Kalbe Dair Bir Risâle: İsmâil Hakkı Bursevî’nin Eyyühe’l-Bülbül’ü

Abstract

Wāridāt (mystical inspiration) is a term that signifies the sudden inspiration and state that comes to heart from the unknown. Many works in wāridāt genre have been produced by Ṣūfīs. One of these works is Ismāʻīl Ḥaḳḳī Brusawī’s Ayyuh al-Bulbul, which is a handwritten treatise in Arabic. In this treatise which means O Nightingale, the word nightingale refers to heart. The small volume work which contains the leaves 84b-110a was written in AH. 1115/GC. 1704. Even though it is a short treatise, the mystical information in it are of great value. In this work Brūseawī writes about the mystical inspirations he had in different times and situations. Wāridāt sometimes appear as revelations and sometimes in the form of a couplet or rubāʻī (quatrain) in Turkish, Arabic or Persian. The author annotated these wāridāt with several different instruments such as verses and ahadith along with other prophets’ sayings, the opinions of ṣūfīs and their poems. The purpose of this article is to introduce and analyze this small treatise among other manuscripts to the readers and also to present the mystical opinions and explanations in it. Our study is a research based on manuscript examination. Since we had access to the first edition of this manuscript in good condition (without the need of a copy comparison) the author’s copy is used as the source. Ayyuh al-Bulbul is firstly read very carefully and translated into Turkish. Later, in accordance with the limits of the article, the text is examined and analyzed via text analysis method. In this context, along with physical elements such as individuals and events, the actual expressions and ideas that are the basis of the text are evaluated and commented on. Another method used in this article to define and explain these elements that the author tackled in his work, is descriptive research method. To have a better grasp of the text, along with the aforementioned methods, other works of the author and the views of some ṣūfīs were also used. Thus, the basic idea of the text was revealed. The theme of this treatise is the wāridāt that are experienced in the heart. Throughout the treatise the addressing is to heart which is named as nightingale of heart. Brūsawī explained a wārid in detail which he thought that came from Allah. While annotating the wāridāt, he talks about the essence of the heart, how it came to be, its duties and different states as they are related to the topic. He explained the heart’s substance, importance and roles by using some metaphors and similes. According to Brūsawī, the heart is the child that is born out of the soul and the body’s marriage. The state of the heart that turned away from anything but Allah, the important times for the heart and the advices for the heart are also among the matters discussed frequently in the treatise. One of the unique features of Ayyuh al-Bulbul is that the annotations of the wāridāt that came in as revelations are accepted as Ishārī tafsīr. Therefore, it is understood that this treatise can also be seen as a ṣūfī tafsīr. Brūsawī is an author who in his time appeared to be a representative of Ibn al-ʻArabī. Hence, his ideas on heart, his comments and explanations on revelations that came as wāridāt and his choice of terms are all under the effect of Waḥdat al-wudjūd (the unity of existence) thought. There is no doubt that there are a great many works that examines the heart’s spiritual side and states. Since the earliest times, purification and melioration of the heart is one of the topics that is a lot of work is focused on by ṣūfīs. For, they believe that both in the world and hereafter the salvation will come with a pure heart, based on the suggestions of the Qur’ān and Sunnah. As one of those ṣūfīs, Brūsawī reminds us in his books the important points one need to remember and follow in order for his heart to turn back into its original pure state in which the faith in Allah is absolute. Thanks to this attitude, his heart gave him protective advice from harmful diseases and disasters. The author from time to time, also made some psychological analyzes on the human being and some states of his spiritual heart. As a result, this article aims to contribute to the studies in this field by bringing out a manuscript in Arabic which belongs to wāridāt genre, analyze it and introduce it to the reader. But since the limits of the article didn’t allow to a complete translation of the work, we must say that the parts of the book which are deemed more important and necessary to mention are prioritized. There is no doubt that the investigation of other works of similar type and subject, which have not been discovered in manuscripts, by researchers will contribute to the Ṣūfī/Taṣawwuf literature.

Keywords

• Tasavvuf, İsmâil Hakkı Bursevî, Vâridât, Eyyühe’l-Bülbül, Kalb