A Dream within a Dream: A Literary Comment by Ali Haydar Haksal on Dreams in the Context of Religion
Dreams affects people psychologically. A link between dreams and physiology exists because the physiological effect brought by feelings such as curiosity, excitement, anxiety, fear, joy, and happiness is a state experienced by people establishing a connection between dreams and the future. Dreams can affect people both positively and negatively. This effect can be even more striking with the interpretation of dreams. When an evaluation is made in the context of dreams and religion, the mention of dreams, especially in the Quran and hadith, affects believers, and the appreciation of some Sufis or scholars for this concept increases the power of dreams and enables the belief that dreams have a connection with reality. However, dreams clearly have a reality not only religiously but also scientifically, where studies have been conducted on dreams. This reveals that dreams should not be accepted only by believers. Yet, when Ali Haydar Haksal's work Rüya Rüya Içinde is studied, the author is seen to evidently process his stories in the context of dreams and Islam. In this study, after some information about dreams is provided, the way dreams are handled in stories is mentioned, and some Islamic information is explained. The examples from the Quran and some mystical elements, especially the hadiths, used are also mentioned. It has been concluded that the author tries to establish a connection between the form and the content and aims to explain some religious issues to the reader.
Rüya Rüya İçinde: Ali Haydar Haksal’ın Rüyalar Üzerine Din Bağlamında Edebî Bir Yorumu
Rüya, bireyi psikolojik açıdan etkileyen bir hadisedir. Bu kavramla fizyoloji arasında da bir bağ kurulduğunu söylemek gerekir. Çünkü rüyaların görülmesiyle beraber rüyalar ve gelecek arasında bağ kuran kişide merak, heyecan, endişe, mutluluk gibi fizyolojik duyguların oluştuğu yaşanılan bir durumdur. Rüyalar kişiyi bazen olumlu bazen de olumsuz açıdan etkileyebilmektedir. Bu etki, görülen rüyanın yorumuyla daha da dikkat çekici olabilmektedir. Rüya ve din bağlamında bir değerlendirme yapıldığı zaman özellikle Kur’ân-ı Kerîm’de ve hadislerde rüya bahsinin olması inananları etkilemekte, bazı mutasavvıfların yahut âlimlerin bu kavrama değer vermesi rüyaların etki gücünü artırmakta, rüyaların gerçekle bağlantısının olduğu inancının kabul görmesini de sağlamaktadır. Fakat rüyaların sadece dinî olarak değil, bilimsel olarak da bir gerçekliğinin olduğu ve ilmî sahada rüyalarla ilgili çalışmalar yapıldığı bilinmektedir. Bu husus, rüyayı sadece inananlar açısından bir kabul olarak görmemek gerektiğini de ortaya koymaktadır. Ancak Ali Haydar Haksal’ın Rüya Rüya İçinde adlı eseri dikkate alındığı zaman yazarın öykülerini rüya ve İslam bağlamında işlemiş olduğu görülmektedir. Bu çalışmada rüyalar hakkında genel bir bilgi verildikten sonra bu kavramın öykülerde nasıl ele alındığına değinilmiş, eserde yer alan İslami birtakım bilgiler de açıklanmıştır. Özellikle hadislerin olmak üzere Kur’ân’ın ve tasavvufi bazı unsurların öykülerde kullanılan örneklerine değinilmiştir. Yazarın şekille içerik arasında bağlantı kurmaya çalıştığının ve edebî bir eserle bazı dinî hususları okuyucuya vermek amacında olduğunun düşünülebileceği sonucuna da ulaşılmıştır.
Ali Haydar Haksal, who has come to prominence in the field of Turkish literature, especially with magazines–Yedi İklim –is a writer who has works not only in this aspect but also in various fields of literature such as novels, monographs, and essays. Haksal is also one of the writers that have made their mark on the story type. The author's work titled Dream within a Dream is an example of this genre. Dream within a Dream, discussed in this study, includes eleven stories named “Tears of the Dead,” “Willow Shadow,” “Hala Sultan,” “My Stones in Clear Water,” “Long Journey,” “Wounded Me,” “No,” “The Door Ajar,” “Night of Fear,” “A Restless Day in the Nursing Home,” and “Cliff.” These stories deal with dreams, especially with the era of bliss.
In our literature, a sad and complicated mood has vastly been found both in verse and in prose. This experience is evident in eleven stories in Dream within a Dream. This complex structure also influences the style of the author. This confusion that can put people cul-desac in dreams is seen in the style of the author. In addition, as seen in many literary works, in Dream within a Dream, some places are written in lowercase as a conscious practice of the author; besides the free side of author who leaves the rules of writing aside, this can also be considered as a foregrounding of the era of bliss and an attitude made to attract the attention of the reader in this direction. Also, in terms of spelling rules, it is seen that the parts written in lowercase are more understandable. It can be said that the author’s use of a more understandable style in these parts of Dream within a Dream is related to the attempt of attracting the attention of the reader on these parts, namely, Islamic matters and the relevance of Islam.
A dream can be defined as an event in which the worldly life of the individual is in the sleep phase, which can also be considered as a spiritual realm, sometimes not noticed, and sometimes clearly seen. This definition can also lead the individual to the psychological dimension of dreams. In addition, the existence of the devilish and utter dimension of this concept that affects people should be taken into consideration. In addition to the dreams that can be related to the devil representing the sensual side of the person, the dreams that can be regarded as the righteous ones also affect the person; this is mostly related to the religious dimension of dreams.
Another impressive aspect of dreams is the interpretation part. This part is the aspect of dreams that responds to the curiosity of man about the future life, in short what will happen. In the sections about the era of bliss in Dream within a Dream, the dream and its interpretation are emphasized, and it is featured that the interpretation should not be made by everyone. The issue of interpretation also brings to mind the connection of dreams to reality and the intertwining of many things in stories. The author establishes intimacy among the events and tackles the complex and intertwined side of the dreams; that is, the author assigns the meaning through form. Haksal also emphasizes the relationship between dreams and reality in his stories.
Ali Haydar Haksal gives profoundly the spiritual, that is, the religious, dimension of dreams in his stories. Because a dream is a concept whose existence is accepted in Islam, this concept has been mentioned in some verses of the Quran: Yusuf, Enbiya, Saffat, and Fetih Surah. In addition to this first source, hadith scholars such as Bukharî, Ebû Dâvud, Tirmizî, and Muslim referred to dreams. Sufis, on the other hand, are known to have placed dreams in the course of the dervish because they rely on verses and hadiths.
Ali Haydar Haksal, who uses literature as a tool in the work titled Dream within a Dream, handles Islam in the context of dreams by putting the dreams in the foreground, especially the life of the era of bliss, giving place to the Quran and the hadiths in his stories.
