Love has long been one of the most prominent themes in various literary traditions. The view of love, the qualities of the lover and the beloved and their relationship, the established metaphors and concepts in love poems, and the common similes and depictions used in love poems may differ from one literature to another depending on cultural, ethnic, religious, and other factors. However, nations that share a common source of values share a commonality in the field of literature. In this context, there are numerous commonalities between the poetry traditions of the Arabs and the Turks, who have been in close contact and have shared a common geography, and religious and cultural values for centuries. This unification has persisted throughout the ages and left a vast common literary heritage. That is, when classical Arabic and Turkish poetry is viewed broadly, these two important representatives of Muslim literature in the East share many similarities in terms of poetic meter and verse forms, literary genres, and themes. It is possible to speak of Arabic poetry’s deep influence on this literary partnership, which began to form especially during the Abbasid period. The Turks, who became acquainted with Arabic poetry, particularly from the Abbasid period onward, wrote extensively on the themes shaped by this tradition. However, they did not forget to enrich these themes with their own unique images, motifs, and metaphors. 

According to literary historians, Arabs influenced Persians, whereas Persians influenced Turks in the formation of Islamic literature. This general assumption is mostly correct; however, it should be noted that during the Abbasid period, the Turks established close relations with the Arabs and were deeply interested in Arabic language and literature. Because the Turks, who had been in close contact with the Abbasids from the start, were not only a great military and political power able to appoint and dismiss caliphs, but they also produced great writers and poets who wrote in Arabic. For example, prominent Turkish intellectuals of the Abbasid era included the diwan scribe and poet Ibrāhīm b. ʿAbbās Ṣūlī, a descendant of the Oghuz Turk leader Ṣūlkagan, and the great historian, writer and poet Abū Bakr Ṣūlī. In addition to the names mentioned above, many Turkish poets of the time knew Arabic poetry and wrote in Arabic. Therefore, one can say that Turks were directly acquainted with and influenced by Arabic poetry during this early period.

Although literary historians point out similarities in form and content between Arabic and Turkish poetry, the commonalities of these two poetic traditions have yet to be addressed and illuminated at the desired level within the scope of contemporary comparative literary studies. In this context, this research, which aims to present an idea and method for comparative thematic studies in classical Arabic–Turkish poetry, focuses on the theme of “concealment and disclosure of love,” which is one of the subjects on which Arab and Turkish poets write the most. In this work, we hope to shed light on classic Arabic and Turkish poets and the similarities between their poetry. Our article is unique in that it is the first study on this topic, so it draws attention to a gap in the literature regarding the theme and attempts to fill such gap to some extent.

According to the narratives, the lover (poet) hides his feelings because he fears being condemned. However, the fire of love that burns in his heart causes him all kinds of problems, and the secret of love that he hides becomes apparent, sometimes through tears, sometimes through heartache, and sometimes through physical weakness and yellowness of the face (fever). The type that the lover fears and avoids appears in Arabic poetry as a “condemner” (لَئاِم /عَذاِل (and in Turkish poetry as “zâhid” (ignorant ascetic). The task of the lover’s “enemies” is to condemn the lover and expose his secret whenever they find even the smallest hint. As a result, many poets in both works of literature issue strict warnings to lovers to be discreet and hide their love. Despite the fear of being exposed, this state of the lover who betrays himself has been the subject of many poems, and the signs by which poets reveal their secret state of love have been compared to a whistleblower in both literary traditions. The most obvious of these “internal whistleblowers,” as highlighted by classical period Arab and Turkish poets, were identified and discussed in titles. Moreover, the couplet samples chosen from poets of different periods were discussed and interpreted using a comparative and descriptive method. Our extensive surveys and examinations revealed that Arab and Turkish poets approach this theme, which is centered on platonic love with similar feelings and expressions. Although the poets used different languages, they used the same propositions and concepts to describe the states of the platonic lover, the difficulties he faced while concealing his love, and how the lover revealed himself in similar ways. So much so that many poems appear to have been written by a single poet.

Another finding from our study is that the theme of “concealing and revealing love” has been prevalent in both Arabic and Turkish literature for centuries.

The Arabic and Turkish poetry has many common themes, such as “the lover’s concealment and disclosure of his love,” which is the subject of this article. These themes have been kept up-to-date for many centuries and are worthy and apt to be examined within the scope of comparative literature. There are now websites that help researchers conduct such comparative studies. Among the most important of these websites are “poetry.dctabudhabi.ae/#/,” which includes Arabic diwans, and “tebdiz.com,” which contains a large number of Turkish poems.