Hadith as a Source of Aesthetics and Poetics in Classical Turkish Literature
Berat AçılEnough studies have been qualitatively conducted in many areas of classical Turkish literature. Nevertheless, an adequate level of academic work still needs to be reached regarding aesthetics and poetics in terms of quantity and quality in Ottoman literature. Albeit sporadically, Ottomans did write about aesthetics, which is classified under theoretical philosophy, and poetics, which is classified under applied philosophy. Many subjects that caused the formation of aesthetics and poetics in classical Ottoman literature such as the Qur’an, mythology, and historical events have been addressed academically. Nevertheless, the role of hadith in shaping the premises of classical Ottoman literature, and thus its aesthetic and poetic principles, have yet to be studied adequately. In this article, I aim to show hadith to have been essential in forming Ottoman aesthetics and poetics. Subtitles such as the legitimacy of poetry, the glorification of poetry, the necessity of poetry, and the nature of poetry can also be considered a portrayal of attitudes toward poetry throughout the Ottoman era. Turkish poets living in Ottoman times addressed these subtitles in terms of their relationships with other concepts: The legitimacy of poetry in relationship with sorcery, the glorification of poetry in relationship with the concept of miracle, the necessity of poetry in relationship with the concept of duty, and lastly the nature of poetry in relationship with mimesis. As a result, the study has revealed the Turkish poets of the Ottoman period who wanted to trace the Qur’an and hadiths to have thought that poetry should be written in line with truth in terms of mimesis and narration.
Klasik Türk Şiirinde Estetik ve Poetikanın Kaynağı Olarak Hadis
Berat AçılKlasik Türk edebiyatına dâhil olan birçok alanda nitelikli çalışmalar yapılmıştır. Bununla beraber estetik ve poetika hakkında hem nicelik hem de nitelik olarak yeterli düzeyde akademik çalışmanın yürütülmemiş olduğu malumdur. Nazarî felsefenin bir kolu addedilen estetik ve amelî felsefe altında sınıflandırılan poetika hakkında Osmanlı döneminde dağınık da olsa kalem oynatılmıştır. Klasik Türk edebiyatı estetik ve poetikasının oluşumuna kaynaklık eden başta Kur’ân-ı Kerîm olmak üzere, mitolojiler, tarihî olaylar gibi birçok husus ele alınmıştır. Fakat klasik Türk edebiyatının düşünce yapısının, dolayısıyla estetik ve poetik ilkelerinin belirgin hâle gelmesinde hadislerin rolü bugüne kadar yeterince incelenmemiştir. Bu makalede estetik ve poetikanın oluşumunda hadislerin de önemli bir rol oynadığı gösterilmeye çalışılmıştır. Şiirin meşruiyeti, şiirin tebcili, şiirin zorunluluğu ve şiirin mahiyeti gibi başlıklar aynı zamanda Osmanlı döneminde şiire yönelik tavırların da bir serencamı sayılabilir. Osmanlı dönemi Türk şairleri şiirin meşruiyetini şiir-sihir ilişkisini öne çıkararak, şiirin tebcilini şiir ve mucize karşılaştırmasıyla, şiirin zorunluluğunu şiir ve vazife arasındaki bağla ve şiirin mahiyetini de şiir-mimesis sorunsalıyla ele almayı tercih etmişlerdir. Sonuç olarak, Kur’ân-ı Kerîm ve hadislerin izini süren Osmanlı dönemi Türk şairlerinin şiirin temsil ve anlatı açısından hakikate uygun olması gerektiğini düşündükleri ortaya çıkarılmıştır.
Every art has its apparent or invisible aesthetic basis, and classical Turkish literature is no exception to this rule. The aesthetic roots of classical Turkish literature date back to ancient Greek philosophers such as Plato, Aristotle, and Plotinus. This theory, which is called New- Platonism after Plotinus, was transmitted to Ottoman poetry through Muslim philosophers such as al-Fārābī (d. 950), Avicenna (d.1037), and Averroes (d. 1198). The first part of this transition was revealed by Şenel (2017), whereas Açıl (2022) showed how this thought had affected classical Turkish poetry and its poetic fundamentals. To distinguish between aesthetics as a branch of theoretical philosophy and poetics as a branch of applied philosophy in the Ottoman era would not be incorrect. Being an empire that was more pragmatic by nature, poets who lived in the Ottoman Empire penned more about poetics than aesthetics.
Many studies have been conducted on the aesthetics and poetics of classical Turkish literature. Mengi (2009) and Açıl (2013) argued the ultimate aim of classical Turkish literature to have been iʿcāz [miracle], which is one of the significant features of the eloquence of theQur’an. Other studies have focused on Islamic aesthetics in general, such as Taşkent (2018) who revealed the aesthetics of al-Fārābī (d. 950), Avicenna (d.1037), and Averroes (d. 1198). Koç (2011) discussed the issue in terms of concepts such as faith (īmān) and beneficence (iḥsān), whereas Ayvazoğlu (1999) argued stylization to be the crucial concept in Islamic aesthetics. Okuyucu (2004), Doğan (1997), and Kaçar (2016) put forward the aesthetics of classical Turkish literature itself. Açıl (2018, 2021a) argued classical Turkish literature discusses poetics more than aesthetics, and concepts such as ʿacz, iʿcāz, and muʿcize are key terms in understanding the aesthetics and poetics of Ottoman poetry as influenced by the Qur’an.
Though the studies mentioned above and others have demonstrated how aesthetics and poetics were established historically, practically no work is found to have discussed the role of hadith in forming aesthetics and poetics. The article will discuss this issue under four subheadings:1) the legitimacy of poetry, 2) the glorification of poetry, 3) the necessity of poetry, and 4) the nature of poetry. In conclusion, I argue that the Turkish poets of the Ottoman period wanted to trace the Qur’an and hadiths and thought that poetry should be written in line with truth .
The first phase in the history of Ottoman poetics involved legitimizing poetry through the relationship between poetry and sorcery. As Tahir Üzgör’s (1990) seminal work, Türkçe
Dîvân Dîbâceleri showed, poets used hadith to prove the legitimacy of composing poetry. Their first aim was to clarify why they were composing poetry that was not forbidden butlegitimate, for Prophet Muḥammad himself had recited, wanted others to recite, and listenedto poetry. In the prefaces of their diwans [poetry collections], poets and the compilers of poets’ anthologies would cite hadith as evidence of the legitimacy of poetry. The most used saying of the Prophet on this topic was the one that argued poetry to have something magical in it. Therefore, poets argued that their poems had as magical an eloquence as the Qur’an does, while also claiming the Qur’an to be neither magic nor poetry. In so doing, poets argued that their poems were as effective as magic.
The second phase of Ottoman poetics involved the glorification and dignification of poetryby comparing it with the concept of miracles (muʿcize). Because each prophet had been given a miracle on a topic, their addressee argued they were the best. In the time of Prophet Muḥammad, Arabs claimed they were the best at eloquence. Therefore, Prophet Muḥammad was given the Qur’an as a miracle whose main feature is its inimitable eloquence. Because poets are the ones who know eloquence the best, poetry and eloquence are, therefore, interdependent. According to them, Ottoman poets must reveal the miracle of the Qur’an to everyone. As a result, poets and compilers would quote the sayings from Prophet Muḥammad that dignified poetry.
Just as poets think they must demonstrate the eloquence of the Qur’ān, so should the existence of poetry and poets be necessary. In that phase of poetics, poets emphasized the relationship between poetry and duty and how poetry must be done by quoting the sayings of Prophet Muḥammad, who stated poets have some duty to defeat enemies in battle.
Although not the last phase, discussing poetry’s nature and meaning is necessary in order to understand aesthetics and poetics fully. Influenced by the emanation theory of Plotinus and
Sufism and similar to Plato, Ottoman poets treated poetry as mimesis. Poets must narrate what they have done and should not pretend to be sailors or warriors (Plato, 2009). The Surah al- Shuʿarā commands the same and blames poets who “only say what they never do.” Therefore, even in poetry, what is said should be correct and reflect the truth according to Ottoman poetics.
