Sheikh Vasfî and His Translation Titled Hikemiyyât-ı İslâmiyye
Sheikh Vasfî, one of the authors of the Ara Nesil, who was a supporter of classical Turkish literature, wrote many works in both translation and original works. His work Hikemiyyât-ı İslâmiyye is a translation of Sa‘di Shirâzî’s Bûstân and Gulistân. The text part of the work, which consists of an introduction and text sections, is divided into two parts: translations of the verse and prose parts. In the introduction, Sheikh Vasfî makes a comparison between Eastern and Western literatures and argues for the superiority of Eastern literature and emphasizes the necessity of translations from Eastern literature. In the text section, as an example of this situation, he selects 248 pieces from the Gulistân and Bûstân of Sa‘di Shirâzî, one of the prominent names of Eastern literature, and translates them into prose. In this study, Sheikh Vasfî’s biography and his works in the genres of poetry, letters, conversation, textbooks and translations are presented, and then his work Hikemiyyât-ı İslâmiyye is analyzed in terms of its content, translation language and methodology. The content of Hikemiyyât-ı İslâmiyye was determined by analyzing the text’s introduction and the translation itself; its linguistic features were analyzed according to the origins of the words used, the phrases used, and the use of idioms and proverbs; and its translation method was analyzed according to the type of translation and translation strategies. Following this comprehensive analysis, the latinized version of Hikemiyyât-ı İslâmiyye is presented, thereby enriching both Ottoman and translation studies.
Şeyh Vasfî ve Hikemiyyât-ı İslâmiyye Adlı Tercümesi
Klasik Türk edebiyatı taraftarı Ara Nesil müelliflerinden Şeyh Vasfî (ö. 1910), telif ve tercüme birçok eser kaleme almıştır. Hikemiyyât-ı İslâmiyye isimli eseri Sa‘dî-i Şîrâzî’nin (ö. 691/1292) Bostân ve Gülistân isimli eserlerinden seçme yapılarak oluşturulmuş bir tercümedir. Bir mukaddime ile metin bölümlerinden oluşan eserin metin bölümü kendi içinde manzum ve mensur kısımların tercümeleri olmak üzere ikiye ayrılmaktadır. Şeyh Vasfî, eserinin mukaddime bölümünde DoğuBatı edebiyatları arasında mukayese yaparak Doğu edebiyatının daha üstün olduğunu belirtmekte ve Doğu edebiyatından tercümeler yapılmasının gerekliliğini vurgulamaktadır. Metin bölümünde ise bu duruma bir örnek teşkil edecek şekilde Doğu edebiyatının önemli isimlerinden Sa‘dî-i Şîrâzî’nin -ağırlıklı olarak- Gülistân ve Bostân’ından 248 parçayı seçerek nesir şeklinde tercüme etmektedir. Bu çalışmada, Şeyh Vasfî’nin biyografisi ile şiir, mektup, sohbet, ders kitabı ve tercüme türünden eserleri sunulmakta, ardından Hikemiyyât-ı İslâmiyye isimli eseri muhteva, tercüme dili ve usulü yönünden incelenmektedir. Muhteva incelemesi, hem mukaddime hem de metin kısımları incelenerek yapılmıştır. Dil özellikleri bakımından inceleme, kullanılan kelimelerin kökenlerine, kullanılan terkiplere ve deyim-atasözü kullanımına göre yapılmıştır. Tercüme usulü ise tercüme türü ve tercüme stratejilerine göre incelenerek belirlenmiştir. Bu incelemelerden sonra Hikemiyyât-ı İslâmiyye’nin latinize edilmiş hâli sunulmuş ve böylelikle hem Osmanlı edebiyatına hem de tercüme literatürüne katkıda bulunulmuştur
The period, which is called the “Ara Nesil” and formed by some authors between Tanzimat literature and Serveti Fünûn literature, can be categorized into three groups: Proponents of classical Turkish literature, those who are between the old and the new, and the innovators. Sheikh Vasfî is an author of the Ara Nesil who supports classical Turkish literature. He has a number of original works as well as translated works. His work titled Hikemiyyâtı İslâmiyye, which is discussed in this study, is a translated work and will be latinized and analyzed by us, thus contributing both to the literature of translation and Ottoman literature.
Sheikh Vasfî’s Hikemiyyât-ı İslâmiyye is a selected translation of Gulistân and Bûstân, the works of a famous name from the classical period of Persian literature, namely Sa‘di Shirâzî, indicating that he was a supporter of classical literature. The work consists of an introduction and a text part, which is further divided into two parts: Verse and prose parts.
After presenting the biography of the translator and his works in the genres of poetry, letters, conversation, textbooks and translations, Hikemiyyât-ı İslâmiyye is analyzed and latinized in terms of content, translation language and methodology. In terms of content, both the introduction of the text and the translation itself are analyzed. The introduction is prepared as a manifesto text that displays the side and stance of the translator, and it is also constructed with a content that includes sections, such as “dedication, reason for translation” similar to the introduction of the works of classical literary authors. In other words, the translator introduces his translation with an introduction that combines the modern and the traditional. The text part was prepared as a prose translation of prose and verse pieces with wisdom features. It was determined that most of the source expressions in the prose part were taken from Gulistân and a few from Nasihat al-Muluk, while the source expressions in the verse part were taken from Bûstân. The language used by the translator in his translation is analyzed in terms of the Turkish, Persian and Arabic word origins, the frequency of the translator’s preference for Arabic and Persian phrases, idioms and proverbs, which are stereotyped word groups, and whether or not they correspond to the source text. In the section on translation methodology, firstly, the formal appearance of the translation was emphasized and the fact that the source text and the target text were given together was emphasized. Then, examples illustrate that the translation is a two-way translation, both from prose to prose and from verse to prose, that the meaning is translated in accordance with Turkish syntax, and that some translation strategies are utilized.
As a result of the present study, the following conclusions were reached:
Sheikh Vasfî is an author who wrote many original and translated works to maintain his classical literary understanding, wrote articles in many journals, and was a supporter of Muallim Nâcî in the key literary discussions of the period. He made translations from the works of important names of the East and contributed to the understanding of art he favored in this way. Hikemiyyât-ı İslâmiyye, one of the translated works that Sheikh Vasfî produced for this purpose, is a translation of Sa‘di Shirâzî’s works, mainly Gulistân and Bûstân. In the introduction to the work, Sheikh Vasfî emphasizes the necessity of translating the works of Islamic greats in response to the translations of Western literature’s texts on ethics. The work consists of the translation of 248 moral-themed texts, 130 of which are in prose and 118 in verse, and takes its place as a selected translation among the Turkish translations of Gulistân and Bûstân.
The language used in Hikemiyyât-ı İslâmiyye reflects the characteristics of 19th-century Ottoman Turkish, and the style is quite simple and comprehensible. The languages preferred by the translator in his translations are predominantly Turkish, Arabic and Persian, respectively. The translator’s use of Arabic and Persian words varies in the translation of the prose and verse texts. This is probably because the source texts are prose or verse. It was observed that similar idioms and proverbs were used in the translation of phrases, such as idioms and proverbs in the source text.
The combination of the source text and the target text in the copy demonstrates the translator's commitment to objectivity and allows the target audience to read the source text and the target text comparatively.
Sheikh Vasfî opted for prose translation as a method in his translation. The translator, who translated both the verse part and the prose part in prose, did not translate word-for-word, but rather meaning-centered translation. Since the translator preferred a meaning-oriented translation, he employed translation strategies, such as addition, subtraction and borrowing.
