Analysis of Sayyid Yahya Shirvanī's Treatise Entitlet al-İkhtiyārāt

Abstract

One of the most prevalent sects in the Islamic World is the Khalvetiyye sect. This sect emerged in the geography of Azerbaijan and spread all over the world. Sayyid Yahya Shirvanī is the person who made the sect spread in this way. Shirvanī contributed greatly to the spread of this sect with both his students and the books he wrote. However, the political developments in the region after Sayyid Yahya's death caused the books Khalveti tradition to be lost or taken to different countries. El-İ khtiyá rá tu'l-Kafiye treatise, which is the subject of our study, is one of the works that lived this fate. In the study, first of all, the author of the treatise was determined. Afterwards, it was determined that there are eight copies of the treatise in the libraries of Kuwait, Egypt and Turkey. Four of these copies, which are the oldest in terms of date, were determined and the study was verified on the basis of these copies. In the examination, the oldest known copy of the treatise, which was copied in 1021/1612, which is in the Kı lıç Ali Pasha Collection, was taken as the basis. Since there have been many studies on the life, works and views of Sayyid Yahya Shirvani, the author of the treatise, this subject has not been dwelled upon much. The main purpose of the study is to raise the issue that there are many unearthed manuscripts belonging to both Sayyid Yahya Shirvanī and other Khalveti sheikhs who lived in Azerbaijan. Another aim of these is to learn Shirvani's style in the only Arab work identified as his own. One of the most important branches of the work carried out by both Sayyid Yahya Shirvanī and his caliphs was the works they wrote. There are many works that describe the principles of the Khalvetiyye sect in Arabic, Turkish and Persian, either by Sayyid Yahya or by other Azerbaijani Khalveti sheikhs. However, among these works, only those belonging to Sayyid Yahya Shirvanī were studied, and no detailed examination was made about other works. It is quite difficult to reveal anything new about the works of Sayyid Yahya Shirvani. Because until today, there have been a great number of scientific studies in the form of books, papers, articles and symposiums about the life, works and caliphs of the 'Pî r-i Sanî' of the Khalvetiyye sect. However, as far as we can see, the author's treatise named al-İ khtiyá rá t, which is the subject of our study, has escaped the attention of researchers. Therefore, it has been concluded that the analysis of the only Arabic epistle known to belong to the author is important. Thanks to this treatise, we will have the opportunity to learn the method that Sayyid Yahya Ş irvá nî used in writing Arabic works. Another significance of the treatise is that it strengthens the possibility that works still exist in the case of a new manuscript belonging to Sayyid Yahya. Sayyid Yahya Shirvanī does not use his own name in any of his works as a method. This tradition was continued by the Azerbaijani Khalveti sheikhs. However, this method, which stems from the sense of humility, caused the authors of many of the works belonging to these sheikhs to be confused in the later periods. The most striking example of this is the work of Beyá nu'l-Esrá r. This work has been attributed to seven different authors. There is no author's name in the copies of the al-Ikhtiyá rá t treatise, which is the subject of our study. The only exception is the Egyptian copy.In the introductory part of the copy, the scribe also included the names of the authors of the treatises in the journal he copied. In this study, an unknown Arabic treatise of Sayyid Yahya Shirvani, who operated in Azerbaijan and influenced almost the entire Islamic World through his works and successors, is the subject of the research. The pamphlet, which is divided into three chapters under the title of truth, together with the sharia with the sublimity of the enthusiasm, the secrets of the sect and the observance together with the gracefulness of the pleasures, has been analyzed and translated on the basis of different copies. The main purpose of the study is to reveal one of the many Arabic sources of Azerbaijani Sufism, and to reveal the possibility that there may still be different works belonging to Sayyid Yahya Shirvani. Another aim of ours is to learn the Arabic style that Seyyid Yahya Shirvanī uses in his works, albeit partially. We hope that archival research in different manuscript libraries around the world will reveal the works of both Sayyid Yahya Shirvanī and other Azerbaijani Sufis.