VEFATININ 600. YILINDA SÜLEYMAN ÇELEBİ VE MEVLİD GELENEĞİ

Abstract

The “founding text" of the mawlid genre is Süleyman Çelebi's Vesîletü’n-Necât, which stands out as a "founding text". As a pioneering and founding text, Vesîletü’n-Necât is not only considered a literary text in our cultural history; it has also been recognized as a masterpiece that aims to explain, endear and teach the principle of tevhid of Islam and the Prophet Muhammad, who established this principle, to the people of this land. Particularly in the chapter on tevhid bahri and the creation of the universe (cosmogony), the book wisely inculcated the notion of the existence of Islamic thought, and that the supreme creator, whose unity is beyond doubt, is the only being. As a matter of fact, the understanding of tevhid he inculcated has built our understanding of existence, morality and knowledge, and our view of life and the world. Since its writing, it has been composed and recited and has been instrumental in the formation of mevlit societies. In this respect, it has been a work that brings society together, compiles and gathers. In other words, the principle of tevhid inculcated in it has transformed it into a text that ensures social unity and solidarity. Vesîletü’n-Necât is a language-building text. As one of the pioneering works in the construction of the Turkish language of religion in Anatolia, it was instrumental in the establishment of a literary tradition centered on the Holy Prophet and led to the writing of genres such as mevlid, mi’râciyye and mûcizâtü’n-Nebî. It also introduced new concepts to our language. In addition to the term "mevlid societies", the term mevlidhan refers to the mevlid reciters, tevşih refers to the hymns recited between bahirs, and zikirhânes, karis and duahâns refer to the people who recite tekbirs and salavat in unison. In this respect, the work is an important source for disciplines such as musicology, social psychology, anthropology and sociology as well as language, language history and religious culture. This study, which deals with Vesîletü’n-Necât with the methods and concepts of different academic disciplines, will make a significant contribution to the understanding of the work.