B EFORE THE proclamation of the Imperial Decree of Reform
of 1839 (Hatti-Sherif of Gülhane), there were three different
aspects to the legal system of Turkey.

First, there were principles of private law, or rules of civil law
which in turn were taken from fiqh. The necessity of abiding by
these principles was stressed in a special decree sent by the Seldjuk
ruler Alaeddin to the founder of the Ottoman state, Osman I,
which conferred upon him due authority and power and acknowl-
edged his independence. According to this letter-patent, the ad-
ministration of law was to remain in the hands of the existing
judges, thus insuring that the sharī'a would remain the law of the
new principality. Sultan Osman's answer--"When the decree,
whose nature was final and decisive and which demanded the
obedience of all, was read in the presence of the people, they all
exclaimed: 'We have heard, and shall obey!'"--made it clear that
this principle had been accepted and established in the country
by general consent. Thus, in matters concerning personal status,
family relations, inheritance, contracts, and the acquisition of real
estate, the principles of fiqh were observed and enforced. Only in
cases concerned with agricultural land did the Turks, inspired by
their national customs, apply their own rules.

In penal law, the rules of fiqh pertaining to al-'uqūbāt (torts,
crimes, and misdemeanors) were applied in most cases. This is
mentioned in the letter-patent and recommended with the follow-
ing statement: "One should act with the utmost caution and treat
with due consideration the political criminals who are to be exe-
cuted." Only in the case of murder, where the heirs of the mur-
dered person prefer indemnity to retaliation, are the judges warned
not to deviate from the passage of the Qur'ān which says: "There
is life for you in the law of retaliation." Since ululemr (the ruler)
was the person who determined the degree of deceit or corruption
in accordance with the principles of fiqh, these different degrees
were determined at all times by the laws of the country.

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