Aḥmad Javdat Pasha’s Qīṣaṣ al-Anbiyāʾ and Tavārikhi Khulafāʾ Specifically An Evaluation on the Approach of History of Islam

Abstract

After a certain period of time has passed since the events in the life of humanity, it becomes history and has been written to be passed on to future generations. No matter how objective historians may be, because they have different opinions and live in different geographies and cultures, they were able to have different understandings when conveying a specific historical period or event. While some historians are based on giving information to people, others have tried to convey the historical information written before them as it is. In the Qurʾān, the stories of many prophets are included. To illuminate these stories more broadly, a large number of such works have been copyrighted in the history of Islam. This understanding of copyright continued during the Ottoman period, and many works were written on this subject. One of them is perhaps the most famous work of Ahmed Cevdet Paşa (Aḥmed Cevdet Pasha, d. 1313/1895), the law, history, and statesman of the period, called Qīṣaṣ al-Anbiyāʾ and Tavārikhi Khulafāʾ. Although Ahmed Cevdet Paşa did not specify the sources he used in the work while telling the stories of the prophet, it has been observed that he respects the information in the Qurʾān and Sunna. In the work, after the stories of the Prophet, he adhered to the classical understanding and dealt with the history of Sīrah, Rashidūn Khalifa, Umayyads, Abbasids, and Turks. When the information he gives is examined, it is understood that he made use of the sources of early Islamic history. He went to the first sources and thought the work would be more reliable and robust. In particular, he relied on Ibn al-Athīr (d. 630/1233) in terms of observing chronology and based on al-Kāmil; he also used other sources [such as the historical works of al-Ṭabari (d. 310/923) and Ibn Hisham (d. 218/833)] as sources, albeit to a lesser extent. When it is necessary to state that Ottoman historiography paid special attention to the issue of ‘‘utility’’ in history, Ahmed Cevdet Paşa’s adoption of the principle of utilitarianism in history, it can be considered a continuation of the utilitarian understanding in the Ottoman conception of history. In this respect, he aimed to give people information and teach them and purify Islamic history from the superstitions of his time. The research was carried out in the form of general screening and content analysis on the texts required by human and historical examinations. In the study, the important thinker of the 19th century, Ahmed Cevdet Paşa, wrote about the history of Islam in his works in short, some important events in the case of Qīṣaṣ al-Anbiyā and Tavārikhi Khulafāʾ have been discussed on a case-by-case basis. The study aims to give an idea about 19th-century Islamic history writing and the understanding of Islamic history in the period in which the author lived. It is expected that this work written by Ahmed Cevdet Paşa on the History of Islam will contribute to today's studies and primarily to research in Islamic historiography/understanding/attitude.