The Empires of the Near East and India: Source Studies of the Safavid, Ottoman, and Mughal Literate Communities

II. The Worldview of a Sufi in the Ottoman Realm

F. BETUL YAVUZ

It has been attested in the scholarship that the era after the Mongol invasion and before the rise of the early-modern Muslim empires (roughly between the thirteenth to fifteenth centuries) was a religiously chaotic and pluralistic time. In part due to the lack of political authorities proclaiming the rightful way of being a Muslim, significant adjustments were made at all levels of society to more syncretistic views of the universe and the human being, more inclusive perceptions of time and history, and diverse applications of social identities and rituals.¹

In particular with regard to Sufism, this era saw the rise of brotherhoods as encompassing networks of spiritual and social authority over the lands of Islam. Sufi shaykhs came to be understood as community leaders, asserting authority in the worldly affairs of their followers as much as in the spiritual realm. There was also an infiltration of Shiʿite ideals and concepts, including those that had been deemed excessive and marginal (ghulat) in heresiographical books of the past. Among those ideas, we find the teaching of the unity-of-being (wahdat al-wujud) understood in quite materialistic terms, the cyclical view of the time and existence, the heightened love and dedication for ʿAli (Prophet’s cousin and son-in-law, and the first of the Shiʿi imams) as the head of the saints, and an aura of social protest against the privileged classes.

All three Muslim empires of the early modern era seemed to have had to deal with manifestations of such divergent forms of Sufism to claim and protect their sovereignty. For the Ottoman Empire, noteworthy research has been done regarding the transformation of various Sufi orders in an attempt to understand how they adjusted to the new conditions of state-enforced religious doctrines and practices.2

The Bayrami Sufi Order, which was founded in the mid-fifteenth century by a beloved Turkish Sufi shaykh, Hacı Bayram Veli (d. 1430) was split into two when the older, illiterate, and unassuming devotee (Emir Dede, d. 1476) disagreed with the younger and madrasa-educated successor (Akshemseddin, d. 1459). Emir Dede’s followers differentiated themselves from the main body of the Bayramiyye by refusing to wear specific Sufi garments and practice common Sufi rituals that were established in the lodges. During the sixteenth century, their messianic proclivities peaked, and their opposition with the state took a particularly intense form. Several pirs (spiritual leaders) of the order were executed for holding heretical beliefs and engaging in active propaganda to disseminate them.

By the seventeenth century, however, the order shifted its main locality from small Anatolian and Balkanic cities to Istanbul, the capital of the empire, and tried to fit into the world of intellectual and administrative elite in this city. The effort was remarkably successful, and by the late seventeenth century, the order had formed a network among the intellectuals, bureaucrats, court officials, and military administrators. It is during this time in Istanbul that we come across various manuscripts produced by authors who belonged to this branch of the Bayramis and tried to explain the worldview of the order to the literati in Istanbul. The excerpt from the treatise that is translated below, Irshadname, was written in the year 1601 by an author known as al-Hakiki (the Truthful). Hakiki wrote in simple and clear Turkish, although he seems to have been fairly educated and capable of understanding classical sources in Arabic and Persian. His poetic quotations in these languages do not appear in this translation in an effort to keep the text simple.

In the Irshadname, Hakiki first explains the formation of the universe through emanation from the divine origin thanks to the creative force of the eternal and limitless love (‘ishk). The first essence that appears is the prophetic essence (hakikat-i Muhammadiyya), which continually manifests itself through the prophets and holy saints (evliya) on this earth. Hakiki also explains that the cosmos is comprised of a constant circulation of the four elements (air, earth, water, fire), which continually construct new beings (minerals, plants, animals, and humans) as they move in a yearning to find their way back to the original abode of oneness. This can be achieved by reaching (i.e. taking part in the formation of) the human being who attains the gnosis, accomplishes perfection, and becomes absolved from this eternal cycle of life. Hakiki explains that one cannot become aware of this knowledge and tread on this path without a proper master (shaykh) who possesses certain qualities. The sign of a real master is that he should be able to lead and manage his disciples’ through real spiritual experience and ecstasy. One cannot become a shaykh by just putting on a Sufi garment and playing the role, and many of those who do that are simply liars and deceivers. Finally, Hakiki endeavors to clear the order from accusations of heresy and unruly behavior. He explains that when such problematic belief and behavior are detected, the offenders are admonished and punished through the internal dynamics of the order.

Overall, the treatise offers a fascinating window into various spiritual claims and ideas at a crucial period in Ottoman history, and showcases how they were communicated in its intellectual and social scene.

TRANSLATION

The Book of Guidance (Irshadname)

Boundless precious words of gratitude and immeasurable adornments of thanks to God, the conqueror of hearts, the forgiver of sins, the necessary being, the possessor of generosity and munificence, the never-perishing creator and maker without beginning and end. He is the living, the self-subsisting and the loving One. Be aware of greatness of his court and magnificence of his threshold that in accordance with [the hadith] “there was God and there was nothing with him,” when nothing from the earths and heavens, the Throne (‘arsh) and the Footstool (kursi), the Tablet (levh) and the Pen (kalem), none of the other things and created bodies, were existent, He was existent. In this oneness of dominion, through a ray of light stemming from his beauty, he caused a manifestation to appear and brought the whole universe into existence (vucud). He also afflicted the world and the human being with the fire of love (‘ishk). Boundless praises to the cleansed and enlightened one, the untainted existence, regarding whom God the Exalted said: “if it was not for you, I would not have created the spheres.” Master and leader of the Prophethood, the sun and the moon of he-ness (huviyet), the object of light of oneness (ahadiyet), I mean, his highness Muhammad, the abode of prophetic message. Be aware that the meaning of “I created things for you and created you for myself”3 was revealed for his dignity and nobility.

O seeker of mysteries of prophetic guidance, and desirous of the level of conduct of saints, know and be aware that the essence of God, the exalted, in the light of origin and in the world of unity, was a hidden treasure without an abode, “I was a hidden treasure. I loved to be known and created the universe to be known.”⁴

When He was absolutely free of any need, was the transcendent and Holy King, “God is free of all needs from creation,” [Q 3:97; 29:6], the necessity of eternal love and anxious yearning appeared. In accordance with the saying “he manifested himself to himself,” he manifested himself to himself and he fell in love with his own beauty and perfection.

Since the ever-bountiful, generous, and merciful King fell in love with himself, He wished to hold a mirror to his own beauty and to the mystery of is own perfect essence so that He can always observe his own beauty in this mirror. He also wished to manifest the perfection of his power, his greatness and his endless treasure, and to create the world and the human being from the light of reflection of this mirror…. At first, He created the mystery of Muhammad (sırr-ı Muhammadi) and the light of Ahmad from His own pure essence of eternal-besoughtedness (samediyet) and his pure light of oneness. Thus the graceful messenger unveiled the mystery and informed us about his being the eternal reality. The prophet said: “The first thing God created was my light,” “The first thing God created was my spirit,” “The first thing God created was my intellect,” and “The first thing God created was the Pen.” The essence of these four designations is one and that is the Reality of Muhammad. Nonetheless it becomes four in accordance with different levels (of meaning), and all four of them point out that the Reality of Muhammad is the most ancient one. To this, great masters gave the name the most-high mirror (mir’at-i hazret), and from the day of the origin to the day of the resurrection, all seekers of God and all lovers of beauty of His greatness, in accordance with the hadith “whoever saw me, has also seen the Lord,” observe the beauty of God through the Reality of Muhammad. This is why it is called the most-high mirror and it is also called the greatest spirit (ruh-u ‘azam) as all spirits and shades have emerged from it. He, whose beautiful qualities and high morals are beyond description, is the source of the universe and the human being, and he is the greatest Spirit and the mirror of the light of the most Honorable because God the most-high made him a mirror to his pure essence and to the light of his beauty.

God manifested himself by looking into this mirror, and presented his own beauty to himself. At first, the divine love prevailed from God’s never-perishing beauty, then the ocean of oneness started boiling and roaring, and the primordial treasure (genc-i ezeli) and the never- perishing pearl (lu‘lu‘) began to spread…. All meanings of the unseen realized into figures and determinations through the necessity of the primordial wisdom, as God the exalted stroke the foundation of this world with his love. In accordance with (the verse) “verily, when He intends a thing, his command is ‘be’ and it is,” [Q. 36:82], when his essential speech through the tongue of power talked and said “be,” it was manifested in the most-high mirror, the Muhammadan Reality. In this manifestation, all particles of the world were reflected and they came into manifestation (zuhur) by emanating and flashing (feyzan ve lem‘an). When earths and heavens, the Throne and the Footstool, the Tablet and the Pen, high and low spirits, bodies (ecsam), shades of elements (eshbah-ı unsuriyat), abstracts (mucerredat), substances (cevahir), accidents (a‘raz), plants (nebatat), minerals (ma’deniyat), and animals (hayvaniyat), and all of their various kinds, classes and singulars, all the marvelous engravings, all created things were nonexistent in the well of nothingness (ketm-i ʿadem), due to the manifestation of the primordial love they came into existence through the command “be.”

There is also this report (rivayet): “God created a substance (cevher) and looked at it with his gaze of grandeur. The substance melted and from its gist the earth came into being, and from its smoke the heavens appeared.” Meaning, in the beginning God the exalted created a substance and looked at it with the look of grandeur. The substance melted and became water. He created earths from its foam and heavens from its smoke. Knowledge of interpretation and truth (‘ilm-i te’vil ve hakikat) requires that intention from this substance is also the Reality of Muhammad. Likewise when God the exalted says in His great Qur’an and the ancient word, “He created you from one soul (nefs),” [Q. 7:189]5 ‘one soul’ here is also the Reality of Muhammad. In that sense, the beginning and gist of everything is the Reality of Muhammad and it was essentially created from the light of God’s own eternal besoughtedness.

All other spirits (arvah) were created from the reflection of the ray of the Reality of Muhammad. Since the Reality of Muhammad was created from God’s own light and all other spirits were created from the reflection of the light of the Reality of Muhammad, it necessarily follows that the origin of all things is the Reality of Muhammad. Likewise, the origin of the Reality of Muhammad is God the most-high. According to this meaning, on the day of origin all spirits were not separate from the Reality of Muhammad, and it was not separate from God the most-high; rather all of them were -nonexistent (ma’dum) in the essence of God. The ancient, singular, living, self-subsisting and eternally besoughted One was just Himself. Duality and separation (ikilik ve ayrılık) occurred after coming into this world of multiplicity (kesret) and everybody forgot about their origin (asl).

…It follows, then, that all spirits in accordance with (the verse) “I breathed into him of my spirit” [Q. 15:29] emerged from one origin, descended from that world of oneness to this world of multiplicity, wore the flesh of creation through oppositions of four elements and joined the cycle (devr) of the universe. The sun, the moon, and all the other stars in the sky, and everything on the earth act and move in accordance with the cycle from day to day. The spirit, which according to the verse “Say: the spirit (comes) by command of my Lord” [Q. 17:85] belongs to the command of the Lord, circulates into the world of the human being after so many levels (of existence).

The goal in appearing on the level of human being is learning the gnosis of God (marifet- i Hak), returning to the origin, consequently arriving at and connecting with the circle of reaching God (vusul ila’l-Allah dairesi). It has been related in the tradition that these spirits upon falling apart from the threshold of God (dergah-i Hak) and the absolute King (padishah-i mutlak), wailed and moaned. In accordance with the purport of “guide us to the straight way,” [Q. 1:6], they wanted to be shown a way to return to the glorious court of God. To all of them, the highest calling and pleasant addressing of the Creator told them to go to Adam, so that through his heart they can find a way back to him (God) and obtain the capability to attain his glorious threshold. In this manner, God commanded and destined. In accordance with this destination, all created things, trying to find a way to the human being, restlessly fell into the cycle.

…O seeker of the Truth (talib-i Hak), know and be aware that the sun, the moon, and all stars in the sky, and all minerals, plants, and animals on the earth revolve, revel, and move with the intention of appearing as a human. Only through this form, they can obtain the aptitude to know the essence (of God) and His making, and acquire perfections of the creator. As a result, they can break away from the cycle of this elaborate world and find deliverance from the abyss of coming and going. They return to the primordial origin, which is the closeness to the threshold of the Truth, the most-high. They remain in this position for eternity obtaining governance (devlet) and greatness (‘uzmet) of the Lord, his felicity, and his highness of eternal besoughtedness. According to this meaning, once again, the gist, the most superior, and the most honorable of all things is the form of the human being (suret-i insan). The verse, “we have indeed created the human being in the best of molds” [Q. 95:4] is a witness to this meaning. If there was another object (nesne) that is better and superior to this form, perfections of God would be manifested through it and it would be worthy of being the location for the manifestation of God.

If the human being cannot obtain divine perfections, break away from the cycle, attain God, and find salvation while in this image, his way to the heavenly world will be tied up after leaving this world behind. His destination will be far away and his station will remain in the cycle. The pir (the master of the order) has said with his own holy tongue that in the books and pamphlets of some prophets and in the honorable Torah of Moses, the decree is that such a person’s punishment and torment will continue for seventy thousand years. In the honorable Bible that was revealed to Jesus, however, the decree is that such a person will eternally remain in the lowest degree enduring punishment and torment. The great messenger (Muhammad), on the other hand, indicated it will last for seven thousand years. There is also a word and a decree in the Qurʾan that many people, in accordance with the purport of “in the fire of hell they stay for eternity,” [Q. 98:6], will remain in the grief of darkness and in the fire forever. There is never salvation and safety for them. These prophetic decrees are all true and their statements explain various lowly stages of different creatures. Creatures differ in their stations, otherwise there could never be an opposition between the words of prophets. The final statement is that after someone leaves the form (of the human being), he arrives at extremely dangerous places and may God protect all believers from those aforementioned places.

Now it is necessary to recognize this form (suret) as an opportunity and to gain divine perfections through hard work and unsparing endeavor without falling into negligence. In accordance with “man can have nothing but what he strives for,” [Q. 53:39] an individual’s position is determined by the amount of his work. Certainly, the one who loses this chance will waste this delicate life being deceived by ornaments and shadows of this world. This (chance) won’t be given again, and its end is remorse and depravity. The smart person is the one who does not waste this chance and spend his life in heedlessness; he understands the meaning of “this world is the sowing ground for the next,”6 maintains obedience and worship (ibadet ve ta’at) day and night, and is occupied towards the direction of God.

Now, O wayfarer of the path and seeker of the truth, do not give your heart to this temporary world or bind your heart to it. Do not be deceived by its ornaments and decorations, because there is no permanence to it. Drink the wine (bade) of divine love from the cupbearer of oneness (saki-i vahdet), because the time passes and the days of the world do not persist. If you find peace of heart and purity of mind with the divine love, do not waste it; because the heart can not always find the time of purity or the place of comfort. In every instant and in every breath, make effort, endeavor, and work for your feet to remain firm on the straight path. In accordance with the purport of “make your morals the same with that of God and make your attributes the same with that of God,”7 transform your reproached morals into praised ones and endow yourself with attributes of God. It is incumbent and an important command on every Muslim that in accordance with the purport of “the one whose bosom Allah expanded for Islam, he is upon a light from his Lord,” [Q. 39:22], he should expand his bosom, purify his soul and his heart from dark attributes and carnal filths, and become a place of luminous and spiritual faith (iman-i nurani ve ruhani). Through this luminosity and spirituality, one can be endowed with the attributes of God and return to the original homeland (vatan-i asli).

This meaning we explained can only occur by reaching the perfect human being (insan-i kamil) and the perfect guide (murshid-i mukemmel), and completely submitting to him. The guide is not a person who embellishes his words with the outward and acquired knowledge (ilm-i zahir, ilm-i kesebi) and decorates his appearance with a headdress (tac) and an outer garment (hırka).⁸ These people did not step a foot into the station of guidance (makam-i irshad), but are rather outside of it. Because this is the case, it is forbidden for them to guide other people. They are imitators and adorers of appearances and are unaware of the mystery of the people of the verification and meaning (ehl-i mana ve ehl-i tahkik). Those who are adorned with the rightful appearance on the outside, but are tainted with hidden polytheism in the inside in the manner explained, are in accordance with the purport of “in their hearts is a disease” [Q. 5:52] are ill and lifeless (dem-beste). They change their appearances for the sake of making a living…. Now, do not be deceived by these shaykhs who are equipped with the outward knowledge and adorned with the headdress and the outer garment, and are the shaykhs of the people of the apparel (ehl-i kisvet). To obtain the love of God, go to the perfect guide who encloses the inward and the outward knowledge as well as the divine mysteries (esrar-i ilahiyye). He should be able to cast divine blessing into the hearts of his disciples and provide them with states of love, anxious yearning, inclination, ecstasy (vecd), and mystical taste (zevk) through spiritual rapture (cezbe-i ruhani). These are the indications and signs of a perfect guide. Without these indications and signs, those who claim to be perfect guides are not guides, but liars.

When it comes to those who do not follow the divine commands, and abide by the conduct of the path and the shariʿa, they become tainted with malevolent and repugnant acts. They receive reproach (melamet) from commoners, and because of them, the perfect guide and his path, as well as all followers of the Sufi orders receive reproach and rebuke. Such people did wrong to themselves, to their pir, to the path, and also to all people of the path. May God protect us from evil of this kind!

Honorable saints—may God sanctify their secrets—in many sources and their stories (menakib), have related various admonitions to the people of the wayfaring (ehl-i suluk) and indicated that those who circulate, utter, or cause someone to utter slander against the people of the truth are the same. In this sense, they are the enemies of the true religion and the true path. May God protect us, but there is the fear that they might go from this world to the hereafter without faith. It is necessary that in accordance with the purport of the verse “incline not to those who do wrong,” [Q. 11:113], the people of the truth and the path, should not show favor to them and avoid them in a unified manner. It is necessary and is a command for the people of the path that when they see someone from the path in a situation or in an act that is contrary to the noble law and to the eminent path, they should reject this person and refuse his act. If this person admits his wrongdoing and fault, repents for his sin, vows not to do it again, and asks to turn back to his prior state in the path, then, it is necessary for the people of the truth that elders of the path show him the way back in. If this person obeys whatever the elders of the path command and accept it, the word of God, the tradition of the prophet, and the path of the saints, are known to the people of the truth. They should carry out his punishment accordingly. Then, they can accept him (back into the path) and show him friendliness as before. If the person acts rebellious and does not accept the right (hak) that the path has on him, they should reject him. If the person, God forbid, falls into error and continues his false acts thinking they are right and refuses any punishment, and comes to the assembly of the people of truth in this condition; elders of the assembly, after they become cognizant of his behaviors, should talk to him in a good manner and a kind tone. They should tell him of his sin and wrongdoing, his fall into error (ilhad), his deviation from the true path, and inform him of his descent into corruption and false beliefs. They should say to him: “because you are in this situation and are acting like that, you are no longer one of us and do not fit into our (group).” They should mention the verse, “say: my work to me, and yours to you; you are free from responsibility for what I do, and I for what you do,” [Q. 10: 41], and banish him from the path. They should also expel him from their hearts and do not show love and inclination toward him. They should not let him get into their assembly until this person repents, relents deeply, and complies to go through the punishment (had) for his sin and-wrongdoing in accordance with the noble law and the illuminated path. He should return from his fallacious beliefs and follow the commandments of God, sayings of the prophet, and the decree, knowledge, and action of the perfect guide. If he wants to be accepted by people of the path and demands his affiliation back, then the rule of people of the path is that they should let him know about the necessary punishment and show him the rightful way. If he is obedient to whatever the commandment is and is pleased with it, they should perform the decree of “if you did good, you did good for yourselves; if you did evil, you did it against yourselves,” [Q. 17:7], and do the right thing. Meaning, if it is necessary to hit him (had urmak), they should hit him. If it is to put him to the service or put him in the prison (karakolluga komak), they should do that. If it is to rebel (kazgan kaynatmak) and take money from him, they should do that. To summarize, whatever punishment is necessary for the kind of wrongdoing a person commits is known to the perfect guide and to people of the path. They should carry it out in accordance with the command and agreement of the perfect guide. Only then, they can accept this person and open their hearts to him as before. They should eliminate animosity, vanity, and grudge, and be on good terms with him in the spirit of unity like before. After this stage, they should not refrain from this person anymore.

The summary of my words is that all great prophets, beginning from Adam and ending with the seal of prophets, Muhammad, were locations of manifestation for the Muhammadan reality and the Ahmadan light. They invited all creatures to the religion of Islam. Those who believed in prophets and followed them, in accordance with the meaning of “(God) leads them out of darkness to the light,” [Q. 2:257; 5:16], arrived at the light of oneness and guidance, leaving behind the darkness of denial, error, and multiplicity. After the seal of the prophets, beginning from the head of the evliya, meaning, imam ʿ‘Ali (son-in-law of Muhammad)—may God dignify his face-, —until this time, and from this time until the end of the world, honorable evliya are endowed with the mystery of the verse “we make them leaders and we make them heirs.” [Q. 28:5]. They are the possessors of leadership (imama) in the niche of the truth; they are the heirs to the prophets and the objects of the light of the manifestation. In this sense, they were sent to save everybody from the darkness of mortal humanity, purify them from denial and polytheism, and lead them toward divine guidance and light of faith.

Those, who accepted their calling, professed faith, inclined toward their guidance, and carried out right deeds, became receivers of divine blessing and attainers of this light. Thanks to this divine light, they obtained proximity to God the most-high and returned to their original homeland. They are believers and confirmers of the oneness of being and are saved from the darkness of denial. They are included within the circle of the paradise and can see the face of the Beloved. Those, who do not accept the calling of the prophets and the saints, profess faith, and incline toward their guidance, cannot become receivers of the divine blessing. They remain in denial and blasphemy and join the flock of Satan. They stay in the eternal cycle that we described above and become the people of fire (hell).

NOTES

1. For more information on this period, see Michel Mazzaoui, The Origins of the Safawids (Wiesbaden, Germany: F. Steiner, 1972); Marshall Hodgson, The Venture of Islam, vol. 2 (Chicago: Chicago University Press, 1974), 493–500; Annemarie Schimmel, “The Ornament of the Saints: The Religious Situation in Iran in Pre-Safavid Times,” Iranian Studies 7 (1974): 88–111; B. S. Amoretti, “Religion Under the Timurids and the Safavids,” in The Cambridge History of Iran, vol. 6, ed. Peter Jackson and Laurence Lockhart (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1986), 610–23; Kathryn Babayan, Mytics, Monarchs, and Messiahs: Cultural Landscape of Early Modern Iran (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2002); Azfar Moin, The Millennial Sovereign: Sacred Kingship and Sainthood in Islam (New York: Columbia University Press, 2012).

2. Among others, see Ahmet Karamustafa, “Origins of Anatolian Sufism,” in Sufism and Sufis in Ottoman Society: Sources, Doctrine, Rituals, Turuq, Architecture, Literature and Fine Arts, Modernism, ed. Ahmet Yasar Ocak (Ankara: Turkish Historical Society, 2005), 67–95; Dina LeGall, A Culture of Sufism: Naqshbandis in the Ottoman World (1450–1700) (New York: State University of New York Press, 2005); John J. Curry, The Transformation of Muslim Mystical Thought in the Ottoman Empire: The Rise of the Halveti Order, 1350–1650 (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2010); Derin Terzioglu, “Sufis in the Age of State-Building and Confessionalization,” in The Ottoman World, ed. Christine Woodhead (London: Routledge, 2012), 86–99; Hasan Karatas, “The Ottomanization of the Halveti Sufi Order: A Political Story Revisited,” Journal of the Ottoman and Turkish Studies Association 1, nos. 1–2 (2014): 71–89.

3. “Khalaqtu’l-ashya li ajlik ve khalaqtuk li ajli.” The text includes a lot of sacrosanct hadith (sayings that were believed to have been uttered by God through the mouth of the Prophet) that cannot necessarily be traced in this translation. Please refer to Annemarie Schimmel, Mystical Dimensions of Islam (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1975), 477–78) for an index of prophetic sayings commonly used by Sufis.

4. “Kuntu kanzan makhfiyyan fa-ahbabtu an-’urifa fakhalaqtu al-khalqa li an ‘urifa.”

5. “Man raani fa-qad raa’l-Ḥaqq” (prophetic saying).

6. “Al-dunya merzi’atu’l-akhira” (prophetic saying).

7. “Takhallaqu bi akhlaq-Allah va ittasafu bi sifat-Allah” (prophetic saying).

8. Also mentioned are misvak (a stick of wood used as a toothbrush, believed to have been a tradition of the Prophet), talesyan (one end-piece of the cloth turban [sarık] put on one shoulder), cubbe (long and wide outer garment worn by men as a tradition of the prophet).