The Concept of Despotism in Ottoman Foundation Law

Name: The Concept of Despotism in Ottoman Foundation Law
Author: Erden, Yasin

Title	The Concept of Despotism in Ottoman Foundation Law
Author	Erden, Yasin
Subject	Waqf
Type	Book
Language	ara,eng
Digital	Yes
Manuscript	No
Library:	Royal Danish Library
Library Asset ID	ISSN: 2667-4939, EISSN: 2667-4939, DOI: 10.54122/umde.1687221
Record ID	cdi_doaj_primary_oai_doaj_org_article_c03c2cfa12e04d7a82950b15b88cc4f9
Library Location	DOAJ Directory of Open Access Journals
Notes	When a person gets the opportunity to replace or renovate his own property with a better one, he tends to do so. Foundations are also considered as the property of Allah. In this sense, foundations in the Islamic society have been adopted as institutions that benefit those in need in particular and all humanity in general. In line with this belief, when the foundation needs to be replaced with a more functional property after a disaster such as a fire, Muslims approach this process with the intention of worship. What needs to be done in such cases is the application of despotism. As a matter of fact, in addition to ensuring the renewal of foundations that have lost their function, despotism makes it possible for foundations to grow and develop by substituting more valuable properties than foundations. According to Ottoman scholarship, the sale of foundation properties is generally not legitimate. However, if a foundation is burned, destroyed or becomes dysfunctional and solutions such as obtaining a loan, receiving assistance or renting it out for repairs are not found, the despotism method comes into play. Istibdal is seen as a practice that offers the only solution for the renewal of foundation property in such cases. However, it has been stated that despotism has been frequently abused throughout history. For this reason, some Islamic jurists opposed this practice, and in fact, at the beginning of the 16th century, it was decided that despotism could not be carried out without the permission of the sultan, and a new era began. Istibdal means change in the dictionary. In Islamic foundation law, it is used to mean the sale of foundation property in order to replace the foundation with property or to acquire a new property in the name of the foundation. For example, when a foundation property is damaged as a result of disasters such as fire, earthquake or flood, or loses its function due to long-term use, istibdal is the practice to replace this property with a more functional or valuable property in order to ensure the continuity of the foundation. This concept is also expressed with other words that mean change, such as tebdîl and tağyir. Istibdâl was expressed with the words "bey' and şirâ" in Arabic as well as the word "satmak-buy" in Ottoman Turkish. There are two different ways of making istibdal. The first is the mutual exchange of the foundation with property, the other is the sale of the foundation and the purchase of property to be converted into a foundation with the money provided. In this study, fatwa magazines, istibdal treatises, court records, judgment books and foundation register documents were examined as Ottoman fiqh sources. 1033 texts were identified. In the mentioned texts, the first focus was on the word "istibdal". As a result of detailed examination, it was seen that the words "tebdîl, ibdâl, tağyîr, tahvîl, mübâdele, münâkale and ta'dîl", which have the same meaning as istibdâl in terms of dictionary, sometimes carry the term meaning of istibdâl. On the other hand, in many texts, we encountered the use of some words explaining istibdal such as "bey' and şirâ/iştirâ, bey' and istibdâl, bey' and tebdîl, bey' and price-i vech-i enfaa bilgi". However, it was determined that in some texts the relevant words were mentioned to express changing the terms of the foundation deed, changing the trustees, foundation-foundation change, property-property change. In order to draw attention to this difference, it became necessary to examine the issue of despotism from a conceptual perspective. According to the research, it was understood that there was no study addressing the concept of "despotism" in Ottoman foundation law. In order to fill the gap in question, in this study, the concept of "istibdal" was examined in general by using some of the basic fiqh works written in the period from the first period of fiqh to the Ottoman period, and in detail by using the basic fiqh sources of the Ottoman period.
Görüntüle	Umde dini tetkikler dergisi (Online), 2025-07, Vol.8 (1), p.127-143

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Royal Danish Library

The Concept of Despotism in Ottoman Foundation Law

Author Erden, Yasin

Subject Waqf

Type Book

Language ara,eng

Digital Yes

Manuscript No

Library Royal Danish Library

Library Asset ID ISSN: 2667-4939, EISSN: 2667-4939, DOI: 10.54122/umde.1687221

Record ID cdi_doaj_primary_oai_doaj_org_article_c03c2cfa12e04d7a82950b15b88cc4f9

Library Location DOAJ Directory of Open Access Journals

Notes When a person gets the opportunity to replace or renovate his own property with a better one, he tends to do so. Foundations are also considered as the property of Allah. In this sense, foundations in the Islamic society have been adopted as institutions that benefit those in need in particular and all humanity in general. In line with this belief, when the foundation needs to be replaced with a more functional property after a disaster such as a fire, Muslims approach this process with the intention of worship. What needs to be done in such cases is the application of despotism. As a matter of fact, in addition to ensuring the renewal of foundations that have lost their function, despotism makes it possible for foundations to grow and develop by substituting more valuable properties than foundations. According to Ottoman scholarship, the sale of foundation properties is generally not legitimate. However, if a foundation is burned, destroyed or becomes dysfunctional and solutions such as obtaining a loan, receiving assistance or renting it out for repairs are not found, the despotism method comes into play. Istibdal is seen as a practice that offers the only solution for the renewal of foundation property in such cases. However, it has been stated that despotism has been frequently abused throughout history. For this reason, some Islamic jurists opposed this practice, and in fact, at the beginning of the 16th century, it was decided that despotism could not be carried out without the permission of the sultan, and a new era began. Istibdal means change in the dictionary. In Islamic foundation law, it is used to mean the sale of foundation property in order to replace the foundation with property or to acquire a new property in the name of the foundation. For example, when a foundation property is damaged as a result of disasters such as fire, earthquake or flood, or loses its function due to long-term use, istibdal is the practice to replace this property with a more functional or valuable property in order to ensure the continuity of the foundation. This concept is also expressed with other words that mean change, such as tebdîl and tağyir. Istibdâl was expressed with the words "bey' and şirâ" in Arabic as well as the word "satmak-buy" in Ottoman Turkish. There are two different ways of making istibdal. The first is the mutual exchange of the foundation with property, the other is the sale of the foundation and the purchase of property to be converted into a foundation with the money provided. In this study, fatwa magazines, istibdal treatises, court records, judgment books and foundation register documents were examined as Ottoman fiqh sources. 1033 texts were identified. In the mentioned texts, the first focus was on the word "istibdal". As a result of detailed examination, it was seen that the words "tebdîl, ibdâl, tağyîr, tahvîl, mübâdele, münâkale and ta'dîl", which have the same meaning as istibdâl in terms of dictionary, sometimes carry the term meaning of istibdâl. On the other hand, in many texts, we encountered the use of some words explaining istibdal such as "bey' and şirâ/iştirâ, bey' and istibdâl, bey' and tebdîl, bey' and price-i vech-i enfaa bilgi". However, it was determined that in some texts the relevant words were mentioned to express changing the terms of the foundation deed, changing the trustees, foundation-foundation change, property-property change. In order to draw attention to this difference, it became necessary to examine the issue of despotism from a conceptual perspective. According to the research, it was understood that there was no study addressing the concept of "despotism" in Ottoman foundation law. In order to fill the gap in question, in this study, the concept of "istibdal" was examined in general by using some of the basic fiqh works written in the period from the first period of fiqh to the Ottoman period, and in detail by using the basic fiqh sources of the Ottoman period.

Görüntüle Umde dini tetkikler dergisi (Online), 2025-07, Vol.8 (1), p.127-143