Wednesday, December 26, 2018

Kanuni Sultan Süleyman and Yahya Efendi's conversation on the Collapse of a State!



Let's start with a known story. Kanuni Sultan Süleyman once asked the great Turkish scholar of his time, Yahya Efendi, "When does a state collapse, and what happens in the end?" Yahya Efendi's answer to the powerful Sultan's letter was brief: "It doesn't matter, Your Majesty!" The Sultan couldn't make sense of this response because Yahya Efendi was not someone who would trivialize such a serious matter with a simple answer. So, he went to Yahya Efendi's lodge in Beşiktaş and, full of complaints, asked his question again, saying, "Please give me a serious answer to my question, brother!" Yahya Efendi paused and replied, "Your Majesty, how could I not take your question seriously? I've given it careful thought and stated my opinion clearly." Kanuni said, "But I didn't understand anything from your answer. It's like you're telling me not to get involved in such matters." Upon this, Yahya Efendi uttered these instructive words: "Your Majesty! When oppression and injustice run rampant in a state, and those who hear of it say 'it doesn't matter' and walk away, then if the shepherds eat the sheep instead of the wolves, and those who know keep quiet and hide it, even if the cries of the poor, the needy, the destitute, and the forsaken reach the sky, and no one else but the stones hear it, that is when the end of the state becomes visible. After such situations, the state's treasury empties, people's trust and respect are shaken, the sense of obedience that contributes to public order and security disappears, and the people's sense of respect vanishes. Thus, collapse and disintegration become inevitable."