“Aiiieeeee….!” came a screaming noise from the stairs, as Ali came rolling down like a ball. Everyone ran to see what had happened. Ali was wearing a long cloth cape, swaying a wooden sword in his hands, pretending to be Ertugrul Ghazi. He had just tripped over his long cape.
As Mom leaned forward to check for any serious injuries, Ali jumped up energetically: “There is no sword better than Dhul Fiqar and no man braver than Ali (rtam) on earth!”
“Ya Allah…” Mom held her head, smiling, “Ali, you have watched the Ertugrul series for so long that you have even memorized the dialogues!”
“A real hero is the one who stands right up after falling down,” came another one of Ertugrul’s lines from Ali’s mouth.
“But why are you wearing a cape?” asked Omar, who was watching all this with twinkling eyes. “Ertugrul never wore a cape. It was the symbol of the crusader army,” he explained to his friend.
“Batman, Superman, Spiderman and all these heroes always wear capes. Isn’t a cape for heroes?” asked Ali innocently.
“Muslims are recognized by their valour and bravery, not by their costumes. If your heart is pure and clean, no evil power can overcome you,” Samrah Apa replied with another one of Ertugrul’s lines. She had also been watching the series with Ali enthusiastically.
“Besides, Ertugrul is a historic personality, not a fictitious cartoon character,” added Omar.
“Mom, I want to be like Ertugrul Ghazi?” declared Ali, sobering down.
Mom decided to sit with the kids to watch an episode of “Resurrection Ertugrul” and Baba also joined them.
After the episode ended, everyone had a delicious dinner and sat down in the living room for some chat.
Ali’s father spoke: “Ertugrul Bey lived during the thirteenth century. He was the father of Osman I, the founder of the Great Muslim Ottoman Empire. This Empire spread across three continents and lasted for 600 years’ of golden Muslim rule. Ertugrul was the third son of Suleyman Shah, leader of the Kayi tribe of Oghuz Turks, who fled from western Central Asia to escape the misguided Mongols. He put an end to the barbaric Mongols and Christians, who slaughtered hundreds of innocent Muslim men, women, and children.
With the small part of Kayi tribe, only 400 tents strong, Ertugrul went on the challenging path and laid the foundation for one of the greatest Muslim empires in history – the Ottoman Empire.
His love and respect for his wife was widely known. He had four sons with Halime Sultan, and died at ninety years of age. The last ten years of his life were spent quietly in his tribe; he transferred all his responsibilities to his youngest son Osman.”
“Where did you get these historical details from? I checked on Google and there was not much there!” Omar looked surprised.
The historical facts about Ertugrul are kept in Turkish archives, within Ibn Arabi’s chronologies, and in legends.
“Who was Ibn Arabi?” Samrah Apa was already inspired by this character in the series and wanted to know more about the Sufi mystic.
Ibn Arabi was a chronologist, mystic, philosopher and poet. His writings had an immense impact throughout the Islamic world and beyond – throughout the Christian world. He was a great inspiration and support to Ertugrul Bey.
Baba now turned towards the kids with that look of “it’s past your bedtime now!”
“On the path of truth and justice, even if the whole world is against you, keep firm faith that Allah (swt) is with you!” Ali stood up, repeating Ertugrul’s line.
Mom herded the kids to their bedroom. “Some weak Muslims are also shown as schemers in this drama. Ertugrul taught us how to deal with the conspiracies of hypocrites.”
“In this drama, we can see women as healers, warriors and leaders fighting to restore justice – just like men in this series. I feel so proud to see such role models from the Muslim world!” Samrah Apa smiled and hugged her little sister Hannah.
“Whether I am a Ghazi or a Shaheed, victory belongs to Allah.” Ertugrul lived by this motto and battled like a brave lion. May Allah (swt) reward him immensely.
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