Abstract:

In the Ottoman period of Turkish literature, many religious-literary types about the Prophet Muhammad have emerged. The mawlid type, in which the birth, ascension (mirac) and moral characteristics of Prophet Muhammad are described, is very important in terms of having many independent examples among these religious-literary types. The most famous example of this type in Turkish literature is Vasilat al-Nacat, a mathnawi which was written by Süleyman Çelebi at the beginning of the 15th century. Vasilat al-Nacat is a text that tries to provide theological and political unity in the Ottoman lands with the mystical interpretation of the Ahl as-sunnah in terms of its social and political function. It has been described as a pioneer and founding text, which was copyrighted for the purpose of determining the direction for the people living in the Ottoman lands. However, Vasilat al-Nacat, which is completely written based on mystical thought in terms of its content, appears as a narration of humanity written in the person of Prophet Muhammad. In the mystical thought system that forms the basis of Vasilat al-Nacat, Prophet Muhammad conceived as the only perfect human being. Prophet Muhammad represents the most perfect existence of the human species. He represents a whole humanity with his material and spiritual personality. It is possible to consider Vasilat al-Nacat, which has been written with this imagination, as a meta-narrative in which humanity is told in the person of the Prophet Muhammad. Because one of the important reasons that makes Vasilat al-Nacat still popular in Anatolian society today is not only the linguistic and artistic features it has, but the fact that the work has the identity of a universal human narrative in the person of the Prophet Muhammad. Vasilat al-Nacat is giving meaning to human existence with the answers it gives to questions about creation and existence.

Keywords: