The Ulama’s Support for Damad İbrahim Pasha’s (d. 1010/1601) Struggle with the Druze: Ismail al-Nâblusî’s (d. 993/1585) Treatise on the Druze
Adem ArıkanUnder the leadership of Qurqmaz (d. 993/1585), the Emir of the Ma’nids, the Druze in Lebanon did not pay taxes regularly for a long time, and complaints were made about them having acquired firearms. In 993/1585, the Egyptian Governor Damad İbrahim Pasha (d. 1010/1601) organized an expedition to the region. Large numbers of rifles were seized and the unpaid taxes that had accumulated were collected. Qurqmaz died in his hiding place. At this time, the Shafi’i scholar Ismâîl b. Ahmad b. Ibrahim Nâblusî (d. 993/1585) wrote a book on the Druze. Many fatwas from different scholars against the Druze also had been decreed, some of which were recorded in this book. The book also contains information about the history of the Druze, their basic views, and the regions where they live. Upon the order of the governor of Damascus, Ali Pasha, the book was translated into Turkish by the former Nizib Qadi, Lutfullah. He became known as the owner of the risalah [treatise]. The information provided in this treatise has not yet been used in research on the history of the Druze in the region. This study will introduce the author of the book, the scholar Nâblusî and explain the history of the Druze in the region and their relations with the Ottoman administration at the time the book was written, especially the events that led to the Egyptian governor’s expedition. The writing process and content of the book will be discussed by establishing a relationship with these events.
Damad İbrahim Paşa’nın (ö. 1010/1601) Dürzîler ile Mücadelesine Ulema Desteği: İsmail en-Nâblusî’nin (ö. 993/1585) Dürzîlere Reddiyesi
Adem ArıkanLübnan’da Ma’noğulları emîri Korkmaz (ö. 993/1585) liderliğinde Dürzîler uzun süredir vergileri düzenli vermiyor, ateşli silah edindiklerine dair şikâyet ediliyorlardı. 993/1585 yılında Mısır Beylerbeyi Damad İbrahim Paşa (ö. 1010/1601) bölgeye sefer düzenledi. Çok sayıda tüfek ele geçirildi ve birikmiş vergiler tahsil edildi. Emir Korkmaz saklandığı yerde öldü. Bu dönemde Şâfii âlim İsmâîl b. Ahmed b. İbrahim en-Nâblusî (ö. 993/1585) Dürzîler hakkında bir risale yazdı. Dürzîler hakkında daha önce farklı âlimler tarafından çok sayıda fetva verilmiştir. Bu risalede bu fetvaların bazıları kaydedilmiştir. Ayrıca Dürzîlerin tarihi, temel görüşleri yaşadıkları bölgeler hakkında bilgiler yer almaktadır. Şam beylerbeyi Ali Paşa’nın emri üzerine risale eski Nizib kadısı Lütfullah tarafından Türkçe’ye tercüme edilmiştir. Nâblusî “risale sahibi” diye bilinir olmuştu. Bölgede Dürzîlerin tarihiyle ilgili yapılmış araştırmalarda bu risalenin verdiği bilgiler kullanılmamıştır. Bu çalışmada risalenin yazarı Nâblusî tanıtılacak; risalenin yazıldığı dönemde bölgedeki Dürzîlerin tarihi, Osmanlı idaresi ile ilişkileri, özellikle bu sefere yol açan olaylar anlatılacak ve bu olaylarla ilişki kurularak kitabın yazılış süreci ve içeriği ele alınacaktır.
The Ottoman takeover of Syria and Lebanon began with the Battle of Marj Dabiq in 1516. The Tanûkh/Buhturids had headed the Druze community until the Ottoman conquest of Syria and Lebanon in 1516, with the leadership gradually passing from the Bukhturids to the Ma’ns. The Druze rebellion between 1518 and 1697 continually preoccupied the governor of Damascus and the central authorities of the Ottoman state. In 1518, four Druze emirs, one from the Buhturid family and three from the Ma’nid family, were arrested after joining in the rebellion of Nasir al-Din Muhammad ibn al-Hanash. The first punitive expedition against the Druze was launched in 1522 and legitimized as a religious war by the Damascene ‘Ulama. In 929/1523, the governor of Damascus, Hürrem Pasha, had attacked the district of al-Shuf al-Hayti. The governor entered Damascus with copies of Druze religious books. During the second attack on al-Shuf, Hürrem Pasha burnt the village of Baruk, the seat of Korkmaz Ma’n.
Sunni Scholars composed fatwas against the Druze. The fatwas regarding the Druze were issued by ‘ulama from every Sunni school of Islamic jurisprudence. On the occasion of the first Ottoman attack against the Druze, Shafi’i scholar Taqiyy al-Din al-Balâtunisî (d. 936/1529) issued a fatwa. The Damascene chronicler Ibn Jum’a al-Maqarri (d. after 1743) listed the names of 12 jurists and scholars. According to Ibn Jumʿa, among these scholars were Ibn Taymīya, Ibn Ḥajar al-ʿAsqalānī (d. 1448) as the most celebrated Hadith scholar and Shāfii jurist, and Ibn Qāḍī ʿAjlūn (d. 1548) as the Shāfii Chief Qadi of Damascus. A similar list of scholars can be found in al-Muḥibbī’s (d. 1699) biography of Fakhr al-Dīn Maʿn (d. 1635), the famous Druze emir who ruled Mount Lebanon. Al-Muḥibbī included the names of seven prominent Sunni jurists and scholars from all the schools of Sunni law: Hanafî, Mâlikî, Shâfiî, and Hanbalî. The Druzes had acquired a continuous supply of firearms from as early as the 1540s. These arms were superior to those held by the Ottoman military. At the time, a state of nearly constant warfare had existed between the Druze and the Ottoman-ruled government forces in Syria until Ibrahim Paşa’s punitive campaign in 1585. The tribal nature of Druze society, the ruggedness of the Druze mountains, and the arms the Druze had received were factors in the longevity of their rebellion.
Under the leadership of Qurqmaz (d. 993/1585), the Emir of the Ma’nids, the Druze in Lebanon had not paid taxes regularly for a long time, and complaints were made against them about the firearms they’d acquired. Qurqmaz was the most rebellious leader, but other Druze chiefs were also involved in rebellious activities. In 993/1585, the Egyptian Governor Damad İbrahim Pasha (d. 1010/1601) organized an expedition to the region. Large numbers of rifles were seized and the unpaid taxes that had accumulated were collected. Qurqmaz died in his hiding place. During this time, Shafi’i/Ash’arî scholar Ismâîl b. Ahmad b. Ibrahim Nâblusî (d. 993/1585) wrote a book on the Druze. Many fatwas from different scholars had been issued against the Druze, and some of these were recorded in this book. In addition, the book contains information about the history of the Druze, their basic views, and the regions where they lived. Upon an order from the Damascus Governor Ali Pasha, the book was translated into Turkish by Lutfullah, ex-qadi of Nizip. Nâblusî came to be known as the owner of this risalah [treatise]. The information given in this treatise has not been used in research on the history of the Druze in the region. This study introduces the author of the book, Nâblusî, and explains the history of the Druze in the region and their relations with the Ottoman administration at the time the book was written, in particular the events that had led up to the Ottoman expedition. This study also discusses the writing process and content of the book by establishing relationships with these events.
