Yusuf-ı Meddah’s Mathnawi Titled “Dastan-ı İblis”
Ozan KolbaşYusuf-ı Meddah, a prominent poet of the 14th century, made significant contributions to the advancement of Turkish literature through his written and narrated works. Limited information is available about his personal life. Among his notable works are Varka ve Gülşah, Maktel-i Hüseyn, Yusuf u Züleyha, Dastan-ı Kadi vü Oğrı, Hikayet-i Kız u Cühud, Dastan-ı Vercihan-ı Fanus Der-Hikayet-i Takyanus, and verse stories detailing the heroic adventures of Ali, the son of Abu Talib. A noteworthy work of his Dastan-ı İblis, written in the mathnawi verse form, which focuses on a dialog between Prophet Muhammad and Satan. In this work, Satan responds to religious and moral inquiries posed by the Prophet. The first academic study on Dastan-ı İblis was conducted by İsmail Hikmet Ertaylan, who introduced the work and summarized its contents. The manuscript copy mentioned by Ertaylan is yet to be found, preventing its publication. Furthermore, Metin Akar, another researcher, analyzed the origins of his story in three different articles. Another manuscript of this work, whose existence is unknown, is registered in the Süleymaniye Manuscript Library, Darü’l-Mesnevi Collection, number 9/3. This scholarly article evaluates previous studies on Dastan-ı İblis, carefully analyzing its subject, sources, and literary value, while highlighting similarities with other prose works on similar themes. The article concludes by presenting the complete text of the work for the first time.
Yûsuf-ı Meddâh’ın Dâstân-ı İblîs Adlı Mesnevisi
Ozan KolbaşYûsuf-ı Meddâh, on dördüncü yüzyılda yaşamış, kaleme aldığı veya anlattığı eserlerle edebî Türkçenin gelişmesine katkı sağlamıştır. Hayatı hakkında herhangi bir bilgi yoktur. Varka ve Gülşâh, Maktel-i Hüseyn, Yûsuf u Züleyhâ, Dâstân-ı Kâdî vü Oğrı, Hikâyet-i Kız u Cühûd ve Dâstân-ı Vercihân-ı Fânûs Der-Hikâyet-i Tâkyanûs adlı eserleri ile Hz. Ali’nin kahramanlık maceralarını anlattığı manzum hikâyeleri vardır. Eserlerinden biri de mesnevi nazım şekliyle yazılmış, Hz. Muhammed ile İblis arasındaki diyaloğu konu alan Dâstân-ı İblîs’tir. İblis eser boyunca, Hz. Muhammed’in sorduğu dinî ve ahlakî sorulara çeşitli cevaplar verir. Eser hakkında ilk çalışma İsmail Hikmet Ertaylan tarafından yapılmış, Ertaylan, kaleme aldığı makalesinde eseri tanıtarak konusunun kısa bir özetini vermekle yetinmiş, bahsettiği nüshanın nerede olduğunu ise belirtmemiştir. Eserin nüshası şimdiye kadar ele geçmediği için metni yayımlanmamıştır. Eser hakkında çalışmalar yapan bir diğer araştırmacı ise Metin Akar’dır. Akar, kaleme aldığı üç ayrı makalede metinde anlatılan hikâyenin kökenini incelemiştir. Eserin şimdiye kadar varlığından haberdar olunmayan bir diğer el yazması nüshası Süleymaniye Yazma Eser Kütüphanesi, Dârü’l-Mesnevî Koleksiyonu, 9/3 numarada kayıtlıdır. Bu makalede; Dâstân-ı İblîs hakkında daha önce yapılan çalışmalar değerlendirilmiş, eserin konusu ve kaynakları incelenmiş, kısa özeti verilmiş ve edebî değeri tahlil edilmiştir. Dâstân-ı İblîs’in tam metni, aynı konuyu ele alan mensur tercümeyle mukayese edilerek metin tenkidi yöntemiyle ilk kez burada yayımlanmaktadır.
Yusuf-ı Meddah lived in the 14th century and made significant contributions to the development of Turkish literature through his works. Unfortunately, limited information is available concerning his life. His name is mentioned, and one of his couplets is quoted in the book Kenzü’l-Kübera ve Mehekkü’l-Ulema written by Şeyhoğlu (d. 817/1414?). His mathnawi, Varka ve Gülşah, was written in Sivas, leading to the estimation that he spent a part of his life there. Furthermore, some studies have determined that his work titled Maktel-i Hüseyn was also written by Yusuf-ı Meddah. Based on the information provided in this work, he is speculated to have spent another part of his life in Kastamonu. The other information provided in various studies on Yusuf-ı Meddah’s biography is derived from interpretations of his works.
Some of his extant works include Varka ve Gülşah, Maktel-i Hüseyn, Dastan-ı Kadı vü Oğrı, Hikayet-i Kız u Cühud, Dastan-ı Vercihan-ı Fanus Der-Hikayet-i Takyanus, and Yusuf u Züleyha. Moreover, there are two distinct works wherein he narrates the heroic adventures of Ali, the son of Abu Talib. In these works, Yusuf-ı Meddah did not adopt a sophisticated literary style but rather wrote the stories in simple Turkish verse.
One of Yusuf-ı Meddah’s works is Dastan-ı İblis, which was first introduced by İsmail Hikmet Ertaylan, who provided some examples of couplets and summarized the remaining story. However, Ertaylan did not specify the library or private collection where the manuscript copy he used was found, preventing further study of the text. Furthermore, Adnan Erzi criticized Ertaylan’s study for certain errors and deficiencies. Another researcher, Metin Akar, analyzed Dastan-ı İblis in three articles, focusing on its subject and sources, and examining its similarity to other works written earlier.
In addition, a recently identified manuscript of Dastan-ı İblis is registered in Süleymaniye Manuscript Library, Darü’l-Mesnevi Collection, number 9/3. As it was written after another work and there was no space between the two works, it was not identified or recorded in the catalog. This discovery provided additional information about the work.
Dastan-ı İblis is written in the form of a mathnawi verse, and the manuscript contains 237 couplets. The work centers on the dialog between Prophet Muhammad and Satan. It began with a narrative concerning the expulsion of Prophet Adam from paradise, followed by Prophet Muhammad asking Satan various religious and moral questions to which Satan responded. Prophet Muhammad then asks Satan for advice to share with his close ones. As of the 213th couplet, Satan offers advice on timely prayers, avoiding inappropriate interactions with women, avoiding false oaths, backbiting, and slandering. Subsequently, Gabriel intervenes and resumes the discussion on Satan not prostrating to Prophet Adam. The text concludes with a prayer from Yusuf-ı Meddah and his remembrance of Mevlana Celaleddin-i Rumi (d. 672/1273). The objective of writing or narrating this work is to offer underlying advice to the reader or listener through these questions and answers, encouraging them to steer away from Satan’s path. Moreover, it inspires people who read or listen to the story to distance themselves from evil. There are also prose versions of this story, which are known to be translations from Arabic into Turkish. The translated work and Yusuf-ı Meddah’s work share striking similarities. Comparing the two versions, it is evident that the narrative began similarly with minor nuances, and although the order sometimes changes, almost the same questions are answered with the same responses. Hence, it is unlikely that Yusuf-ı Meddah made any original additions to the story.
