The Stances of Balkh Jurisprudences against the Rulers: In the Context of Fadael-e Balkh

Abstract

The imams of the four Sunni fiqh sects are the first examples for us in order not to give up one’s own principles because of the pressure and threats of the rulers. Abu Hanifah had been imprisoned and finally killed, Malik bin Anas had been tortured and lost his arm, Mohammad bin Edris al-Shafiî had faced various threats, exiled from one place toanother, Ahmad bin Hanbal also faced various problems; however, they were all upright until the end and made no concessions. When we look at the jurisprudences of the city of Balkh, we can see that, they had continued to exhibit the same behavior, they had worked in the administration with just rulers as Qadis and muftis however, we also see that they had taken a distance from the administration when necessary and that they never bowed to the pressures and threats of the rulers regarding the right, truth and defending the right. In this article, we will examine a few examples of the behavior of scholars who were born, lived or attributed to the city of Balkh until the beginning of the 7th century hijri, against the rulers, based on the work titled Fadael-e Balkh. We think that the subject is important in terms of being an example of the fact that fiqh scholars had not been under the influence of anyone while producing judicial duties, although there are some exceptions.

We will give some example from the scholars of the city of Balkh, because this city is an important center of the fıqh and Hanafi sect. It has also been the capital city of many governments. Abu Dawoud Amir of Balkh, despite fighting against him, because of his courage and honesty, wanted to appoint Mutawakkil b. Humran al-Qadi (d. 141 / 758-9) as Qadî of Balkh city, but Mutawakkil accepted the mentioned duty on conditions that the name of the governor is not read in the pulpit, the witnesses of the people he appointed will not be heard, and that the governor and the army return the goods they received from the Muslims to their owners. One day the caliph writes to him that: "Do not judge on matters specific to us!" Mutawakkil writes on the back page of his letter the verse of Qur’an “God commands you to return that which had been entrusted to you to their rightful owners…” [Al-Nisa, 4/58] and sent the letter back to him. Then two people brought him a case. Since one of them was the relative of the governor, Mutawakkil didn’t accept his testimony and ordered him to be removed from the village for the time being. When this news reached the governor, he imprisoned Mutevekkil for 40 days and later on ordered to him to recite his name in the minbar (pulpit) and accept his testimony. When Mutawakkil refused, the governor cut his hands, feet and head. A person who was one of the relatives of the Caliph extorted another's land and got a signature paper from the caliph proving that the land belongs to him. The owner of the land goes to Abu Mutî Hakam (d.199/814), who was one of the students of Abu Hanifah and was Balkh’s Qadi for 16 years, and made a complaint. When Abu Mutî requested evidence from the usurper, he showed him the document bearing the signature of the Caliph. Abu Muti wrote to the Caliph on the back of the letter that: “I am a person you appointed. I decided on this matter according to the book of Allah and the sunnah of the Prophet. Either you agree with this decision or release me of my duty.” When the letter reached the caliph, after a long consultation, the caliph confirmed his judgment. Ali b. Isa, Governor of Balkh complained about Salm b. Salim al-Balkhi (d. 174/790) by sending a letter to caliph Harun al-Rashid, saying "He does not consider our and your signature, he does not accept the testimony of our officers." When he arrived in Baghdad, he was arrested and imprisoned by the Caliph's men. Harun al-Rashid waited for him to beg for forgiveness to be released; however, he refused to ask forgiveness and remained in prison for ten years, he was only able to leave the prison after Caliph’s death. When Shaddâd b. al-Hakam al-Balkhi (d. 214/829) was the qadi of Balkh a man came to him and told him that the governor of Belh has unfairly seized his land. Shaddâd requested the land owner to bring witnesses. When it is proved that the land belonged to the plaintiff, he asked Emir to deliver the land to its rightful owner. When governor said that" I will not " Shaddad said to him, "If you do not, I will put you in jail. Shaddad said “You will put me in jail?” Qadi answered “Yes, if you accept my verdict and deliver the land to its owner there won’t be a problem, otherwise I will write a letter to Caliph saying "The governor does not apply my verdict" and I will sit and wait here until the answer comes.” Then he waited until governor delivered the land to its owner. Mohammad b. Said Abu Bakr al-Balkhi (d. 328/940), opposed to a tax demand of Hasan b. Abi Tayyib who was said to be the son of Vazeer of Samanî Abu al- Tayyib al- Mus’abî who was also the operative of the Caliph, from a region. Hasan said to Mohammad Sa‘id: “ Do not be so brave and arrogant towards the sultan!” Mohammad answered: “You do not be so brave and arrogant towards God!” Hasan said to him: “Did you forget what happened to your teacher Abu Bakr al-Saffar?” He answered: “Did you forget what happened to your teacher Abu al-Tayyib Al-Mus‘abi?” Finally, he had to accept what Abu Bakr said. Sultan Mahmud b. Sabuktigin, wrote down an issue and sent it to Yunus b. Tahir (d. 411/1020) who was the first Sheikh al-Islam of Balkh, to ask for fatwa. When the envoy of the Sultan came, the sheik asked him to wait for his turn. "This fatwa is the Sultan’s, not mine, you have to answer it first," said the envoy. The Sheikh replied to him: "Those who wait for their turn you see here are not my slaves, but the servants of Rahman." The sultan's man got angry and said: "Give me my letter without answering. I will go." The Sheikh gave the fatwa paper and said: "If you were patient, I would answer." Sultan's envoy took the fatwa paper and went back to the Sultan. He complained about the sheikh and explained the situation. The Sultan said to him: “Go again and wait for your turn.

Belh Fukahâsının Yöneticilere Karşı Duruşları: Fezâil-i Belh Bağlamında

Abstract

Birçok mezhep imamı, yöneticilerin çeşitli baskısı ve tehditlerine maruz kalmış, ancak doğru bildikleri yoldan ayrılmamamış ve kendi ilke ya da prensiplerinden vazgeçmememişlerdir. Ebû Hanife hapse atılmış ve bu sebeple vefat etmiştir. Malik b. Enes’e işkence uygulanmış ve kolunu kaybetmiştir. Muhammed b. İdris eş-Şafiî’nin çeşitli tehditlerle karşı karşıya kaldığı, muhtelif yerlere sürgün edildiği veya yer değiştirmek zorunda bırakıldığı bilinmektedir. Ahmet b. Hanbel de diğer imamlar gibi birçok sıkıntılarla karşılaşmıştır. Benzer şekilde Belh şehrinin fukahâsına baktığımızda da aynı davranışları sergilemeye devam ettiklerini, adil yöneticilerle iç içe olduklarını, yönetimde kadı ve müftü olarak çalışmalarına rağmen yeri geldiğinde yönetimle mesafe koyduklarını, hakkı ve doğruyu söyleme ya da savunma konusunda yöneticilerin baskı ve tehditlerine asla boyun eğmediklerini görmekteyiz. 

Makalemizde “Fezâil-i Belh” adlı eserde yer alan rivayetleri esas alarak hicri 7. asrın başına kadar Belh şehrinde doğmuş, yaşamış veya bu şehre nispet edilmiş âlimlerin yöneticilere karşı örnek davranışlarından bazılarını ele alacağız. Konunun- istisnaları bulunsa da- genel itibarıyla fıkıh âlimlerinin ictihâd yaparken kimsenin etkisi altında kalmadıklarına bir örnek teşkil etmesi açısından önemli olduğunu düşünüyoruz. Hanefî mezhebinin önemli bir merkezi ve ayağı konumunda bulunan, fıkıh ve fukahâ şehri adıyla meşhur olan Belh, aynı zamanda idari açıdan da birçok hükümete başkentlik yapmıştır. Mezkur özelliklere haiz Belh şehrinin âlimlerini ve onların örnek davranışlarını konu alan birtakım anekdotlara yer vereceğiz.

Keywords

• Fukahâ,Belh,yöneticiler

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