the last kalām book extant from the Ottoman Empire
within a period of more than 600 hundred years.
1. CONCEPTUAL AND HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
Forming a conceptual and historical background before discussing the critics of materialism of the
late Ottoman scholars of kalām will contribute to a better understanding of the subject. Materialism, derived
from the word ‘materia’, meaning substance in Latin, is the name of the theory which reduces all existing
4
Richard Frank, “Kalām and Philosophy, A Perspective from One Problem”, Islamic Philosophical Theology, ed. P.
Morewedge (Albany: University of New York Press, 1979), 86. It is true that classical Muslim theologians
(mutakallimūn) generally consider all created things to be material, however, this attitude of them cannot be
explained through materialism in the philosophical sense. For mutakallimūn accept the existence of a god apart
from the universe. Regarding this issue, see. Richard Frank, The Metaphysics of Created Being According to Abû l-Hudhayl
al-ʻAllâf (Istanbul 1966), 40.
5
This character of the classical period kalām was used by materialists in the last century and sometimes caused
exploitation. Friedrich Albert Lange (1828-1875), in his book entitled The History of Materialism (1865), states that the
classical period Arabic philosophers made important contributions to materialism. Frederick Albert Lange, The
History of Materialism, translation to English: Ernest Chester Thomas (London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner & Co,
Ltd, 1925), 177. The materialist character of the classical period kalām also attracted the attention of Soviet Russia,
in the search for a sect complying with communism for the Muslim subjects in the years of cold war. In this context,
due to its ‘materialistic impressions’, Marxist researchers such as Tayyib Tisini, Tawfik Ibrahim Kâmil and Lebanese
Hussein Muruwwa had a special interest in kalām atomism. Josef van Ess, “60 years after Shlomo Pines’s Beitrage
and Half a Century Research on Atomism and İslâmic Theology”, Proceedings of the Israel Academy of Sciences and
Humanities (Jerusalem: 2002), 21. In the same way, while some proponents of materialism such as Celal Nuri, in the
last period of the Ottoman Empire, argued that the religion of Islam was a suitable religion to materialism, they
referred to the classical period Islamic theologians. Süleyman Hayrı Bolay, Türkiye'de Ruhçu ve Maddeci Görüşün
Mücadelesi (Ankara: Akçağ Yayınları, 1995), 166, 81-82. Bayram Ali Çetinkaya, “Modern Türkiye’nin Felsefi
Kökenleri”, Sivas Cumhuriyet Üniversitesi İlahiyat Fakültesi Dergisi 6/2 (2002): 82.
6
M. Sait Özervarlı, “Alternative Approaches to Modernization in the Late Ottoman Period: İzmirli Ismail Hakki’s
Religious Thought Against Materialist Scientism”, International Journal of Middle East Studies 39 (2007): 85-88.
7
İsmail Hakkı İzmirli, Yeni İlm-i Kelâm (Istanbul: Evkâf-ı İslâmiyye Matbaası, 1339-1341), 1: 17, 90.
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Bulğen, “The Criticism of Materialism in Late Ottoman’s New Science of Kalām” | 137
things, including spirit, thought, consciousness, to matter and its interactions,8 or tries to explain reality as
a whole through physical processes.9
Materialism tries to answer two questions by definition. The first is what the basic elements of the
universe are. Materialists respond to this question in a monistic way. Accordingly, the ultimate substance
that is present in the basis of everything, and the essential constituent of the universe is matter.10 The
substance does not have any primary quality other than shape, weight, extension and being in continuous
motion. The physical and cognitive secondary qualities attributed to such objects such as temperature,
coldness, taste, color, sound, consciousness, will, life etc. are not actually existent, but can be explained by
reducing them to primary qualities.11 From this aspect, materialism is separated from spiritualism, which
considers the spirit to be the principle present in everything, and from idealism, which regards thought as
primary and brings the other beings apart from it to the point of a secondary quality.12
The second question that materialism tries to answer is how the universe works. How does such a
universe in multiplicity change in an orderly way? Materialism tries to answer this question in a naturalistic
way, that is, without resorting to any transcendent being, by explaining the universe only through its own
processes. According to materialists, the universe is not the work of any divine will, design, and teleological
or final cause.13 Materialists mostly explain this by regarding the movement or force as the essential quality
of matter. Accordingly, an infinite number of atoms in an infinite space collide with each other and then
interlock with each other or separate from each other, thereby are in a continuous movement for all
eternity. The merging of atoms represents the generation; the separation of them represents the corruption.
8
Morris T. Keeton, “Materialism”, The Dictionary of Philosophy, ed. Dagobert D. Runes (New York: Philosophical
Library), 189.
9
A.R. Lacey, A Dictionary of Philosophy, Third edition (New York: Routledge, 1996), 194.
10
Raymond Williams, “Materialism”, Keywords: A Vocabulary of Culture and Society (New York: Oxford University Press,
1983), 197.
11
Keith Campbell, “Materialism”, Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2nd ed. Donald M. Borchert (Detroit: Macmillan Thomson
& Gale), 6: 6.
12
For example, Ahmed Hilmi of Filibe (1865-1914), one of the late period Ottoman scholars, describes the principles
of materialism prevalent in his time as following: 1) There is nothing in the universe except force and matter.
Matter and force cannot be destroyed; therefore, they are everlasting and eternal. 2) The nature is administered by
its own laws. There is no need to think of a creator because these laws account for the nature and the changes
taking place on it, and as is given in the first point because they are everlasting and eternal. 3) Human’s intelligence
and consciousness is merely a result of experience, and human does not have an exclusive rank bestowed upon
him/her and called mind. 4) Human is a mere natural phenomenon and is not different from other phenomena.
Human is also under the influence of the laws of nature having operated necessarily in the same manner that all
phenomena are. Therefore, it is revealed that human freedom is no more than a saying. See. Filibeli Ahmed Hilmi,
“Hangi Felsefi Ekolü Kabul Etmeliyiz” (İstanbul: Hikmet Matbaası, 1349/1930), 22; also see. Filibeli Ahmed Hilmi,
Huzur-ı Akl-ı Fende Mâddiyyûn Meslek-i Dalâleti (İstanbul: Matbaa-ı İslâmiyye, 1332), 72.
13
According to materialists, any change in the nature is also a result of another material cause. See. William A
Dembski, Being as Communion: A Metaphysics of Information (United Kingdom: Ashgate Publishing, 2014), 56, 57.
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As a result, complex entities within the order that we see originate because there is a possibility of a world
that is suitable for regular life conditions as we live within the infinite possibilities of generation and
corruption.
With its responses to the first and second question, materialism has inherent anti-religious discourse.
The monistic aspect, which does not accept a realm of existence apart from material universe, confronts it
with divine religions that define the universe as ‘everything that exists rather than God’. The naturalistic
aspect, on the other hand, leads to the rejection of such associations such as the creation, mercy, design,
purpose, wisdom, the world of examination, salvation and so on that the divine religions use while
establishing the God-universe relation.
It is possible to take the first advocates of materialism carrying such atheistic implications back to the
pre-Socratic philosophers in history. Friedrich Albert Lange (1828-1875) says that it is “as old as the history
of philosophy but not older”.14 The idea of “everything is water” of Thales (6th century BC), from the Ionian
philosophers, is to explain the origin and present state of the universe as a whole with a material being that
is at the most fundamental level.15 However, among the philosophers of antiquity, it was accepted that
Leucippus (5th century BC) and Democritus (460-370 BC) were the first proponents of materialism in the
real sense by presenting a systematic nature idea based on atomism. These philosophers who want to
reconcile the physical phenomena such as the multitude, change and movement observed in the visible
world with the principle of the unity and immutability of the Elea School and Parmenides (5th century BC)
in the pre-Socratic philosophy, have reduced the existence as a whole to atoms of a certain shape, size and
void.16 According to them, nothing except atoms and void actually exists. If there were no void, movement
would not have been possible. Atoms are constantly in motion in this vast gap. In other words, the
movement is the natural state of atoms and does not require explanation.17 Nothing happens by luck;
everything happens by a cause necessarily. This necessity is natural and mechanical. This means that any
idea of teleological order and purpose is excluded. Nothing comes out of nothing, and something that exists
does not go out of existence. All new things are merely a combination of atoms. Atoms are infinite in number
and limitless in shape. The atoms that have been in constant motion for all eternity are in chaos with each
14
Lange, The History of Materialism, V.
15
In pre-Socratic philosophy, there was not a clear distinction concerning spirit, body, matter and mind. In this
context, material also used to include spiritual elements. For this reason, some historians claimed that Ionian
philosophers were not materialist but rather hylozoist. Accordingly, this living being was a matter just as
everything was material. Max Jammer, “Materialism”, Encyclopedia of Science and Religion, ed. Wentzel Verde van
Huyssteen (New York: MacMillan, 2003), 2: 538.
16
David Furley, The Greek Cosmologists: The Formation of the Atomic Theory and its Earliest Critics (Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, 1987), 1: 115 ff.
17
W.K.C. Guthrie, A History of Greek Philosophy: The Presocratic Tradition from Parmenides to Democritus (Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press, 2003), 389 ff.
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other. The simple mechanism behind the formation of complex objects is a vortex of atoms that collide with
each other.18
According to Aristotle (384-322 BC), Democritus did not deny the existence of spirit, but did not make
any distinction between the two as a material component. The reason why spirit is superior is that it is made
of perfectly smooth atoms in the form of spheres from the kind of temperature and fire.19 Therefore,
according to materialists, the body-spirit distinction is not a problem since there is no difference between
atoms of the body and spirit in terms of being made of same matter.20
The materialist cosmology of Democritus was attempted to be revived by Epicurus (342-270 BC) in the
Hellenistic period. In particular, hedonism made Epicurus one of the most famous materialists in the world
history. He intended to establish a system in which materialism was regarded as the only basis for a happy
life, free of fictitious beliefs and fears.21 Later, Roman poet Lucretius (99-55 BC) tried to improve the
materialist metaphysics of Epicurus in his long didactic poem De Rerum Natura. Lucretius, like Epicurus, used
a language to relieve people of the anxiety and fear, which according to him, religions had caused.22 In this
respect, he did not believe that human beings have a spirit beyond the substance to survive after their
death.23
Although materialism was supported by philosophers such as Democritus, Epicurus and Lucretius, it
had always been reacted negatively in the Western thought and had remained a marginal theory. For
instance, philosophers such as Plato (427-347 BC) and Aristotle (384-322 BC), who had a transcendent
element which can be regarded as a god (i.e. Demiurge and Prime Mover respectively) in their philosophical
systems, as well as philosophy schools such as the Stoics and Neoplatonists, criticized materialism. During
the middle ages, materialism could not find support due to the increase in the effectiveness of divine
religions especially like Judaism and Christianity, and its defenders were declared perverse. For example,
Dante (1265-1321) sends materialist philosophers such as Democritus and Epicurus to the lowest level of Hell
in his Divine Comedy. The reason for this is the explanation of spirit through material atoms.24 As a result,
materialism did not become an effective theory in Western thought until the 16th century.
18
Diogenes Laertius, The Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers, trans. English C. D. Yonge (London: H.G. Bohn Book,
1853), 394-395. According to atomist philosophers, perceived secondary properties like sweetness, bitterness,
temperature, coldness, and colors are merely a sum of atoms with primary qualities such as size, shape, mass and
non-penetrability. In this way, the characteristics, which are subject to perception, are formed through the
influence of the collected atoms on the spirit atoms. Keith Campell, “Materialism”, Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2nd
edition, ed. Donald M. Borchert (USA: Thomson&Gale, 2005), 6: 7.
19
Aristotle, De Anima, trans. English R. D. Hicks (New York: Cosimo, 2008), 14-22 (405a 8-13, 406b).
20
H. Meyer, “Materialism”, New Catholic Encyclopedia, ed. Janet Halfmann (Detroit: Thomson/Gale, 2003), 9: 319.
21
Keith Campell, “Materialism”, 6: 8.
22
H. Meyer, “Materialism”, New Catholic Encyclopedia, 9: 319.
23
Keith Campell, ibid.
24
See. Joseph Anthony Mazzeo, “Dante and Epicurus”, Comparative Literature 10/2 (Spring, 1958): 106 ff.
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The adventure of materialism in the Islamic world however was different from the West. As is known,
Abū al-Hudhayl al-ʿAllāf (d. 235/849)25, one of the Muʿtazilite theologians, refined atomism that had been
associated with materialism until then and brought it into theism.26 In contrast to Jewish and Christian
theologians who regarded the theory as deviant, atomism in the hands of the classical Muslim theologians
(mutakallimūn) became occasionalism, one of the most lusty theories on God-universe relationship.27 In the
Islamic world, atomism did not remain a marginal theory as in the Western thought, rather it became a
dominant model of universe within the 10-12th centuries.28
Undoubtedly, to bring such a materialist theory (i.e., atomism) to theism should be regarded as the
success of the mutakallimūn. In fact, this is a success corresponding to the fact that the theory of evolution,
which is used in opposition to theism by materialists nowadays, is put into the service of theism through a
change process. But the mutakallimūn had to pay a price to make atomism fit theism. Accordingly, the
universe as a whole, including the angels and the soul, is composed of material substances or indivisible
particles (al-juz’ alladhī lā yatajazza’, i.e., atom) that occupy space. Human characteristics such as thought,
knowledge, will, consciousness and life are regarded as accidents (a’rāḍ) carried by the material atoms that
make up the brain or heart. It is impossible for such qualities to exist without attaching to a material
substratum [which refer to the space occupying indivisible particles].29
However, it is also a fact that such “seemingly materialist” view, which was present in the classical
period, began to lose its influence in the period after al-Ghazālī (d. 505-1111) (muta’akhkhirūn or post classical
period). The main reason for this is that the concept of spiritual (rūḥānī) or abstract (mujarrad) substance
(jawhar) is accepted by the Muslim theologians in the post classical period.30 For example, Fakhr al-Dīn al-
Rāzī (d. 606/1210) is of the opinion that human beings are composed of space-occupying (mutaḥayyiz)
25
For his life and works, see. Metin Yurdagür, “Ebü’l-Hüzeyl el-Allâf”, Türkiye Diyanet Vakfı İslam Ansiklopedisi,
(İstanbul: TDV Yayınları, 1994), 10: 330-332.
26
Otto Pretzl, “Erken Dönem İslâm’ın Atom Öğretisi”, translated from German Bilal Kır, KADER: Kelam Araştırmaları
Dergisi, 13/1 (2015): 561 ff.
27
Duncan B. Macdonald, “Klasik Dönem Kelâmında Atomcu Zaman Ve Sürekli Yeniden Yaratma”, translated from
English Mehmet Bulğen, Kelâm Araştırmaları Dergisi, 14/1 (2016): 279 ff.
28
Alnoor Dhanani, “İslâm Düşüncesinde Atomculuk”, translated from English. Mehmet Bulğen, KADER: Kelâm
Araştırmaları Dergisi, 9/1 (2011), 393 ff.
29
For example, Imām Abū al-Ḥasan al-Ashʿarī (d. 324/935-36), who accepts that the universe is made up of indivisible
substances and accidents, claims that soul is a subtle body (jism latīf) belonging to the species of breath and air. He
also counts such elements as life, will and knowledge as accident (‘araḍ). According to him, when air moves rapidly
it becomes wind (rīḥ), and when it enters the lungs it becomes what we know as the soul (rūḥ). Therefore, the soul
does not mean life, because life is an accident. Ibn Fūrak, Mujarrad Maqālāt al-Shaykh Abī al-Ḥasan al-Ashʿarī, ed. Daniel
Gimert (Beirut: Dar al-Mashriq, 1987), 267, 271.
30
Al-Ghazalī adopted the dualist human concept assuming that the abstract soul is the essence of human and the
material body is the instrument of him. See. al-Ghazālī, Tahāfut al-Falāsifa-Filozofların Tutarsızlığı, text and trans.
Mahmut Kaya and Hüseyin Sarıoğlu (Istanbul: Klasik Yayınları, 2005), 219.
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Bulğen, “The Criticism of Materialism in Late Ottoman’s New Science of Kalām” | 141
substances and spiritual substance that is non-extended. In this context, he explains such characteristics of
man as thought, will and consciousness in proportion to the immaterial spirit.31
Going back to the adventure of materialism in Western thought again, materialism was a theory that
gained importance in the West as much as it fell into disfavor in the Islamic world. The change of
cosmological paradigm in the 17th-century science revolution in Europe pushed Western scholars to quest
philosophies of nature, alternative to Aristotle. In this context, philosophers such as Giordano Bruno (1548-
1600), Francis Bacon (1561-1626), and Daniel Sennert (1572-1637) again took an interest in ancient atomist
views.32 Pierre Gassendi (1592-1955), a priest in Paris and also an astronomy teacher at the Royal College,
tried to revive Epicureanism as an alternative to the Aristotelian universe understanding. But while doing
so, he claimed that atoms were created and not eternal. Thus, he reconciled the atomistic natural philosophy
of Epicure with the belief of creation of Christianity. Gassendi's materialism includes the field of psychology
as well as physics, and claims that all events in the world take place with the organization of atoms.33
However, his metaphysics -because he admits the existence of a God of creativity and ingenuity- is not
materialist, but ‘seemingly materialist’, as it is in the Muslim theologians of the classical period. In this
direction, it is possible to consider Gassendi to be Abū al-Hudhayl of the Christian world.
Although Gassendi had given faithful scientists such as Galileo (1564 –1642), Newton (1642 –1726) a
ground to adopt atomism34, he confronted Descartes (1596-1650), who defended the dualist human view.35
Descartes on the one hand accepted the materialist character of the inanimate world, even the plants and
animals, and on the other hand, he conceded that besides his material body, a human being has an immortal
and immaterial spirit possessing features like consciousness, and thought. Thus, the philosophy of Descartes
says that the universe is composed of two basic elements, as in the view of the mutakallimūn of the post
classical period: material/spatial substance that forms the body and the spiritual/non-extended one
representing the thought. These two come together in a mysterious way in human beings.36
In the 18th century, with the effect of Newtonian mechanics, the spread of deism created a
preliminary preparation for materialism. In fact, Newton himself, as a faithful Christian, argued that God
31
Fakhr al-Dīn al-Rāzī, al-Ma’ālim fi Ușūl al-Din, ed. Samih Dughaym (Beirut: Dār al-Fikr al-Lubnani, 1992), 26.
32
Robert H. Kargon, “Atomism in the Seventeenth Centurty”, Dictionary of the History of Ideas, ed. Philip Wiener (USA:
Charles Scribner's Sons 1973), 1: 132 ff; John Henry, “Matter”, Encyclopedia of the Scientific Revolution, ed. Wilbur
Applebaum (New York, London: 2000), 621.
33
Lauge Olaf Nielsen, “A Seventeenth-Century Physician on God and Atoms”, Memory of Jan Pinborg, ed. Norman
Kretzman and Jan Pinborg (Dordrecht: Kluwer, 1988), 297-369.
34
Lynn Sumida Joy, Gassendi the Atomist: Advocate of History in an Age of Science (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,
1988), 180.
35
Margaret J. Osler, “Divine Will and The Mechanical Philosophy: Gassendi and Descartes on Contingency and
Necessity”, The Created World (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994), 180.
36
Keith Campell, “Materialism”, 6: 8,9.
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not only created the universe, but also still preserved its order.37 On the other hand, the theories of motion
that he developed meant that the universe as a whole worked mechanically in a mathematical order. In this
context, Newtonian mechanics created a background for the spread of deism in Europe. While deism has an
understanding of God that creates the universe or saves it from chaos, but it tries to leave the universe on
its own in the next/following process. However, this does not mean that all mechanists are materialist.
While for Diderot (1713 - 1784), Voltaire (1694 - 1778) and Frederick the Great (1712 - 1786), the mechanical
universe thought leads to materialism and atheism, for Leibniz (1646 –1716), Shaftesbury (1671 - 1713), J.G.
Herder (1744 - 1803) and Goethe (1749-1832), the mechanical and mathematical explanation of the universe
does not lead human to atheism.38
If we take a closer look at the materialists of the era who will also influence the Ottomans,
undoubtedly the most famous materialist of the century is Baron d’Holbach (1723 - 1789) who is a French
nobleman, living in Paris. His book, Systeme de la nature (1770), which is considered to be the “gospel of
materialism”, has an entirely anti-religious discourse. In his book, Holbach declares that nothing can be left
out of nature. This indicated that there was no God outside of the material universe as divine religions claim.
Nature is continuous and events occur in consecutive causal determinations. The matter is always there,
and it is always in motion. Different worlds are made up of different distributions of matter and movement.
Everything existing can be explained in a determined way within the context of the laws of matter and
motion. Therefore, there is no God who gives order and purpose beyond the universe. Although perception
may seem to be a different feature of matter, in reality it is a special form of movement. Man is a purely
physical being. According to Baron d’Holbach, one can take their own future into their own hands by getting
rid of illusions. He can establish his own happiness. Humans should put aside immortality, God, faith and
future anxiety so that they should pave the way for their own natural development. For religion detaches
people from nature and real life.39
In the 19th century, the success of natural sciences with the technological advancements helped
spread materialism throughout Europe. Positivism and utilitarianism, emerging in France and England, also
the development of living conditions with the industrial revolution and discoveries in the field of physics
(e.g. the law of conservation of energy), and new findings concerning the inorganic and organic
transformations were effective in this. In this context, physicians and biologists, such as Karl Vogt (1817 -
95), Jokob Moleschott (1822-93) and Louis Büchner (1824 - 99), became the spokesman of the evolutionist
materialist philosophy called “vulgar materialism.”40
Charles Darwin (1809 - 1882) published the book On the Origin of Species in 1859, and The Descent of Man
in 1871. Thomas Henry Huxley (1825 - 1895), in 1863, published Man’s Place in Nature. It is stated that these
37
The discussion between Newton and Leibniz on this issue is well-known. See. Hylarie Kochiras, Force, Matter, and
Metaphysics in Newton's Natural Philosophy (Doctoral Dissertation, University of North Carolina, Capel Hill 2008), 107.
38
H. Meyer, “Materialism”, 9: 320.
39
Paul Henri Thiry Holbach, The system of nature: or, The laws of the moral and physical World, Tr. from the French of M.
Mirabaud, (University of Michigan 1795), 19, 79 ff; Keith Campell, “Materialism”, 6/11.
40
H. Meyer, “Materialism”, 9: 320.
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three studies provide an experimentally supported background for the main thesis of the vulgar
materialism. This thesis is that living beings assume certain forms without the effect of a transcendental
cause, rather their forms are defined by the environment they live in, and accordingly, human as a whole is
a part of the natural world.41
David Friedrich Strauss (1808 - 1874) and Ernst Haeckel (1834 - 1919) as practitioners of Darwin's
principles became well-known advocates of the materialist movement. Strauss Hegelian, as a radical Bible
critic, also made the transition from idealism to materialism.42 According to him, new developments in
biology require reinterpretation of nature as a whole. For Strauss, there is no fundamental difference
between living and non-living beings; life is a kind of mechanism although it is only slightly complicated.
According to Darwin's natural selection principles, the best survives and little mutations occur over time.
In this context, one can show how it came into current state if he traces back from the present richness of
species. Man arose not from the hands of God, but from the depths of nature. His initial state is not a fall
from the highest status in the heaven in which he was extracted, but is climbing up from the animalism
through an evolution process. There is no place for a supernatural God, a universe of souls, and a distinction
between the spirit and body.43
Haeckel's thoughts were similar to those of Strauss. He tried to give a philosophical position to
Darwinism. Haeckel's theory of matter is, in summary, based on the view of infinite matter that does not
change in a continuous movement in infinite space and time. According to him, the formation of living
things in the world, including man, is part of the general evolution in the universe. 44 After carbon appears
on the surface, organic life begins. Spiritual characteristics of human are also tied to the laws of matter and
are shaped by chemical changes. Haeckel opposed the fact that the human soul had a structure beyond
substance and thus making a fundamental distinction between animal and human. He regarded the gradual
development of that human from lower backbone animals as a great victory. 45
Besides such examples of evolutionary materialism, the other field in which materialism developed
in Europe in the 19th century was the “dialectical materialism” led by Karl Marx (1818 - 1883) and Friedrich
Engels (1820 - 1895). This view, which saw the history as a scene where economic aspect of man is the
41
Vulgar materialism underlines human’s naturalist nature that is independent of history and culture, and
completely reduces human’s mental and phycological characteristics to the physiological processes of brain. Vulgar
materialism, which was regarded within the European science circles, in the period when it emerged, as being far
from intellectual and philosophical depth, and which was described as simple, rough and common, concludes from
the postulate that thought is an organic product of brain that it is an absolute organic determination of social ideas.
This means that when the organisms of an individual are changed, his/her political and religious ideas may also
change. Regarding this issue see. Keith Campell, “Materialism”, 6: 10.
42
For example, see. David Friedrich Strauss, The Life of Jesus: Critically Examined, trans: Marian Evans (New York: C.
Blanchard, 1860), 1: 27 ff.
43
H. Meyer, “Materialism”, 9: 320-321.
44
Ernst Haeckel, The History of Creation, trans. E. Ray Lankester (EBook: Release Date: August 14, 2012), 1: 4 ff.
45
H. Meyer, “Materialism”, 9: 321.
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primary determinant, was actually the result of the unification of the materialism of Feuerbach (1804 - 1872)
and the dialectic of Hegel (1770 - 1831).46 According to Marx and Engels, the material universe perceived by
the senses has an objective reality independent of the spirit and the mind. Although they do not deny the
existence of mental and moral processes, they argue that ideas only emerge as a reflection of material
situations. For this reason, Marx and Engels's materialism is opposed to idealism and spiritualism, which
claim that matter is dependent on the mind or the spirit.47
2. INTRODUCTION AND PROLIFERATION OF MATERIALISM TO THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE
In fact, materialism, a product of Western thought, had the opportunity to spread in many countries
in the 19th century and also influenced the Ottoman Empire, which had an intense relationship with Europe.
The first introduction of materialism to the Ottomans and its subsequent widespread among the
intellectuals covers a period that spans nearly a century. After the Rescript of Tanzimat (1838), this view,
which is more or less evident in the field of literature, is argued to have begun to exert its influence towards
the end of the 19th century and completed its entrance to the Ottoman state after the proclamation of the
second constitutional period (1908).48
The first confrontation of the Ottoman culture with materialism can be traced back to the end of the
18th century. The Ottoman intelligentsia who went to Europe, particularly to France, had the opportunity
to meet closely the ideas of the 18th-century French materialists such as Denis Diderot (1713 - 1784), Baron
d'Holbach (1723 - 1789) and Pierre Cabanis (1757 - 1808). In addition to the students who were sent abroad,
the educational institutions, opened in European style played a significant role in the entry of materialism
into the Ottoman Empire such as Ottoman Medical School (1839), Ottoman Military School (1834) and
Galatasaray Sultani (1868).49 Among these schools, especially Ottoman Medical School’s role in the settling
and spreading of materialism in the Ottoman Empire is great.50 For example, the British historian and
traveler Charles Macfarlane (1799 - 1858) states that a completely materialistic education was given at the
Ottoman Medical School in his notes he compiled from his visit from 1847 to 1848 to find out about the
Ottoman Empire.51
46
Historical materialism as an extension of dialectic materialism applies the principles of dialectic materialism to the
events of community life, society and the studies on society. See. J. Stalin, Diyalektik ve Tarihsel Materyalizm (Bilim ve
Sosyalizm Yayınları, Eylül 1979), 9.
47
Engels describes this situation as follows: “The only truth is the sensible material world, on which we are present.
Our consciousness and thoughts, however they seem supra-sensuous, are products of a material and bodily organ,
that is brain. Matter is not a product of spirit; conversely, spirit itself is nothing more than the highest product of
matter. Karl Marx, Selected Works, 1: 302, 329; J. Stalin, Diyalektik ve Tarihsel Materyalizm, 23, 24.
48
On this issue see. Mehmet Akgün, Türkiye’de Klasik Materyalizmin Eleştirileri (Ankara: Elis Yayınları. 2007), 9.
49
Mehmet Akgün, Materyalizmin Türkiye’ye Girişi (Ankara: Elis Yayınları, 2014), 11 ff.
50
Süleyman Hayri Bolay, Osmanlılarda Düşünce Hayatı ve Felsefe, 290.
51
Macfarlane recounts what he saw in a meeting he was invited during his Mekteb-i Tıbbiye trip as follows: “I was
invited in an excellently furnished saloon that is allocated for doctors and Turkish assistants. There was a book on
the sofa. I took it and looked at it. This was the last Paris edition of Baron d’Holbach’s book of irreligiousness, Systeme
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When we look at the general character of Ottoman materialism, it has not been a movement of
thought discussed in just an intellectual course as is the case with the struggle between realism-idealism or
materialism-spiritualism in the West. Moreover, it has formed a background to the contexts of such higher
discussions as westernization and being contemporary on the rescue of the Empire, which was collapsed in
terms of the military, politics and finance.52 In other words, materialism was seen as an important
civilization, education and modernization project rather than a philosophical movement in the Ottoman
state.53
Another feature of Ottoman materialism is that rather than the dialectical materialism led by Karl
Marx and Engels,54 it developed under the influence of the positivist and evolutionist “vulgar materialism”
that scholars such as Ludwing Buchner and Ernst Heackel pioneered.55 The transfer of the theory to the
social sphere was mostly through the British Herbert Spencer (1820 - 1903) and the Frenchman Gustave Le
Bon (1841 - 1931).56
Louis Büchner is worth stressing among these names. His work Matter and Force (Kraft und Stoff - 1855),
which was published in Germany, has 21 editions and has been translated into 17 languages, including
Ottoman. The main thesis of this book, which is the focal point of the discussions of materialism in the
Ottoman Empire, is the claim, without any creative god idea, that there can be no force without matter and
de La Nature. I deduced from the many marks on its pages that this book was read extensively. These marked places
were the parts show the absurdity of believing in God and the impossibility of the belief of the imperishability of
the spirit through mathematics. Just as I was putting the book back, one of the Turkish doctors came near me and
said the followings in French: "C'est un grand ouvrage! C'est un grand Philosophe! il a toujo-urs reison!”. See
Murtaza Korlaelçi, Pozitivizmin Türkiye’ye Girisi (Ankara: Hece Yayınları, 2002), 198. Macfarlane could not hide his
astonishment when he saw that almost all the books that had prepared the French Revolution were being read in
Mekteb-i Tıbbiyye. He says about the library of this faculty: “I had not seen a collection gathering sheer materialism
books for a long time. A young Turkish, seated, was reading the handbook of irreligiousness, that is, Systéme de la
Nature. Another student was showing his skills as he was reading some passages from Jacques le Fatalisme and Le
Compére Mathieu of Diderot. Rapposts du Physique et du Moral de L’Homme of Cabanis was noticeably placed on the
shelves.” Charles Mac Farlane, Constantinople in 1828, 5: 163-165; Niyazi Berkes, Türkiye’de Çağdaşlaşma (İstanbul: YKY,
2002), 232.
52
Meral Yıldırım, Son Dönem Osmanlı Aydınlarının Materyalizme Dair Eleştirileri (Master Thesis, Marmara University
2004), 3.
53
Mehmet Akgün, Materyalizmin Türkiye’ye Girişi, 11.
54
Şerife Akyol, Materyalizmin İnsan Anlayışının Modern Çağın İnanç Problemleri Açısından Değerlendirilmesi” (Master Thesis,
Marmara University, 2002), 32.
55
The entrance of classical materialism to the Ottoman Empire falls on the last quarter of the 19th century, however,
dialectical materialism entered after 1919 and had a very limited effect. See. Mehmet Akgün, Materyalizmin
Türkiye’ye Girişi, 12, 50.
56
Regarding the effect of biological materialism that emerged by the influence of Darwinizm on the Ottoman
intelligentsia, see. Atilla Doğan, Sosyal Darwinizm ve Osmanlı Aydınları Üzerindeki Etkileri (1860- 1916), (Doctoral Thesis,
Marmara University, 2003), 165-315.
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vice versa. According to Büchner, who argues that his writings were entirely based on experimental science,
matter and force are in fact two distinct manifestations of the same being and are not different from each
other. Even between the smallest particles, there is a pulling and pushing force. Movement is the inherent
quality of the material. The matter is in constant motion in its smallest parts.57 Büchner also objected to the
idea that man has an immortal spirit, which is independent of his material body. For him, there is basically
no difference between living and non-living beings, except that one [of them] is more complex. Büchner,
who claimed that the difference between human and other life forms was not "qualitative" but
"quantitative", argued that emotions and thoughts were a kind of electrical impulses shaped by consistent
examples of the human nervous system. Similarly, he argued that organic life evolved from an inorganic
substance/matter.58
Although the vulgar materialism led by Louis Büchner was labeled as “rough”, “popular”, “away from
the depth” in European intellectual spaces,59 it was accepted as the ultimate worldview whose accuracy is
undisputed by the Westernist Ottoman intellectuals. This situation led to the alienation of the Ottoman
intelligentsia from its own tradition of thought and caused them to disengage from other philosophical
traditions of Western thought.60 Probably the reason why vulgar materialism was accepted to this extent in
the Ottoman Empire was its claim to explain the process from the formation of the universe to the
emergence of the first living thing and from the emergence of the human to the development of the most
civilized societies. This seemed to present the rules for progression and doing away with backwardness in
that period, which was the most important problem of the Ottoman Empire.61
Among those who helped develop and expand materialism in the Ottoman Empire, the names such as
Abdullah Cevdet, Beşîr Fuâd, Bahâ Tevfik and Celâl Nuri can be mentioned. These names have tried to spread
materialism in Ottoman [lands] by means of secret and open associations they established, newspapers and
57
Louis Büchner, Madde ve Kuvvet, trans. Baha Tevfik-Ahmed Nebil, (İstanbul: Müşterekü’l-menfa’a Osmanlı Şirketi
Matba’ası, [t.y.]), 1: 12
58
Louis Büchner, Madde ve Kuvvet, 3: 499 ff.
59
On this issue see. M. Şükrü Hanioğlu, “Felsefesiz Bir Toplumun Felsefe Olmayan Felsefesinin İlmihali: Madde ve
Kuvvet”, in Louis Büchner, Mâdde ve Kuvvet, ed. Kemal Kahramanoğlu, Ali Utku (İstanbul: Çizgi Kitabevi, 2012), 24.
60
Atilla Doğan, “Son Dönem Osmanlı Düşüncesinde Yeni Etik Arayışları”, 2. Siyasette ve Yönetimde Etik Sempozyumu
Bildiriler Kitabı (Sakarya, 2005), 398.
61
According to Şükrü Hanioğlu there are three reasons why vulgar materialism became “high philosophy” within the
Ottoman intellectual milieu and why Matter and Force regarded as the holy book of this thought system: “Disputes
pertaining to the religion-science conflict in the intellectual milieux were spreading and this was considered as the
main determinant of history. For this reason, in the Ottoman lands, vulgar materialism perceived as a doctrine that
ensures the ultimate victory of science against religion. 2) Vulgar materialism was assumed as the motive force of
the development in the West. 3) It was accepted as the common denominator of all systems criticizing religion and
thinking that the era of religion has come to an end. See. M. Şükrü Hanioğlu, “Felsefesiz Bir Toplumun Felsefe
olmayan Felsefesinin İlmihali”, 27.
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magazines, translation and copyright works they published.62 Although they differ from each other in
details, rather than using a method against religion in the first place, they aimed at spreading materialism
under the name of clarifying the religion of Islam from the innovations and purifying it from superstitions.63
In their view, the conciliation of materialist ideas with religion meant the easy adoption of materialism by
society, and at least, decreasing the backlash against them in a religious society. For this reason, Ottoman
materialists in the works they wrote claimed that Islam, the last and the absolute religion, is a religion in
accordance with science and materialism. They also stated that aspects that are contradictory with
materialism shown up in consequence of the innovations and superstitions included by exegetists (tafsīr
and ḥadith) scholars, who misinterpreted the Qur’an, in the historical process.64 They say on the one hand
that the religion of Islam gives importance to the use of science and scientific research. On the other hand,
they argue that the theory of evolution and the idea of matter and force being eternal is the definitive
knowledge revealed by the latest developments in science. For this reason, there is no possibility that the
religion of Islam is against the truth of materialism.65 For example, when Bahâ Tevfik and Ahmed Nebil
translated Büchner's (1824-1899) Matter and Force, in their presentation script, entitled “Our Words”, they
stated that the religion which was targeted in this book was Christianity that lost its originality but not
Islam.66
On the one hand, the materialists emphasized that Islam fundamentally corresponds to materialism,
and on the other hand, they tried to give meanings suitable to their own line to the beliefs and values
adopted by the general population such as the principle of monotheism (tawḥīd), creating out of nothing
and afterlife.67 For example, if we take a closer look at Celal Nuri's views, he is criticizing the evidence of the
temporal origination (ḥuduth) argument of classical mutakallimūn on the creation of the universe. According
62
Beşîr Fuâd with his books Viktor Hügo (İstanbul 1302), Beşer (İstanbul 1303), Volter (İstanbul 1304) ve İntikâd (İstanbul
1304) and with his several articles; Baha Tevfik with these various translations and his writings on Felsefe Mecmuası;
Celâl Nuri (İleri) especially with his book Tarih-i İstikbâl (I-III. istanbul 1331-1332) and with his varied translations
and publications; Abdullah Cevdet with his physiology and biology themed materialist writings in the journal
named İçtihad; Tevfik Fikret with his poem named Tarih-i Kadim (İstanbull321). See. Aydın Topaloğlu,
“Materyalizm”, 28: 140.
63
Ahmet İshak Demir, Cumhuriyet Dönemi Aydınlarının İslâm’a Bakışı, 135. Also see. M. Şükrü Hanioğlu, “Abdullah
Cevdet”, Türkiye Diyanet Vakfı İslam Ansiklopedisi (İstanbul: TDV Yayınları, 1988), 1: 90-93.
64
Filibeli Ahmed Hilmi, Huzur-ı Akl-ı Fende Mâddiyyûn Meslek-i Dalâleti, 10, 11, 28, 136.
65
On the claims that Islam religion and materialism are congruous with each other, which are made by Ottoman
materialist Filibeli Ahmed Hilmi says the following: “To claim that there is a significant principle in materialism
that conforms with the spirit of Islam is an absurd idea. Even Büchner’s soul, if he has one, cannot restrain itself
from smiling towards this courageous student’s claim. An infidelity path that belittles the Necessary Being with a
so-called name like insoluble, or “unknowable”, and that is nothing more than the denial of spirit and God and
whose these characteristics have been never denied by its defenders, as well as an assertation that there is an
important compatibility between infidelity and religion are tawdry claims. See. Filibeli Ahmed Hilmi, ibid. 33.
66
Louis Büchner, Madde ve Kuvvet, 4.
67
Rahmi Karakuş, Felsefe Serüvenimiz (İstanbul: Seyran Yayınları, 1995), 194.
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to him, accepting that the universe is formed suddenly is, in one sense, breaking the relationship of God,
who is the essence of the force, with the universe. For the essential thing in being is continuity. Celal Nuri
thinks that matter existed before this world, but that we cannot know this with our current scientific level
yet.68
He also criticizes the methods theologians use to prove that the world has been created depending on
the claim that the accidents (a’rāḍ) are temporally generated. According to Celal Nuri, the fact that
movement turns into rest, darkness turns into light; white becomes black and vice versa for all does not
mean that the world has been temporally created. To him, ‘change’ or ‘transformation’ in existence does
not mean “creation”. Force is the transformation of existence from one nature to another by evolution and
change, and the matter is also like this. 69
Unlike mutakallimūn argue, Celal Nuri claims that it is not possible to observe the creation of any
power out of nothing with our senses. Matter and force can transform from one form to another through
evolution and change. Existents were not generated in time quite the contrary, they exist by themselves. All
events are liable to eternal causes and immutable laws.70 According to him, influenced by hadith scholars,
mutakallimūn had a strange interpretation of “the creation out of nothing” since they did not understand
the origin and creation (takwīn). However, takwīn means that matter and force by changing shape caused
the formation of the present universe. Or else, it does not mean that the universe did not exist before; the
matter and force were also absent, but then everything came into being out of blue.”71
3. THE FIGHT AGAINST MATERIALISM IN THE OTTOMAN STATE AND THE EMERGENCE OF THE
NEW SCIENCE OF KALĀM
Contemporary studies which approach the discussions of materialism in the Ottoman Empire in a
systematic way, often try to reduce the issue to the discussion of materialism and spiritualism.72 However,
examined closely, it will be realized that this type of classification is not appropriate. Although it is true that
movements such as materialism, positivism, and Darwinism are from the West, on the other hand, the first
reactions to materialism are not emerged by the influence of the spiritualist or idealist movements in the
West, but rather derived from the traditional thought currents already present in the Ottoman Empire
68
Celal Nuri, Tarih-i İstikbal (İstanbul: Yeni Osmanlı Matbaası, 1936), 39-40. Also see. Hatice Çöpel, Celal Nuri İleri’nin Din
Anlayışı (Master Thesis, Selçuk University, 2010), 13, 74
69
Celal Nuri, Tarih-i İstikbal, 113.
70
Celal Nuri, Tarih-i İstikbal, 40.
71
Celal Nuri, Tarih-i İstikbal, 111.
72
For example, Hilmi Ziya Ülken, in his article titled “Kitap Hakkında”, which he wrote on Süleyman Hayri Bolay’s
Türkiye’de Ruhçu ve Maddeci Görüşün Mücadelesi, states that the first noticeable one among the vivid intellectual
movements after the Second Constitutional Era [1908] is the conflict between Materialism and Spiritualism. While
Ülken mentions Baha Tevfik and his friends Celal Nuri, partially Abdullah Cevdet on the Materialist side, he counts
Şehbenderzade Filibeli Ahmed Efendi, İsmail Hakkı İzmirli, İsmail Fennî in the Spiritualist side.
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depending on the religious motives.73 In this context, the Sufism, kalām and other branches of Islamic
thought have tried to extinguish the emerging fire in their own ways. For example, while the criticism of
Mehmet Ali Ayni (1868-1945) and İsmail Fennî Ertuğrul (1855-1946) against materialism were more sufism-
oriented, Abdullatif Harputî (1842-1914), Shaykh al-Islām Mûsâ Kâzım Efendi (1858-1920), İsmail Hakkı
İzmirli (1869, Shaykh al-Islām Mustafa Sabri Efendi (1869-1956), Ömer Nasûhi Bilmen (1882-1971) and M.
Şerafeddin Yaltkaya (1879-1947) criticized it on the axis of kalām. Ahmed Hilmi of Filibe (1865-1914),
although he adopted the view of The Unity of Being (Waḥdat al-Wujūd), he fought against materialism with
mutakallimūn’s method.74
In addition to these names in the sūfī and kalām tradition, the materialism in the Ottoman Empire was
criticized by many intellectuals including Hacı Mustafa (Red ve Isbat, Istanbul, 1330), İsmail Ferîd (İbtâl-i
Mezheb-i Mâddiyûn, İzmir 1312), Ahmed Midhat (Ben Neyim: Hikmet-i Maddiyyeye Müdafaa, İstanbul 1308), Emin
Feyzi (ilim ve İrâde, İstanbul 1343), Halid Edip (Mâddiyûn’a Reddiye, İstanbul 1334), Babanzâde Ahmed Naîm
(Hikmet Dersleri, İstanbul 1329), with their writings in the newspaper Ulûm, Ali Suâvi (1839-1878) and Ziya
Gökalp (1876-1924). However, the rise of materialism in the Ottoman Empire could not be prevented,
especially after the Second Constitutional Monarchy (1908), the problem has reached significant
dimensions. This situation led the Ottoman scholars to seek ways to combat materialism more
systematically. Undoubtedly, at this point, eyes have been casted over the science of kalām, which
historically undertook the duty of defending the religion of Islam against other systems of religion and
thought. However, the current state of kalām science at the time was not considered to be able to fight
against these modern infidel movements.75 This led the Ottoman scholars to think the science of kalām
should be revised in accordance with the needs of the current era. In order to revise this science, it is
emphasized that first of all the philosophers should know the philosophical and scientific views of the age.
For example, Mûsâ Kâzım Efendi (1858s-1920), among the late period Ottoman Shaykh al-Islāms, expressed
this point as follows:
“Today, our opponents, that is philosophers, do not accept the godhood and prophethood. Some
people among the naturalists have accepted the godhood, but when we analyze it in depth, it appears that
what they call “God” is indeed nature. In this case, the direction we need take is to compile the books of
kalām in accordance with today's needs. How can this happen? Once, we should know the opinions of the
people in opposition to us. If it is not known, we cannot speak against them.”76
Shaykh al-Islām Mûsâ Kâzım Efendi tries to base his opinion on the example of the mutakallimūn of
the early period who studied the sciences of philosophers of their time while refuting the criticisms against
Islam and then silenced them with their own words. According to him, if Islam is advocated with sciences
that do not have a standing at the moment, it will be absurd. Therefore, first of all, modern sciences should
be studied and then, in the framework of the principles of sciences, Islam should be defended. “The works
73
Neşet Doku, Türkiye’de Anti-Materyalist Felsefe (İstanbul: Umut Matbaacılık, 1996), 12.
74
On this issue see. Filibeli Ahmed Hilmi, Huzur-ı Akl-ı Fende Mâddiyyûn Meslek-i Dalâleti, 146.
75
M. Sait Özervarlı, Kelâm'da Yenilik Arayışları (İstanbul: ISAM Yayınları, 1998), 46.
76
Musa Kazım Efendi, Külliyât; Dini, İctimai Makaleler (İstanbul: Evkaf-ı İslâmiye Matbaası 1336), 292-293.
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show that the theologians have done so in all centuries. All scholars wrote books in line with the needs of
each century”.77
Abdüllatif Harpûtî78, one of the late Ottoman theologians, says that when he was assigned to teach
theology in Dârü’l-funûn, he was looking for a book that opposed the contemporary non-believers who
rejected the principles of Islam but he could not come across such a book that belongs to the classical period
Ahl al-Sunnah mutakallimūn . In this direction, he explains the reason for writing his book Tankîh al-kalâm:
“The books of them [classical mutakallimūn] were limited to the rejection of the innovations (bid‘ah)
of the deviant Islamic sects that emerged in their time, and the absurdities of the ancient philosophers with
Greek origin. In these books there is nothing to deny the many innovations emerging in our century and the
deviances of modern sensualist philosophy, which must be precisely eliminated in order to preserve
religious principles. For the science of kalām must be arranged in accordance with the condition and
location. These have led me to write such a booklet in the atmosphere of education and discussion.”79
In his treatise entitled New Creeds (Yeni Akāid), Ahmad Hilmi of Filibe states that people of every period
have a mentality, and therefore it is not possible for today's people to be satisfied or convinced by the logic
and knowledge of the previous times. According to him, the Islamic society needs a major revolution of
thought and a serious renewal. This will be done by analyzing the intellectual outputs of the old, preferring
the ones that are righteous and beneficial, abandoning the harmful ones to the society, changing the ones
which are not suitable for morality and progress. Also, when it comes to the new jurisprudences, this will
be done through taking inspiration from the science of time and the needs of the environment.80
All these demands of the late Ottoman theologians to revise the kalām have not only remained as an
individual wish, but have been transformed into the official policy of the Ottoman State. In this context,
Ismail Hakkı İzmirli was assigned to be the president of the councils, which were founded in 1915, in order
to re-examine and shape the science of kalām in accordance with the needs of the age. He was also charged
with writing a book to modernize the kalām by the state.81
In the foreword of new kalām, written in fulfilment of this duty, İzmirli states that the modern
[Turkish] theologians should abandon the principles of the philosophy of Aristotle because of the fact that
77
Musa Kazım Efendi, Külliyât, 292-293.
78
Regarding his life and works see. Metin Yurdagür, “Abdüllatif Harpûtî”, Türkiye Diyanet Vakfı İslâm Ansiklopedisi,
(İstanbul: TDV Yayınları, 1997), 16: 237.
79
Abdüllatif Harputî, Tenkihu'l-kelâm fî Akâid-i Ehli'l-İslâm (İstanbul: Necmi-i İstikbâl Matbaası 1327/1909), 4-5, 20.
80
Filibeli explains that in the science of kalām, it is a necessity to have regard to the philosophical movements of the
period lived in through a hypothesis. According to him, in a possible debate that can occur between a young person,
who adopts materialism, and a religious official, this young person cannot be convinced by this religious official by
only means of the Qur’an verses and hadiths. In this case, it is necessary to refer to kalām by giving the
aforementioned debate a logical and philosophical direction. See. Filibeli, Allah’ı İnkâr Mümkün Müdür?, (İstanbul:
Matbaa-ı İslamiyesi 1327).
81
İsmail Hakkı İzmirli, Yeni İlm-i Kelâm, 1: 56.
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this philosophy, adopted by the theologians of late period, lost its validity for the last three centuries. He
says that they instead should examine the views of contemporary Western philosophers, and accept the
views complying with Islam and reject the ones that do not. According to him, the preliminaries and means
of kalām may change accordingly considering the needs of the age. In order to prove that the universe
originated in time, the mutakallimūn regarded some propositions such as “bodies are composed of indivisible
parts” as a preliminary (mabda’). The fact that universe is originated temporally was also a preliminary or a
mean in proving the Creator. These preliminaries may change, and more preliminaries can be put forward.
For example, accepted by a number of philosophers today, the proposition that “The laws of nature are
contingent, not necessary because they are proven by experience” can be a basis for the possibility of
sensual miracle. 82 According to İzmirli, the preliminaries in the kalām of the previous scholars were different
from the ones in the kalām of the following period theologians. In the new kalām period, the preliminaries
will be also different. As a result of the necessity of grounding and defending the principles of faith, the
preliminaries (mabādi’) and means (wasā’il) of kalām based on reason change with the change of its enemies,
stubborn people and the people who are intended to be enlightened, and it is renewed in line with the
requirements of the current age. However, the main topics (masā’il) and purposes (maqāṣıd) are
unchangeable based on revelation.83
Abdüllûtif Harpûtî defines the red lines of new kalām, which do not change in relation to the society
and the century, as preservation of the principles of religion (uṣūl al-dīn) and Islamic creeds (ʿaqāʾid)
including the beliefs such as the followings: The creator of the universe, God exists and possesses the
attributes of excellence. God is excluded from any deficiencies, the only being to be worshiped in the
universe. Also, the revelation, prophecy, death and resurrection, award and punishment, and afterlife are
true and established. According to Harpûtî, if any of these principles, which constitute the basis of the kalām,
82
See. İsmail Hakkı İzmirli, Yeni İlm-i Kelâm, 1: 7-8. İzmirli, in his second article on the new kalām project in Sebîlürreşâd,
states that he wrote The New Kalām (Yeni İlm-i Kelâm) because he felt the need to enlighten the youth whose minds
are full of philosophical ideas and to firmly establish the dogma in their hearts: “Yes, it is a necessary reality to
enlighten the youth. Because I have been teaching for 30 years, I know how to enlighten the youth. Today, youth’s
mind is filled with philosophical concepts. Is it malign, shameful, unlawful, or unreasonable to benefit from
philosophical theories in an efficacious way, and from French philosophers such as Boutroux and Bergson in brief
concerning the sensuous miracles, and to propound the theories of kalām, which provides a capacity leaving no
need for logic, when it is needed İsmail Hakkı İzmirli, "Yeni İlm-i Kelâm Hakkında II", Sebîlürreşâd, 22 (1342), nr. 551-
552/40. On this issue also see. Adnan Bülent Baloğlu, “İzmirli İsmail Hakkı’nın “Yeni İlm-i Kelâm” Anlayışı”, İzmirli
İsmail Hakkı (Sempozyum 24-25 Kasım 1995) ed. Mehmet Şeker, Adnan Bülent Baloğlu (Ankara. TDV Yayınları, 1996),
101.
83
İsmail Hakkı İzmirli, in his article titled “Yeni İlm-i Kelâm”, in Sebîlürreşâd, says the following: “Contemporary
science mends the conditions of the proofs used in the science of kalām and expands them [those proofs]. The the
preliminaries (mabādi’) and means (wasā’il) of kalām change in relation to the needs of century. As the opponent
and adversary become different, kalām’s form of defense also changes. However, principles of kalām never changes,
the essential principles of faith (akaid-i asliyye) are secure from alteration.” See. “Yeni İlm-i Kelâm Hakkında II”,
nr.528-529/59.
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are not protected and preserved, then these creeds are no longer the creeds of Islam since it is regarded as
blasphemy in religion to lose any of these principles.”84
The new kalām scholars’ distinction between changing and unchanging principles while trying to
revise the kalām reminds us the distinction that classical period mutakallimūn made between jalīl al- kalām
and daqīq al-kalām. They also referred to the faith principles such as God's existence, unity, revelation,
prophecy as jalīl (major) subjects and regarded the theory of knowledge, and physical and philosophical
issues, which they used to prove and defend such principles, as daqīq (subtle) subjects.85 Concerning the
distinction between jalīl al- kalām and daqīq al-kalām, we have to draw attention to the fact that the
relationship between these two spheres was not one-sided in the past, and theological issues and the
subjects of physics and philosophy, which are used to prove and defend these issues, bring about a certain
degree of adaptation and integration. For example, the mutakallimūn of classical period included atomism in
kalām, while the mutakallimūn of post classical period added the Aristotelian logic. However, the grounding
of the theological principles on the subjects of physics and philosophy in this way has led to the fact that
theological issues in detail are influenced by philosophical issues. In the case of atomism, for example, this
theory has influenced the formation of theories such as the rejection of natural causality and the theory of
continuous recreation (i.e., occasionalism).86
There seems to be no complete alliance between the late Ottoman theologians on how the new kalām
should be related to modern philosophy and science. It should be noted that their relationship with modern
science and philosophy is about recognition rather than integration and adaptation. However, while the
new kalām aimed by İzmirli includes the spirituality-based new philosophy, it does not directly address the
issues related to natural sciences and astronomy, but indirectly includes these issues by examining their
consequences and laws.87 On the other hand, M. Şerafeddin Yaltkaya's “social kalām” (ictimai ilm-i kelâm)
project argues that the renewal of the science of kalām should be primarily based on sociology rather than
on modern science and philosophy.88
84
Abdullâtif Harputî, Tekmile-i Tenkihu'l Kelâm (İstanbul: Necm-i istikbal Matbaası, 1328), 146.
85
Mehmet Bulğen, “Klasik Dönem Kelâmında Dakiku’l-Kelâmın Yeri ve Rolü”, İslâm Araştırmaları Dergisi, 33 (2015): 39-
72.
86
Mehmet Bulğen, Kelam Atomculuğu ve Modern Kozmoloji (Ankara: Türkiye Diyanet Vakfı, 2015), 8.
87
On this issue, İzmirli says the following: “Created and generated things are not the primary object of the science of
kalām, rather because they are the effects of the power and wisdom by being instruments to reach the existence of
God, who is Living, Omnipotent, Independent (Qayyum), Omniscient and Sovereign, and because the variety of
created and generated things signify the omnipotence of God and His Godhead, they are going to be included in the
kalām directly as long as the natural sciences and cosmography remains in this arena, and they will never be
associated with kalām in any other way. İsmail Hakkı İzmirli, Muhassalu'l-Kelâm ve'l-hikme (İstanbul 1927), 16.
88
Regarding this issue see. M. Sait Özervarlı, “Son Dönem Osmanlı Düşüncesinde Arayışlar: Mehmed Şerafeddin’in
’İctimâî İlm-i Kelâm’ı”, İslâm Araştırmaları Dergisi, 3 (1999): 157 – 170; Ramazan Altıntaş, “Sosyal Kelâm’a Giriş: “M.
Şerafeddin Yaltkaya Örneği”, Kelâmın İşlevselliği ve Günümüz Kelâm Problemleri (İzmir: İzmir İlahiyat Fakültesi
Yayınları, 2000), 129-149.
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4. THE NEW KALĀM SCHOLARS’ CRITICISMS OF MATERIALISM IN LATE OTTOMAN THOUGHT
It is necessary to give information about the attitudes of new kalām scholars to the modern science
and philosophy before revealing their criticism of materialism. They adopt a general approach that can be
expressed as "modernization that does not contradict the traditions and values of the Ottoman society" as
against those who argue in favor of embracing Western culture and civilization as it is, and advocate
revolution and modernization in any field including religion, too.89 In this context, they consider the
modernization in the field of science and technology necessary to compete with Europe and to survive in
the modern period, but they oppose the blind reception of the Western culture and civilization as a whole.
New kalām scholars who approach the scientific knowledge in a positive way think that the new vision
of universe emerged by discoveries in modern sciences such as physics, astronomy, biology and so on is a
gain of humanity and it must be benefited from.90 According to them, science provides objective and
accurate information about the nature through experiments and observations. For this reason, a piece of
information, which is certain that it comes from the prophet, and a proven scientific fact does not contradict
each other. If there is a conflict in sight, this is either because the observations and experiments are faulty
or the meaning of the related verse has been misunderstood. If the scientific knowledge is certain, the news
coming from the prophet must be interpreted (taʾwīl) accordingly.91 They also argue that the Quran is not a
book of science, but it was sent to help people find the true path. However, in the case of a correspondence
between a new scientific discovery and the verses of the Quran, they do not refrain from showing this as
proof of the inimitability of the Qurʾan (iʿjāz al-Qurʾān) in the context of scientific exegesis.92
While criticizing materialism, the new kalām scholars primarily felt the need to first introduce the
philosophical currents of the period such as idealism, realism and spiritualism, as well as the latest scientific
developments in the fields of physics and astronomy. While doing this, they often referred to the views of
the classical period mutakallimūn, and made an analogy between them. Thus, they aim to make the
preliminaries (mabādi’) and the means (wasā’il) of kalām, which they use in explaining and advocating
religious principles, philosophically and scientifically up-to-date. In this direction, while Abdullatif Harpûti
and Ömer Nasûhi Bilmen added new chapters on modern astronomy in their books93, İsmail Hakkı İzmirli
89
M. Sait Özervarlı, “Şehbenderzâde Ahmed Hilmi”, Türkiye Diyanet Vakfı İslâm Ansiklopedisi (İstanbul: TDV Yayınları,
2010), 38: 425.
90
Their positive attitude towards modern science and their eagerness to accept the scientific knowledge has been
subject to criticism of contemporary researchers. For example, M. Sait Özervarlı criticizes new kalām scholars for
adopting the scientific theories without recognizing the worldview that is behind them. See. M. Sait Özervarlı, “Son
Dönem Osmanlı Düşüncesinde Arayışlar: Mehmed Şerafeddin’in ’İctimâî İlm-i Kelâm’ı”, 158.
91
On this issue see. Mehmet Bulğen, “Son Dönem Osmanlı Kelâmcılarının Kevnî Âyetleri Yorumlama Yöntemleri
Üzerine: Ömer Nasûhi Bilmen Örneği”, Kelam Araştırmaları Dergisi 13/1 (2015): 85.
92
On this issue, for example see. Ömer Nasûhi Bilmen, Muvazzah İlm-i Kelâm (İstanbul: Evkâf-ı İslâmiye Matbaası, 1339-
1342), 390.
93
This section at the end of Abdüllâtif Harpûtî’s book named Tenkîhu’l-Kelâm fî Akaidi Ehli’l-İslâm, is simplified under
the title “Astronomi ve Din” and published by Bekir Topaloğlu. See. Diyanet İlmi Dergi [Diyanet İşleri Başkanlığı
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and Ahmad Hilmi of Filibe, in their books, refer to the latest scientific developments about the matter and
energy revealed to the light by science, physics and chemistry. The intense engagement of the new
theologians with modern science and philosophy for the sake of updating the wasā’il and mabādi’ allowed
them to outshine their rivals in following the movements of modern science and philosophy closely and
thoroughly.94
The new kalām scholars have primarily aimed at the epistemology of materialism while criticizing this
theory. The problem with Ottoman materialists, according to them, is that they put too much emphasis on
senses -under the influence of positivism-, and do not value the means of acquiring knowledge other than
experience. Shaykh al-Islām Mustafa Sabri states that such an assumption would require denial of sciences
based on mental inferences, such as logic and mathematics.95 Ömer Nasûhi Bilmen argues that something
that cannot be perceived by sensation and experience cannot be ignored, or else this will require the
rejection of many things, which are not seen but exist doubtfully. Besides, different causes may prevent the
perception of something.96
İsmail Hakkı İzmirli draws attention to the segmental character of the theories of knowledge adopted
by philosophical movements in that era. While some philosophers consider senses only, some consider
reason together with senses as the cause of knowledge. Some of them regard mind alone, and some only
accept intuition (inspiration) beyond senses and mind as the actual means of obtaining knowledge. At this
point, İzmirli points out to the power of the theory of knowledge based on pluralism. According to him,
where experience and reasoning is not enough, revelation is also a source of valid information. The ideal
way to obtain truth and true knowledge is the way of religion based on the mind, the senses, the intuition,
and the revelation. 97
Dergisi] 13/6 (1974): 343-361; also see. Bekir Topaloğlu, Kelâm İlmi: Giriş Ekler chapter; also see. Bilmen, Muvazzah
İlm-i Kelâm, 384 ff.
94
İlhan Kutluer, “Batılılaşma”, Diyanet İslam Ansiklopedisi, (İstanbul: TDV Yayınları, 1992), 5: 156. Meral Yıldırım, “Son
Dönem Osmanlı Aydınlarının Meteryalizme Dair Eleştirileri”, 7.
95
Mustafa Sabri, Mawqif al'Aql wa al'Ilm wa al'Alam min Rab al'Alamin (Beirut: Dâr al-İhyâi al-Turâsi al-Arabî, 1921), 2:77-
78, 3:63; also see. Rabiye Çetin, “Tanzimat'tan Günümüze Kelam'ı Yenileme Çalışmaları I”, Dinî Araştırmalar, 16/42
(2013): 25.
96
For example, Bilmen says the following with reference to whether “seven level skies” exist or not: People who
reduces the causes of science to only sense and experience cannot say that “skies exist” because they cannot see
them. However, neither can they say “skies do not exist” because this is not within their abstract sense and
experience. For not being able to see and discover such a thing does not entail its non-existence; this is an apodictic
proposition. It is possible that the limitless width of the space or the transparency of the skies or other atmospheric
causes prevent us from seeing the skies. Bilmen, Muvazzah İlm-i Kelâm, 385.
97
İzmirli, Yeni İlm-i Kelâm, I, 46-47. The criticism of the New kalām theologians towards materialists because they base
the means of acquiring knowledge on senses, and their demand for intuition to be also accepted as a means of
acquiring knowledge indicate a deviation from the classical period kalām in terms of epistemology. For the classical
period mutakallimūn, even though they adopted a multifaceted approach to the means of acquiring knowledge,
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In addition, the new kalām scholars called attention to some epistemological inconsistencies of
materialists. According to them, materialists, on the one hand, regarded observation and experimentation
as the only way to obtain knowledge, while rejecting all kinds of metaphysical knowledge, including religion
and high philosophy (metaphysic), on the other hand, they themselves construct a dogmatic metaphysics
under the guise of being scientific.98 From a positivist perspective, materialism contains speculative claims
about matter and force that cannot be verified and falsified.99 For example, materialists' assertions that
matter and force are eternal and limitless are metaphysical claims whose accuracy cannot be tested by
observation and experimentation, and that have no scientific basis. While materialists say that matter is
ubiquitous, they have not reached this knowledge by encircling and experiencing the entire universe.100
It seems to be admissible that the scholars of the new kalām criticize materialism saying that it is a
philosophy under a scientific guise because Auguste Comte (1798-1857), the founder of positivism, in his The
Positive Philosophy (1844), advocates a purely experience-based method for gaining knowledge and even
excludes the indirect observation methods. According to him, for example, mankind will never know the
question of, “What is the sun and other stars made of?” in the future because it is necessary to go there and
experience it personally. However, Augusto Comte says, “Humanity will never know what the Sun is made
of” since it is not possible to go to the Sun.101 On the contrary, materialists do not have any experimental
evidence, but they generalize not only about the world and the solar system, but about the formation and
nature of the universe as a whole.102
In addition, the new kalām scholars state that the materialists are based on obsolete views concerning
matter and force, and that the claim that matter is the fundamental principle, and the basis of everything
contradicts the theories put forward by science lately. For example, İzmirli says that it is no longer possible
prioritized senses. Moreover, the classical period theologians did not regard intuition or inspiration as valid means
of knowledge acquisition. See Mehmet Bulğen, Kelam Atomculuğu ve Modern Kozmoloji, 215.
98
Filibeli Ahmed Hilmi, Huzur-ı Akl-ı Fende Mâddiyyûn Meslek-i Dalâleti, 6,7.
99
For example, Ömer Nasuhi Bilmen says the following on this issue: “Materialists believe that the claims that are not
based on sense and experience and that are not attached to a proof are not worthy of attention. How are they then
convinced about the existence, movement and shaking of a thing that is not possible to be seen by any means, and
about the formation of the universe in this way? Is there not a contradiction between this opinion of them and
their claims? See. Muvazzah İlm-i kelâm, 134.
100
Filibeli Ahmed Hilmi, Huzur-ı Akl-ı Fende Mâddiyyûn Meslek-i Dalâleti, 50-51.
101
Auguste Comte, The Positive Philosophy, trans. to English Harriet Martineau (New York: Cambridge University Press,
2009), 1: 132.
102
It is possible to reduce this issue to the discussion regarding that to what extent cosmology, which is a science
concerning the emergence, development, and operation of the universe, is a science. For example, according to
David Hume, experimentation and observation is the only credible source to test the trueness of the phenomena
and events. Because it is not possible to go outside of the universe and make observations on it or have an
experience about its creation, we cannot say anything about the whole universe based on the phenomena and
events we perceive in our world. See. David Hume, Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion (Edinburg and London:
William Blackwood, 1907), 40 ff.
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to maintain that the source of everything is the eternal and perpetual matter since the matter has lost its
importance in the new physics and it is replaced by the energy.103 Ahmed Hilmi of Filibe and Ömer Nasuhi
Bilmen, referring to Wilhelm Ostwald (1853-1932), one of the famous German chemists of the time,
suggested that the concept of matter was introduced when the notion of ‘energy’ was not known. However,
they state that the new physics revealed the fact that the qualities used to describe and understand the
matter are actually properties of energy. Since these properties belong to energy, there is nothing left to be
called “matter.”104
Although the claims of İzmirli, Filibeli and Bilmen that the matter could be destroyed and transformed
into energy and therefore materialism lost its validity were influential at their times, but today these are no
longer relevant claims against materialism. Arising as early as the beginning of the last century, the notions
like radioactivity, the transformation, entropy, forces, fields, dark matter, black energy, etc. have revealed
brand-new facts that could not be explained by the traditional materialist conception of matter. In addition,
Quantum Mechanics and Relativity Theory allowed alternative interpretations to the mechanistic and
deterministic universe understanding in the Newtonian and Laplacian sense, on which materialism
grounded.105 However, all of this led to the evolution of materialism into physicalism in itself rather than
the disappearance of it. Although the 20th century physics reveals concepts and theories different from the
traditional understanding of matter, these are still the phenomena and processes that are put forward under
the roof of physics. Therefore, the fact that matter transforms into energy does not mean the end of
materialism, but on the contrary, it provides the development of physicalism, which claims that everything
in the universe, including thought and consciousness, is physical.
On the other hand, the new kalām scholars have also made criticisms against physicalism. Ömer
Nasûhi Bilmen, for example, draws attention to the drawbacks of metaphysics made with the claim of being
scientific depending on the changing nature of the comprehensive cosmological models and theories.
According to him, the science of cosmology (‘ilm al-takwīn) has not been able to encompass the physical
reality and has not had the last word about the functioning of the universe. On the contrary, cosmological
theories are constantly changing, [for example] once the theory of Ptolemy was accepted as truth, and then
Copernicus’ theory (1473-1543) replaced it. Nowadays, astronomical science is on the eve of a great
revolution with a new theory (the theory of relativity) advanced by Einstein (1879-1955). There is no
guarantee that this theory will not be invalid tomorrow. Thus, according to Bilmen, there is no need to
refuse a truth proven by religious dogma (nass), or to interpret them arbitrarily so as to conform to some
scientific theories that change constantly.106 İzmirli states that materialists have established general rules
based on some constantly changing theories. He tries to support this criticism by relying on the work of
103
İzmirli, Yeni İlm-i Kelâm, 1: 283.
104
They try to base the fact that matter is destroyable and convertible to energy on the newly discovered fact, that is,
radioactive decay at that time. See. Filibeli Ahmed Hilmi, ibid., 52; Ömer Nasuhi Bilmen, Muvazzah İlm-i Kelâm, 138.
105
H. Meyer, “Materialism”, 318.
106
Bilmen, Muvazzah İlm-i Kelâm, 386.
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Henri Poincaré (1854-1912) and Émile Boutroux (1845-1921) with the view that there is relativity, even in
things that are definitely accepted.107
Ahmad Hilmi of Filibe states that the science progresses through hypotheses and it takes time to verify
or falsify these hypotheses. Therefore, it is not possible to talk about absolute accuracy of the hypotheses.
Materialism is also based on a hypothesis that must be evaluated in this context, and today's accumulation
of scientific knowledge falsifies this hypothesis. In addition, science will never be able to have the last word
about the universe because scientific research will never end. It is therefore necessary to be cautious when
putting forward the claim of having found the final theory. Even the theories accepted as unchanging
principles (e.g. Newtonian mechanics) have been shaken today. There has not been a single scientific
knowledge which has not changed and has not lost its value in the relatively-known seven or eight thousand
years of history of humanity. Although they are tried to be presented as scientific truths by some, materialist
theories are now seen as obsolete ideas in Europe. Therefore, according to him (Ahmed Hilmi), metaphysics
made based on physics whose theories are constantly changing and doubtful contains troubles.108
The new kalām scholars devote a great part of their efforts to refute the idea of materialists that
matter, energy, and movement are eternal.109 They attempted to reject the idea that the universe and
movement are eternal by justifying the second law of thermodynamics (entropy) speculating that the
universe is going through a “heat death” step by step. According to them, the entropy law not only shows
that the movement and chemical reactions in the universe will end, but also entails that the universe was
created in a finite time in the past.110 M. Şemseddin Günaltay, on the other hand, claims that all the theories
put forward with the claim of explaining the universe cannot go beyond an assumption unless they are
based on a creator or necessary being (wâjib al-wujûd). He tries to lay this claim on two basic theories, which
were prominent at the time, about the functioning of the world. The first one is mechanism and the latter
is dynamism. Mechanism explains everything through the composition and decomposition of the atoms,
which are accepted to be eternal and perpetual. According to this theory, the events taking place in the
universe are nothing more than the results of the mechanical movements of atoms, which are continually
converging and dissociating. Dynamism tries to reduce everything to power, that is energy. The universe is
the result of either the mutual or harmonious forces (energy) or just one force that creates the things by
107
İzmirli, Yeni ilm-i Kelâm, I, 242-243.
108
Filibeli Ahmed Hilmi, Huzur-ı Akl-ı Fende Mâddiyyûn Meslek-i Dalâleti, 78-80 ff.; Also see. Özervarlı, “Şehbenderzâde
Ahmed Hilmi”, 17, 426.
109
For example, see. İzmirli, Yeni İlm-i Kelâm, 1: 284 ff. İsmail Hakkı states that materialists accept three apodictic
propositions in explaining the world: 1) There are limitless atoms. 2) These atoms are eternal. 3) They are essentially
in motion. According to İzmirli, the developments in the science of physics have rendered these three principles
invalid. For based on physics, moving objects try to find balance and they are inclined to rest. If the world is not in
rest now, this shows that its movement is not eternal. For the time that has passed since eternity would be naturally
different than the time needed for balance. İzmirli, Yeni İlm-i Kelâm, 2: 67; also see. Bilmen, Muvazzah İlm-i Kelâm,
126-127.
110
Filibeli Ahmed Hilmi, Huzur-ı Akl-ı Fende Mâddiyyûn Meslek-i Dalâleti, 16, 76-81, 91; also see. İzmirli, Yeni İlm-i Kelam, 2:
67; Bilmen, Muvazzah İlm-i Kelâm, 138.
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means of continuous motion. According to Günaltay, the explanation of the things and events with these
two theories is a secondary analysis. Examining the matter itself in terms of mechanism and the force itself
in terms of dynamism, the necessity of existence of a creator, with regard to the question “What is origin of
these?”, cannot be denied.111 In this context, Günaltay says that it is possible to explain the formation of the
universe with Kant-Laplace theory as long as it is based on a creative god. According to this theory, a long
time ago before the formation of the universe, everything was in the form of a gas cloud. The solid, liquid
and gaseous materials available now consisted of a homogeneous gas mass. This matter that was extremely
light, was in a very high temperature. The universe consisting of millions of stars arose from the rotating
movement of this mass of gas. As a result of the condensation of the gas mass, emerged a gravity force
through the center. Also, a centrifugal force occurred caused by its turning around its own axis. Since the
rotation of the gas mass constantly gained speed, a number of parts broken off of it. These pieces became a
luminous cloud (nebula) by the gravity of rotation. The gravity of the rotation gradually intensified these
and began to become a central force. A cosmos was established with centrifugal and centripetal forces of
each nebulous. Here, our solar system is one of the compositions that are formed in this way.112
According to Günaltay, the current theory explaining the formation of the universe cannot go beyond
speculation. For it claims that the entire space was in the form of a gas cloud at the beginning of the
formation of the universe, but remains silent about the source of the gas cloud. However, it is not possible
to envisage anything without considering its source. In the same way, the aforementioned explanations will
remain unfounded unless it is accepted that there is a creative god who creates the mass of gas and gives it
the first movement.113 Günaltay's method for proving God by using the Kant-Laplace theory is widely used
by theists in the context of the Big Bang theory (Kalām Cosmological Argument).114
One of the important issues in materialism discussions is the theory of evolution. As is known, this
theory, developed by the British naturalist Charles Darwin, holds that all species and organisms emerged
and evolved from a single species through natural selection. This rendered God's volitional intervention
unnecessary in any ring of the creation chain, including the existence of man. For this reason, the theory of
evolution has been perceived by materialists as a challenge to the theory of creation since its emergence
and has been accepted as one of the main references in rejecting divine religions.
The noteworthy aspect of the new kalām scholars is that they try to reconcile the creation theory of
Islam with evolution instead of directly opposing this theory. In this respect, first of all, they say that the
theory of evolution is not something new, and that such views have been advocated for a long time both in
ancient philosophy and in Islamic thought in various ways. However, the fact that the previous philosophers
111
M. Şemşeddin Günaltay, Felsefe-i Ulâ (İstanbul: Evkaf-ı İslâmiye Matbaası, 1339-1341), 66; on this issue also see. Neşet
Doku, Türkiye’de Anti-Materyalist Felsefe, 261.
112
Günaltay, Felsefe-i Ulâ, 535-536
113
Günaltay, Felsefe-i Ulâ, 535-536.
114
Enis Doko, “Öncesi ve Sonrasıyla Big Bang”, Güncel Kelâm Tartışmaları, ed. Mehmet Bulğen, Enis Doko (İstanbul: İFAV
2014), 219 ff.
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and thinkers accepted evolution did not require them to deny the existence of God and the spirit besides
man's material body.115
While the new kalām scholars recognize that there is a general evolution in the universe, they have
firmly opposed an evolutionary approach indicating that man is derived from an ancestor identical to
monkey. For instance, according to Ömer Nasûhi Bilmen, the existence of an evolutionary law in the
universe can be accepted. However, the problematic issue is the misinterpretation of this law. For him,
evolution is not in the manner that animal is derived from plant and human is derived from animal, but in
the form of the change and transformation of the beings through their inner dynamics and among their
own species throughout their lives. The process of transformation of fetus in the womb into a child and then
into an adult person is an example of this. However, there is no evolution that makes it possible to switch
between species in the way that the animal is derived from the plant and the human is derived from the
animal.116
Bilmen says that advocates of the evolution theory do not have definitive scientific data on how life
came into being from the inanimate matter in the past or on that they came to earth from various stars.
According to him, many of the ideas of materialists about evolution are based on disputable arguments.
Conversely, scientific studies conducted by Pastor (1822-1895) reject the possibility that life could emerge
from inanimate beings. According to Bilmen, the real problem of materialists such as Ernst Haeckel is that
they regard Darwin's theory as an indisputable scientific truth. However, they are trying to invent
intermediate species, which have not been established with precise scientific data, to complete the chain of
evolution:
“Ernst Haeckel talks about the animals he invented in his mind for the purpose of replenishing the
means in the human ancestry chain, and tries to describe their circles flawlessly as if he saw these animals
and lived with them some time! However, geology, the science of living creatures, does not record such an
animal. I wonder if how Haeckel acquainted himself with this kind of truth? Does he not have to prove his
definitive statement in this context? Yes, he is. But is it possible? ... Never!”117
As is seen, Ömer Nasûhi Bilmen claims that the cross-species claim of theory of evolution consists of
speculative claims that could not be based on observation and experimentation. Hence, according to him,
there is no need to revise/interpret (taʾwīl) the Quranic verses on this subject. On the contrary, science has
strong data that there is no transition among species.118
115
On this issue see. Bilmen, Muvazzah İlm-i Kelâm, 207.
116
Bilmen, Muvazzah İlm-i Kelâm, 210.
117
Bilmen, Muvazzah İlm-i Kelâm, 216.
118
Mustafa Sabri Efendi (1869-1954), one of the late period Ottoman Shaykh al-Islams, also states that theory of
evolution is not established based on a certain scientific evidence, therefore, it is not necessary to interpret Qur’an
verses in this regard as long as this theory is not certainly proved. According to him, while even Christian clergy
absolutely object to the probability of human’s being driven from ape because it is opposing to Torah and declare
the defenders of this theory unbelievers, it is saddening that some Muslim scholars are doubtful about denying
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Finally, we should specify that one of the important debates between the new kalām scholars and
materialists is on the nature of the spirit (rūh). In this context, the majority of late Ottoman theologians,
including İzmirli İsmail Hakkı, Ömer Nasûhi Bilmen, Abdüllatif Harpûtî, Ahmed Hilmi of Filibe and M.
Şemseddin Günaltay, seem to have embraced the dualist human theory in the form of material body and
non-extended spirit.119 While they criticize the materialists about the existence of a spirit separate from the
material body, they benefit from the spiritualist philosophy of the period.120 However, the new kalām
scholars are also aware of the fact that the real nature of the spirit and whether it has an independent
existence separate from the body cannot be known for sure. In this respect, they say that the nature of the
spirit, whether it is material/immaterial or not is accidental, and that this problem does not concern the
dogma and truth the essentials of religion (zarurât-ı diniyye).121 For example, İzmirli states that the existence
and nature of the spirit is a complex and difficult problem to solve, so people have conflicted on this issue
throughout the history. For him, however, there are essentially two opposing views on spirit: These are the
materialist view which reduces the spirit to the matter and considers it to be a quality of matter, and
spiritualistic view that regards spirit as an abstract or immaterial substance different from the body. 122
such probability. Moreover, this theory includes elements that are incompatible to Quran more than to Torah.
Mustafa Sabri, İnsan ve Kader, trans. İsa Doğan. (İstanbul: Kültür Basın Yayın Birliği, 1989), 18 ff.
119
For example, Ömer Nasûhi explains this point as follows: “Human is a creature consisting of one body and one spirit
(reasoning soul). However, the true meaning of human is made up of soul that is described as “I” and that always
preserves its sameness, and that is a godly elegance. Body which is subject to a constant change and alteration is
nothing more than a manifestation tool for the spiritual impressions just as an instrument of soul (cognizance,
volition, sensibility. Muvazzah Ilm-i Kelâm, 341; also see. İzmirli, Yeni İlm-i Kelâm, 1: 292.
120
However, we must draw attention to this point that new kalām scholars did not take the dualist human concept
from Descartes, who says that human consists of two substances as matter and soul or from the European
spiritualists, but rather they took it from the late period mutakallims such as Ghazalī and Fakhr al-Din al-Razi. For
example, see. Bilmen, Muvazzah İlm-i Kelâm, 377.
121
Ömer Nasûhi Bilmen, Muvazzah Ilm-i Kelâm, 341; There has been a conflict on the questions: Does soul has an
independent existence separate from essence and matter? Is it possible to perceive the essence of soul? Is soul going
to perish after death or is it going to be continuous? These are some significant questions that they have occupied
intellectuals’ minds for a long time. However, the issues regarding the essence of soul and whether it is material or
not are subsidiary issues to the dogma. They are not counted among the essentials of religion. ibid., 370. For a similar
view see. İzmirli, Yeni İlm-i Kelâm, 1: 300.
122
Şemseddin Günaltay has similar views on this issue with İzmirli. He divides the views people have adopted on the
issue of spirit into four groups: 1) Materialism, which does not accept separate existence of soul from body and
regards it as a product of body, 2) Idealism, which considers thought to be the only truth and reduces everything
to it, 3) Pantheism, which sees soul as a manifestation of absolute existence just as matter, 4) Spiritualism, which
accepts soul as a substance independent of matter. Şemseddin Günaltay states that he adopts the dualist spiritualist
view, which defends spirit-matter dualism. For according to him, the fact that psychological and physiological
incidents cannot be converted to each other shows that their sources are different. In the opinion of him, even
though science can explain material events, it has yet to show the conversion of movement to consciousness See.
Felsefe-i Ula, 177-180, 505-507.
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İzmirli states that he is closer to spiritualist view regarding that the spirit is a non-extended substance
although he says the classical period mutakallimūn have similar views as contemporary materialists about
spirit.123 In this context, he criticizes the attempt of materialists to explain the spiritual states such as
emotion, will, thought and belief with the functions of brain (mind). Although he accepts the relation
between the states of mind and brain, for him, the real cause for the states of mind is not the brain. As a
matter of fact, if a musician does not have a musical instrument or if this instrument is corrupted, it is not
possible for him to produce a harmonious music. Undoubtedly, the musical instrument is a necessary
condition for the emergence of a harmonious music, but not a sufficient condition. The mind is like a musical
instrument, and the one who uses it is actually the spirit. The approach of materialists, which reduces
everything to physiology, is not sufficient to explain the issue.124
In addition to this, İzmirli criticizes the view, defended by the classical period mutakallimūn and
materialists, that the human and animal, are of the same genus (homogeneous) in nature. 125 According to
him, there is a difference between man and animal not only in terms of rank, but also in terms of quality.
While the human is a reasonable and intelligent being, the animal is not like this. Human beings are
composed of two physical and spiritual elements: body and spirit. The spiritual element is the cause of the
states of mind and the material element is the cause of the physical body. There is an undeniable affinity
between these two elements. 126
The new kalām thinkers’ adoption of the dualistic human view has led them to show interest to
spiritualist philosophy and to see this movement closer to themselves. In this context, while Ismail Hakkı
İzmirli says that spiritualism is more suitable for Islam,127 Filibeli also sympathizes with this movement by
claiming that spiritualism has improved itself very recently.128 Harpûtî means the spiritualist philosophy of
the time when he is arguing that new kalām thinkers must prove the existence of a realm of meaning, an
abstract realm and a realm of spirits beyond the matter and material realm by the methods and principles
of its current philosophy.129 Ömer Nasuhi Bilmen, on the other hand, makes a more cautious approach to the
123
İsmail Hakkı İzmirli, Yeni İlm-i Kelâm, 1: 263.
124
İsmail Hakkı İzmirli, Muhtasar Felsef-i Ulâ (İstanbul: Hukuk Matbaası, 1329), 146-148.
125
İsmail Hakkı İzmirli, Yeni İlm-i Kelâm, 1: 263.
126
İzmirli, Yeni İlm-i Kelâm, 1: 292; on this issue also see. Neşet Toku, Türkiye’de Anti-Materyalist Felsefe, 242.
127
İzmirli, Yeni İlm-i Kelâm, 1: 290.
128
However, we have to indicate that the spiritualism in Filibeli’s mind is different from the spiritualism that emerged
in Europe in 18th century in parallel to materialism and that attempts to develop an alternative concept of god and
universe, and theory of knowledge. He counts the main principles of spiritualism as follows: 1) God has intelligence
and volition. 2) God created the universe out of nothing and there is a difference between Him and creatures in
terms of existence. 3) There is a capacity in human mind called “intelligence and distinction” that God and the truth
of the things are known through it. 4) Human has freedom of will. See. Şehbenderzâde Filibeli Ahmed Hilmi, “Hangi
Felsefî Ekolü Kabul Etmeliyiz”, 20-21.
129
Harputî, Tekmile-i Tenkihu'l Kelâm, 113.
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claim that some spiritualists can take photographs of the souls and prove their existence scientifically,
although he accepts that spiritual philosophy has recently overwhelmed materialism.130
The fact that kalām thinkers did not try to explain the cognitive characteristics of the human being
with the neurophysiological characteristics of the brain, but grounding their clarification on the spirit,
whose nature is unknown, prevented them from adapting new scientific findings in the field of neuroscience
to kalām. Moreover, this situation forced them to defend a view, which they did not claim as one of the
principles of religion, in the face of the scientific data recently revealed. One of the powerful areas of
materialism from the 18th century to the present day is the scientific findings uncovering that the cognitive
and spiritual characteristics of human beings can be explained by physical processes. In this context, the
discovery of neuronal functions and biochemical mechanisms has revealed strong scientific evidence
indicating that man's psychological and cognitive characteristics can be based on physical processes.131
Scientific data have brought to light that the characteristics of thought, feeling, knowing and will are
operated by the nervous system, and they can be changed by various electrodes and drugs. Defective
operation of the brain also causes mind and mental health to become defective. Nowadays, many of the work
done by the mind can be performed electronically by sophisticated computers. These are not only limited
to reminiscing, recalling and calculation, but also extend to the dimensions of recognition, estimation
processes, problem solving, and learning new skills. This has led to the gradually spreading acceptance that
mental activity, parallel with the claim of materialists, is a special type of physical processes.
In such an environment, the new kalām scholars could have made use of legacy of classical period
atomist mutakallimūn, which emphasizes the matter and the bodily composition of man, rather than trying
to explain the cognitive properties of humanity with an immaterial spirit and adopting the spiritualism.
Such a preference would have prevented them from defending a matter that is not among the essentials of
religion in the face of scientific data. Moreover, it would have made it easier for them to adapt the scientific
findings in the field of neurophysiology to the new kalām, thus, it would have enabled them to fight against
materialism more effectively. According to classical mutakallimūn, to claim that the universe, including man,
consists entirely of matter, and to defend that everything in the universe occurs through physical processes
within space-time context does not mean denying the Creator, on the contrary, it is a proof showing that
the universe originated temporally.
CONCLUSION
To sum up, materialism, which is a naturalist worldview that reduces the existence as a whole to
matter and its interactions, dates back to the beginning of philosophy, but in the historical process it has
been a view in the minority and reacted against. However, this view started to find supporters again in
130
“Thank God, we do not need the theory of spiritualism or etc. to establish the existence of soul and we do not feel
obligated to accept that the concept of spiritualism is a truth. However, we would like to say that some people, who
did not want to believe anything other than sensibles before, afterwards went this far and considered the existence
of souls among sensibles and a priori knowledge based on the spiritual examination they made.” See. Bilmen,
Muvazzah İlm-i Kelâm, 372.
131
Keith Campbell, “Materialism”, 19.
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Europe following the spread of the deterministic and mechanistic understanding of the universe in the wake
of the 17th-century science revolution and following the enlightenment and secularization movements. The
introduction of materialism into the Ottoman State started through the students, who were sent to the West,
and modern schools, which were opened from the first half of the 19th. At the beginning of the 20th century,
materialism had influenced a considerable amount of the Ottoman intellectuals although it formed
background arguments like secularism and Westernization.
The increasing influence of materialism in the Ottoman Empire after the Second Constitutional Era
led the Ottoman scholars to look for ways to combat such thought currents in a more systematic way. At
this point, the attention has turned into kalām, which has traditionally had the task of defending the Islamic
faith. However, in its present state, kalām was not seen as sufficient to fight against modern movements.
This situation has led Ottoman scholars to the idea that the science of kalām should be revised according to
the needs of the age. This view was later officially adopted by the Ottoman State and transformed into a
project called “The New Science of Kalām”. This project was based on the principle that kalām has subjects
that both constitute the roots of religion (masā’il/maqāṣıd) which are mainly based on revelation, and
represent the means and preliminaries (mabādi’ /wasā’il) which are used to prove and defend them, based
on reason. In this distinction, while the issues, which constitute the revelation dimension of the kalām,
remain always the same, the means, forming rather scientific and philosophical dimension of it, change
depending on time and conditions.
In the axis of this project, while criticizing materialism, new kalām scholars first tried to be acquainted
with the accumulation of philosophical and scientific knowledge that emerged in Europe in the last three
centuries, and to make the aspects of them, compatible with the Islamic religion, means of kalām. This
approach enabled them to criticize materialism using the philosophy and science of the era. While
criticizing the materialism, the new kalām scholars tried to demonstrate that it is metaphysics under the
guise of being scientific, and includes speculative judgments that cannot be verified and falsified. In
addition, they rejected the views of materialists about the eternity of matter and force, and the mechanistic
and deterministic foundations on which it was based through new scientific discoveries and theories,
revealed by the scientific development of that era, such as the entropy, the transformation of matter into
energy, radioactive decay, probability, and relativity.
As for the theory of evolution, the new kalām scholars tried to partially Islamize the theory rather
than confront it directly. Accordingly, they first acknowledged that there is a general evolution in the
universe, but they argue that this evolution is not between species. Their attempts to reconcile the theory
of evolution with the theory of creation can be compared to the attitudes of the classical period mutakallimūn
who Islamized atomism.
However, the new kalām scholars have not been able to maintain their attitude towards the theory of
evolution about the scientific discoveries, made in the field of neurophysiology, concerning the
psychological and mental nature of man. By adopting the view that human beings are composed of two
different substances, namely matter and spirit, they did not recognize the explanation of cognitive
characteristics such as consciousness, will, thought and knowledge by reducing them to matter and
neurophysiological processes in the brain. Their dualist attitudes to the nature of humanity led them to take
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interest in the spiritualistic philosophies of the time and to bring the kalām closer to spiritualism in terms
of epistemological and ontological aspect.
As a result, materialism, which defines the physical universe as “everything that exists”, is contrary
to the philosophical movements such as idealism and spiritualism, and it also contradicts divine religions,
which define the universe as “everything that exists except God”. On the other hand, this does not mean
that idealism or spiritualism is more suitable to the epistemology and ontology of divine religions. As we
mentioned at the beginning of our article, the classical period mutakallimūn have a cosmology and
epistemology that is closer to materialism rather than idealism and spiritualism. However, their character
as stated in the way “seemingly materialist”, does not mean to deny God, but rather serves an occasionalist
worldview of theism in which the God-universe relation is established at the most advanced level.
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ULUM Journal of Religious Inquiries
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A Guide for Book Reviews *
Kadir Gömbeyaz * *
Abstract
A book review is a multifaceted critical analysis of a book and an evaluation on the quality, value/meaning,
significance, and contribution of the book to its own subject/field. It is not a report, summary, or
advertisement, rather it is a serious scholarly work. Book reviews have certain functions such as, for
academics, being aware of the recently published books and saving time by getting an idea about those
publications through reading experts’ evaluations about their significance, value, and contributions; for
publishers, finding an opportunity for a kind of advertisement of their publications that mostly remain to a
limited environment like academia; for authors, receiving a feedback about their books to enable them to
improve them in future editions. Although there is not only one right method for book reviews, because
they are personal and reflect the reviewer’s personal ideas and remarks, this note makes suggestions on how
to compose an ideal book review after providing a brief description of the nature of book reviews and
includes some relevant technical notes hoping to be a helpful guide for those who want to write a book
review.
Keywords
Scholarly journals, Academic writings, Book, Book reviews, Guide
*
Revised version of a technical note previously published in Turkish: Kadir Gömbeyaz, “Kitap Değerlendirmesi Yazım
Kılavuzu”, Cumhuriyet İlahiyat Dergisi 21/2 (December 2017): 1415-1420, https://doi.org/10.18505/cuid.362700
**
Assistant Professor, Kocaeli University, Faculty of Theology, Department of Islamic Theology and Theological Sects,
Kocaeli, Turkey & Book Review Editor of the Journal of Ilahiyat Studies
kadir.gombeyaz@kocaeli.edu.tr ORCID 0000-0002-5204-5564
Article Types: Technical Note
Received: 15 July 2019
Accepted: 31 July 2019
Published: 31 July 2019
Cite as: Kadir Gömbeyaz, “A Guide for Book Reviews”, ULUM 2/1 (July 2019): 169-75,
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3358594
170 | Gömbeyaz, “A Guide for Book Reviews”
Kitap Değerlendirmesi Yazım Kılavuzu
Öz
Kitap değerlendirme yazısı, bir kitabın ilgili olduğu konudaki/sahadaki yeri, önemi, değeri ve katkısına
dair çok yönlü eleştirel analizidir. Bir tanıtım, özet veya reklam olmayıp ciddi akademik bir faaliyettir.
Kitap değerlendirmeleri akademisyenler için çalıştıkları veya ilgi duydukları konu(lar)/saha(lar)da yeni
çıkan kitaplardan haberdar olma, bu kitapların taşıdıkları önem ve değer ile sahaya yaptıkları katkıya
dair bir uzman görüşü almak suretiyle bir kanaat oluşturarak zamandan tasarruf etme; yayınevleri için
çoğu zaman akademya gibi sınırlı bir çevre içinde kalan yayınlarının tanıtımının gerçekleşmesi; yazarlar
için de yayınına dair bir dönüt alma ve sonraki baskılar için yetkinleştirme imkânı sunma gibi
fonksiyonlar icra eder. Kişisel olmaları ve değerlendirenin kişisel fikir ve yorumlarını yansıtması
sebebiyle kitap değerlendirme yazıları için tek bir doğru usul bulunmamakla birlikte, bu yazı, kitap
değerlendirme yazısı yazmak isteyenler için faydalı bir rehber olma ümidiyle kitap değerlendirme
yazılarının mahiyeti ile ilgili kısa bir tasvir sunduktan sonra ideal bir kitap değerlendirme yazısının
nasıl oluşturulabileceğine dair öneriler getirmekte ve birtakım teknik notları içermektedir.
Anahtar Kelimeler
Bilimsel Dergiler, Akademik Yazılar, Kitap, Kitap Değerlendirmesi, Rehber
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Gömbeyaz, “A Guide for Book Reviews” | 171
A book review is a multifaceted critical analysis of a book and an evaluation on the quality,
value/meaning, significance, and contribution of the book to its own subject/field. It is not a report,
summary, or advertisement. Therefore, it is such a serious scholarly work that as an academic one does
not want to be indifferent. Determining the features of a book, such as its contribution to the relevant
academic field, value, strengths and weaknesses, etc. can only be managed by an expert who follows
the literature regarding that book’s subject and has adequate knowledge and experience in the field.
So, it is not correct to consider this type of writings a type of practice for academic writing for Master
and Ph.D. students –except for those having a special interest in and knowledge about the subject due
to their thesis and specific studies.
Book reviews have certain functions such as, for academics, being aware of the recently published
books and saving time by getting an idea about those publications through reading experts’ evaluations
about their significance, value, and contributions; for publishers, finding an opportunity for a kind of
advertisement of their publications that mostly remain to a limited environment like academia; for
authors, receiving feedbacks about their books to enable them to improve them in future editions.
Book reviews provide an opportunity to follow up new publications, so preference should be
given to recently published books to review. This, actually, is a natural result of the publication of many
books worth reviewing in every year. For that reason, the books to review published particularly in the
last five years are of priority to review.
Book reviews are never a means to attack the author. Review is different from attack. Reviews are
in fact an author-friendly activity which helps the author to improve his/her book in the sequent
editions. Turning reviews into attacks brings about the loss of their seriousness and value.
There is not only one right method for book reviews, because they are personal and reflect the
reviewer’s personal ideas and remarks. Thus, some reviews highlight a particular aspect of the book
while some aim to correct a mistake included and some serve for the reviewer to reveal his/her
personal ideas and findings. If the personal findings and remarks of the reviewer are much more that
his/her evaluations on the book, it is appropriate to publish it as a review article, not a book review.
It would be beneficial to put forward some suggestions to guide those who want to write a book
review, even though such writings do not have any standard pattern and method. A book review can
follow the steps below:
FIRST STEP: CHOOSING THE RIGHT BOOK
Choosing the book to review is the first, but the most important step. It could be done by both
the researcher and/or the book review editor of a scholarly journal. In the first, the researcher offers a
specific book to the editor to write a review on it. The process starts on the approval of the editor. In
the second, the editor chooses a book and invites a researcher to review it. The process starts on the
positive response of the researcher to the invitation. In both methods, choosing the “right book” is of
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172 | Gömbeyaz, “A Guide for Book Reviews”
a great importance. The book must be worth reviewing in terms of academic standards, it should not
be a waste of time for both the reviewer and the reader, and should be written on a subject in which
the reviewer is an expert. If not so, the expectation of the book review to provide an idea about the
importance and value of the book can not be met. Therefore, a book on which the reviewer “has
something to say” must be chosen.
Another point that should not be neglected in choosing the right book is that there should not be
any mutual interest, relationship based on love and hate between the reviewer and the author, in brief,
ethical limits should not be violated. In other words, it is important that the reviewer should not be the
advisor, student, friend, superior or inferior, opponent etc. of the author, because this means that
fairness expected in the review can barely be provided. One should choose, whether it is chosen by the
reviewer or the editor, a book that is subject to a fair evaluation must be chosen.
SECOND STEP: READING THE BOOK PROPERLY, IN A MULTIFACETED, AND CRITICAL WAY
The reviewer should not read the book like an ordinary reading, but seek answers to certain
questions, make multifaceted queries, and take notes. For instance,
• Who is the author of the book, what are his/her other works, interests, and competence?
• What are the goals and aims the author wants to realize? Are they academic or ideological?
• What type is the book (textbook, thesis, research etc.)? If this point is neglected, it will be
possible to make mistakes. To expect original arguments, profound discussions, and elaborate analysis
from a textbook would be barking up the wrong tree and it would be unfair to criticize it for having
such deficiencies.
• What is the audience of the book (academics, general readers, etc.) and is it written
appropriately for its intended audience?
• What are the arguments the author makes? Does the reviewer agree with them or think them
not adequately grounded? If the reviewer has rejections, he/she should reveal and prove them.
• What is the situation of the book in terms of consistency, clarity, originality, strongness, the
accurate use of the concepts, expressing itself well, preciseness of the improvement stages, fluency,
etc?
• What is the style of the book, didactic, academic etc? Does it maintain its own style throughout
the whole book or is there any violation of it?
• Is the plan of the book successful and is the author successful in realizing his/her purposes?
• Is the author’s use of sources successful? Does he/she use primary or secondary sources; does
he/she make a literature review; are there any important referential sources he/she neglects? In the
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Gömbeyaz, “A Guide for Book Reviews” | 173
use of sources, it is crucial to question whether a crime of any type of plagiarism is committed and to
check it out with cross examination.
• Does the book include any enriched elements such as charts, tables, editions of text,
translations, indice etc? Are they useful and functional?
• Are there any typos resulted from the author’s carelessness or the print? These are helpful
advices for the author to improve his/her book in the possible following editions.
• Lastly, the reviewer could conclude its review by stating his/her personal impression the book
left on him/her, whether the book made any change in his/her past ideas, and whether the book could
be recommended or not and why.
THIRD STEP: COMPOSING THE REVIEW
While composing the review, the reviewer can follow the steps below:
Introduction: Drawing a general frame regarding the book reviewed. The reviewer notes the
author’s reasons, aims, and goals to write the book here. Thus, it evaluates to what extent the author
manages to fulfill that in the following pages.
Body 1: A general description presenting the plan and contents of the book. Here one makes the
reader ready to remarks and criticisms that could be made.
Body 2: Organizing the notes taken during the reading in accordance with the second step
explained above in a successful course.
Body 3: Evaluation of the author’s arguments and grounding the objections the reviewer has.
To the conclusion: Drawing attention to the contributions the book makes to its subject/field and
making remarks on the importance and value, the strengths and weaknesses the book holds.
Conclusion: Concluding the review with short sentences giving an idea to the reader about what
makes sense for the audience of the book, whether the expectations from the book’s title, author, and
arguments are met or not.
The ideal measure for book reviews is between 1.000-1.500 words. For this reason, the reviewer
should not have the concern to tell everthing about the book he/she thinks or determines and should
confine himself/herself to pointing out significant points to him/her, because this is not only the
review that will be written on the book. Moreover, long reviews discourage the reader to read them.
It is important to maintain academic language and direct criticisms against the book, not its
author, and not to provoke the author to take it personally.
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174 | Gömbeyaz, “A Guide for Book Reviews”
Reviews submitted to the journal are generally examined by the editor. The reviewer should take
suggestions and corrections by the editor seriously. Publication of reviews is done on the approval of
the editorial board of the journal. Since each review is a kind of personal, hence subjective evaluation,
the author of the reviewed book is always entitled to respond. The editor should be fair to assess the
responses. Journals mostly welcome responses to reviews.
REFERENCES
Gömbeyaz, Kadir. “Kitap Değerlendirmesi Yazım Kılavuzu”. Cumhuriyet İlahiyat Dergisi 21/2 (December
2017): 1415-1420, https://doi.org/10.18505/cuid.362700
İsnad Atıf Sistemi [The Isnad Citation Style ]. Sivas: Cumhuriyet University, 2018.
https://www.isnadsistemi.org/en/
www.dergipark.org.tr/ulum
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ULUM Journal of Religious Inquiries
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www.dergipark.gov.tr/ulum
Ibn Taymiyya’s Contextual Biblical Hermeneutics in Al-Jawāb al-Ṣaḥīḥ/The Correct
Response (PhD. Dissertation)
Zeynep Yücedoğru *
Abstract
This thesis, Ibn Taymiyya’s Contextual Biblical Hermeneutics in Al-Jawāb al-Ṣaḥīḥ/The Correct Response (PhD Disser-
tation, University of Nottingham, United Kingdom, 2019), analyses how the renowned Ḥanbalī scholar Ibn
Taymiyya (d. 1328) interprets quotations from the Bible in his voluminous al-Jawāb al-Ṣaḥīḥ li-man baddala
dīn al-Masīḥ (The Correct Response to Those who Changed the Religion of Christ). Ibn Taymiyya wrote Jawāb to re-
fute the anonymous Christian Letter from the people of Cyprus. Ibn Taymiyya’s Jawāb and the Christian author’s
Letter are not only significant literary compositions representing fourteenth-century interreligious polem-
ical correspondences but, most importantly, these two polemics provide important insights into how late
medieval Christians and Muslims understand and read each other’s scripture. The Christian author of the
Letter cites extensively from the Qur’ān to argue that Islam is a religion for only pagan Arabs and Christianity
is still a valid religion, and that the Qur’ān confirms the soundness of Christian beliefs and doctrines. Ibn
Taymiyya, on the other hand, uses biblical citations both to refute these claims of the Christian author and
to argue that Christians misinterpret the Bible. According to the expediency of their argumentation, both
of the authors use the Bible and the Qur’ān with an intertextual approach forming a scholarship that pri-
marily focuses on appropriating the other’s scripture in the light of their own theological outlooks. Analysed
in the context of this particular scriptural scholarship, the Jawāb and the Letter might reveal interesting
insights into the hermeneutical character of interreligious polemics, which often remains in the shadow of
*
Dr., Turkey Ministry of National Education, Zonguldak, Turkey
Dr. Millî Eğitim Bakanlığı, Zonguldak
zeynepyucedogru@gmail.com ORCID 0000-0003-4931-6148
Types: Summaries of Doctoral Dissertations
Received: 05 April 2019
Accepted: 22 June 2019
Published: 31 July 2019
Cite as: Zeynep Yücedoğru, “Ibn Taymiyya’s Contextual Biblical Hermeneutics in Al-Jawāb al-Ṣaḥīḥ/The Correct Re-
sponse (PhD. Dissertation)”, ULUM 2/1 (July 2019): 177-179, https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3355748
178 | Yücedoğru, “Ibn Taymiyya’s Contextual Biblical Hermeneutics in Al-Jawāb al-Ṣaḥīḥ”
polemical and apologetic characters of these works. By means of reflection on this interest, this study sets
out to analyse the use and interpretation of biblical quotations in the Jawāb, with the purpose of understand-
ing the hermeneutical character of Ibn Taymiyya’s biblical scholarship.
The thesis also investigates the use of biblical quotations in the works of five major Muslim authors of refu-
tations of Christianity, al-Ṭabarī’s (d. 865), Ibn Ḥazm (d. 1064), Pseudo-Ghazālī (active around 1200), al-Qarāfī
(d. 1285), and al-Dimashqī (d. 1327) as a backdrop against which to assess the extent to which Ibn Taymiyya’s
biblical hermeneutics is similar to and different from mainstream Muslim biblical scholarship.
The key conclusion of this thesis is that for biblical interpretation, Ibn Taymiyya employs a contextual the-
ory of meaning that is inspired by the hermeneutics of Islamic legal theory (uṣūl al-fiqh) and Qur’ānic exege-
sis (tafsīr), and guided by his wider theological principles. This thesis argues that Ibn Taymiyya’s contextual
biblical hermeneutics clearly distinguishes him from the other five Muslim scholars who use a theory of
literal-nonliteral meaning for biblical interpretation. It will be shown that the originality of Ibn Taymiyya’s
biblical hermeneutics lies in his use of the technical apparatus of Islamic Legal theory and Qur’ānic exegesis,
and in the modification of this hermeneutics to make it accord with his wider theological and intellectual
framework. It will become apparent that in relying on this modified version of Islamic hermeneutics, Ibn
Taymiyya reads and interprets the Bible in a similar way to his reading and interpreting the Qur’ān.
Keywords
History of Religions, Ibn Taymiyya, al-Jawāb al-Ṣaḥīḥ, Biblical Hermeneutics, Interreligious Polemics, Scrip-
tural Exegesis, Christian-Muslim Refutations
İbn Teymiyye’nin el-Cevâbü’s-sahîh İsimli Eserindeki Kitâb-ı Mukaddes Metinlerinin Yorumu (Doktora Tezi)
Özet
İbn Teymiyye’nin el-Cevâbü’s-sahîh isimli eserindeki Kitâb-ı Mukaddes Metinlerinin Yorumu (Doktora Tezi, Notting-
ham Üniversitesi, Teoloji ve Dînî Bilimler Fakültesi, İslâmî İlimler Anabilim Dalı, İngiltere, 2019) adlı çalış-
mada meşhur Hanbelî âlim İbn Teymiyye’nin (ö. 1328) el-Cevâbü’s-sahîh li-men beddele dîne’l-Mesîh isimli red-
diyesinde Kitâb-ı Mukaddes âyetlerini nasıl yorumladığı analiz edilmektedir. İbn Teymiyye bu reddiyeyi
anonim bir Hristiyan mektubu olan ‘Kıbrıs Halkından Mektup’ isimli esere cevaben kaleme almıştır. Hristi-
yan yazarın Kıbrıs Halkından Mektup’u ve İbn Teymiyye’nin el-Cevâbü’s-sahîh’i sadece 14. yüzyılın dinler arası
polemik yazışmaların edebi örnekleri olmayıp aynı zamanda Hristiyan ve Müslümanların birbirlerinin kut-
sal metinlerini nasıl anlayıp okuduklarına ışık tutan eserlerdir. Kıbrıs Halkından Mektup’un Hristiyan yazarı
İslâm’ın putperest Araplara gönderilmiş bir din olduğunu ve bu nedenle Hristiyanlığın hâla geçerliliğini ko-
ruduğunu ve Kur’ân’ın da Hristiyan inanç ve doktrinlerini tasdik ettiği yönündeki iddialarını ispata çalışır-
ken Kur’ân’dan birçok âyeti alıntılamakta ve yeniden yorumlamaktadır. Diğer taraftan, İbn Teymiyye de
benzer bir şekilde Hristiyan yazarın bu iddialarını reddetmek ve Hristiyanların kendi kutsal metinlerini yan-
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Yücedoğru, “Ibn Taymiyya’s Contextual Biblical Hermeneutics in Al-Jawāb al-Ṣaḥīḥ” | 179
lış tefsir ettiklerini ortaya koymak için Kitâb-ı Mukaddes âyetlerini Kur’ân ve hadis metinleri ışığında yeni-
den yorumlamaktadır. Her iki reddiye yazarı da argümanlarının uygunluğuna göre Kitâb-ı Mukaddes ve
Kur’ân’ı kendi teolojik pozisyonlarının ışığında metinlere yeni anlamlar kazandıracak ve yorumlayacak şe-
kilde metinler arası okuma ve tefsir etme metodu geliştirmişlerdir. Bu iki reddiyenin metin okuma metotları
analiz edildiğinde el-Cevâbü’s-sahîh ve Kıbrıs Halkından Mektup dinler arası polemik eserlerin hermenötik ka-
rakterlerine dair önemli hususları da ortaya koymaktadır. Bu çalışmada hususiyetle İbn Teymiyye’nin Kitâb-
ı Mukaddes tefsirinde ne tür bir hermenötik metot izlediğini ortaya koymak için Kitâb-ı Mukaddes âyetlerini
nasıl anlayıp yorumladığı araştırılmaktadır.
Çalışmada ayrıca İbn Teymiyye’nin Kitâb-ı Mukaddes hermenötiğinin kendinden önceki dönem ve kendi
zamanındaki yorumlara nispetle farklılık ve benzerliklerini ortaya koymak için farklı dönemlerden olmak
üzere meşhur beş Müslüman âlimin polemik eserlerindeki Kitâb-ı Mukaddes âyetlerinin yorumlanması da
incelenmektedir. Bu çerçevede ilk dönem polemik eserlerine örneklik etmesi bakımından Alî b. Sehl Rabben
et-Taberî’nin (ö.247/865) el-Red ʿaleʾn-Nasârâ ve el-Kitâb ed-Dîn ve’d-devle isimli eserlerini ve Gazzâlî’ye (ö.
505/1111) atfedilen fakat aidiyeti tam olarak belirlenmemiş el-Reddü’l -cemîl’ li-ilâhiyyeti Îsâ bi-sarihi’l-Încil’i
temel alınmıştır. Akabinde İbn Teymiyye’nin cevap yazmış olduğu aynı mektuba ilk reddiyeyi yazmak ama-
cıyla Şehâbeddin Ahmed b. İdrîs el-Karâfî’nin (ö. 684/1285) kaleme almış olduğu el-Ecvibetü’l-Fâhira ani’l-
es’ileti’l-Fâcira’sı ve yine aynı mektuba cevap yazan Alî b. Ebî Tâlib ed-Dımeşkî’nin (ö. 728/1327) el-Cevâbu’r-
Risâle Ehli Cezîretu’l-Kubrus isimli eseri incelenmektedir. Son olarak da meşhur Zâhirî âlim İbn Hazm’ın (ö.
456/1064) temel eserlerinden biri olan el-Faṣl fi’l-milel ve’l-ehvâʾ ve’n-niḥal’ını esas alarak bu beş Müslüman
âlimin Kitâb-ı Mukaddes âyetlerini nasıl yorumladıklarını ve reddiyelerinde karşı tarafa argüman olarak na-
sıl sunduklarını anlamak adına bir inceleme ortaya koymaktadır.
Tezin temel sonucu İbn Teymiyye’nin Kitâb-ı Mukaddes’i yorumlarken İslam Hukuk teorisi olarak bilinen
fıkıh usûlü metodundan ve Kur’ân hermenötiğinden ilham almış bir yorumlama tekniği geliştirmiş olduğu-
dur. İbn Teymiyye’nin el-Cevâbü’s-sahîh’de ortaya koymuş olduğu Kitâb-ı Mukaddes hermenötiği onu bariz
bir şekilde diğer bahsi geçen beş Müslüman polemikçiden ayırmaktadır. İbn Teymiyye Kitâb-ı Mukaddes
metinlerini yorumlamak için kontekste yani Yahudi ve Hristiyan Kutsal Kitaplarının genel bağlamına dayalı
bir tefsir metodu kullanırken diğer beş Müslüman polemikçi klâsik lafzî-mecâzî lengüistik ayrımına dayalı
bir yorumlama tekniği ile metinleri tefsir etmektedir. İbn Teymiyye’nin Kitâb-ı Mukaddes hermenötiğinin
en dikkate değer özelliği, onun İslam Hukuk Usûlü ve Tefsir geleneğinin kutsal metinleri yorumlama meto-
dunu ve teknik terminolojisini kullanarak yeni bir yorumlama usûlü geliştirmiş olmasıdır. İbn Teymiyye,
Hristiyanların Kutsal Kitap’ını yorumlama amacıyla ortaya koymuş olduğu bu tefsir metodunu kendisinin
genel teolojik ve entelektüel pozisyonuna uyarlamakta ve böylelikle bu yeni hermenötik pozisyon İbn Tey-
miyye’den önceki geleneğin bu metinleri nasıl anladığı ve yorumladığından farklılık göstermektedir. Bu yeni
yorumlama metodu ile İbn Teymiyye Kitâb-ı Mukaddes’i, Kur’ân metinlerini tefsir ederken kullandığı usûle
benzer bir şekilde okuyup yorumlamaktadır.
Anahtar Kelimeler
Dinler Tarihi, İbn Teymiyye, el-Cevâbü’s-sahîh, Kitâb-ı Mukaddes Hermenötiği, Dinler Arası Polemik Eserler,
Kutsal Metinlerin Tefsiri, Hristiyan-Müslüman Reddiyeleri
ULUM 2/1 (July 2019)
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Dini Tetkikler Dergisi
ULUM Journal of Religious Inquiries
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Hildegard as a Mystic and her Place in the Christian Thought (PhD. Dissertation)
Halil Temiztürk *
Abstract
Mysticism, visions, feminism, music, herbal medicine…Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179) have been identified
with these notions. Because she has influenced Christianity until today with her extraordinary visions and
various works about God, man, cosmology, music, botany and anatomy. In this study it will be evaluated the
life of Hildegard who is one of the remarkable mystics in Christian mysticism history and her effect to Chris-
tian mysticism. Studies on the Christian mysticism is very limited in our country. Therefore, this study aims
to contribute to Christian mysticism and to provide a source for the researchers who work on this field.
This thesis, Hildegard as a Mystic and her Place in the Christian Thought (PhD. Dissertation, Sakarya University,
Institute of Social Sciences, Department of Philosophy and Religious Sciences, Sakarya, Turkey, 2019), con-
sists of three chapters. The first chapter is an introduction to mysticism and the Christian mysticism. In this
chapter is discussed the basic dynamics of Christian mysticism. Christianity has undergone a mystical trans-
formation with Paul, who intended to move away from Judaism's emphasis on law. This mystical formation
began to gain strength with elements such as saint and martyrdom from the 2nd century onwards. In the
later period, Christianity has become even more spiritual structure with desert and monastic life. In the first
chapter, it is emphasized that Christian mysticism is influenced by Jewish mysticism and Greek tradition
and Mystery religions. Therefore, we think that Christian mysticism impressed by the internal dynamics
like Paul and the New Testament texts and the external dynamics mentioned above. In this chapter, it is
*
Dr., Trabzon University, Faculty of Theology, Department of History of Religion, Trabzon
Dr., Trabzon Üniversitesi İlahiyat Fakültesi, Dinler Tarihi Anabilim Dalı
haliltemizturk@gmail.com ORCID 0000-0002-4564-5561
Types: Summaries of Doctoral Dissertations
Received: 07 May 2019
Accepted: 22 June 2019
Published: 31 July 2019
Cite as: Halil Temiztürk, “Hildegard as a Mystic and her Place in the Christian Thought (PhD. Dissertation)”, ULUM
2/1 (July 2019): 181-186, https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3355750
182 | Temiztürk, “Hildegard as a Mystic and her Place in the Christian Thought (PhD. Dissertation)”
emphasized that Christian mystics usually prefer the word "love" which is a mystical expression when spe-
aking about Jesus. Also, they concentrate on contemplation and evaluate rituals like sacraments in such a
manner that mystical. At the end of this chapter, it is stated that Christian mystics usually prefer the word
"love" when speaking about Jesus which is a mystical expression. Also, they concentrate on contemplation
and evaluation of rituals like sacraments in a mystical manner; therefore we can say that they have a diffe-
rent understanding of religion than from institutional Christianity.
In the second chapter, it is evaluated the relationship between the Church and mysticism and the socio-
cultural background of the period influenced her thoughts. We can say that Christian Mysticism has begun
to mature since the Middle Ages; even though Christianity tended to mysticism in the early period. Living
in that period, she can be seen as a remarkable woman when her mystic character is taken into considera-
tion. Even though she spent most of her life in the monasteries, it would be misleading to regard her as the
one who is confined within the limits of the monastery since she established close relationships with many
important people from the Pope to the Emperor. Thanks to her visions, she was accepted as a consultant or
an oracle by the people around her. Also, she travelled to different cities to preach to people and priests,
and in these sermons, she both criticized the clergy in some aspects and warns people against heretic mo-
vements. Even if she applied different rules in the monasteries and criticized the church authorities on some
issues, she often paid attention to stay at the limits of orthodoxy and to defend the Catholic faith. Another
remarkable aspect of Hildegard is that men and women are equally responsible for the first sin. The fact that
she says Adam's ate the forbidden fruit due to Eve's love, that women are closer to Godly knowledge, and
that she is appointed by God because of males unable to fulfil responsibility is noteworthy. Hildegard was
not recognized as a heretic because of her aristocratic relatives who supported and power of visions.
During this period, Christians began to fight against groups that were considered heretical by the Church
and she lived at a time of Crusades. In other words, this age was a period which the Jews and Muslims were
defined as heretics and infidels. This attitude affected other mystics. For example, Clairvaux Bernard in spite
of as a mystic organized the Crusades and gave sermons to support it. Similarly, she did not remain indiffe-
rent to these developments and developed a rather harsh perspective against the members of the religious
groups called "other “. The aim of our study is to reveal that Hildegard, a mystic in the Middle Ages, did not
follow a different policy from the Church such an in religious and sociology atmosphere.
In this chapter, we try to emphasize that the Church in the Middle Ages generally supported to mystics,
though sometimes they struggled them. Because it is accepted that mystics and monasteries have empowe-
red the Church by doing missionary and struggled against heretics. But we should also remember that there
is a struggle for sovereignty among the Church and the mystics and the Church has accepted some mystics
as heretics. We can state that she intuited this danger and tried to keep herself within the boundaries drawn
by the Church.
Hildegard has influenced Christianity until today with her extraordinary visions and different works such
as God, man, cosmology, music, botany and anatomy. In addition, she especially generated thoughts about
the human-Jesus-God relationship, universe, spirit, satan and the salvation of the world. What makes Hilde-
gard different is that to describe some of God's attributes in a feminine way like God's wisdom and mercy,
to explain nature, God's attributes and virtues in a connection with each other manner.
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Temiztürk “Hildegard as a Mystic and her Place in the Christian Thought (PhD. Dissertation)” | 183
At the end of this chapter is discussed Hildegard's contribution to Christian thought. For example, she sup-
ported her visions with paintings, thus contributed to the development of Christian illustration art. We can
also say that her symphonies have contributed Church music and her cures it has been followed even today
which is called herbal medicines. Besides these, it is made a film about her (Vision/y.2009), also St. Rupert
and St. Disibod monasteries has nearly recognized as a pilgrimage site nowadays. On the other hand, we can
see that Hildegard's views about women are accepted by feminists and that they use the phrase for her
"women's rights advocate of the Middle Ages". However, we believe that this statement is a misnomer. We
can see this when we approach the works of Hildegard with a holistic reading. We think that this statement
is also an anachronistic approach because feminists try to find a witness themselves from the Middle Ages.
In the third and last section, we have tried to examine Hildegard's contribution to Christian mysticism and
Catholic theology in terms of God, world, human, salvation. She was in close contact with the Pope and
Bernard, it shows that she developed a theology on the line of the Church. Part of this theology was the
perception of "others". For example, the pagan danger that Hildegard frequently expressed in her works, it
aimed to reduce the impact of Christianity and paganism. Although Christianity became widespread during
this period, it is possible to say that the Church and mystics such as Hildegard fought against the revival of
paganism.
She has more positive thoughts about Jewish heritage because Christianity depends it on theological and
historical ties. However, Hildegard harshly criticized the Jews because they did not accept Jesus and cruci-
fied him. On the other hand, she believes that Judaism and Christianity are separated about mercy. Accor-
ding to her, Jesus eased the hardship of religious law. Thus, she pointed out that Jesus overhauled Judaism
and the Old Testament which emphasized law. According to Hildegard, one of the differences between Ju-
daism and Christianity is that Judaism is a world-oriented religion, but Christianity gained spirit through
asceticism and monastery. Another group that Hildegard mentioned in her letters and visions is heretics.
Although she did not mention precisely, it is clear that the features of this heretical group are Cathars. She
often mentioned about the danger of Cathars, whose activities had increased in Europe. She warned the
priests and the people of the danger of Cathars in the sermons tours. Hildegard accepted the rise of the
Cathars as the devil coming out of the bottomless pits and warned the Church for their destruction.
It is also possible to say that even though Hildegard did not mention Muslims in her works, she knows them.
Because Muslim conquests crossed the Pyrenees and extended to the borders of France since 714 and Euro-
pen people heard about Muslims. On the other hand, we can say that she knew Muslims by way of the Cru-
sades. Hildegard corresponded with Bernard of Clairvaux, who encourage to people for the Second Crusades
by sermons and she congratulated him for it. Moreover, she was not a mystic who remained within the
borders of the monastery. Also she met Friedrich, as well as the nobles, priests and mystics. Emperor Fried-
rich supported the Crusades like Bernard and he died during these expeditions. We can say that she is not
completely unaware of the Muslims because of these relationships.
The thesis ends with "Conclusion" which includes the findings of the study. Additionally, the study is enric-
hed maps, figures and pictures which including cities, monasteries and visions of Hildegard.
Keywords
History of Religion, Christian Mysticism, Medieval Age, Church, Hildegard
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184 | Temiztürk, “Hildegard as a Mystic and her Place in the Christian Thought (PhD. Dissertation)”
Bir Hıristiyan Mistik Olarak Hildegard ve Hıristiyan Düşüncesindeki Yeri (Doktora Tezi)
Özet
Mistisizm, vizyon, feminizm, müzik, bitkisel ilaç… Bingenli Hildegard (1098-1179) günümüzde bu kavram-
larla tanınmaktadır. Zira kendisi; Tanrı, insan ve âlem gibi konuları ele aldığı eserleri yanında müzik, bota-
nik, anatomi gibi farklı disiplinlere ait düşünceleriyle de günümüze kadar etki etmiştir. Bu çalışmada Hıris-
tiyan mistisizm tarihinin önemli bir halkasını teşkil eden Hildegard’ın hayatı ve Hristiyan mistisizmine etkisi
ele alınmaktadır. Ülkemizde Hıristiyan mistisizmi ile ilgili çalışmalar oldukça kısıtlıdır. Dolayısıyla bu çalış-
manın söz konusu alana katkı sağlaması ve Hıristiyan mistisizmi hakkında çalışmalar yapan araştırmacılara
kaynaklık sağlaması amaçlanmaktadır.
Tezimiz üç bölümden oluşmaktadır. Birinci bölüm mistisizm kavramı ve Hristiyan mistisizmine giriş sayıla-
bilir. Bu bölümde Hıristiyan mistisizminin temel dinamikleri tartışılmıştır. Hıristiyanlık Pavlus ile beraber
Yahudiliğin şeriata vurgu yapan yapısından sıyırılarak mistik bir dönüşüm geçirmiştir. Bu mistik oluşum
özellikle 2. yüzyıldan itibaren azizlik ve şehitlik gibi unsurlarla artmaya başlamıştır. Daha sonraki dönemde
çöl münzeviliği ve manastır hayatı ile Hıristiyanlık daha da ruhani bir yapı kazanmıştır. Ayrıca ilk kısımda
Hıristiyan mistisizminin Yahudi mistisizmi ile Grek geleneği ve Sır dinlerindeki mistik yapılardan etkilendiği
vurgulanmıştır. Dolayısıyla Hıristiyan mistisizminin Pavlus ve Yeni Ahit metinleri gibi iç dinamikler ile yu-
karıda sayılan dış dinamiklerden etkilendiğini düşünmekteyiz. Bu bölümün sonunda ise Hıristiyan mistikle-
rin İsa’dan bahsederken mistik bir ifade olan aşk kelimesini tercih ettikleri, tefekküre önem verdikleri ve
sakramentler gibi ritüelleri mistik bir şekilde ele aldıkları; dolayısıyla kurumsal Hıristiyanlıktan bir ölçüde
farklılaştığı vurgulanmıştır.
İkinci bölümde Bingenli Hildegard’ın hayatı, düşüncelerine tesir etmiş olan dönemin sosyo-kültürel arka
planı ve Kilise kurumu ile mistisizm arasındaki ilişki ortaya konulmaya çalışılmıştır. Her ne kadar erken dö-
nemde Hıristiyanlık mistisizme yakın dursa da, Hıristiyan mistisizminin Orta Çağ’dan itibaren olgunlaşmaya
başladığını söyleyebiliriz. Bingenli Hildegard, Hıristiyan mistisizminin olgunlaşmaya başladığı bu dönemde
dikkat çekici bir mistiktir. O, hayatının çoğunu manastırlarda geçirmiş olsa da manastır sınırlarında kalmış
bir mistik değildir. Papa’dan İmparator’a kadar birçok önemli insanla yakın ilişkiler kurmuş, ve gördüğü
vizyonların da etkisiyle çevresindeki insanlar tarafından bir danışman veya gelecekten haber veren bir
kâhin olarak kabul görmüştür. Bunun yanı sıra halka ve rahiplere vaaz vermek için farklı şehirleri dolaşmış,
bu vaazlarda hem rahipler zümresini bazı hususlarda eleştirmiş hem de heretik akımlara karşı insanları
uyarmıştır.
Hildegard, manastırda farklı kurallar uygulamış ve bazı konularda kilise yetkililerini eleştirmiş olsa da orto-
doksi sınırlarında kalmaya özen göstermiş ve Katolik inancını önemsediğini sık sık dile getirmiştir. Onun
diğer bir dikkat çeken yönü ise erkek ve kadının asli günah noktasında eşit derecede sorumlu olduğudur.
Âdem’in yasak meyveyi yemesinin Havva’ya olan aşkından kaynaklandığını, kadınların Tanrısal bilgiye daha
yakın olduklarını ve kendisinin de erkeklerin sorumluluğunu yerine getiremediğinden dolayı Tanrı tarafın-
dan görevlendirildiğini söylemesi dikkat çekmektedir. Ancak bu düşüncelerini vizyonlarla desteklemesi ve
kendisini koruyan aristokratik yakınları nedeniyle bir heretik gibi kabul görmemiştir.
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Temiztürk “Hildegard as a Mystic and her Place in the Christian Thought (PhD. Dissertation)” | 185
Hildegard’ın yaşadığı dönemde Hristiyanlar, Kilise tarafından heretik olarak kabul edilen gruplara karşı mü-
cadeleye girişmiştir. Ayrıca bu dönemde Haçlı Seferleri de başlamıştır. Diğer bir ifadeyle bu dönem Kathar-
lar, Yahudiler ve Müslümanların heretik ve kâfirler olarak tanımlandığı bir zaman dilimidir. Bu kabul döne-
min diğer mistiklerini de etkilemiştir. Örneğin Clairvauxlu Bernard (ö. 1153) bir mistik olmasına rağmen
Haçlı Seferlerini organize etmiş ve bunu destekleyecek vaazlar vermiştir. Hildegard da bu gelişmelere kayıt-
sız kalmamış ve “öteki” denilen inanç mensuplarına karşı oldukça sert bir bakış açısı geliştirmiştir. Çalışma-
mızın bir amacı da Orta Çağlı bir mistiğin böyle bir dinî ve sosyolojik ortamda Kiliseden farklı bir politika
izlemediğini ortaya koymaktır.
Yine bu bölümde Orta Çağ’da Kilise’nin mistiklerle kimi zaman karşı karşıya gelse de genelde onları destek-
lediğini vurgulanmıştır. Çünkü mistiklerin ve manastırların misyonerlik yaparak ve heretiklerle mücadele
ederek Kiliseyi güçlendirdikleri bilinmektedir. Fakat Kilise ile mistikler arasında zaman zaman egemenlik
mücadelesi olduğunu ve Kilise’nin bazı mistikleri heretiklerden kabul ettiğini de hatırlanmalıdır. Bu açıdan
Hildegard’ın söz konusu tehlikeyi fark ettiğini ve düşüncelerini Kilise’nin çizdiği sınırlarda tutmaya gayret
ettiğini ifade etmeliyiz.
Bu bölümün sonunda ise Hildegard’ın Hıristiyan düşüncesine yaptığı katkılar ele alınmıştır. Kendisi; Tanrı,
insan ve âlem gibi farklı konulara değindiği eserleri yanında müzik, botanik, anatomi gibi farklı disiplinlere
ait düşünceleri ile günümüze kadar etki etmiştir. Temelde insan, İsa ve Tanrı arasındaki ilişki üzerinde dur-
muş ayrıca âlem, ruh, şeytan ve dünyanın kurtuluşu hakkında düşünceler üretmiştir. Tanrı’nın bilgelik ve
merhamet gibi bazı sıfatlarını anneliğe benzeyen feminen bir doğa ile ele alması diğer yandan doğayı,
Tanrı’nın sıfatlarını ve erdemleri birbirleriyle bağlantılı açıklaması Hildegard’ı farklı kılmaktadır.
Vizyonlarını resimlerle destekleyen Hildegard, Hıristiyan illüstrasyon sanatının gelişmesine etki etmiştir.
Ayrıca yaptığı senfonilerin Kilise müziklerine etki ettiğini, bitkisel ilaç tedavisi konusundaki kürlerinin gü-
nümüzde de takip edildiğini söyleyebiliriz. Bunların yanında Hildegard hakkında bir yapılmış (Vizyon/2009)
ve Aziz Rupert ile Aziz Disibod manastırları günümüzde birer hac mekânı gibi kabul görmüştür. Diğer taraf-
tan onun kadınlar hakkındaki görüşlerinin günümüzde feministler tarafından sahiplenildiğini ve onun için
“Orta Çağ’ın kadın hakları savunucu” isminin kullanıldıklarını görmekteyiz. Ancak bu adlandırma yanlıştır.
Çünkü Hildegard’ın eserlerine bütüncül bir yaklaştığımızda bunu görebiliriz. Ayrıca bu düşüncenin anakro-
nist bir yaklaşım olduğunu zira feministlerin kendilerine Orta Çağ’dan bir referans bulmaya çalıştıklarını
düşünmekteyiz.
Üçüncü ve son bölümde ise Hildegard’ın Hıristiyan mistisizmine ve Katolik teolojisine yapmış olduğu katkı-
lar Tanrı, âlem, insan ve kurtuluş merkezinde incelenmeye çalışılmıştır. Onun Papa ve Bernard ile yakın
temas halinde olması da onun Kilise çizgisinde bir teoloji geliştirdiği göstermektedir. Bu teolojin bir parçası
da öteki algısıdır. Örneğin onun eserlerinde sık sık dile getirdiği pagan tehlikesi, bu dönemde Hıristiyanlık-
tan putperestliğe geri dönüşlerin etkisini azaltmaya yöneliktir. Zira bu dönemde Hıristiyanlık yaygınlık ka-
zanmış olsa da Kilise kurumunun ve Hildegard gibi mistiklerin paganizmin yeniden canlanmasına karşı mü-
cadele ettiklerini söylemek mümkündür. Ona göre Yahudilik ile Hıristiyanlık arasındaki farklardan birisi
Yahudiliğin dünyaya dönük bir din iken Hıristiyanlığın asketizm ve manastır ile ruhaniyet kazandığıdır.
Onun mektuplarında ve vizyonlarında üzerinde durduğu diğer bir grup da heretiklerdir. Hildegard isim ola-
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186 | Temiztürk, “Hildegard as a Mystic and her Place in the Christian Thought (PhD. Dissertation)”
rak Katharlar’ı anmasa da bahsettiği özelliklerin bu heretik grubu işaret ettiği ortadadır. O, gittikçe faaliyet-
lerini artıran Kathar tehlikesine eserlerinde sık sık yer vermiştir. Çıktığı vaaz turlarında da rahipleri ve halkı
Kathar tehlikesine karşı uyarmıştır.
Ayrıca Hildegard’ın eserlerinde isim olarak anmasa da Müslümanları tanıdığını söylemek mümkündür. Zira
714 yılından itibaren Müslüman fetihleri Pireneler’i aşıp Fransa sınırlarına kadar dayanması, Müslüman-
lar’ın İspanya dışında da tanınmasına zemin hazırlamıştır. Diğer taraftan onun Müslümanları Haçlı Seferleri
dolayısıyla tanıdığını söyleyebiliriz. Zira Hildegard, İkinci Haçlı seferlerine teşvik etmek için vaazlar veren
Clairvauxlu Bernard ile mektuplaşmış ve onu Haçlı Seferleri için tebrik etmiştir. Üstelik kendisi manastırın
sınırlarında kalmış bir mistik de değildir. O, soylular, rahipler ve mistikler kadar dönemin imparatoru Fri-
edrich ile görüşmüştür yani dış dünya ile irtibatlıdır. İmparator Friedrich de Bernard gibi Haçlı Seferlerine
destek vermiş ve bu seferler sırasında ölmüştür. Bu ilişkilerinden dolayı onun Müslümanlardan tamamen
habersiz olmadığını söyleyebiliriz.
Çalışma, tezin bulgularını içeren “Sonuç” bölümü ile sonlanmaktadır. Ayrıca konunun daha iyi kavranması
adına Hildegard’ın yaşadığı şehirler, kaldığı manastırlar ve hayatını etkileyen vizyonlar “Ekler” kısmında
yer alan harita, şekil ve resimlerle zenginleştirilmiştir.
Anahtar Kelimeler
Dinler Tarihi, Hıristiyan Mistisizmi, Orta Çağ, Kilise, Hildegard
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The Perception of Human Being in al-Māturīdī (PhD. Dissertation)
Osman Nuri Demir *
Abstract
In this thesis, which bears the name of The Perception of Human Being in al-Māturīdī (PhD. Dissertation, Mar-
mara University, Institute of Social Sciences, Department of Basic Islamic Sciences, İstanbul, Turkey, 2019),
the subject of Human Conception for Imam Māturīdī, (d. 333/944) who is one of the most important figures
of the Islamic thought and one of the pioneers of Ahl al-Sunnah, has been studied. In order to address this
issue comprehensively, “What is human and why he is existed? What kind of being does man have? Is there
a link between the creation of the human species and the creation of the world/universe in its present form?
What is the position and limit of man before Allah, the realm in which he gains existence, and other crea-
tures with whom he shares the universe? In what way and in what dimension is his relationship with Allah
and the universe? What are the main principles that enable man to realize his humanity? What is the great-
est blessing given to man and the most valuable talent he has? Who is a good and ideal person? Can any
human be the ideal person? What is death? Why does man die? The answers to many questions that can be
listed such as; “What kind of existence does one expect after death? have been investigated. While this was
done, it was tried to put forward the human conception of al-Māturīdī in a holistic manner on the basis of
his point of view and the aspects he put forward in human thought.
This study consists of an introduction, three sections and conclusion. The introduction provides information
about the purpose, importance, scope, sources and methods of the research. In the first chapter, based on
*
Dr. Presidency of Religious Affairs, İstanbul, Turkey
Dr. Diyanet İşleri Başkanlığı, İstanbul
osmannuridemir@hotmail.com ORCID: 0000-0001-9701-6655
Types: Summaries of Doctoral Dissertations
Received: 16 July 2019
Accepted: 29 July 2019
Published: 31 July 2019
Cite as: Osman Nuri Demir, “The Perception of Human Being in al-Māturīdī (PhD. Dissertation)”, ULUM 2/1 (July
2019): 187-191, https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3355752
188 | Demir, “The Perception of Human Being in al-Māturīdī (PhD. Dissertation)”
the question “What is human?”, Māturīdī's thoughts about the nature of human being, the structure of ex-
istence before and after the birth, The Messenger of Allah Adam, creation of Eve, the stages of human crea-
tion in the world and the place of mankind in the world were subjected to a detailed examination. Māturīdī's
answers to the mentioned question and the religious and philosophical foundations of these answers have
been investigated, his explanations of the nature of man and short comparisons between the mutaqaddimun
period of Kalām and philosophical tradition have been made. With his views on this issue, Māturīdī's stand-
ing in the Islamic viewpoint has been tried to be determined. al-Māturīdī thinks that man is an entity with
complex and ontological integrity with his life and soul that gives him consistency, his nafs which is the
grasping principle that enables him to comprehend and reason, and likewise with his body which is the
apparent dimension of his material and spiritual properties, and rejects reductionist and fragmentary ap-
proaches. Māturīdī, who states that ‘aql (reason) is the most valuable thing that man possesses, accepts that
in addition to human ‘aql (mind), there is also a nature from a realist point of view. al-Māturīdī states that
human nature is at times in conflict with reason and that this is inevitable. But he accepts that in the event
of such a conflict, what is surely cherished, that is, mind must be followed. Similar to Imām Abū Ḥanīfa (d.
150/767), Māturīdī, who understood the Fitrah as “Islamic Creation", emphasizes that in this sense, every
human being, like all beings, is brought into being by the function of pointing to the existence and unity of
Allah with the characteristics of creation. Mīsāq according to Māturīdī; is the creation of human with the
capacity to reply with “balā” (yes indeed) meaning; "Yes, you are our Lord” to the question; “Alastu bi-
rabbikum” meaning: "Am I not your Lord”, If it was reality. Therefore, according to him, metaphorical lan-
guage was used in the statements regarding mīsāq in the Qur’ān.
The second part of the study bears the title “Human as Aimed Being". According to Māturīdī, “Why did Allah
create universe?” The correct answer to his question must be; “Because he is Allah." Accordingly, the act of
creating is His attribute, and Allah Almighty creates because He is the Creator. Therefore, it is not right to
show man or any other being as the cause of Allah's creation. However, when the universe and beings are
observed, it is understood that the establishment of the world is aimed at human beings, and that the wis-
dom and fate in the creation of the world is reached only through the discovery of human beings, and that
everything in the universe is created for man, for his benefit and observation. All this shows that human
beings are “Purposed Being” and “Small World.” Among the beings in the universe, human beings have a
separate position by having reason and freely performing their actions. As an entity capable of obedience
or rebellion with the freedom of Will and choice, man has become available to position himself at the top of
the hierarchy of being and to fall below if he fails to use these abilities correctly. According to Māturīdī,
freedom is the most precious thing he has, just as reason is the most valuable ability of man. The price of
human freedom is to address the proposal (taklīf) and to be held responsible for its choices and actions. al-
Māturīdī states that every person is assigned the duty of caliphate. The "Caliph man" should carry out re-
construction and reform activities throughout the world, starting with himself. Every human being is a cus-
todian on Earth and in his own body and has to act with safety awareness. In this sense, human beings must
be just and moral towards their soul, creatures and Allah, and they must make their relations on the axis of
the principle of Tawhid. The ideal person of al-Māturīdī is “Distinguished Man”. The distinguished person
has a realist structure, not utopian in terms of role modeling, and has examples in the outside world. The
most obvious examples of this are all the Messengers of Allah, especially messenger Muhammad (pbuh).
www.dergipark.org.tr/ulum
Demir “The Perception of Human Being in al-Māturīdī (PhD. Dissertation)” | 189
In the third chapter called” The End or Eternity of Man", the meanings that al-Māturīdī places on death as
the characteristic of man, the new structure of being gained by man with death, and the situation of this
structure in the barzakh and the Hereafter life are discussed. al-Māturīdī thinks that the existence of the
Hereafter is a necessity of reason and wisdom and humanity within the framework of the idea of wisdom
and fate. Because, according to Māturīdī, human is a being that is going to be complete with death. Death in
the world is something must be prepared for, not avoided, for Man. Life, that is the top of the worldly tastes;
was given to seek the life of Paradise, which is eternal life; Worldly death, the most severe of pain, was given
to avoid the eternal torment, the eternal and most painful death. al-Māturīdī states that man will lead a
spiritual life in the life of the barzakh, but with the resurrection (ba’th) –as required by al-Māturīdī's system–
soul (rūh), nafs and body will be reunited.
The thesis is completed with the “conclusion” section containing the findings/results reached in the re-
search. Here, it is emphasized that there is a need to re-negotiate the idea with the human conceptions in
the Islamic tradition in order to re-establish the human conception of the Muslim individual, which has
changed under the influence of Western philosophy and has shifted from its own line. In order to meet this
need, it is foreseen that reviving the ideas of al-Māturīdī can make important contributions. The reason for
this is that al-Māturīdī has an intensity and richness that can be the cornerstone of human conception in
this regard.
Keywords
Kalām, Māturīdī, Human Conception, Human Nature, Intellect, Proposition/Taklīf, Caliphate of Man, Death
and Eternal Life
Mâtürîdî’de İnsan Tasavvuru (Doktora Tezi)
Özet
Mâtürîdî’de İnsan Tasavvuru (Doktora Tezi, Marmara Üniversitesi, Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü, Temel İslâm Bi-
limleri Anabilim Dalı, 2019) ismini taşıyan bu tezde İslâm düşünce geleneğinin en önemli simalarından ve
Ehl-i Sünnet’in kurucu isimlerinden İmam Mâtürîdî’nin (ö. 333/944) insan tasavvuru konu edilmektedir. Bu
konunun kapsamlı bir şekilde ele alınabilmesi amacıyla “İnsan nedir ve niçin vardır? İnsanoğlu nasıl bir
varlık yapısına sahiptir? İnsan türünün yaratılmasıyla âlemin mevcut şekliyle vücûda getirilişi arasında bir
bağ var mıdır? İnsanın Tanrı’ya, içinde varlık kazandığı âleme ve evreni paylaştığı diğer canlılara karşı ko-
numu ve sınırı nedir? Onun, Tanrı ve evrenle ilişkisi ne şekilde ve hangi boyuttadır? İnsanın varoluş amacını
gerçekleştirmesini sağlayan ana esaslar nelerdir? İnsana verilen en yüce nimet ve onun sahip olduğu en
değerli yetenek hangisidir? İyi ve ideal insan kimdir? Her insan, ideal insan olabilir mi? Ölüm nedir? İnsan
niçin ölmektedir? İnsanı ölümden sonra nasıl bir varoluş beklemektedir?” şeklinde sıralanabilecek pek çok
sorunun cevabı araştırılmıştır. Bu yapılırken Mâtürîdî’nin bakış açısı ve onun insan düşüncesinde öne çıkar-
dığı yönler esas alınarak Mâtürîdî’nin insan tasavvuru bütüncül bir şekilde ortaya konulmaya çalışılmıştır.
Bu çalışma giriş, üç bölüm ve sonuç kısmından oluşmaktadır. Girişte araştırmanın amacı, önemi, kapsamı,
kaynak ve yöntemleri hakkında bilgi verilmiştir. Birinci bölümde “İnsan nedir?” sorusu esas alınarak bu soru
ULUM 2/1 (July 2019)
190 | Demir, “The Perception of Human Being in al-Māturīdī (PhD. Dissertation)”
bağlamında insanın mahiyeti, dünyaya gelmeden önceki ve sonraki varlık yapısı, Hz. Âdem ve Hz. Havvâ’nın
yaratılışları, dünyada insanın yaratılış evreleri ve insanoğlunun âlemdeki yeri hakkında Mâtürîdî’nin dü-
şünceleri ayrıntılı bir şekilde incelemeye tâbi tutulmuştur. Mezkûr soruya Mâtürîdî’nin verdiği cevaplar ve
bu cevapların dinî ve felsefî temelleri araştırılarak, Mâtürîdî’nin insanın mahiyetine ilişkin açıklamalarıyla,
mütekaddimîn dönemi kelâm ve felsefe geleneği arasında kısa mukayeseler yapılarak bu konudaki görüşle-
riyle Mâtürîdî’nin, İslâm düşünce geleneğinde durduğu yer tespit edilmeye çalışılmıştır. Mâtürîdî, insanın
hayat ve kıvam veren ruhuyla, idraki ve akletmeyi sağlayan kavrayıcı ilke olan nefsiyle (nefs-i derrâke), aynı
şekilde maddî ve manevî özelliklerinin görünen boyutu olan bedeniyle kompleks ve ontolojik bütünlüğe sa-
hip bir varlık olduğunu düşünmekte, indirgemeci ve parçacı yaklaşımları ise reddetmektedir. Aklın insanın
sahip olduğu en değerli şey olduğunu belirten Mâtürîdî, realist bir bakış açısıyla insanın aklına ilâve olarak
bir de doğasının var olduğunu kabul etmektedir. Mâtürîdî insanî doğanın zaman zaman akılla çatışma içine
girdiğini ve bunun kaçınılmaz olduğunu ifade etmektedir. Ancak o, böyle bir çatışma durumunda mutlaka
akla uyulması gerektiğini kabul etmektedir. Fıtratı İmâm-ı Âzam Ebû Hanîfe’ye (ö. 150/767) benzer şekilde,
“yaratılış İslâm’ı” tarzında anlayan Mâtürîdî, bu anlamda bütün varlıklar gibi her insanın yaratılış özellikle-
riyle Allah’ın varlığına ve birliğine işaret etme fonksiyonuyla vücûda getirildiğini vurgulamaktadır.
Mâtürîdî’ye göre mîsâk, insanoğlunun -şayet vâki olsaydı- “Elestü birabbiküm” yani “Ben sizin Rabbiniz de-
ğil miyim?” sualine “Evet, Sen bizim Rabbimizsin” mânasına gelen “Belâ” cevabını verebilecek istidatta ya-
ratılmış olmasıdır. Dolayısıyla ona göre Kur’ân’daki mîsâka ilişkin ifadelerde metaforik bir dil kullanılmıştır.
Çalışmanın ikinci bölümü, “Gaye Varlık Olarak İnsan” başlığını taşımaktadır. Mâtürîdî’ye göre “Allah
mahlûkatı niçin yaratmıştır?” sorusuna verilmesi gereken doğru cevap “Çünkü O, ilâhtır” şeklinde olmalıdır.
Buna göre yaratmak O’nun zâtî özelliğidir ve Allah Teâlâ bizâtihi Yaratıcı olduğu için yaratmaktadır. Dola-
yısıyla Allah’ın yaratmasına sebep olarak insanın ya da başka bir varlığın gösterilmesi doğru değildir. Bu-
nunla beraber evren ve varlıklar gözlemlendiğinde âlemin kuruluşuyla insanın hedeflendiği, âlemin yaratı-
lışındaki hikmet ve âkıbetin ancak insanın varlık bulmasıyla kemâle ulaştığı, kâinattaki her şeyin bir şekilde
insan için, onun yararı ve müşahedesi için yaratıldığı anlaşılmaktadır. Bütün bunlar insanın “Gaye Varlık”
ve “Küçük Âlem” olduğunu göstermektedir. Âlemdeki varlıklar arasında insanoğlu akla sahip olması ve ey-
lemlerini özgürce gerçekleştirebilmesiyle ayrı bir konuma sahiptir. İrade ve seçim hürriyeti ile itaat etmeye
ehil veya isyana yönelmesi muhtemel bir varlık olarak insan, bu yönüyle hem varlık hiyerarşisinin en üs-
tünde konumlanmaya hem de bu yeteneklerini doğru kullanmayıp zâyi etmesi durumunda aşağıların aşağı-
sına düşmeye müsait hâle gelmiştir. Zira Mâtürîdî’ye göre akıl insanın en değerli yeteneği olduğu gibi öz-
gürlük de onun sahip olduğu en kıymetli şeydir. İnsanın özgür oluşunun bedeli ise teklife muhatap kılınmak,
seçimlerinden ve yapıp etmelerinden sorumlu tutulmaktır. Mâtürîdî her insanın hilâfet vazifesi ile görev-
lendirildiğini ifade etmektedir. “Halife İnsan”, nefsinden başlayarak âlemin tamamında imar ve ıslah faali-
yeti yürütmelidir. Her insan yeryüzünde ve kendi bedeninde emanetçi konumundadır ve emanet bilinci ile
hareket etmek zorundadır. İnsanoğlu bu anlamda nefsine, varlıklara ve Tanrı’ya karşı âdil ve ahlâklı olmalı,
ilişkilerini tevhid prensibi ekseninde gerçekleştirmelidir. Mâtürîdî’nin ideal insanı “Seçkin İnsan”dır. Seçkin
insan, rol model alınması açısından ütopik değil, realist bir yapıya sahiptir ve dış dünyada örnekleri mev-
cuttur. Bunun en belirgin örnekleri de başta Hz. Muhammed olmak üzere bütün peygamberlerdir.
“İnsanın Sonu ya da Sonsuzluğu” adındaki üçüncü bölümde ise Mâtürîdî’nin insanın zâtî özelliği olarak
ölüme yüklediği anlamlar, ölümle birlikte insanın kazandığı yeni varlık yapısı ve bu yapının berzah ve âhiret
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Demir “The Perception of Human Being in al-Māturīdī (PhD. Dissertation)” | 191
hayatındaki durumu konu edilmektedir. Mâtürîdî, hikmet ve âkıbet düşüncesi çerçevesinde âhiretin varlı-
ğının akıl ve hikmetin ve insan oluşun bir gereği olduğunu düşünmektedir. Çünkü Mâtürîdî’ye göre insan,
olmakta olan ve ölümle birlikte tamam olmaya giden bir varlıktır. Dünyadaki ölüm insan için kaçınılması
değil, hazırlanılması gereken bir ölümdür. Dünyadaki lezzetlerin en üstünü olan hayat, ebedî hayat olan
cennet hayatına rağbet etmek, yine acıların en şiddetlisi olan dünyevî ölüm de ebedî ve en acı ölüm olan
sonsuz azaptan sakınmak için verilmiştir. Mâtürîdî insanın berzah hayatında ruhanî bir hayat süreceğini
fakat yeniden dirilişle (ba ‘s) birlikte –Mâtürîdî’nin sistemi gereği- ruh, nefs ve beden birlikteliğine kavuşa-
cağını belirtmektedir.
Tez, araştırmada ulaşılan bulguları içeren “Sonuç” bölümüyle tamamlanmaktadır. Burada Batı felsefesinin
etkisi altında değişen ve kendi çizgisinden kayan Müslüman bireyin insan tasavvurunu yeniden doğru bir
zemine oturtmak açısından İslâmî gelenekteki insan tasavvurlarıyla tekrar fikrî müzâkereye girilmesine ih-
tiyaç bulunduğu tespiti vurgulanmaktadır. Bu ihtiyacın giderilmesi noktasında ise Mâtürîdî’nin düşüncele-
rinin canlandırılmasının önemli katkılar sağlayabileceği öngörülmektedir. Buna gerekçe olarak da
Mâtürîdî’nin insan tasavvurunun bu konuda temel taşı olabilecek bir yoğunlukta ve zenginlikte olması zik-
redilmektedir.
Anahtar Kelimeler
Kelâm, Mâtürîdî, İnsan Tasavvuru, İnsanî Doğa, Akıl, Teklif, İnsanın Halifeliği, Ölüm ve Sonsuz Yaşam
ULUM 2/1 (July 2019)
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The Relation of Ḥanafī-Māturīdī Kalām System with Sufism in the Early Period (PhD. Dissertation)
Yunus Eraslan *
Abstract
In the historical process, the science of Kalām has become more interacted with the two disciplines. The
first is philosophy and the other is Sufism. Its relationship with both disciplines has been a decisive factor
in shaping the agenda and interest of the Kalām in favour of the disciplines in question. Therefore, when
trying to determine the historical trajectory of Kalām science, it is necessary to consider its relationship and
interaction with these disciplines. Here, taking into consideration the perspectives of Sufis and Sufis will
provide a better holistic point of view on the concept of Ahl al-Sunna in order to understand the thought
structures of both Ash’arī and Ḥanafī-Māturīdī kalām systems. In this context, the relationship between
Ḥanafī- Māturīdī kalām system from the early periods to zuhd and Sufism has been important in terms of
shedding light on modern times for the early periods.
Because in the early stages of Islamic thought, a scholar had multiple qualities in a process where disciplines
were not yet divided into sections, in modern times it is necessary to look at them from a holistic perspective
without longing for a certain pattern of thought. In this context, the most victimized from the reductive
and discriminatory point of view of modern times are Māturīdī and the thought structure devoted to it. On
the one hand, while trying to get closer to the rationalism of Mu‘tazila through Kitāb al-Tawḥīd, on the one
hand, al-Māturīdī and his thought structure were turned into a guarantee of the legitimacy of Sufism and
Sufis. The point to be mentioned in particular is the distance between Sufism and Ḥanafī-Māturīdī theolo-
gians’ views on inspiration. Therefore he and his thought system have been sacrificed from the context of
his time and sacrificed to construction activity in line with the needs of modern times. In this case, starting
*
Dr., Turkey Ministry of National Education, Gaziantep, Turkey
Dr. Millî Eğitim Bakanlığı, Gaziantep
aslanyunus@hotmail.com ORCID 0000-0003-2439-1950
Types: Summaries of Doctoral Dissertations
Received: 26 June 2019
Accepted: 31 July 2019
Published: 31 July 2019
Cite as: Yunus Eraslan, “The Relation of Ḥanafī-Māturīdī Kalām System with Sufism in the Early Period (PhD. Dis-
sertation)”, ULUM 2/1 (July 2019): 193-196, https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3355754
194 | Eraslan, “The Relation of Ḥanafī-Māturīdī Kalām System with Sufism in the Early Period”
from Abū Ḥanīfa, it is necessary to look at the Holistic-Sufism relationship from a holistic point of view by
evaluating the Ḥanafī-Mâtürîdî kalām system in its own time and context. Starting from the historical
background and background of the issue, the study of Kalām and Sufism in terms of topics of interest leads
us to different conclusions from the building activities of modern times.
In these factors, the relationship between the Ḥanafī-Māturīdī kalām system and Sufism in the early period
(h. Ⅴ. Century) was tried to be evaluated in its own time and context. It should be noted that the aim of this
study (The Relation of Ḥanafī- Māturīdī Kalām System with Sufism in the Early Period, PhD Thesis, Gaziantep Uni-
versity Institute of Social Sciences, Department of Basic Islamic Sciences, Gaziantep, Turkey, 2019) is not to
introduce the Ḥanafī-Māturīdī theologians, especially Abū Ḥanīfa and al-Māturīdī, to a sufi-style as opposed
to the rational identity assigned to them. On the contrary by positioning the Ḥanafī-Māturīdī Kalām system
somewhere in the middle of rational and mystical poles, it is to reveal its distance to both poles.
In this context, our study consists of four chapters. In the first chapter, the common aspects of the theolo-
gical and sufi movements which are present in the Ḥanafī-Māturīdī culture basin are tried to be put forward
by referring to the historical background of the issue. However, no Sufi movement and formation have been
considered as the equivalent and projection of the Ḥanafī- Māturīdī kalām system in Sufism. Anyway, eva-
luating both the Ḥanafī-Māturīdī kalām system and any Sufi school as branches of the same mentality in
different disciplines and the equivalent of each other does not benefit from repeating the misconceptions
that have fallen into the perspective of modern times.
In the second part, the issue has been cross-evaluated in terms of the subjects of interest of both disciplines
in the context of theology and the most important subject of Sufism. In particular, in the subjects of Su-
fism, the competencies of the Ḥanafī-Māturīdī theologians, and especially their mastery of Sufism, have
been emphasized. In the third chapter, the subjects of prophethood in which the relationship between the-
ology and Sufism are put forward have been discussed in the context of sainthood, inspiration, ismah and
dignity (al-Karamat). In this section, it is seen that the criticisms of Ḥanafī-Māturīdī theological system are
aimed more at Shiite-Bātınī thought than Sufism and sufi. In the fourth chapter, the most important subject
of early theological science of esmâ and ahkâm issues have been evaluated in terms of kalām and Sufism and
the social dimension of the issue has been tried to be put forward.
In the conclusion part, it is emphasized that it is difficult to define the Ḥanafī-Māturīdī Kalām system as
anti-Sufi or faraway from to Sufism, considering the mystical infrastructure and historical background of
the region, although it is not engaged in a Sufi thought and lifestyle. In addition, the necessity of placing
him in a conciliatory position in the middle of rational and mystical ends has been brought to the fore des-
pite the pure rational role that was given to him in modern times.
Keywords
Kalām, The Ḥanafī-Māturīdī Kalām System, Abū Ḥanīfa, Māturīdī, Sufism, Prophethood, Faith
www.dergipark.org.tr/ulum
Eraslan, “The Relation of Ḥanafī-Māturīdī Kalām System with Sufism in the Early Period” | 195
Erken Dönemde Hanefî-Mâtürîdî Kelâm Sisteminin Tasavvufla İlişkisi (Doktora Tezi)
Özet
Tarihi süreçte kelâm ilmi iki disiplinle daha çok etkileşim halinde olmuştur. Bunlardan birincisi felsefe diğeri
ise tasavvuftur. Her iki disiplinle de ilişkisi kelâmın gündeminin ve ilgi alanının söz konusu disiplinler lehine
şekillenmesinde belirleyici unsur olmuştur. Dolayısıyla kelâm ilminin tarihi süreçte yörüngesini tespit et-
meye çalışırken söz konusu disiplinlerle ilişkisi ve etkileşiminin göz önünde bulundurulması gerekmektedir.
Buna göre gerek Eş’arî gerekse Hanefî-Mâtürîdî kelâm sistemlerinin düşünce yapılarını anlamaya çalışırken
tasavvuf ve sûfîlere bakış açılarını da göz önünde bulundurmak, Ehl-i sünnet kavramını anlama noktasında
daha bütüncül bir bakış açısı sağlayacaktır. Bu bağlamda Hanefî-Mâtürîdî kelâm sisteminin erken dönem-
lerden itibaren zühd ve tasavvufla ilişkisi modern zamanlara ışık tutması bakımından önem arz etmektedir.
Zira İslam düşüncesinin erken dönemlerinde disiplinlerin henüz bölümlere ayrılmadığı bir süreçte bir âli-
min birden çok nitelemelere sahip olması, modern dönemlerde onları belli bir düşünce kalıbına hasretme-
den bütüncül bir perspektiften bakmayı gerektirmiştir. Bu bağlamda modern zamanların indirgemeci ve
ayrıştırıcı bakış açısından en çok mağdur olan Mâtürîdî ve ona hasredilen düşünce yapısı olsa gerektir.
Çünkü o ve ona nispet edilen düşünce yapısı bir yandan daha çok Kitâbu’t-Tevhîd üzerinden Mutezile akılcı-
lığına yaklaştırılmaya çalışılırken, diğer yandan da sûfîmeşreb bir şekle büründürülmek suretiyle tasavvuf
ve sûfîlerin meşruiyet güvencesi haline getirilmiştir. Burada özellikle belirtilmesi gereken husus ise Hanefî-
Mâtürîdî kelâmcılarının ilham konusundaki görüşlerinden yola çıkılarak tasavvufla arasına mesafe konul-
masıdır. Dolayısıyla o ve temsil ettiği düşünce sistemi kendi zamanının bağlamından koparılmak suretiyle
modern zamanların ihtiyaçları doğrultusunda bir inşa faaliyetine kurban edilmiştir. Bu durumda Ebû
Hanîfe’den başlayarak Hanefî-Mâtürîdî kelâm sistemini kendi zamanında ve bağlamında değerlendirmek
suretiyle, kelâm-tasavvuf ilişkisine bütüncül bir açıdan bakmak gerekmektedir. Meselenin tarihi arka planı
ve alt yapısından başlayarak kelâm ve tasavvufun ilgi alanına giren konular açısından irdelenmesi bizi mo-
dern zamanların inşa faaliyetlerinden farklı sonuçlara götürmektedir.
Bu ve benzeri sâiklerden hareket ederek Erken Dönemde Hanefî-Mâtürîdî Kelâm Sisteminin Tasavvufla İlişkisi
(Doktora Tezi, Gaziantep Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü, Temel İslam Bilimleri Ana Bilim Dalı, 2019)
adlı bu tezde, erken dönemde (h. Ⅴ. asıra kadar) Hanefî-Mâtürîdî kelâm sisteminin tasavvufla ilişkisi kendi
zamanında ve bağlamında değerlendirilmeye çalışılmıştır. Şu hususun peşinen belirtilmesi gerekir ki, bu
çalışmadaki amacımız başta Ebû Hanîfe ve Mâtürîdî olmak üzere Hanefî-Mâtürîdî kelâmcılarını kendilerine
biçilen akılcı kimliğin aksine sûfîmeşreb bir kimliğe sokmak değildir. Bilakis Hanefî-Mâtürîdî kelâm siste-
mini akılcı ve mistik kutupların ortasında bir yerde konumlandırarak, her iki kutba da mesafesini ortaya
koymaktır.
Bu bağlamda çalışmamız dört bölümden oluşmaktadır. Birinci bölümde meselenin tarihi arka planına değin-
mek suretiyle Hanefî-Mâtürîdî kültür havzasında varlık gösteren kelâmi ve tasavvufi hareketlerin ortak yan-
ları ortaya konulmaya çalışılmıştır. Ancak burada hiçbir tasavvufi akım ve oluşum Hanefî-Mâtürîdî kelâm
sisteminin tasavvuftaki karşılığı ve izdüşümü olarak değerlendirilmemiştir. Zaten gerek Hanefî-Mâtürîdî
kelâm sistemini gerekse her hangi bir tasavvuf okulunu aynı zihniyetin faklı disiplinlerdeki şubeleri ve bir-
birlerinin karşılığı olarak değerlendirmek modern zamanlardaki bakış açısının içine düştüğü yanılgıları tek-
rar etmekten öte bir fayda sağlamaz. İkinci bölümde mesele kelâm ve tasavvufun en önemli konusu olan
ULUM 2/1 (July 2019)
196 | Eraslan, “The Relation of Ḥanafī-Māturīdī Kalām System with Sufism in the Early Period”
ulûhiyyet bağlamında her iki disiplinin ilgi alanına giren konular açısından çapraz bir şekilde değerlendiril-
miştir. Özellikle tasavvufun ilgi alanına giren konularda başta Mâtürîdî olmak üzere Hanefî-Mâtürîdî kelâm-
cılarının yetkinlikleri ve tasavvufi konulara hâkimiyetlerine dikkat çekilmiştir. Üçüncü bölümde kelâm ve
tasavvuf ilişkisinin en açık bir şekilde ortaya konulduğu nübüvvet konuları velayet, ilham, ismet ve keramet
bağlamında ele alınmıştır. Bu bölümde Hanefî-Mâtürîdî kelâm sisteminin ilham konusundaki eleştirilerinin
tasavvuf ve sûfîlerden daha çok Şiî-Bâtınî düşünceyi hedef aldığı görülmektedir. Dördüncü bölümde ise er-
ken dönem kelâm ilminin en önemli konusu olan esmâ ve ahkâm konuları kelâm ve tasavvuf açısından de-
ğerlendirilerek meselenin sosyal boyutu ortaya konulmaya çalışılmıştır.
Sonuç bölümünde ise erken dönem için konuşacak olursak, her ne kadar bir tasavvufi düşünce ve yaşam
tarzına angaje olmasa da, bölgenin mistik alt yapısı ve tarihi art alanı göz önünde bulundurulduğunda Ha-
nefî-Mâtürîdî kelâm sistemini tasavvuf karşıtı ya da tasavvufa karşı mesafeli olarak tanımlamanın zor ol-
duğu vurgulanmıştır. Bunun yanında modern zamanlarda kendisine biçilen saf akılcı role karşın onu akılcı
ve mistik uçların ortasında uzlaştırıcı bir konuma yerleştirmenin gerekliliği ön plana çıkarılmıştır.
Anahtar Kelimeler
Kelâm, Hanefî-Mâtürîdî Kelâm Sistemi, Ebû Hanîfe, Mâtürîdî, Tasavvuf, Nübüvvet, İman
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Dini Tetkikler Dergisi
ULUM Journal of Religious Inquiries
ﻣﺠﻠﺔ اﻟﺪراﺳﺎت اﻟﺪﯾﻨﯿﺔ
www.dergipark.gov.tr/ulum
The Production of Space: Everyday Life in Medina in The Period of The Prophet
Muḥammad (PhD. Dissertation)
İlyas Uçar *
Abstract
The theory of the production of space used in our study, which was put forward in 1974 by Henri Lefebvre
in his book The Production of Space, brought about many space discussions in social theory. The book, which
claims to put forward a general theory of space, has been the subject of controversy, but it is noteworthy
that it is one of the most frequently used sources of space studies. The aim of this study is to re-read the
theory mentioned in the book. Because a different perspective will be brought to the social relations and
problems that are encountered every day in social life and which are tried to be understood, explained and
solved by the related researches. This study, The Production of Space: Everyday Life in Medina in The Period of The
Prophet Muḥammad (PhD. Dissertation, Ankara Yıldırım Beyazıt University, Institute of Social Sciences, De-
partment of History, Ankara, Turkey, 2019) aims to provide an important perspective on understanding the
intellectual roots of the problem even if it does not provide a concrete and direct contribution to the solu-
tion of social problems.
The research problem of the thesis is the evaluation of the processes of production of space (in the case of
Medina) in the context of the theory of the production of space, which occupies an important place in space
discussions in social theory. What is space? What does the space cover? How is the space produced? How
*
Dr., Kırıkkale University, Faculty of Islamic Sciences, Department of Islamic History, Kırıkkale, Turkey
Dr., Kırıkkale Üniversitesi, İslami İlimler Fakültesi, Siyer-i Nebi ve İslam Tarihi Anabilim Dalı
ilyasucar@gmail.com ORCID 0000-0002-7125-8995
Types: Summaries of Doctoral Dissertations
Received: 27 July 2019
Accepted: 30 July 2019
Published: 31 July 2019
Cite as: İlyas Uçar, “The Production of Space: Everyday Life in Medina in The Period of The Prophet Muḥammad
(PhD. Dissertation)”, ULUM 2/1 (July 2019): 197-201, https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3355759
198 | Uçar, “The Production of Space: Everyday Life in Medina in The Period of The Prophet Muḥammad”
does space affect daily life? Based on such a research problem, two dimensions of the scope and purpose of
the thesis can be mentioned.
First of all, the thesis should be evaluated in two categories as theoretical and research scope. In terms of
theoretical / conceptual scope, the thesis is examined in three axes. The first axis is the philosophy of space
based on what the concept of space is, and the relationship between the philosophy of space and the theory
of production of space, which is written by the same name that stands out in a number of works of Lefebvre,
and the theory that is adopted as a basis. Although the definitions and propositions of many philosophers
and theorists are discussed here, the theory of the production of space constitutes the backbone of the the-
oretical context of the thesis. In this context, the theoretical / conceptual aim of our thesis is to make a
detailed reading of the related theory and to evaluate the structural / conceptual frameworks that emerge
in the theory. The first step of the theoretical dimension is to evaluate the conceptual, structural and factual
components that come forward especially with a detailed reading of the book The Production of Space and to
functionalize the relevant theory for space research in a concrete context. In other words, it is an indirect
interpretation of the possibilities and limitations of the theory in the context of concrete time-space with
functionalized frameworks.
The second axis of the theoretical / conceptual scope is the concept of daily life, which is closely related to
the theory of production of space. In this title, what is the concept of daily life, how it is institutionalized
and where / how it takes place in the eyes of theoreticians / theorists as a reality is examined. The historical
process and basic principles of the concept, which has become increasingly important as sociology of daily
life, are discussed in detail in a timely and concrete relationship with chronological discussions. The main
purpose of this second stage is to create an undefined, undefined, undefined behaviors, wishes, how and in
which processes the individuals who are involved, adopted, adopted, defined the social institutions, spaces
that were previously used to, and who were involved in the social reality with the roles they took in the
societies where the space was produced. and the complex character of this organization process. Another
conceptual purpose is to help the concept, which is evaluated in a very complex and wide range, to find a
place on a more reasonable and more grounded ground. Therefore in our research, we went to a limitation
in the context of time-space. Before they give hints about daily life or before the emigration (hijra). We
excluded the narratives, events or people that emerged after Muḥammad. In addition, we did not include
some features such as fezâil, which we think did not give information about the everyday life of Medina.
The third and last axis of the conceptual / theoretical scope is the part where body theory is discussed in
terms of its close interest to both space and society. In this section, where the place and importance of body
concept which constitutes the backbone of the research scope are discussed, the theoretical framework has
been tried to be put forward more clearly.
The second dimension of the thesis, the aim of the scope of the research in the context of the production
process of space and space, especially Muḥammad during the Medina's daily life is to reveal the narrative.
For this reason, firstly, the temporal and spatial dimension of the Medina was briefly discussed. In this study,
which can also be seen as a background study, In the period of Muḥammad, the city of Medina was trying to
be brought to the forefront as a spatial scope. The choice of such scope can be justified in several respects.
The first of these is the scattered and closed-up former name of Yasrib, which has been subjected to a pagan
culture, conflict, fighting and war throughout history, and remains far from a central authority and political
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Uçar, “The Production of Space: Everyday Life in Medina in The Period of The Prophet Muḥammad” | 199
unity. Besides, Yesrib people are a full agricultural society in terms of the climate and geographical location
of the region; It is also known as a full trade society with the control of the economic power of the Jews
which is another element of the region. The Jews and Arabs, who had to lead a mutualist life, naturally used
the commonplaces of daily life, such as the farmland and the bazaar, like common areas. With the introduc-
tion of a different element in the region with Islam and Muslims, some things completely disappeared, some
of them caused changes in forms and also caused some developments that were put forward / extracted for
the first time in the region. Here, one of the main objectives of the research scope of the thesis study is the
source of a rich literature accumulation of the space, city, urbanization process and the changes that occur-
red in the region in the following decade with the emigration and the contribution of these changes to ur-
banization on existing life forms present The aim of this study is to determine whether the characteristics
of Arab society overlap with the characteristics of body theory. Briefly, in this thesis study based on space
theory, the processes of the production of space and space during the period of Muḥammad are handled in
terms of reflection at everyday life.
Keywords
Islamic History, Medina, Everyday Life, Production of Space, Prophet Muḥammad
Mekânın Üretimi: Hz. Muhammed Dönemi Medîne’de Gündelik Hayat (Doktora Tezi)
Özet
1974 yılında ilk kez Henri Lefebvre tarafından Fransızca kaleme alınan Mekânın Üretimi adlı kitapta öne sü-
rülen ve çalışmamızda kullanılan mekânın üretimi kuramı sosyal teoride pek çok mekân tartışmasını bera-
berinde getirmiştir. Genel bir mekân teorisi ortaya koyma iddiasında bulunan kitap, sık sık tartışmalara konu
olmuş ancak buna rağmen mekân ile ilgili çalışmaların en çok başvurulan kaynaklarından birisi olması yö-
nüyle dikkat çekmiştir. Bu çalışmayla ismi geçen kitapta bahsedilen kuramın yeniden okunması amaçlan-
mıştır. Çünkü sosyal hayatta her gün karşılaşılan ve ilgili araştırmalar ile anlaşılmaya, anlatılmaya ve çö-
zümlenmeye çalışılan toplumsal ilişkilere ve sorunlara farklı bir bakış açısı getirilecektir. Mekânın Üretimi:
Hz. Muhammed Dönemi Medîne’de Gündelik Hayat (Doktora Tezi, Ankara Yıldırım Beyazıt Üniversitesi, Sosyal Bi-
limler Enstitüsü, Tarih Anabilim Dalı, 2019) adlı bu çalışma, toplumsal sorunların çözümüne somut ve doğ-
rudan bir katkı sunmasa bile sorunun düşünsel köklerinin anlaşılmasına ilişkin önemli bir perspektif sağla-
mayı hedeflenmektedir.
Tez çalışmasının araştırma problemi, Medîne örneğinde mekânın üretimi süreçlerinin sosyal teorideki
mekân tartışmalarında önemli bir yer tutan mekânın üretimi kuramı bağlamında değerlendirilmesidir. Mekân
nedir? Mekân neyi ne kadar kapsar? Mekân nasıl üretilir? Mekân gündelik hayata ne yönüyle etki eder?
Böyle bir araştırma probleminden hareketle tez çalışmasının kapsam ve amacının iki boyutundan söz edile-
bilir.
ULUM 2/1 (July 2019)
200 | Uçar, “The Production of Space: Everyday Life in Medina in The Period of The Prophet Muḥammad”
Öncelikle tez çalışması kuramsal/kavramsal kapsam ile araştırma kapsamı olarak iki kategoride değerlendi-
rilmelidir. Kuramsal/kavramsal açıdan tez çalışması kendi içinde üç eksende incelenmiştir. İlk eksen, mekân
kavramının ne’liği üzerinden yapılan mekân felsefesi ve bu felsefenin tarihî süreçle beraber Lefebvre’nin
aynı isimle kaleme aldığı mekânın üretimi kuramıyla ilişkisi ve kuramın temel olarak benimsendiği kısımdır.
Burada pek çok filozof ve kuramcının tanımlamaları ve önermeleri ele alınmakla beraber tezin kuramsal
bağlamının bel kemiğini mekânın üretimi kuramı oluşturmaktadır. Bu bağlamda tezimizin kuramsal/kav-
ramsal amacı, ilgili kuramın detaylı bir okunmasının yapılması ve burada öne çıkan yapısal/kavramsal çer-
çevelerinin değerlendirilmesidir. Kuramsal boyutun ilk merhalesi özellikle Mekânın Üretimi adlı kitabın de-
taylı bir okunmasıyla öne çıkan kavramsal, yapısal ve olgusal bileşenlerin titiz bir şekilde değerlendirilmesi
ve somut bir bağlamda mekân araştırmaları için ilgili kuramın işlevselleştirilmesi amaçlanmaktadır. Başka
bir ifadeyle işlevselleştirilen çerçeveler ile teori somut bir zaman-mekân bağlamında imkân ve sınırlandır-
malarının dolaylı olarak anlamlandırılmasıdır.
Kuramsal/kavramsal kapsamın ikinci ekseni ise mekânın üretimi kuramıyla yakından ilişkili olan gündelik
hayat kavramıdır. Bu başlıkta gündelik hayat kavramının ne olduğu, nasıl kurumsallaştığı ve bir gerçeklik
olarak teorisyenlerin/kuramcıların gözünde nerede/nasıl yer aldığı incelenmiştir. Gündelik hayat sosyolo-
jisi olarak günümüzde gitgide önemini artıran kavramın tarihsel süreci ve temel ilkeleri detaylı bir şekilde
ortaya konularak, kronolojik tartışmalar eşliğinde sağlam bir zeminde ve somut bir şekilde zaman-mekân
ilişkisi içerisinde ele alınmıştır. Bu ikinci merhalenin temel amacı mekânın üretildiği toplumlarda roller alan
ve sürekli aldığı bu rol ile toplumsal gerçekliğe katılan fertlerin nasıl ve hangi süreçler içinde mevcut, bağlı
oldukları, benimsedikleri, tanımladıkları toplumsal kurumları, mekânları daha önce alışık olmadıkları, ta-
nımlı olmayan, belirsiz bir davranışlar, istekler dünyası ile eş güdümlü bir şekilde organize ettiklerinin ve
bu organizasyon sürecinin karmaşık karakterinin ortaya konmasıdır. Diğer bir kavramsal amaç ise oldukça
girift ve geniş bir yelpaze içerisinde değerlendirmeye tâbi tutulan kavramın daha mâkul ve daha ayağı yere
basan bir zeminde kendisine yer bulmasına yardımcı olmaktır. Bu yüzden araştırmamızda zaman-mekân
bağlamında bir sınırlamaya gittik. Gündelik hayata dair ipuçları vermeleri haricinde hicret öncesinde veya
Hz. Muhammed sonrasında ortaya çıkmış olan rivayetleri, olayları veya kişileri ilgi alanımız dışında bıraktık.
Ayrıca Medîne’nin gündelik hayatına dair bilgi vermediğini düşündüğümüz fezâil gibi bazı hususiyetlere yer
vermedik. Kavramsal/kuramsal kapsamın üçüncü ve son ekseni ise hem mekânı hem de toplumu yakından
ilgilendirmesi yönüyle beden kuramının ele alındığı kısımdır. Araştırma kapsamının bel kemiğini oluşturan
teoriyle yakın bir ilişki içerisinde bulunan beden kavramının sosyolojideki yeri ve öneminin ele alındığı bu
kısım ile teorik çerçeve daha net bir şekilde ortaya konmaya çalışılmıştır.
Tez çalışmasının ikinci boyutu olarak planlanan araştırma kapsamının amacı ise mekân ve mekânın üretimi
süreçleri bağlamında kuruluş safhasından başlamak üzere özellikle Hz. Muhammed döneminde Medîne’nin
gündelik hayatına dair mâlumatı ortaya koymaktır. Bunun için öncelikle Medîne’nin zamansal ve mekânsal
boyutu kısa bir şekilde ele alınmıştır. Bir arka plan çalışması olarak da görülebilecek bu bölüm ile çalışma-
mızda zamansal olarak Hz. Muhammed dönemi, mekânsal kapsam olarak ise Medîne şehri ön plana çıkarıl-
maya çalışılmıştır. Böyle bir kapsamın seçilmesi birkaç açıdan gerekçelendirilebilir. Bunlardan ilki pagan bir
kültüre, tarih boyunca çatışma, kavga ve savaşa maruz kalan, dağınık ve bir o kadar da dışarıya kapalı olan
eski ismiyle Yesrib’in, merkezi otoriteden ve siyâsî birlikten uzak kalmasıdır. Bunun yanında bölgenin iklimi
ve coğrafî konumu itibariyle Yesrib halkı tam bir ziraat toplumu; bölgenin diğer bir unsuru olan Yahudilerin
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Uçar, “The Production of Space: Everyday Life in Medina in The Period of The Prophet Muḥammad” | 201
tarih boyunca olduğu gibi ekonomik gücü kontrol altında tutmasıyla da tam bir ticaret toplumu olarak ta-
nınmıştır. Mutualist bir yaşam sürmek zorunda olan Yahudiler ve Araplar doğal olarak tarım arazileri ile
çarşı gibi günlük hayatın temel uğrak mekânlarını ortak alan olarak kullanmışlardır. Müslümanların bölgeye
farklı bir unsur olarak girmesi, bazı şeylerin tamamen kalkmasına, bazılarının ise form değiştirmesine sebe-
biyet vermiş ayrıca bölgede ilk defa ortaya konulan/çıkarılan bazı gelişmeler yaşanmasına neden olmuştur.
İşte tez çalışmasının araştırma kapsamının ana amaçlarından birisi zengin bir literatür birikiminin kaynağı
olan Medîne’nin mekân, şehir, şehirleşme sürecini ve hicretle beraber takip eden on yılda bölgede yaşanan
değişiklikleri tespit etmek ve bu değişikliklerin şehirleşmeye yapmış olduğu katkıyı, gündelik hayat formları
üzerinde oluşturduğu etkinin mevcut Arap toplumunun karakteristik özellikleriyle –beden kuramı özelinde-
ne denli örtüşüp örtüşmediğinin tespitini yapmaktır. Kısaca, mekânın üretimi kuramı üzerinden inşâ edilen
bu tez çalışmasında Hz. Muhammed döneminde mekân ve mekânın üretimi süreçleri gündelik hayata yan-
sıması boyutuyla ele alınmaktadır.
Anahtar Kelimeler
İslam Tarihi, Medine, Gündelik Hayat, Mekânın Üretimi, Hz. Muhammed
ULUM 2/1 (July 2019)
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Dini Tetkikler Dergisi
ULUM Journal of Religious Inquiries
اﻟﺪﯾﻨﯿﺔ اﻟﺪراﺳﺎت ﻣﺠﻠﺔ
www.dergipark.gov.tr/ulum
Textual Criticism In Shīʿa (PhD. Dissertation)
Peyman Ünügür 1*
Abstract
Beginning with ʿusūls, that is, the ḥadith booklets which were originally formed to record the Imam’s words
back in the late second hijrī century, Shīʿī (Ithnā ʿAsharī/Twelver) ḥadith scholarship has developed a
comprehensive and unique literature over the last twelve centuries. One of the unique features of Twelver
Shīʿīte ḥadith approach is the fact that the systematic application of isnād-centered criticism in the study
and evaluation of ḥadiths with regard to accuracy was begun to be practiced after the 7th hijrī century and
gained wide acceptance only after that time. To put it differently, the text (matn) and the textual criteria,
instead of the chain of transmitters (sanad) were central in the evaluation of ḥadith reports for a long time
in the history of Shīʿī ḥadith scholarship. This centrality of textual criteria employed in the evaluation of
ḥadith reports continued throughout the Shīʿī ḥadith history and it reached its most effective position in
the last century. Despite the decisive role the text and textual criteria have played in the study of ḥadiths in
Shīʿa, textual criticism has received little scholarly attention so far, which makes this topic a significant
research question. Furthermore, in order to examine the exact meaning of textual criticism present in
Islamic tradition as comprehensively as possible, it is a necessity to approach it not only from Sunnī
perspective but also with an approach that includes all the other madhhabs. Correspondingly, this study,
Şīʿa’da Metin Tenkidi [Textual Criticism In Shīʿa] (PhD. Dissertation, Ankara University, Institute of Social
1*
Assistant Prof., Yıldırım Beyazıt University, Faculty of Islamic Studies, Department of Hadith, Ankara, Turkey
Dr. Öğretim Üyesi, Yıldırım Beyazıt Üniversitesi, İslami İlimler Fakültesi, Hadis Anabilim Dalı, Ankara
peyman.unugur@gmail.com ORCID 0000-0001-6572-8770
Types: Summaries of Doctoral Dissertations
Received: 24 July 2019
Accepted: 31 July 2019
Published: 31 July 2019
Cite as: Peyman Ünügür, “Textual Criticism In Shīʿa (PhD. Dissertation)”, ULUM 2/1 (July 2019): 203-208,
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3357007
204 | Ünügür, “Textual Criticism In Shīʿa (PhD. Dissertation)”
Science, Department of Main Islamic Sciences, Ankara, Turkey, 2017) has explored the different approaches
and practices of textual criticism as employed over the course of Shīʿīte ḥadith tradition.
The social and political unrest, especially during the 2nd and 3rd hijrī centuries before the Shīʿa (Ithnā
ʿAsharīyah) completed its development as a systematic Islamic madhhab, led to the emergence of ġhulāt, the
extremist groups ascribing divine characteristics to ʿAlī and his family members. As an effective way of
propagation and attracting more supporters, such groups used some reports fabricated in accordance with
their views, and attributed them to the Imams of Shīʿa. The widespread practice of fabricating ḥadiths led
way to the formation of a group reacting against such extremist ideas as well. The first chapter of the thesis
provides a brief overview of the 3rd century Shīʿī theologians’ critiques of the ġhulāt-induced ḥadiths, and
explores the initial attempts of early-period Akhbārīs, the scholars of so-called Qom School, to eliminate the
fabricated reports as the first practices of textual criticism made by Twelver Shīʿītes.
Having lived in the 3rd hijrī century, al-Faḍl b. Shāẕān (d. 260/873-4) and Ibn Qiba (d. 319/931) were among
the early Shīʿī theologians, and they developed significant approaches with regard to textual criticism in
ḥadith scholarship. They claimed that some factoids attributed to Shīʿa were actually originated from the
reports of ġhulāt, and thus criticized them.
The uncompromising attitude of Qom School towards the ġhulāt is presented by Imāmiyyah as an argument
for the elimination of fabricated ḥadiths and not including these kind of reports in al-Kutub al-Arbaʿa. Indeed,
it is obvious that the scholars of early Qom School employed a text-based criteria in eliminating the reports
containing extremist ideas, such as ascribing divinity to other beings except Allah. As a matter of fact, such
extremist ideas of ġhulāt do not appear as ḥadith reports in Shīʿī compilations. While the absence of such
reports can be seen as an argument for the existence of a critical approach based on the content (matn), it is
rather impossible to determine the exact criteria used and the status of textual criticism due to lack of data
concerning its methodology. Besides, it cannot be claimed that these efforts were successful in eliminating
the fabricated reports of ġhulāt completely and in preventing their circulation among the Shīʿī ḥadith
sources. Additionally, when it comes to the problem of imāmah -the identity and the features of the leaders
after Prophet Mohammad-, the critique of the fabricated reports was not practiced in the same meticulous
manner, which is because of the fact that its imāmah paradigm is the core concept shaping Imāmiyyah as a
madhhab and Shīʿī scholars failed to be objective in evaluating the ġhulāt fabricated reports on this issue.
Consequently, most of such reports escaped textual criticism.
The second chapter examines the approaches and practices of Baghdad, Ḥilla and Jabal ʿĀmil Usūlī schools,
which had active roles between 5th and 11th hijrī centuries respectively, towards textual criticism. The most
prominent representatives of Baghdad Usūlī School are al-Shayḫ al-Mufīd (d. 413/1022), al-Sharīf al-
Murtaḍā (d. 436/1044) and Abū Jaʿfar al-Ṭūsī (d. 460/1067). Drawing on the works of these three scholars, it
was aimed to be exposed the fact that text-related issues are the main determinants for evaluating,
accepting or rejecting ḥadith reports in practise of Baghdad Usūlī School. In this respect, the key concept,
used by these scholars is “qarīna”. According to their approaches, “khabar al-wāhid” (a report which falls
short of the predicate mutawātir) is acceptable only when it has one of the qarīnas which are being coherent
with the Qur'an, Sunnah, reason or ijmāʿ. The reports contradicting those qarīnas were claimed to have been
rejected, at least theoretically. On the other hand, the role of sanad was not overlooked completely by
scholars of Baghdad. It is obvious that isnād was an important tool in evaluating contradictory reports, as in
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Ünügür, “Textual Criticism In Shīʿa (PhD. Dissertation)” | 205
the practise of al-Ṭūsī in particular. As I argue, Bagdad Usūlī School had serious doubts concerning the
accuracy of sanads of reports, which made the scholars employ textual criticism instead of isnād, as the main
method in evaluating ḥadith reports.
Increased emphasis on the role of isnād with the rise of Ḥilla School in 7th hijrī century resulted in a decrease
in the efficiency of qarīnas related to matn. I am of the opinion that the most influential factor for this is the
fact the Shīʿa communities had to live under Sunnī rule for long years, especially with the collapse of the
Buwayhids in the second half of the 5th hijrī century. It is inconceivable that Shīʿa, undergoing an
unproductive era after Buwayhids, was not affected by Sunnī understanding, which was at the height of its
scholarly productivity back then. Thus, with the Ḥilla School, isnād began to gain a substantial position in
Shīʿī ḥadith methodology in ways similar to the isnād-centered Sunnī ḥadith methodology. Moreover, the
isnād-centered Usūlīsm, beginning with the Ḥilla School, reached its heyday especially with al-Shahīd al-
Thānī (d. 965-6/1559), who was one of the prominent scholars of Jabal ʿĀmil of Lebanon. This is due to the
different approach of al-Shahīd al-Thānī favoured in ḥadith evaluation process. In Ḥilla School, despite the
increasing role of isnād, matn was still important. However, al-Shahīd al-Thānī, who wrote Shīʿa’s first ḥadith
methodology book, rejected the role of matn in the consideration of ḥadith reports almost completely. As I
argue, that dysfunction of textual criticism, which is one of two main methods of ḥadith criticism,
accelerated the rise of Systematic Akhbārism, which gained prominence in the 11th hijrī century and
objected to all forms of criticising ḥadith reports.
The third chapter investigates the contemporary practises of textual criticism. During the last century, in
addition to the classical approach of Usūlīsm, significant improvements have taken place with regard to the
understanding of textual criticism because of various historical and sociological factors. Within the scope of
such recent practices, there have been scholarly attempts to identify and eliminate the ḥadith reports that
were fabricated -especially- by ġhulāt in the early period of Islam and found their ways into the main ḥadith
sources. In this regard, it is crucial that the first examples of mawḍūʿāt books, including the fabricated
reports, have been compiled. Especially in al-Mawḍūʿāt of Hāshim Maʿrūf al-Ḥasanī, textual criticism seems
to be the main method used in order to identify the fabricated reports. However, it is not possible to say that
such attempts have found wide acceptance among the Shīʿa scholars yet.
To conclude, this study demonstrates that the textual criticism has always been used as a method in
evaluating ḥadith reports throughout the history of Shīʿī ḥadith scholarship. However, there are differences
with regard to the scale of emphasis put on textual criticism and to what extent it has been employed as a
methodology in each school. Even in the periods dominated by al-Shahīd al-Thānī and his successors and
shortly afterwards by Akhbārīs, textual criticism was applied to the reports related to doctrinal issues while
its practice area was significantly limited for the reports on Islamic Jurisprudence.
Keywords
Ḥadith, Shīʿa/Shīʿīsm, Textual criticism, Ġhulāt, Fabricated reports (Mawḍūʿāt), Qarīna
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Şīʿa’da Metin Tenkidi (Doktora Tezi)
Özet
Hicrî II. asrın sonlarında imamların sözlerinin aṣl adı verilen küçük hadis mecmualarına kaydedilmesi ile
başlayan ve günümüze kadar yaklaşık on iki asır boyunca devam eden Şīʿī/İmâmî hadis faaliyetleri
sonucunda oldukça geniş ve kendine has bir literatür teşekkül etmiştir. Şīʿī hadis anlayışının kendine has
özelliklerinden biri, rivayetlerin kabul ya da reddinde kullanılan temel yöntemlerden biri olan isnad
tenkidinin, hicrî yedinci asır gibi oldukça geç bir dönemde daha sistemli bir şekilde uygulanmaya başlanması
ve ancak bu asırdan sonra rivayetlerin değerlendirilmesinde merkezî bir konum kazanmış olmasıdır. Diğer
bir ifadeyle, Şīʿī hadis tarihinin uzun bir döneminde, rivayetlerin değerlendirilmesinde râvîler ve senede
dair hususlardan daha ziyade metne dair kıstaslar belirleyici olmuştur. Metne dair kriterlerin belirleyici rolü
Şīʿa hadis tarihi boyunca çeşitli düzeylerde devam etmiş, son bir asırlık süreçte de en etkin konumuna
ulaşmıştır. Rivayetlerin metnine dair kıstasların rivayetlerin değerlendirilmesindeki belirleyiciliği ve bu
alanda kapsamlı bir çalışma yapılmamış olması, “Şīʿa’da Metin Tenkidi” konusunu araştırmaya değer
kılmaktadır. Ayrıca nihaî aşamada İslâmî gelenekte metin tenkidinin tam olarak ne ifade ettiğinin
anlaşılabilmesi ve ortaya konabilmesinin yolu, birçok meselede olduğu gibi, konuyu sadece Ehlu’s-Sunne
merkezli değil bütün mezhep/ekolleri kuşatıcı bir yaklaşımla ele almaktan geçmektedir. Bu bağlamda Şīʿa’da
Metin Tenkidi (Doktora tezi, Ankara Üniversitesi, Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü, Temel İslam Bilimleri, Ankara,
Türkiye, 2017) adlı tezimizde Şīʿī hadis tarihi boyunca metin tenkidi bağlamında ortaya çıkan farklı yaklaşım
ve uygulamalar incelenmiştir.
İsnâaşeriyye/İmâmiyye’nin kendi içerisindeki sistematik gelişimini tamamlamasından önceki dönemde
özellikle hicrî II. ve III. asırlardaki belirsizlikler, Ali taraftarlığını esas alan ġulāt gruplarının ortaya çıkmasına
zemin hazırlamıştır. Bu gruplar zamanla görüşlerini yaymak ve taraftar toplamak için, fikirleri
doğrultusunda uydurdukları ve Şīʿī imamlara nispet ettikleri rivayetleri işlevsel bir araç olarak
kullanmışlardır. Bu tür rivayetlerin Şīʿa içerisinde yaygınlık kazanmaya başlaması, aşırı fikirlere karşı bir
refleksin oluşumunu da beraberinde getirmiştir. Tezin birinci bölümünde, III. hicrî asırda yaşayan Şīʿī
kelamcıların ġulāt kaynaklı rivayetlere yönelik tenkitleri ve erken dönem Aḫbārīliğinin temsilcisi olan Kum
Ekolü alimleri tarafından ġuluv içerikli rivayetlerin ayıklanması bağlamında atılan adımlar, İsnâaşeriyye’nin
bir ekol olarak ortaya koyduğu ilk metin tenkidi uygulamaları olarak incelenmiştir.
Hicrî III. asırda yaşayan ve ilk Şīʿī kelamcılar arasında kabul edilen el-Faḍl b. Şāẕān (ö. 260/873-4) ve İbn
Ḳıbbe (ö. 319/931) gibi ulemanın metin tenkidi kapsamında değerlendirilebilecek kayda değer bir eleştirel
yaklaşım sergiledikleri anlaşılmaktadır. Bu bağlamda onlar Şīʿī itikadına atfedilen birtakım yanlış kabullerin
ġālī içerikli rivayetlerden kaynaklandığını savunmuş ve bunları eleştirmişlerdir.
Kum Ekolünün ġulāta karşı tavizsiz tutumu, Şīʿa tarafından ġuluv içerikli rivayetlerin ayıklanmış olmasının
ve el-Kutubu’l-Erbaʿa’da bu tarz rivayetlerin yer almamasının dayanağı olarak sunulmaktadır. Gerçekten de
Kum Ekolü alimlerinin aşırı fikirlerin uç noktasını temsil eden “Allah’tan başkasına ulûhiyet atfı” gibi
konulardaki rivayetlere karşı muhtevayı esas alan bir ayıklama yöntemi kullanmış oldukları anlaşılmaktadır.
Zira ġulātın bu uç görüşleri rivayet formunda Şīʿī kaynaklarda yer almamaktadır. Bu durum muhtevaya
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dayalı bir yaklaşımın varlığını gösterse de metoda dair herhangi bir verinin bulunmaması sebebiyle, metin
tenkidi kriterlerini ya da tenkidin keyfiyetini tespit etmek mümkün değildir. Ayrıca bu çabalar ile ġālī içerikli
rivayetlerin tamamen ayıklanarak temel hadis kaynaklarına dahil olmasının önüne geçildiği de iddia
edilemez. Zira imâmet meselesine sıra geldiğinde ġuluv içerikli rivayetlere yönelik muhteva tenkidi aynı
titizlikle sürdürülememiştir. Bu durum imâmet anlayışının Şīʿa’yı Şīʿa yapan en temel unsur olmasıyla
ilişkilidir. Bunun bir sonucu olarak Şīʿa’nın imâmet konusundaki ġuluv içerikli rivayetlere karşı objektif bir
tutum sergilemesi güçleşmiş ve imamların üstünlükleri ile ilgili konulardaki ġuluv içerikli rivayetler –büyük
ölçüde- muhteva tenkidinin kapsamı dışında kalmıştır.
İkinci bölümde hicrî V. asır ile XI. asır arasındaki süreçte etkin olan Bağdat, Hille ve Cebel-i Âmil (Lübnan)
Uṣūlī ekollerinin metin tenkidine dair yaklaşım ve uygulamaları ele alınmıştır. Bunlardan birincisi olan
Bağdat Ekolü’nün en önemli temsilcileri Şeyh el-Mufīd (ö. 413/1022), Şerif el-Murtaḍā (ö. 436/1044) ve Ebū
Cafer eṭ-Ṭūsī’dir (ö. 460/1067). Söz konusu alimlerin eserlerinden yola çıkılarak, Bağdat Ekolü’nün etkin
olduğu dönemde metne dair hususların, rivayetlerin değerlendirilmesinde, kabul ya da reddinde temel
belirleyici faktör olduğu ortaya konmaya çalışılmıştır. Bu bağlamda söz konusu Uṣūlī alimlerce kullanılan
kilit kavram ‘ḳarīne’dir. Buna göre haber-i vahidler, Kur’an’a, Sünnet’e, akla, icma’ya ve amelî şöhrete
uygunluk ḳarīnelerinden biri veya birkaçına sahip oldukları ölçüde muteberdir. Mezkur kıstaslara muhalif
olan rivayetlerin ise reddedileceği en azından teorik olarak ortaya konmuştur. Diğer yandan, Bağdat dönemi
alimlerince senedin rolünün tamamen bir kenara bırakıldığı söylenemez. Bilhassa eṭ-Ṭūsī tarafından, ihtilaf
halindeki rivayetlerin tercihinde isnadın ön plana çıkarıldığı müşahede edilmektedir. Kanaatimizce Uṣūlī
alimlerin metin tenkidini merkeze almalarında, rivayetlerin naklediliş keyfiyeti dolayısıyla senedleri
noktasında ciddi endişelere sahip olmaları etkili olmuştur.
Hicrî VII. asırda Hille Ekolünün yükselişe geçmesi ile birlikte artan isnad vurgusu, metne dair ḳarīnelerin
işlevini azaltmıştır. İsnada yönelik vurgunun artmasında kanaatimizce en etkili faktör, Buveyhîler’in hicrî
V. asrın ikinci yarısındaki yıkılışından itibaren Şīʿa’nın Sünnîliği benimseyen iktidarların hakimiyetinde
varlığını sürdürmüş olmasıdır. Buveyhîler sonrası, ilmî faaliyetlerinde bir duraklama dönemine giren
Şīʿa’nın, aynı süreçte ilmî faaliyetlerinde oldukça üretken bir durumda olan Sünnî anlayıştan etkilenmemiş
olması düşünülemez. Dolayısıyla erken dönemlerden itibaren isnad merkezli bir yol izleyen Sünnî hadis
usulü anlayışına benzer şekilde, Hille Ekolü ile birlikte Şīʿī hadis usulünde de isnad, merkezî bir konum
kazanmıştır. Hille Ekolü ile başlayan isnad merkezli Uṣūlīliğin, Cebel-i Âmil Ekolü alimlerinden bilhassa eş-
Şehīdu’s̱-S̱ānī (ö. 965-6/1559) ile birlikte altın çağını yaşadığı anlaşılmaktadır. Bu durum eş-Şehīdu’s̱-S̱ānī’nin
hadislerin değerlendirilmesinde benimsediği farklı tutumdan kaynaklanmaktadır. Zira Hille Ekolü’nde
isnadın rolü artsa da metin hala önemli bir kıstastır. Şīʿa’nın ilk hadis usulü eserini telif eden eş-Şehīdu’s̱-
S̱ānī ise metnin, bir rivayetin değerlendirilmesi, kabul ya da reddindeki rolünü neredeyse tamamen
reddetmiştir. Kanaatimizce rivayetlere yönelik temel iki tenkit yönteminden biri olan metin tenkidinin
büyük ölçüde işlevsiz hale gelmesi, hicrî XI. asırda yükselme eğiliminde olan ve rivayetlerin herhangi bir
şekilde tenkidine karşı çıkan Sistematik Aḫbārīliğin bu yükselişine ivme kazandırmıştır.
Üçüncü bölüm, Şīʿa içerisinde ortaya çıkan çağdaş metin tenkidi faaliyetlerine ayrılmıştır. Uṣūlī anlayışın
bir yandan klasik çizgisinde yoluna devam ettiği son asırda, çeşitli tarihsel ve sosyolojik faktörlerin etkisiyle
metin tenkidi anlayışında kayda değer gelişmeler yaşanmıştır. Bu dönemdeki metin tenkidi faaliyetleri
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kapsamında, erken dönemlerde bilhassa ġulāt tarafından uydurulan ve kaynaklara giren mevḍūʿ rivayetler
tespit edilmeye ve ayıklanmaya çalışılmıştır. Bu bağlamda ilk Mevḍūʿāt eserlerinin telif edilmiş olması kayda
değerdir. Özellikle Hāşim Maʿrūf el-Ḥasenī’nin el-Mevḍūʿāt’ında uydurma rivayetlerin ortaya konulmasında,
metin tenkidinin temel yöntem olduğu görülmektedir. Ancak son bir asırlık süreçte bu noktada atılan
adımların, Şīʿa içerisinde genel bir kabule mazhar olduğunu söylemek mümkün gözükmemektedir.
Üç bölümde ulaştığımız sonuçlar, metin tenkidinin Şīʿī hadis tarihinin hemen her döneminde rivayetlerin
kabul ya da reddinde kendisine başvurulan bir değerlendirme yöntemi olduğunu göstermektedir. Ekollerin
metin tenkidinin önemine yaptıkları vurgu ve onu bir metod olarak ne ölçüde kullandıkları ise farklılık arz
etmektedir. İsnad merkezli Uṣūlīliğin ve Sistematik Aḫbārīliğin hakim olduğu dönemlerde dahi, fıkhî
rivayetler bağlamında etkisini kaybetmesine rağmen itikâdî içerikli rivayetlere yönelik metin tenkidi devam
etmiştir.
Anahtar Kelimeler
Hadis, Şīʿa/Şīʿīlik, Metin Tenkidi, Ġulāt, Uydurma Hadis (Mevḍūʿ), Ḳarīne
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