Osmanlı Âlim-Bürokratlarının Hanefî Ülke Tasavvurunu Yeniden Yorumlayarak Safevî Topraklarını Dârülharp Saymaları
Reinterpreting the Ḥanafī Conception of the Abode: Ottoman ScholarBureaucrats’ Classification of Safavid Lands as Dār al-Ḥarb

Summary/Abstract: The concepts of abode of Islam and abode of war in Islamic law have been shaped over the course of history. Hanafi jurists emphasised that certain Islamic rulings were applied during the Mongol invasion, and that Muslims enjoyed security of life and property. They adopted Abu Hanifa’s view on this matter and ruled that the occupied regions did not lose their status as abode of Islam. However, the Ottoman-Safavid struggle in the 16th century led to a change in this approach. For the learned bureaucrats, who adopted a different approach to the Mongol invasion, ruled that the Safavids were apostates. In this context, they preferred the views of Abu Yusuf and Muhammad, stating that the Safavid lands were abode of war. On the other hand, some jurists criticised the classification of the Safavid geography as abode of war. The aim of this study is to analyse the jurisprudential transformation achieved by Hanafi jurists in their conception of the country within the framework of the Ottoman-Safavid struggle between the 16th and 18th centuries. There are numerous academic studies on the interpretation of the concepts of abode of Islam and abode of war throughout history, their counterparts in today’s world, and new proposals on this subject. However, there is no independent study addressing the approach of scholar-bureaucrats to this issue and the criticisms directed at it in the context of the Ottoman-Safavid struggle. This study will fill this gap and contribute to the discourse on abode of Islam and abode of war. The study will examine fatwas and treatises written by Ottoman scholars and jurists opposed to them within their historical context using a comparative method.

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