One of Allah's laws in His creation is that He made days revolve among people, as they do not remain in one state for an individual, a people, or a state. Allah says, “And these days [of varying conditions] We alternate among the people so that Allah may make evident those who believe and [may] take to Himself from among you martyrs - and Allah does not like the wrongdoers.” (Al-Imran: 140). The rise and fall of nations and states are also subjected to divine laws. Those who adhere to these laws and follow them rise, while those who neglect or deviate from them weaken and fall.
The Ottoman Empire was not an exception among states; it was a state through which Allah honored Islam and Muslims. Muslims witnessed under its banner great victories and conquests, living under its rule in security, strength, and dignity. Even its non-Muslim subjects lived in safety, justice, and religious freedom guaranteed by Ottoman governance throughout different eras.
However, like other states, its star shone brightly, expanded, and triumphed over enemies. It restrained rebels and sinners when it adhered to Allah's laws of victory and empowerment, utilizing the means of strength and honor. But as it deviated from its original course, its star gradually began to fade. It weakened against external and internal enemies, retreated, lost most of its territories, and was forced into numerous concessions. Eventually, Christian nations became partners with the Sultan in administering his state and provinces.
The final Ottoman Sultans’ deviation from Islamic law and its effects on the Islamic Ummah:
One finds that individuals buried in a materialistic and ignorant life are filled with anxiety, fear, and cowardice; they tremble at every challenge, terrified of Christians and unable to fight proudly before them. Even when encouraged to fight in battles, their hearts falter against enemies due to their sins. Life becomes a burden for them, as Allah says, “And whoever turns away from My remembrance, indeed, he will have a depressed life” (Taha: 124). The Islamic nations during the later stages of the Ottoman Empire experienced a decline, losing a sense of identity and spiritual conscience. They stopped enjoining good and forbidding evil, facing a situation similar to that of the Children of Israel when they abandoned enjoining good and forbidding evil. Allah says, “Cursed were those who disbelieved among the Children of Israel by the tongue of David and of Jesus, the son of Mary. That was because they disobeyed and [habitually] transgressed. They used not to prevent one another from wrongdoing that they did. How wretched was that which they were doing.” (Al-Ma'idah: 78-79).
Indeed, any nation that does not glorify Allah’s Sharia by commanding good and forbidding evil will fall just like the Children of Israel. The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said, “Nay, by Allah, you either enjoin good and forbid evil and catch hold of the hand of the oppressor and persuade him to act justly and stick to the truth, or Allah will involve the hearts of some of you with the hearts of others and will curse you as He had cursed them.”
The Ummah’s deviation from the true concepts of Islam:
This deviation is specifically manifested in the concept of “allegiance and disavowal.” The Ottoman Empire, in its earlier stages, adhered to the guidance of Allah, aligning itself with those who obeyed Him and opposing those who opposed Him. However, in its later stages, especially in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries AH, the concept of allegiance and disavowal deviated due to widespread ignorance that overshadowed most regions of the Ottoman Empire and Islamic countries, not to mention the absence of righteous scholars who could illuminate the path of the Ummah. Rulers and sultans favored enemies of disbelievers, who had held significant material power, over the believers.
The spread of deviant sects and movements attributed to Islam:
This was the greatest deviation that occurred in the Ottoman. Some of these sects operated under the umbrella of Islamic mysticism (Sufism), but in reality, they represented deviant intellectual currents. These deviant currents emerged as organized forces within Islamic society, carrying beliefs, ideas, and practices that deviated from the Quran and the Sunnah. They introduced concepts such as respect for unemployment and sluggishness, permitting begging, faking poverty, and seeking humiliation.
The spread of Bid'ah (innovation):
During the early reigns of the Ottoman Empire, the rulers actively discouraged and fought against Bid'ah and its proponents. Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror, in his will, advised his successors to “avoid Bid'ah and its proponents.” However, in the later stages of the Ottoman Empire, it spread widely and became deeply intertwined with the lives of the people. It became rare to find any aspect of worship, work, or daily life untouched by any Bid'ah. It penetrated every corner of society. Ignorants practiced it, while scholars supported it. Sunnah became Bid'ah, and Bid'ah became Sunnah. The concept of religion and knowledge shifted from a comprehensive and holistic approach to strange rituals that people clung to.
The absence of righteous leadership:
Indeed, righteous leadership is one of the factors contributing to the rise and empowerment of the Ummah. The leaders of a nation are the lifeblood and the head of its body. If the leaders are righteous, the nation becomes righteous, and if they are corrupt, this corruption extends to the entire nation.
Mehmed the Conqueror led the Ummah righteously during his time. Faith permeated his heart and actions and was reflected in the virtues within his deeds. The righteous scholars played a pivotal role in the leadership of the state; they were its heart and intellectual mind. Hence, the Ummah and the Ottoman state flourished with insight, guidance, and knowledge.
However, in later periods, there was a dangerous deviation in Ottoman leadership, both militarily and intellectually. The scholars in the later stages of the Ottoman Empire succumbed to their desires, neglecting their duties. This set a bad example for the masses who watched them closely. Many of these scholars immersed themselves in worldly pleasures, silenced not by swords or whips but by the lavish gifts bestowed upon them by the governors and rulers, placing them in high-ranking positions with substantial benefits, effectively suppressing their voices and quelling any potential uprising.
The spread of injustice in the state:
Injustice in a state is akin to a disease in a person, accelerating its demise through the destructive consequences it brings and leading to its decay within a specified period only known to Allah.
With the arrival of the Union and Progress Committee to power, Turkish oppression intensified against the Arabs, Kurds, and Albanians. This oppressive regime subjected people to injustice within and outside Turkey. Sultan Abdulhamid II himself even faced their injustice and tyranny; thus, Allah’s decree that does not change unfolded upon them. Divine retribution befell the oppressors, and discord emerged among them, ultimately leading to the disappearance of the Ottoman Caliphate.
Differences and Division:
Indeed, Allah’s decree remains constant among nations and people. Allah, may He be exalted, has made dispute among the causes of the destruction of nations. The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said, “Your predecessors disagreed and perished.” The destructive disagreement is the one leading to fragmentation and division.
The Ottoman Empire, especially in its later years, faced the challenge of disagreement and division among its leaders and sultans. Some local rulers even sought autonomy from the central government by prolonging their rule and attempting to establish local dynasties (such as the Mamluks in Iraq, the Al-Azm family in Syria, the Maans and the Shihabs in Lebanon, Muhammad Ali in Egypt, Zahir al-Umar in Palestine, Jazzar Pasha in Acre, Ali Bey al-Kabir in Egypt, and the Karamanlis in Libya). This conflict between local rulers and the Ottoman state contributed to its weakening, eventual demise, and collapse.
Closing the gate of Ijtihad (Islamic reasoning):
The Muslim Ummah suffered from the closure of the gate of Ijtihad. In the later years of the Ottoman Empire, this gate was not given its due, as the pace of life accelerated and became more vigorous than the rigid traditionalists who rejected anything new. Thus, intellectual activity among Muslims stagnated in the face of anything new. Sectarian bias persisted, weakening the educational level, declining the sciences, and shackling minds and perceptions.
Religious sectarianism was a deviation from the path of Allah, and it deepened the stagnation in minds, knowledge, and intellectual growth, fragmenting the Islamic ranks, which greatly impacted the weakness of the Ottoman Empire. Meanwhile, the empire became preoccupied with internal issues just as conspiracies surrounded it, and the Crusaders began finishing the ailing state.
Lessons Learned from the Fall of the Ottoman Caliphate:
- Consequences of Deviating from the Islamic Law: This led to severe political, military, economic, scientific, ethical, and social weaknesses. The Ummah lost its ability to resist and overcome enemies, leaving it vulnerable to colonization and intellectual invasion. This was due to neglecting empowerment conditions, straying from both material and moral approaches, and ignoring Allah’s laws for elevating nations. Allah says, “And if only the people of the cities had believed and feared Allah, We would have opened upon them blessings from the heaven and the earth; but they denied [the messengers], so We seized them for what they were earning.” (Al-A’raf: 96)
- Allah's Laws are Stable and Inclusive: Allah's laws don’t favor one individual over another, or a society over another. The outcome that faithful and pious believers anticipate might be seized by the worst, unjust disbelievers as a consequence of following the correct preconditions. Thus, the effects are based on adherence to proper principles.
- Empires Thrive or Decline Based on Their Actions: Like any other state, the Ottoman Empire flourished during times of adherence to the reasons for progress and success. However, it declines if adhered to the reasons for defeat. Blaming or excessively praising the rulers for what we face today will not yield any significant benefits.
The Ottoman Empire experienced periods of strength, prosperity, and expansion as the longest-ruling Muslim state. However, it succumbed to moral, social, intellectual, economic, and political decay in its later years. Luxuries, deviation from faith values, the spread of superstitions, the deviated sects affiliated with Islam, and the absence of righteous leadership are all factors that contributed to its downfall. The excessive indulgence in luxury corrupted morals, turning unity into indifference and enmity, ultimately destroying the empire, as mentioned in the Quran: “And when We intend to destroy a city, We command its affluent but they defiantly disobey therein; so the word comes into effect upon it, and We destroy it with [complete] destruction.” (Al-Isra: 16)
-------------------------------------------------------------
Read the Article in Arabic
