Abstract:

The immortal mathnavī of Suleymān Çelebī, Wasīlat al-Najāt, was written during politically and socially hard times, such as Mongol occupation and conflicts among Ottoman princes, in other words, the period of Fatrat. This work, which has a characteristic of a verse prophetic biography, in its own period has taken a responsive and a defensive role, and in a matter of speaking has described the Prophet’s nature and character within the logical limits. Mawlid, like every other works, has built its realm of substance in the circle of some influences and similarities. Therefore, the constitutive-texts of Turkish Islamic literature have a say in its bibliography. The first ones coming to mind are Ġarīb-nāmah of ‘Āshiq Pāshā and Sīrat al-Nabī of Qāḍī Ḍarīr. Moreover, even though in some sources it is supposed that Mawlid has been inspired by the work “Ẕāt al-Shifāʾ fī Sīrat al-Nabiyyi wa al-Khulefāʾ” of Ibn al-Jazarī who was a famous qiraʿa scholar and had lived in Bursa for a while; it is seen that there is not any comparison regarding this matter. In this article, firstly, the references/sources of Mawlid are compared, and similarities are evaluated. Secondly, Mawlid’s aesthetic value is interpreted with some aims and principles as a foundational text. The aims or principles of the work have been examined under these titles: Apparent: Educational, Real Aim – Practical: Economical and Cultural Aim – Spiritual: Metaphysical Aim. The aim of this section is to denote how the text of Mawlid, which shares similarities with many sources, turned into an authoritative text in consequence of its aesthetic qualification and artistic style. The final chapter of our work is earmarked for specifying the reasons laying behind repeatedly mentioning Mawlid and imparting some records about how much efficient this authoritative text is to represent the Muslim identity even today.

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