The below is from Brother Ali.
BismillahirRahmanirRahim
Selam Aleykum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatahu,
I found these passages through my readings and
thought, Insh'Allah Rahman, it may be of some benefit.
It was written by an independent scholar
living in Turkey, named Henry Bayman, compiled from
two of his books, "The Secret of Islam: Love and Law
in the Religion of Ethics", and "The Black Pearl", and
gives some insight into an aspect of life in the
Ottoman Empire:
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{ In the past, Islamic societies exhibited concern
for social and ecological issues because this was
built in to the very fabric of their religion. The
Ottomans, for example, had practices of a resoundingly
ecological nature, long before ecology was ever heard
of in the West. The quintessence of ecology was, of
course, expressed in the Koran:
BismillahirRahmanirRahim -Eat, drink, but do not
waste. (7: 31) As we all know, the earths resources
will provide for every one, as long as they
are not squandered mindlessly.
The green choice, is primarily and ethical choice;
the science of ecology may tell us that the
destruction of the environment will lead to the
destruction of humanity, but it does not tell us why
such self-destruction is wrong or bad.
In accordance with the Islamic precept, to show
compassion and tolerance toward not only human beings
but all Gods creatures, the Ottomans saw to it that
hungry wolves in the wild were fed carrion.
This not only protected villages from being raided,
but prevented the predator from entering the
endangered species list, because according to their
conception, every living being is precious. The
means for this was a unique institution they called,
the foundation. Thus, the Ottomans had
foundations for the preservation of birds, cats,
mongrels, wildlife, et al. - a delicate ecological
sensibility informed all their actions.
Looking at all the funds and foundations devoted to
preservation in the West today, one cannot help but
remember their predecessors in a less
ecology-conscious age.
People in Turkey are not ordinarily told about such
things, and I learned of them only by coincidence
later in life. If a people themselves
dont know their own heritage, others may well be
excused for their lack of knowledge in this regard.
One of the areas Ottoman culture excelled was security
against poverty. What I am about to tell you may sound
like a fairy tale today, yet it
is the truth, and provides a graphic example of
Benedicts syphon system. The Ottomans had stone
pillars, approximately the size of a human,
which I am informed are still to be found in certain
parts of Istanbul.
(They are said to exist all the way from Central Asia
to the Balkans.)
The purpose these stones served was not as mysterious
as that of the monoliths at Stonehenge, but it may
turn out to be more exciting by far in social terms.
They were called Charity Stones (sadaka tashi) . A
rich person who wanted to make a donation would reach
up to a niche at the top of the stone, where he would
deposit his gift.
Later on, a needy person would come along,reach up,
take what was enough for his needs, and leave the rest
of the money where it was so that another one in need
may find solace. The purpose of this device was to
preserve the anonymity of the poor, thereby saving
them from shame and loss of face. No one was reduced
to begging.
As a saying of the Holy Prophet (ASWS) goes, one of
those who Allahs shade will cover, on the day where
there is no shade but His shade, will be one who gives
sadaqa and conceals it so that his left hand does not
know what his right hand gives. So, this method also
saves the rich from ostentation, pride, and inflated
ego.
Does that sound too good to be true? Were there not,
you may ask, any thieves? Well, it was either that, or
the theives themselves - unlikely as this may seem,
would also be making donations. If they had thieves
these were the kind they had - the Robin Hood kind.
Likewise, during the reign of the Ottoman Sultan,
Suleiman the Magnificent, it is related that soldiers
on the march, when they entered a vineyard and ate
grapes, used to hang a bag of money at the location of
the grapes they had just plucked.
If all this sounds unbelievable, it is still a great
consolation to learn that the descendants of such
ancestors still preserve the meaning of the charity
stones as a sort of atavism. What they accomplished as
a matter of course, we cannot even dream of today. The
equivalent in this day and age would be an open bank
account; but can you imagine the deposits not being
stolen before the poor and needy got to them?
The essence of Ottoman ethics was this: Treat every
human as if s/he were a jewel. This means that a
person should be handled delicately, as a
being of infinite worth. You will not find this stated
in history books, which seldom do justice to this
aspect of Ottoman life, but such was
in fact the ideal - and more often then not - the
practice. In an overcrowded world we stand even more,
not less, in need of such conduct.}
Ali.
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