17. Difficulty begets facility; that is to say, difficulty is the cause of facility and in time of hardship consideration must be shown.
20. Any injury caused, is removed
21. Necessity renders prohibited things permissible
26. A private injury is tolerated in order to ward off a public injury.
30. Repelling an evil is preferable to securing a benefit.
39. It is undeniable that the provisions/ijtihads change due to the change of time.
45. A matter established by custom is like a matter established by law.
(Maxims Of Islamic Jurisprudence chapter of the Majalla)
“Maslahat” is a word that has passed from Arabic to our language, which means good, that leads to good, that is beneficial. It is the antonym of “mefsedet,” which means all kind of immoral behavior like evilness, sedition, malice, incitement and hypocricy.
When evaluated within the framework of Islamic law, the term ‘maslahat’ means to protect public interest and public order; it is understood as mandatory, necessary interest or public benefit (Osman Öztürk, Mecelle’nin Külli Kaideleri, Rağbet Publications, Istanbul, 2019). Majalla’s 58th articles states that “the exercise of control over subjects (citizens) is dependent upon the public welfare.” This is a basic tenet that has been adopted by Hanafi Sunni followers of Islam. According to some legal experts, the provisions of Islamic law are a whole set of rules that aim the protection of religion, mind, property, life and generation/succession. For example, the acceptance of jihad refers to protection of religion, while the acceptance of retaliation refers to protection of life, the prohibition of drinking refers to the protection of mind, the prohibition of theft refers to the protection of property. the prohibition of adultery refers to protection of generation/succession… All of which are a part of “maslahat.” A provision will be accepted by the Islamic law if it is adherent to these goals; otherwise, it will not be possible to implement it.
As this brief explanation show, “maslahat” is a term of Islamic law and a legal base on which other provisions stand. But the most important point to be stated here is that the provisions that may be considered as a “maslahat” cannot contradict the Holy Quran and the Lofty Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad, the core of the religion. Similar to current legal understanding, in which a provision or law cannot contradict the constitution, the core component of the Islamic law is the Quran itself along with the Sunnah of the Prophet. Even though it is possible to prepare laws on subjects that are not in the Qur’an or the Sunnah of the Prophet by basing them on “maslahat,” this regulation should eventually be compatible with the said scripture and sunnah.
Compiling the Holy Quran’s verses into a book during the era of Abu Bakr, the companion of the Prophet, is an example regarding regulations based on maslahat. After the death of the Prophet and, thus, the cessation of divine inspiration and sunnah, it was necessary to organize a jurisprudence that would solve issues. There were hesitations regarding how to transfer the Holy Quran to other generations as it is, due to a decrease in the number of those who have memorized the Holy Quran’s verses. At this point, even though some of the companions argued against it, the Holy Quran was compiled into a book after Abu Bakr and Umar stated that this would be a maslahat, thus goodness would come out of it. Despite the lack of a rule in the Holy Quran and the Sunnah of the Prophet, this issue was resolved through observing “public benefit” by those who could be considered the experts of jurisprudence of the said era. (https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/maslahat)
“Maslahat” is a very deep concept, as it can be seen, and has been an important resource in the shaping of Islamic law and in controlling governors’ practices adherence to law. To get back to the point, it is seen that the concept of maslahat is contorted in the circles of the congregation, especially in circles known as the secret (mahrem) units. The continuing use one of the main sources of the Islamic law as a legitimizing means for unimaginable actions realized by the movement is a vehement issue.
As it is known, the congregation had an appeal as a group that was serving (hizmet) the religion. The group, which operates on educational and religious services, has been accepted by Anatolian people who were struggling with poverty, ignorance and the disease of secession and were seeking a cure for the downward spiral, and has secretly or openly adopted (metaphorically) children of citizens who are trying to survive with limited resources. The high-ranking members of the group that aimed to provide both material and spiritual support to the group, imprinted the image that the leader of this movement -kind of a superhuman- is a religious cleric to the mind of those who joined the group. The leader shown as a person who is not only knowledgeable about religious matters, but also matters of worldly affairs. The idea that every word the leaders says relies on the basis of religion and adheres to “maslahat” has found a great reciprocated by the congregation’s base. The leader, who sees himself in the position to make comments on all matters of religion and worldly affairs, has been granted a limitless loan by the base. This loan was used, abused and brutally consumed by the leader and the pleasure of his inner circle. And when it was time to pay back, all those responsible had no issue when they turned a deaf ear.
There were those who were suspicious of the “all-knowing” leader’s and his inner circle’s reckless actions. Some of the suspicious left the congregation very timely, some of them benefitted from the opportunity of redemption presented by the legal system, some of them are still counting days behind bars for nothing. The secret structure of the congregation has used the term of “maslahat” to silence any suspicions regarding their illegal actions by saying the very vain sentences “our leader has seen a maslahat (good) in this…”, “there is a maslahat (good) that you don’t know” and “…based on a maslahat.” All of this caused a catastrophe.
How appropriate is it today to use “maslahat” to contort Islamic law for your own benefits in an era, which is dominated by a secular legal system? And while it is clear that there are authorities which could give fatwa on issues, how right is it to falsely appoint yourself as an authority, cause people to do wrong which cannot be justified either by religious or universal morality, and do all this on the basis of “maslahat?” Even if the congregation denies that their definition of maslahat has nothing to do with its religious connotation, in what way their actions could overlap with the greater good?
Can a congregation, for example, infiltrate state institutions with their members and have their infiltrated members to abuse state’s various capabilities to pry into the private lives of other citizens, wiretap their phones and blackmail them? Can a congregation devote extravagant amount of effort to have all of the state institutions under its control? Can a congregation act in a way that could disrupt state’s functioning and public order? Are there any examples of such actions in the Holy Quran or Sunnah of the Prophet? How is this maslahat? Do the actions cause anything other than an instigation among the society? While it is possible to ask more questions, we will stop here.
At this point, it is evident that the unseen face of the congregation has stoop down to all kinds of illegal and unlawful actions due to “maslahat sickness.” The loan granted to the leader has defaulted and the common people who have granted this loan are left to rot in this swamp. What people who have sympathized with the congregation should do today is to ask questions and try to find the truth. If the generous and hard-working mothers of a nation are crying out “rather than seeing the suffering of my child, I wish my child was still uneducated so they could have been separated from this curse,” those who are still supporting the congregation should understand that they are beyond the point of stopping and thinking.