Question

“Constitution of the Republic of Turkey, Ataturk’s Revolution and Principles, Turkish I will stick to your nationalism; Impartiality in Service to the Nation, Laws of the Republic of Turkey and I will abide by the principles of equality; The Turkish Nation has national, moral, humanitarian, spiritual and cultural values. my country I will adopt, protect and work to develop its values; fundamentals of human rights and the constitution and Duties and duties towards the Republic of Turkey, which is a national, democratic and secular state of law. Knowing my responsibilities, I will show them in behavior. “We say this oath aloud and sometimes we just sign the document on which the oath is written. Every teacher and policeman has to do this. Some Salafi groups say it is shirk. I want to be a teacher, will it be shirk if I take this oath?

Answer

To deal with situations in which telling the truth outright would lead to extreme difficulty, the shariʿah allows for using a word with dual meaning. This is when the speaker assumes a different meaning of the word and the listener assumes a different meaning. Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) used this allowance when during the migration to Madinah Munawwarah a member of the search party asked him who the man next to him was, indicating towards the Prophet ﷺ, and Abu Bakr replied, “This is my guide.” What he intended was “guide in life” but the impression the questioner got – which was the impression Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) wanted him to get – was “guide in the journey”. This is called “tawriyah” in the terminology of the jurists.

While swearing the oath, either verbally or signing off on it in writing, one can make the intention of pledging allegiance to those of Ataturk’s reforms and those values of the Turkish republic that do not contradict the shari’ah. As for the use of the word secular to describe the republic, one can make the intention of the unproblematic original meaning of the word rather than the problematic contemporary meaning, as explained in detail in the answer to your other related question.

As for the permissibility of participating in national days that celebrate Ataturk’s reforms, it depends on the nature of the participation. It would not be permissible, for example, to make speeches honouring Ataturk and his anti-Islam reforms. However, it would be permissible to organise or participate in events aimed at glorifying the country in general.

الدر المختار وحاشية ابن عابدين (رد المحتار) (6/ 134)

(قَوْلُهُ: وَيُوَرِّي) التَّوْرِيَةُ أَنْ يُظْهِرَ خِلَافَ مَا أَضْمَرَ فِي قَلْبِهِ أَتْقَانِيٌّ. قَالَ فِي الْعِنَايَةِ فَجَازَ أَنْ يُرَادَ بِهَا هُنَا اطْمِئْنَانُ الْقَلْبِ وَأَنْ يُرَادَ الْإِتْيَانُ بِلَفْظٍ يَحْتَمِلُ مَعْنَيَيْنِ اهـ وَفِيهِ أَنَّهُ قَدْ يُكْرَهُ عَلَى السُّجُودِ لِلصَّنَمِ أَوْ الصَّلِيبِ وَلَا لَفْظٌ فَالظَّاهِرُ أَنَّهَا إضْمَارُ خِلَافِ مَا أَظْهَرَ مِنْ قَوْلٍ أَوْ فِعْلٍ، لِأَنَّهَا بِمَعْنَى الْإِخْفَاءِ فَهِيَ مِنْ عَمَلِ الْقَلْبِ تَأَمَّلْ. (قَوْلُهُ: ثُمَّ إنْ وَرَّى لَا يُكَفَّرُ) كَمَا إذَا أُكْرِهَ عَلَى السُّجُودِ لِلصَّلِيبِ أَوْ سَبِّ مُحَمَّدٍ – صَلَّى اللَّهُ تَعَالَى عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ – فَفَعَلَ وَقَالَ نَوَيْت بِهِ الصَّلَاةَ لِلَّهِ تَعَالَى، وَمُحَمَّدًا آخَرَ غَيْرَ النَّبِيِّ

Answered by:
Ifta Research Fellow

Checked & Approved by:
Mufti Abdul Rahman Mangera
Mufti Zubair Patel