THE BORDERS OF FAITH-KUFUR ACCORDING TO SHAHZADE KORKUD
Abstract
The Sultan II. Bayazid’s son Shahzada Korkud 872 (1467) or 874 (1469), also known as Harimi, was born in Amasya, and was killed on 5 Muharram, 919 (March 13, 1513). He served in the name of the Ottoman Empire for a long time in and around Antalya. In addition to his political identity, he is known as a person admired for his knowledge of literature, poetry, and his works. Also known as the protector of artists, Korkud himself authored works, and some works were written on behalf of him. It is recorded in the sources that he knew the religious sciences such as fiqh and hadith as well as Islamic sects, kalam, and aqidah (Islamic creed). He argued that shar’i principles should be prioritized rather than traditions and customary practices.
The political-religious developments of the period led him to adopt an intellectual approach against the sufis. It is also stated that he followed the path of Shafi’i sect in religious matters with his own will and preference, however, he was not in a strict commitment but had religious tolerance. As a matter of fact, he has collected books containing the views of not only one sect but various sects and other sciences. Korkud decided that he should choose the Shafi’i sect upon a dream he had had. He was a scholar member of the Ottoman dynasty. He chose Shafi’i sect although he had been raised in a Hanafi circle, and became one of the leading fiqh scholars of the Shafi’i. Being a member of the Ottoman family did not prevent him from criticizing some practices preferred in a powerful and open political establishment which became a great empire thanks to the political, legal, and scholarly activities of his grandfather Fatih.
In this study, the boundaries of iman-kufr (faith-denial) shall be discussed in the context of modern takfirist religious discourse. Shahzada Korkud discussed his views on the boundaries of iman and kufr within the framework of the concepts of Muslim and Murtakib al-kabira in his work called Sharhu alfaz a’l-kufr, also known as Hafiz a’l-insan ʿan lafz a’l-iman. Written in the XVI. Century, a controversial period of the Ottoman history, the book is of quite importance for today as well as the takfirist/Wahhabi discourse has rapidly gained strength with the support of some circles since the XVII. century. These discourses are known to be anti-Ottoman from the beginning. This takfirist discourse accelerated the detachments from the Ottomans and resulted in the formation of new states under the shadow of external powers. Current rulers of these states have declared that they serve to the whole world the takfirist discourses (WahhabiyyaSalafiyya), which play the Muslims off against each other and drag them into fire, upon the request and support of their friends. As a matter of fact, it is seen that contemporary takfirism is an ideology shaped in conflict zones. Today, takfirists form their own identity in various religious groups. Islamic movements are often shifting to the takfirist line through interpretations based on specific assessments. It is seen that the modern takfirists generally serve as ideologues, and the outer rings influenced by their ideas have more tendency to violence.
The boundary between iman and kufr has become and continues to be a matter of debate since the first century. Shahzada Korkud, in this line, defined the concepts of iman and kufr, and attempted to determine who is a Muslim in the XVI. century. Within this framework, he started his study with the question of who a Muslim is in order to determine the boundaries of iman and kufr. After defining Islam, iman and kufr and determining the boundaries, he brought an important issue to the agenda. This issue, which closely concerns the subject of this study, is the concepts of iman and kufr. Shahzada Korkud listed the important principles to clarify an issue that the takfirists use without limitation and by often violating the rules, and seeing no harm in considering Muslims out of religion. In this context, he stipulated the conditions of having iman, in other words, staying in the circle of iman. He listed the indications of the manifestation of iman. Thus, the limits of iman and kufr were drawn. After listing the issues that eliminates iman, he stated the iman definitions of Ahl al-Sunnah. This study evaluates the contemporary takfirist discourse with a critical approach within the framework of Shahzada Korkud’s definitions of iman, kufr, and murtakib al-kabirah.
Keywords
ŞEHZADE KORKUD’A GÖRE İMAN-KÜFÜR SINIRI
Abstract
Bu çalışmada Harîmî mahlası ile eserler kaleme alan Sultan II. Bayezid’in oğlu Şehzade Korkud’un (872- 874/1467-1469) Şerhu elfâzi’l-küfr diğer bir ismiyle Hâfızü’l- insân ʿan lâfzil iman adlı eserinde Müslüman ve mürtekib-i kebire kavramları çerçevesinde iman-küfür sınırı konusundaki görüşleri ele alınmaktadır. Şehzade Korkud tarafından XVI. asrın sonlarına denk gelen ve çalkantılı bir dönemde yazılan eser günümüz açısından da önemlidir.
İman-küfür sınırı İslâm’ın ilk asrından itibaren Müslümanlar arasında tartışılan bir konu olmuş ve olmaya da devam etmektedir. Şehzade Korkud da eserinde iman ve küfür kavramlarını tanımlayıp, kim veya kimlerin Müslüman olduğunu belirlemek amacıyla eserine “Müslüman kimdir?” sorusuyla başlamıştır. İslâm, iman ve küfür kavramlarının sınırlarını tespit ettikten sonra araştırmamızın da konusunu yakından ilgilendiren iman-küfür sınırı konusuna değinmiştir. Şehzade Korkud, tekfircilerin sınır tanımadan ve çoğu zaman kurallarını da ihlal ederek kullandığı ve Müslümanları din dışına atmakta hiçbir beis görmediği bir hususun açıklığa kavuşturulması için önemli prensipleri sıralamıştır. Makalede Şehzade Korkud’un iman, küfür ve mürtekib-i kebire tanımları çerçevesinde, çağdaş tekfirci söylem eleştirel bir yaklaşımla değerlendirilmiştir.
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