IULUSLARARAS I MARDi'-J TAR iHi SH1POZYLJMU

THE HISTORICAL CONTEXT

OF •·FATWA OF :'\1ARDI'\'' Gl\'E"i BY IB;'. TA Y:\11\ YA

George GRIGORE"

This paper consists of t\\O main pans. The first part deals \\ ith general characteristics of
thirteen-centu1) Mongol aggression on Mar<lin. constituted into a representati\e target or im aswn of
the Islamic 'L:1111110 by the e,temal forces. non-Islamic ones. In these condition;,. in the period of the
blamic Art11qid dynast)-. \ a;,sal to the Mongol Empire of Iran. the t0\\ n of l\1ardin bec:une the object
of a \ ery famous jmH·ii gi, en by the theologian lbn TaymiyYa (661 1263 - 72X 1328 l regarding the
religious status of l\1ardin. The sernnd part of the p:iper deab \\ ith the clarification of cen:iin term~
used in the ·:tmidi of Mardin", on which lbn Taymi 1)a centered his assertion that: ·'l\1ardin ts a
count1:, neither of peace (balad si/111). nor of\\ [lr (hulud horh): but it has a composite (11111rakkuh)
status"

Who was lbn Taymiyya')

TaqT al-DTn Abu-I-·Abbas Ahmad bin 'Abel al- Ha!Tm bin 'Abd al-Sa lam bin Ta)mi1 yah al-
H:mani al-Hanbn!T (;,ee the Chapter on lbn Taymi 11 n in Ahmad bm :'\aqTb al-MisrT. "l,11ulat m-Slilik
"Reliance of the Tra, eller.. ). a famous Hanbali ~cholar in Qur'anic exegesis ( ra(l"ir). hadith nnd
jurisprudence. was born on 22 nd of .lanuar) 1263 C.E. at Harran (the old Carrhae. no,, a ,i!Iagc. in
south-eastern Turkey. 48 1-.m south-e:1st of $anliurfa). His father fled ,, ith his family from Ha1i-an to
Damascus in the year l 26X C.E. out of fear of the Talaro-Mongols\\ ho im aded the land of I ·lam and
were very close to Harran. In Dama ·cus. the centre of Islamic studies :it that time. lbn Taymi) yah
followed in the footsteps of his father \\ ho \\ as a scholar of Islamic :,tudies by studying with the gre:it
scholars of his time.
He completed his studies \\ hen he "as a teenager and at age I9 he became a professor of
Islamic .studies. Well , ersed in Qur\inic studie:,. had"ith. fhth. theology. Arabic grammar and ,chola:,tic
theology. he started gi\ing /uhrliS on religious legal matters ,\ithout follo,\ing any of the traditional
legal :,chools. the Ha11af"i. ,\hilik"i. Sii/i'"i and Hanha/"i. He defended the :,ound prophetic traditions b1
arguments. "hich. although tal-.en from the Q11r 'ii11 and 1he S1111110. had hitherto been unfamiliar to
people of his time. His doctrinaire intransigency and the\ igour of his per:,onalit)- attracted the ho~tilit)-
or the scholars of the traditional Orthodox Schools. Acn,sed of prorosing ne\\ ~olutions \,ith regard~
to several problems. of contesting the practices admitted at that time by the scholarly consensus
(' igmii ') of Sunnite Muslims and of naming him:,elf ,chool head master. and able of a per,onal
reasoning (igrihiid). he was many times com icted and put in jnil. B:-, this measure. indeed. by th.:
standards of all pre,ious Sunnite scholars. it is clear that de ·pite \Oluminous and influenti al \\filten
legacy. lbn Ta 1 miyya cannot be considered an authority on tenant:, of faith ( ·aqh/a). a field in which
he made mistakes profoundly incompatible "ith the belief:, of Islam. I le \\ as imrrisoned during much
of his life in Cairo. Alexandria. and Damascus for his \Hi tings. scholars of his time accusing him of
belie, ing God to ha, e a body because of" hat he mentioned in his al- ·aq"ida al-hamawii:rn and ul-
1rcisiri1Ta and other works. such as that God's "hand". --foot ... "face" are literal (/,aq"iq"i) attribute~. and
that He sat in person upon the Throne (Al-Qur'an. X. 3). In fact. he seemed influenced b) the
teachings of Abu 'Abel Allah Muhammad bin Karram (d. 858-59). which propagated the beliefs that
"God \\HS J substance (ga11-/wr) ... and that He had a body (fji,111) finite in a certain direction \\hen He
comes into contact (11111111ii.1rn) ,,ith the throne ( Bos\\ orth. C. E.. 1978. IV: 66 7-69). He fought

• Uni\ er,1ty of Buchare,t - Romania

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 l.~t INTl:.RNATIONAL MARDI:--. HISTORY SYMPOSll.JM

heretical inno\ations in religion \\ hich ,,ere \\ icle spread during his time all o,er the Muslim \\Orld.
e~pecially certain acb and beliefs of some mystical order:,. liJ...e saint worship and , isiting saints'
tombs. and rn) sties throw ing the1me h es in the fire. His at tacJ... on the ideas of such orders caused him
a lot of trouble,, ith the authorities ,, hose leaders were under the influence of certain S11/1 thinkers.
Belonging to the HanbalT School. lbn Tay miyya ,, ould follo\, the line promoted b) that trend
in the bitter fight against those seen as enemies of Islam. If the traditionalist (u/-11111lwddi1h) Ahmad
bin Hanbal (d. 855). ,,ho founded in Baghdad the abme-rnentioned school (9th century ). initiated the
· fight against the Shiites. his successor Ibn Tay mi) yah \\Ould fight on t,,o le\els: an internal one.
represented by the rny~tics and the people who followed the heretical inno, ation (hilta): and an
external one. represented by the Tataro-Mongols who attacked the Musli m w-orld and almost reached
Damascus. The people of Syria sent him to Eg) pt to urge the Mameluke Sultan. the Sultan of Egypt
and Syria (i.e.. the Mameluke dynast) reigned in Egypt and Syria from 1250 to 1517) in order to lead
his troop~ to Sy ria to sa, e it from the im ading Tataro-Mongols. Seeing that the Sultan declined his
request. he told him rather openly --if you turn )Our bacJ... on Syna ,,e "ill appoint a Sultan 0\er it.
,,ho can defend it and enjo 7 11 at the time of peace... He ,,as presem at the battle of Shaqhab near
Dama:,cus against the Tataro-Mongols. "hich took place during the fa:,ting month of Ramad,111 and
gm e a far.,·u to the army to breaJ... their fast in order to help them against their enemy. as the Prophet
Muhammad did durmg the battle of the liberation of ~1akJ...a. The Musli1m tu rned to be the winner:, in
the fight against the Tataro-Mongob and dro, e them away from Damascus and entire S) ria. lbn
Tay mi)) ah's courage ,\m, e:-.pressed ,, hen he "ent ,, ith a delegation of '11/wnu · to talk to Mahmud
Ghazan (also Qazan ). the Khan of the Tataro-Mongols. to stop his attack on the Muslims. Not one of
the ·utamll · dared to :,ay any thing to him e:-.cept lbn Taymiyah ,, ho :,aid:
.. You claim that you are a Muslim and you ha,e \\ith you 11111·addi11:,. j udges. /1110111 and
sheikh but ) ou in,aded us and reached our country for\\ hat? While your father and 7our grandfather.
Hulagu. were non-belieH·rs. they did not attacJ... the land of !slam. rather. they promised not to attac k
and the) J...ept their promise. But you promised and broke your promise.. (lbn al-Ka1Tr. t. VII. part l-l.
91-92).
In despite of all his gihad agai nst the enemies of blam . the authorities imprisoned him many
times until he died in jail becmhe of his daring and free progressive opinions on many legal and social
is:.ues. \\ hich angered his opponent •ufama ·. the follo,\ ers of the Orthodox Schools of la\\.
The famo us historian al-.QahabT considered him one of the greatest scholars of Islam of all
time. \\riting of him: " l ne,er sa\, anyone faster at recalling the Qur·anic \erses dealing\\ ith subjects
he v. as discussing. or an 1one v. ho could remember lwdith texts more , i\ id!)·· (al-.QahabT. t. VI 11.
213 ). AI-.QhahabT estimates that his legal opinions on various subjects amounts to three hundred or
more \O]umes.
lbn Ta1 m1nah died in jail in Damascus on the night of 26-27 September 1328 C.E. His
doctrine spread in Arabia in the 18th century

Some benchmarks of the Mongol invasion

Genghis-Khan. the Son of Hea, en (appro,imatel) 1167- 1227). after ha, ing umfied the
Mongol and Tatar tribes (in my paper. I shall use the term ..Tataro-Mongob"). set off 10 conquer the
,,orld and bmld an empire spanning from Volga to China. On that territory . his nephe\, . Qubilai'-KJ1an
v.. ould set up the Yuan dynasty ( 1271 -1 368). In 1218 Genghis-Khan ill\ aded Transo:-.iana. a
neighbouring land. and ,,as on the ,erge to gi,e a fatal attacJ.... In 1219. he decided to imade the
Kha\\arizm Kingdom (Central Asia). maJ...ing also use of the pretended massacre of his messengers by
the Shah. Central Asia. Iran and Afghanistan ,,ere S\\ept through :,,1ord and fire. as ,,ell as Central
Russia and part of India.
The ,,a"es of Mongol conquests pLbhed before them or incorporated in their arm ies the TurJ...men
tnbes settling them in Anatolia. and strengthening the Turkish ethnic element in the region.
ChagataL one of Genghis-Khan sons founded the Chagatai' dynast) ( I 2'27-1370). ,,hose so\ereign:,
reigned o, er the Oriental Turkistan and Transo,iana and adopted the Islam in 1266. in spite of the
opposition by their Mongol subjech.
A second wave of Mongol ill\asions. led b) Hulagu. a pagan. but rat her f,\\ourable to Nestorians.
destrO) ed the sect of Assassins in Persia. After tv. o years. in I '258. his im as ion of the Muslim
heartland. Mesopotamia (the land bet,,een the mo rivers. the Tigris and Euphrates. no,, called
Iraq). brought to an end six centuries of the Abbasid calipha1e·s high culture. scholarship.. libraries.
and technology and belled to the ground its capital Baghdad. The abolition of the Abbasid

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caliphate affected the entire subsequent history of Islam. Hulagu conquers Damascus also. but his
.n ant-garde is defeated mo year:, later in Palestine by the Egyptian Mamelul-es defeated in the
bJtt le of· Ayn Galut near azareth in 1260. thereby recO\ ering S) ria. main I) becau:,e. it is said. the
\1amelul-e:, horses \\Ore :,hoe:,.
Hulagu recei\es in his po~er the kha11ar of Iran, where he founds the llkhanid dynasty that
_,,'lled bet\, een l 256-1353. \\ ith the capital at Tabriz. then at Sultaniyya. Initially shamanist and
oupble to Christianity and Buddhism. the llkhanid dynasty changes its religious orientation at the
er J of the 13' 11 century when one of the Buddhist descendants of Hulagu. Mahmud Ghazan ( 1271-
- 4 ). after ha\ ing re-conquered Jerusalem ( 1292). declared Sunni Islam the official faith. thus putting
end to the rumour accord ing to which he was going to give the Holy Land to the Christians.
- -claiming Islam as an official rel igion of the llkhanid state would allo\, a better understanding
\\een the Iranian subjects and the Mongol conquerors. At the time of establishing the Mongol
I am. the IIIJrnns ,,ere controlling a ,ast territory. spread from the Indus to the Amu-Darya. from the
I uphrates to Georgia. and extended then in a protectorate O\er Asia Minor. the Cilician Kingdom and
t e Lesser Armenia.
In 1243. hi:, descendants defeated and made the Seljul-id their , assal in Anatolia. When in
l.30~ the Seljuk id fell. the greatest part of Anatolia was under the pO\\ er of the governors appointed by
tl e 111-hans and subject to their general governor in Anatolia. The Turi-men Princi pates (Be_1 liks).
· aring the whole Western Ana tolia. as well as the territories bordered ,, ith the Black and
1 editerranean Seas. ,, ere entire!) subjected to the 111-hanid Sultans. The :,rune was the situation of the

\rtuqid kings (m11/iik) in Mard in and the A)-) ubit 1-ings in Hisn-K.ey f. In 1344. the llkhans
J1,appeared completely from the scene of the history. \\ hile the Anatolian principates became
1<lepcndent.
In their capitals. the llkhans reach to a gorgeous Iranian-Mongolian cultural synthesis - in
•chitecture. in the scientific life. in miniature. de,eloping at the same tune. the trade bet\,een Ea:,t
nd Europe.

Mardin in lbn Taymiyya's \\ ritings

lbn Ta) mi) ya. born in Harran. at a , ery close distance from Mardin. th1:: to\, n dominating the
, hole area.\\ ill dedicate a significant part in his writings to this fascinate city of Mardin.
A collection offaMiis is titled « Mardinian questions» (AI-Masa'il al-rnardTniyya). where the
~ub-pretext is that it ans\\ ers to some questions of the inhabitants of Mardi n. in the manner of the
hlamic literature: "somebody from Mardin asked me" (sec lbn Taymiyya. 1980). This anthology
reiate<l to Mardin ·s name translates into principle:, and standard~ determining all human familial.
~ocial. political and economic interactions comprised in Islamic common la~ (.,arT"a). Also. his
ans\\er:, are about tidiness. pra) ing. fas t, ablut ions. trade. alms. marriage. legal sanctions. wa<Lfs. debts.
etc.
In other texts. although the name of Mardin does not explicitly appear. it may be deduced. like
Yahya Michot considers that in the te\t \\ here he talks about the trade relationships \\ ith the Tataro-
\1ongols (see Michot. Y .. in lbn Tay miyya. 200-L 141-143 ):
"In the trade relationships ,, ith the Tataro-l\1ongols. it is allo,\ed what is allowed in
transactions \\ith those alil-e and it is forbidden what is forbidden in transactions with tho~e alike. It is
permitted for someone to buy 111111,·aS,ii fabrics (embellished by man) colours). horses. etc. the way
they buy 1111111·0.~sii fabrics from Bedouins. Turks and Kurd~. as "1::11 as horses. It is permitted to :,ell
food. clothes. etc .. as it is sold to ot hers alil-c. As regards the selling to them or others alike things by
\\ hich they are supported to take forbidden actions - such as to sell horses or "capons to some that
"ant to go into forbidden battles - It is not allowed. as God said (Al-Qur'an. V. 2): ·• but help ye one
another unto righteousness and pious dut). H1::lp not one another unto sin and transgression. but keep
your duty to Allah. Lo' Allah is se,ere in punishment" (lbn Taymiyya. MF. t. XX IX. 275).
Another text related to Mardin. \\ hich caused passionate contro, ersies throughout the history
of Islam is the one where lbn Taymiyya tells a \ is ion "ith a gi1111 that borrO\\ ed his identity to go to
Mardin and determine the Tataro-Mongols to convert:
"A similar thing happened to many Turks (i.e .. the Tataro-Mongols) from the East. A person
came to an emir and said: · I am lbn Taymiyya ·. The emir ne\.er doubted that it was I and informed the
I-mg of Mardin of such an e\ent. The 1-ing of Mardin sent to the king of Cairo ( Misr) a messenger\\ ho
told him such a story. while I was in jail ( 11 April 1306 - 23 September I 307, according to Michot.
Y.. 1996: 24 ). The) made a big deal of it considering that I did not got out of jail. It had been in fac t a

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 1.,t l'\JTl:.R A TIO'\J.-\L MARDIN HISTORY SY1\1POSIUM

gi1111 that 10\·ed us and \\ ho made ,1 ith the Tatar Turl-.s something ,imilar to \\ hat I did to them ,, he11
they came in Dama,cus: I im ited them to become Muslim, and ,, hen one of them uttered the t\\ o fa1th
professions I ga,e them something to eat. The gi1111 acted in front of that emir that way I had acted
Thus he \I anted to honour me b: making that emir belie, e that it" as I that treated him that way" ( Ibn
Taymiy:,a. MF. t.Xl l l. p. 92-93).

Mardin and the famous fat,, 5 that bears its name

Starting ,, ith 110-l 1105. after ha\'ing been conquered by II Gaz1 Be). and. by 1408. ,, hen
conquered b) the KaraJ..o:,unlu tribe (The BlacJ.. Sheep's). Mardin became the principal stronghold or
the famous Muslim Turkmen d) nast) of Artuqid,. Cnder the Artuqids. Mardin. the capital of a small
st:lle. registered an unprecedented de, elopment and became one of the important to,, ns in the region.
It is a fact. in addition to the mosques. ,choob. markeb. public baths built at that time. pro,ecl b) the
e,i,tence in the Arabic language or a ~pecial , erb deri, ed from the name of Mardin: ·amraJo _rnmriJ11
"to go to Mardin" (\. KaLimirsJ..i. A .. 1860). After 1243. fol10,1ing the conquest of Anatolia by the
!\1ongols. the 111-..hanid sultan, maintained them in office. but as, assal until their disappearance b) the
year 1345. Mardin. in the time of the Anuqid king :\agm al-DTn GhaLT 11 ( 1294 - 1312 ). J..nO\\ 11 in the
histo11 a-.. a great lo\ er of beaut~. ,, ho dra,1 the attention of the im aders or lard in not to step o, er his
roses in his f.l\ ourite garden (Suma:, ~anT. 11.. I 987: 253-255 ). ,1 ould mal-.e the subject matter of the
famous anti-l\1ongol/un,·D giH:n b) the ., cffkh ul- '/llc1111. lbn Ta)mi))a. This /at11c1 ,,ould play. in the
histor)' of blam. a \et")- significant role \\ithin thc blamic political religious deb:1tes till no\1ada)s. As
for the dating of this fu1m1. there is no rererenc,;- in the te,t. Yah) a Mic hot. underlines that there is no
clue 10 indic,lte whether this /u111 ,1 date, before or after the MameluJ...e raids in June 1299. and that it
might b.- dated. gro11u moclo. 111 the IX )ear, of reign l,f:S-:agm al-DTn GhaLT II. '\;either the chronicles
in the MameluJ..e period pro\lde data to allo,1 th<e: accurate 1-..nov. ledge about the issu<e: of /a111·D of
Mardin (Michot. Y .. in lbn T<1ymi;v)a. 2004: 7-9). Ha\ing in ,ie,1 that the J..ing of ~tardin t'-:agm al-
DTn GhaLT 11 started his reign at about the same time ,, ith the SO\ ereign of the IIJ..hanid Sultan Ghazan
1, ho ,, ould declare. in 1292. the blam the official religion of the empire. lbn Ta) mi)) a attacks
through his fur\l'l1 the Tataro-1\.longob after their islamisation.

The Fama ofl\1ardin

The /anrii (found in \olumc XX\'111. pp. 240-241: see also the tran,lation of Yah) a Michot. in
lbn T a1 miyya. 200-l: 65-68) starts from the uncertain ,tatus of \lardin in that period located
s0me,1 here between ..,, ar zone". "enemy territory .. ( non-\1uslim countries) and "peace LOne" ( :'--1ushm
countrie,) from the standpoint of the Islamic L:t\\. as ,,ell as the necessit:, to lem e it b) a higm
emigrating to Muslim countries:
"Jim Ta) mi) ya - God bless him! - ,, as asJ..ed about the Mardin territory. ls it about a ·11 ar
zone· (ha/ad lwrb) or a 'peace LOne· (holaJ 1ilm)'.1 For the Muslim li\ing there it is mandatory to
emigrate to the Islam territory or not? If emigration is mand:i.tory for him. and he does not emigrate
(hlljJarn) thus helping the enemies of Muslims direct!) or b) his pos,essions. does he not sin by it'!
And he \\ ho accuses him of h) pocris:, and treat him as such. is he smning or 1101•>" ( lbn Taymiyya.
MF. t. XX\'111. 240).
From lbn Taymiyya·s point ohie,1. Mardin in the llkhanid period is not enclosed in a peace
zone like the Muslim countries. but not in a war Lone liJ..e the non-Muslim countries:
"ls Mardin a territor) of ,,ar or peace'' It is about a city ,1 ith a composite status (11111mkkah)
where both aspects can be found. It is not in the circumstances of a peace teJTitory where Islamic
precepts apply for the rea~on that the army is formed b1 Muslims. 1\or it is in the circumstances of a
,1 ar terri101: of ,1 hich inhabitants are non-belie, ers. It is a third t:v pe or terri1011 \1 here the I\1uslim
shall be treated as he should be. and he ,1 ho ~teps out of the Islam La,1 shall be confronted as he
should be" (lbn Taymi)Ya. l\.1F. t. XX\'11 1. 240).
Ibn Taymiyya adds b:,- referring to the inhabitants of l\1ardin helping the Tataro-Mongols - the
go\erning po,,er:
"It is not la,1 ful to in:,ult them in general. or to accuse them of hypocrisy. Insulting and
hypocrisy accusation are made usually in case of attributes :,pecified in the Book and in Sunna··. ,, ith
such 11orcl,,_ not all the inhabitants are guilt), of col laboration,, ith the enemy and therefore a general
anathema should not be cast upon ever:,body. although in another /utit'll those ,1 ho li, ed under Tataro-
Mongol domination. such as the case of the inhabitants of Mardin. are described as folio\\ s: there are
not II ith them in their state but those ,1 ith a bad beha, iour (.iorr al-f.J.ali1). or the unfaithful (::i11dh1)

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 I.ULL,SLARr\RASI MARDi N TARIHi SH1POZYLl!\IL,

;pocrite (1111111t1/icJ) \\ ho doe~ not belie, e 111 blamic rel1g1on in lb inner forum Vi ul-hc1ti11). but the
ce on 11 . or the bad one~ from the innO\ators (u/,/ al-hie/') (lbn Ta) miy)a. MF. l. X:\\'111. 520).
lbn Ta) min a. starting off from the Qur"anic , erse '"Is it a judgement of the time of (pagan)
rsim:e that the) are seeking") \\'ho is better than Allah for judgement to a people " ho ha\e
nt) ( in their belief)? .. (Al-Qur"an. \ ': 50) does not make an) difference bemeen those \\ ho no
~er ,1ppl) ,, hat God bestowed upon His prophet Muhammad. regard ks:, of,, ho they ma) be. and
Luaro-Mongob. E\en if embracing the Islam. the Tataro-1\longols follO\\, t\\O faith~ (1ukalla11111 bi
- • ,1Jara_rn). Islam and }Cl\a. the code of Genghis-Khan (lbn Ta)mi)y:t. MF. t. :\:\\'Ill. 509).
1.. , er. it wa, ob, ious to some l\1u;.lim:- that the Tat:1ro-l\1ongob \\ ere not folio\\ ing the (wTa .
..,,c l3\\,. although they had comened to blam. Instead. the Tataro-Mongob per;.isted in fol km ing
_ ,reat }(Ila ofGenghi;.-K.han. In thi:, the) \.\ere' as bad a, the prc'-blamic pol)the1::-b. the klifir,.. the
1e, eb. And in the /0111·11 of Mardin. lbn Ta) miy) a fore,, Jrns the inhabitants of Mardm about the
f ,upporting those ,, ho lea\e hlam: '"Helping tho,e "ho k,I\ e the L3\, ( (urT'o) of Islamic
- •'-'n i~ forbidden as well. ,, hether it is about the inhabitants of Marc.Jin or other~·- ( lbn Ta 1 mi:,) a.
F X:\\'111. 2-tO).
Genghi;.-Khan's Great raw (see The ) (/\lf 011 cu/d,ibl'riu) - no original cop) of
..:, 1,ts. on!:, fragments written in the L' ighur :,,cript. but it has been m.:onsuucted b) the efforts of
"' ,chobrs \\Us a faith. a ,,a) or life. a social order. The Great }wa (lir >u,w1) embodies in fact
\. ,pie:, taken 0\ er from \ ,uious religions -,uch as Judai'>m. Christi,Lnll 1 . blam. Zoroastriani;.m.
Jt 1,-,111. Animi:,m and Shamanism and others. establishing practical regulations about the
=- 'Tlentmion and beha\ iour of the l\1ongol arm:,. rules about the conduct of the hordes. the mounted
l'.h . tho,.e sv,·ift archer;, "'ho conquered more :,,edemar) peoples. but most llf the rules ha\ e to do
the way Tataro-\longob arc to treat other people: but a 101 ofthcse rules contained a set or,:dues
- pnnc1ples in direct contrast to the la\.\,-, of Islam: condemn the" id-ed: respect all people: shO\\ no
~ erencc to an) ~eel or religion: do not belong 10 ,lll) religion: folio\\ no creed: do not put one faith
e another: the penalt) for murdering a l\luslim is fort) gold coins [hu/T(] - \\ hich conflict~ "1th
hL.tmi<.: lt11\ according to lbn Ta) mi:i, ya in the /mu·11 of I\ lanlnr ··The blood of th<.' l\1uslim and their
•nging,-, rtrl.' considered untouchable (11111hal'l'w11) ,, hc1-c\ er the) arc. \\ hcther in Mar<lin or
~ • here (lbn Ta::,mi)ya. l\.1F. t. :\X\.'111. 2-+0)'": do not ,laughter animals in the i\1u~lim fo!>hion b)
ng thcir throah. but open their brcasb and ,quecLe their hearts: it 1s forbidden to sa) that an) thing
t bo0: nothmg is unclean: alcohol ands\\ me flesh are not forbidden.
nder thi'> S) :,tern of go, ernance there ,, ere \ el') fc\\ and di tfrrent puni,hme111, for\ iolation of the
'- , de of la\\ s that he decreed. the Great l'a,u. The main puni,hment e,pected for an:, infr,1<.:tion \\ as
Jeath. great I) :,implif) ing the l:m . and making the offender quit.: grateful ,1 hen puni.,hment \\a,
,11 carric'd out.
lhn Ta)-ml))U considers (\IF. t. XX\' 111. 520) that Tataro-l\longol\. despite of ha\ing been
~, ened to blam. practice a ,urfoce Islam and fulfil but to a :,hon e,1ent the cult obligations ,uch a;.
: mg (su/(ll). f;hting (saHm) . pa,ment of aim,-, ta, (::ak<1l). -l.bo. the pilgrimage to ;'\lakka i, not
- lied e\ en b) tl10:,e \\ ith appropriate material Clindition,.
For their leaders (lbn Ta)mina. ~1F. l. XX\ Ill. 520). according to the Great }mu. the
f1.15h m i-.. placed on the same k, el as the pol) 1he1,b. .le,,,. and Chri-..tia11:,. "hich i, unacceptable for
L111111u. ;'\ln1e,nw. lbn Ta:,.mi:,ya , h,1\\s (MF, t. X:\\"111. 52:::) that Genghis-Khan ·, successors.
C'\ . n 1f the:v pretend 10 be Mu,lim,. the) place the prophet Muhammad on the s:1me le\ el as Genghi,-
han . and the Qur"an on the ,ame level\\ 1th the Great fow .
.\II the,e matters made lbn Ta:, 1111)) a to i,,ue a /tllmi against the Taturo-Mongob.
lbn Ta)mi~ya consideb that the '.\lu,lim in Mardin. in that compo,ite el1\ ironment. if unable
..,,-..!ctice ( 'ic1ci11w) his religion. ,hould emigrate to the countrie, Llf blam. Other\\ i,e. meaning if he
. practice hi, religion. the emigration is prefc'rable but 1101 compul,or:,: ··1 f he" ho Ii, 6 in Mardin
riable to practice ( 'iq£i111u) hi,. religion. it is an ,ibligauon to him to emigrate. If thi:, i, not the c,1se.
emigration ,-,till remains preferable but not compulsor) ·· (lhn Ta) 111i))a. \IF. t. X:\\1111. 2-+0).
It i:, preferable for the~e people not to "'help the enem:, of Mu,lim Jirectl:, or through their
on;mg, ( ... ). When im pos,ible to do it othen, ise than emigrating, than emigration i, imp,hed to
h tlfthem·· ( lbn Ta1 mi) ya. l\1F. t. X\'111. 2-tO).
The question one ma:, ask him i, not qui te hard to imagine: ho"' could the:, be obliged to
an _;rate. to set for l,igl'u. ,ince the Prophet said: hi hi,gm1u hu 'da al-fu1/,i ··'\o more emigration after
L◊n quest"· (al-BulJ1iirI. t. Ill. 15).

349
 I.st INTERNATIONAL MARDIN HISTORY SYMPOSIUM

lbn Taymiyya·s answer is to be found in another/at11·a (MF. t. XXVII I. 210-213) where he

distinguishes two types of higra: on one hand the abandonment of the place dominated by sin and
sinners from fear of God (higrar a/-raqH·a), and. on the other hand, leaving a place which is governed
by a la\\ breaker and dominated by injustice. as punishment (higrat 01-ta ':::ir) . which is a fo rm of
gihad. thus putting in practice the legal sanctions. If the first type of higra is done for pure rel igious
beliefs for soul sa\'ing, the second one is done for political reasons.
This higra is supported by the following hadirh by which the prophet Muhammad recant any
· Muslim who continues to live among polytheists thus being exposed to sins induced by the non-
Muslim em ironment:
·a11ii barf'"' 111i11 ku//i 11111s/im"' _rnqimu ba_1·11a a/-11111S:riki11a "'I am free (I have no obligations)
of every Muslim ~ho dwells among polytheists (al-BukharT. t. 111, 25 ).
*

By this anti-Mongol (m11·0 of lbn Taymiyya. Mardin will have a marked place in the history of
Islam up to the present. as no few are the political or religious instances faced by the contemporary
Islamic countrie~. which are considered similar to the situation faced by Mardin in the llkJ1anid period.
and the solutions gi\ en by lbn Taymiyya in this respect represent a benchmark for the nowadays
drifting blamic societies.

350
 I.ULUSLARARASI MARDiN TARiHi SEM POZYUMU

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