94 chapter 2
halayıkı mütesavi tuta)—since men’s relations with the world are like the four
elements (K485–86)—and respect all four classes; the same principle must be
kept when giving charities (hayrât). These charities are of three kinds, namely
security (selamet), property (emval), and generosity (keramet; meaning high
posts). (K492–94). As for people who are evil by nature, the ruler has several
ways of dealing with them, including imprisonment, exile, and so on; if such
measures do not lead to any improvement, some ulema proposed the person
should be executed, but it seems better to resort to amputation when Islamic
law does not prescribe capital punishment. Kınalızade here refutes the opin-
ion of some “contemporary rulers” who claimed that the punishments of the
Sharia did not suffice at that time, as there were large numbers of criminals
(K489–90; Kınalızade, as will be seen at the end of the next chapter, might
have had in mind his contemporary, Dede Cöngi Efendi, whose work embod-
ied Ebussu’ud’s spirit and the Ottoman kanun synthesis).
Lastly comes the normal amount of practical advice originating from
Iranian “mirrors for princes”, such as the need for the sultan to regularly listen
to his subjects’ complaints, the use of spies, the rules for military campaigns,
acceptable behavior for the rulers’ boon companions, and so on. The similarity
with the works examined in chapter 1 is evident, for instance, in a section of
Amasi’s work (Y139–51) where he warns the sultan to be grateful for God’s grace
and urges him to follow uprighteousness in two ways: between himself and
God, on the one hand, and between himself and the people, on the other. The
latter corresponds to justice, and has several degrees. The first degree is recog-
nizing God’s rights over man and particularly over the sultanate. Among God’s
blessings (nimet), the second most important (after faith) is authority (velayet),
as shown by various sayings of the Prophet; rulers, who are blessed thus, must
be aware of their obligations. The second degree of justice is respect for the
ulema; the ruler must listen to their advice and act accordingly. As for the third
degree, it is that the sultan should not be satisfied with preventing his own
injustice; he is also responsible for the misdeeds of his officials. Oppression
of his subjects by them is to be credited to the ruler himself. One typical story
(Y149) goes:
They asked a king who had lost his power as to why power changed hands
and why his realm went away. And he answered: “Because I was proud of
my power and might, and haughty about my opinion, knowledge, and
reason, so that I avoided consultation; because I handed over important
affairs to small people, lost all opportunities in time, and was lazy and
neglectful concerning the affairs of the people”.