Journals / Ondokuz Mayıs Üniversitesi İlahiyat Fakültesi Dergisi / 2025 / Sayı: 59

The Concept Of Ḥikma in Sufi Lore: A Brief Case Study of Khoja Aḥmad Yasawi’s Divān-ı Ḥikmat

Sufi Geleneğinde Hikmat Kavramı: Hoca Ahmed Yasavi'nin Divān-i Hikmat'ı Üzerine Kısa Bir değerlendirme

Pages
687–698
Publication Date
2025-12-29
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AI Summary & Key Takeaways

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⚡ TL;DR(Too Long; Didn't Read)

This paper not only explores the religious importance of ḥikma within Sufi metaphysics but also looks at how Yasawī’s ḥikma is reflected in his poetry, providing a detailed understanding of how religious ideas and love for the divine come together in the Central Asian Sufi tradition of the Yasawī order.

📌 3 Key Takeaways

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Objective & Hypothesis:This paper investigates the broad idea of wisdom (ḥikma) as articulated in Islamic history and considers the poetic Compendium of Wisdom (Divān-i Ḥikmat) of Khoja Aḥmad Yasawī as its case study.
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Key Findings & Data:Yasawī was a seminal Sufi saint in the religious and cultural landscape of Central Asia during the heyday of the Seljuk Empire (circa 1100-1200 CE).
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Conclusion & Impact:This paper not only explores the religious importance of ḥikma within Sufi metaphysics but also looks at how Yasawī’s ḥikma is reflected in his poetry, providing a detailed understanding of how religious ideas and love for the divine come together in the Central Asian Sufi tradition of the Yasawī order.
🔬Design:Araştırma Makalesi
📍Scope:2013 Verileri
⚙️Variables:Sufi geleneği · Hoca Ahmed Yasawi · Divān-i Hikmat

Abstract

This paper investigates the broad idea of wisdom (ḥikma) as articulated in Islamic history and considers the poetic Compendium of Wisdom (Divān-i Ḥikmat) of Khoja Aḥmad Yasawī as its case study. Yasawī was a seminal Sufi saint in the religious and cultural landscape of Central Asia during the heyday of the Seljuk Empire (circa 1100-1200 CE). Yasawī’s poetry and teachings evoke a lived religious experience that echoes in the spiritual imagination of Turkic Muslim communities to this very day. Like his person, his hikmat also played a crucial role in the Islamization of the region. Khoja Yasawī’s Divān is embedded in Hanafi-Māturīdi scholastic discourse at large, yet it has much more to offer a believer. Each part is considered a hikmät that contains wisdom in its holistic sense. The Divān has many versions stretched across Central Asia and remained part of oral tradition, as noted by DeWeese (2013). The work stretches between biographical themes, high terms of Parisinate Sufism, zikrs, and anecdotal dialogue (Yesevî 2017). Therefore, Yasawī’s contribution to the Central Asian highlands transcends doctrinal supersessionism and has an invitation to self-inquiry and humility. The paper explores ḥikma (wisdom) in a broad sense, focusing on Khoja Yasawī’s Divān as an oral tradition and on his ascetic discipline, ethical focus, and way of being within his historical context. This paper not only explores the religious importance of ḥikma within Sufi metaphysics but also looks at how Yasawī’s ḥikma is reflected in his poetry, providing a detailed understanding of how religious ideas and love for the divine come together in the Central Asian Sufi tradition of the Yasawī order.

Özet

Bu makale, İslam tarihinde ifade edilen bilgelik (ḥikma) kavramının genel anlamını araştırmakta ve Hoca Ahmed Yasavî'nin şiirsel Bilgelik Özeti (Divān-i Ḥikmat) adlı eserini örnek olarak ele almaktadır. Yasawī, Selçuklu İmparatorluğu'nun altın çağında (yaklaşık 1100-1200 CE) Orta Asya'nın dini ve kültürel manzarasında önemli bir Sufi evliyasıydı. Yasawī'nin şiirleri ve öğretileri, Türk Müslüman topluluklarının manevi hayal gücünde günümüze kadar yankı bulan yaşanmış bir dini deneyimi çağrıştırır. Kişiliği gibi, hikmat'ı da bölgenin İslamlaşmasında önemli bir rol oynamıştır. Hoca Yasavî'nin Divânı, genel olarak Hanefi-Maturidi ilahiyat söylemine gömülüdür, ancak inananlara sunabileceği çok daha fazlası vardır. Her bölüm, bütünsel anlamıyla bilgelik içeren bir hikmet olarak kabul edilir. Divân'ın Orta Asya'da birçok versiyonu vardır ve DeWeese (2013) tarafından da belirtildiği gibi, sözlü geleneğin bir parçası olarak günümüze kadar ulaşmıştır. Eser, biyografik temalar, Parisinate Sufizminin yüksek terimleri, zikirler ve anekdotik diyaloglar arasında uzanır (Yesevî 2017). Bu nedenle, Yasawī'nin Orta Asya yaylalarına katkısı, doktrinsel üstünlükçülüğü aşar ve kendini sorgulamaya ve alçakgönüllülüğe davet eder. Bu makale, ḥikma (bilgelik) kavramını geniş anlamıyla ele alır ve sözlü gelenek olarak Khoja Yasawī'nin Divān'ına, onun münzevi disiplinine, etik odak noktasına ve tarihsel bağlamındaki varoluş biçimine odaklanır. Bu makale, Sufi metafiziğinde hikma'nın dini önemini araştırmakla kalmaz, aynı zamanda Yasawī'nin hikma'sının şiirlerine nasıl yansıdığını inceleyerek, Yasawī tarikatının Orta Asya Sufi geleneğinde dini fikirlerin ve ilahi sevginin nasıl bir araya geldiğine dair ayrıntılı bir anlayış sunar.

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Cite This Article

Zafar, A. B. (2025). The Concept Of Ḥikma in Sufi Lore: A Brief Case Study of Khoja Aḥmad Yasawi’s Divān-ı Ḥikmat. Ondokuz Mayıs Üniversitesi İlahiyat Fakültesi Dergisi, Sayı: 59, 687–698. https://doi.org/10.17120/omuifd.1764392

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