I Watched Dirillis Ertugral, and Here's Why You Should Too!

Set in the 13^th century this Turkish series closely follows the activities of Ertugral Ghazi, father of the first Ottoman Emperor; Osman I. I have only made it through the 

first –of five- seasons and am hooked.  The reasons are not just the excellent casting, filmography, dubbing and sceneries, but also the fact that I had learnt numerous lessons through only 30 episodes. I feel it is a must watch, especially for young Muslims today and here is why I feel so:

It tells us about our history, historic figures and different cultures

From the culture of the Turkish tribes, the lifestyle of the Ayyubid royalty to the amazing picturization of historic events, everything is appreciable. It contains powerful historic characters like the knowledgeable Ibn al Arabi and Sheikh Moinuddin Chisti. A character of much interest was the Ayyubid Sultan, Al-Aziz, grandson of the Great Salahuddin Ayyubi. He was indeed a great poet but an unfit ruler which you will be able to see why.

Even though it started after the Mongols had left the Turks for the first time, it painted the times very well through various characters’ dialogues and memories.

It also depicts the tribal culture well and shows how a major source of their income were the traditional carpets and clothes characteristic to Persia.

It shows us how the tribes were in constant danger but were also a strong support to any Empire they wished to live in. Their men, though random tribal men, often referred to as mere ‘shepherds’, were more skilled in war than soldiers of the royal army. Which, as most of us know, was also a reason why the last Prophet (saw) was chosen from an Arabian tribe.

It strengthens our Iman

I’ve been hearing this since ages that when the Dajjal (Anti-Christ) comes into power, the believers will be starved and tortured, yet will be able to live and to fight when the time comes. This energy will be given to them by verses and duas they recite. This was portrayed amazingly well when a Muslim is taken captive and is only kept conscious in the face of torture by certain invocations shared by another captive.

This and other scenes such as the martyrdom of soldiers as they recite the Shahadah and remain strong and when the Muslims capture forts and set their flags up, or when they save a righteous man from execution, or just the plain way in which they say ‘Allahu Akbar’ every time before unsheathing their swords, is truly heartwarming, you will find yourselves both crying and smiling through these scenes 

The drama not only paints the concept of Jihad well but also reinforces the concept of Tawakal. The learned scholars in the drama remain calm even with swords on their throats and keep reminding their slayers that if Allah wills he will send help and help does come in such cases, also when the audience least expects it too.

In addition to this there are small scenes where a scholar reflects upon Quranic verses or Islamic stories, worth listening for both young and old.

Another thing I really liked was that they did not portray all non-Muslims to be bad nor all Muslims to be good, there were good and bad people over on both sides and would often would join forces for their cause. 

The portrayal of women and family values

It would be good to know that the women of this drama, however evil, are not being slapped left, right and center, unlike a typical Pakistani drama. Nor, thankfully, are they crying as their men go to war. The women are trained for battle, and are the first persons their men turn to for any opinion whether political or social or personal. The women, even the ones who are evil, are equally strong, their schemes and their archery as good as a man’s. The male heroes respect women so much that even when they capture a dangerous spy they are careful not to hurt or torture her in any way.

Secondly, the respect the heroes show towards their family is adorable. They stand up when their parents enter the room and aren’t ashamed to show emotion by crying, expressing their love verbally, or by hugging their parents, spouse, siblings or children.

There are many other things such as the fact that the old people knew the basics of life more than us. They all knew how to pray the funeral prayers; they knew all other basic rituals too. They also had an education without going to a ‘school’ they could read and write and they knew science well enough to identify open and closed tunnels with the help of a burning flame.

And these are the many reasons I want all of you to watch the series, in case you have watched it let me know what you think of it in the comments below!