TRADITIONS OF THE PRE-ISLAMIC AGE OF IGNORANCE IN TRANSLATIONS OF KASİDE-İ BÜRDE

Abstract

The poetry which is one of the Arabic disciplines, rather than being a rhyming and metrical saying, is a great result of the spiritual output of Arabic people. Although it is not known how the Arabic poerty came out and how it got in order for sure, the researchers are on the same page about the fact that it turned into a common language that is known by all the tribes at the dawn of the sixth century. During the historical period starting from the first years of the pre-islamic age of ignorance till the first years of the Hejira, the ode of which first examples are found in the seven poems called the Mu‘allaqāt is the first and the longest established verse of the Arabic poetry. The ode deals with four main topics as praise, satire, pride and depiction and the themes contradicting with the Islamic belief and Islamic moral principles have given their place to Islamic values inspired from the Koran. Kaside-i Bürdes which are different from other odes in terms of the topic they deal with are independent works written in order to praise the Prophet Muhammad and the fact that the works regard love for the Prophet Muhammad as worship has led to a lot of translations, explanations, tahmises, teshtirs and tezyils to be written in our literature. As in many works, it is possible to come across with traces of preislamic age of ignorance in translations of Kaside-i Bürde, too. However the term, the age of pre-islamic age of ignorance, stands for a culture rather than a historical process that has already come to an end. Therefore, in this study, remarkable features of the pre-islamic age of ignorance and Arabic customs shaping the Arabic political and social life have been examined from translations of Kaside-i Bürde. As a last word, it is a fact that the translations, which are proofs of cultural exchange between civilizations, serve as bridges between the Arabic and the Turkish cultures as it is the case in many. Study Method In this study emphasis is given on JAHILIYYAH poem ‘Burden ode’, which is the first and most fundamental verse form of Arabic literature and ode (Eulogy), which has an independent identity in terms of the subjects it dealt with, was briefly expressed. As it is in many works, remarkable features of common culture of Jahiliyyah age (preislamic age of ignorance) have been studied in Burden ode translations as well. Besides, the customs and traditions, giving direction to the political and social life of Arabs, were examined. Findings and Discussion Since the aim of this study is to determine the remarkable features of Jahiliyyah age and is to identify Jahiliyyah age culture in the Burden ode translations, translations of Ahmed Leâlî, Abdurrahman Karahisârî, Şemseddin Sivâsî were discussed and the mentality of the pre-Islamic period in these works has been tried to be explained. The status of pre-Islamic Arab customs and traditions such as Oath, testimony, sacrifice, generosity, justiceships, priesthood, pacta sunt servanda were identified. In addition to the traces of Arabic social, political and religious life,usage of Jahiliyyah age concepts such as " Ketem, selem " in poetry are clear evidence of this period’s culture. Moreover, usage of Arabic idioms such as “kına, konuk odu, yağrıkta et dövmek” by our poets indicates the traces of the interaction between cultures. All of them experienced a historical process is not finished period, representing a culture of ignorance, which is translated in a concrete indication of the viability of continued evidence of cultural trade between civilizations. All of them do not represent an experienced and finished historical, they represent that Jahiliyyah age continues in the translations which are the concrete evidence indicators of the cultural trade among civilizations. This study investigates in what form Jahiliyyah age reflected in the translations examined by exploring the remarkable features of the Jahiliyyah age culture. Conclusions and Suggestions As a result, poetry as the most influential art activities during the Jahiliyyah age was used as an indispensable means of expression in pre-Islamic Arab society. At that time, ode won the classic form reaching maturity in terms of internal structure and rhythm. Ode; the most advanced form of Arabic poetry with formal properties and its content changed in time as éclat ( praise ) , satire ( critize ) , boasting ( self-praise ) or heroism grinding ( valor ) and moved away from the classical form. Independent poetry genres such as praise and epigram have appeared. And again, the first and most fundamental form of Arabic poetry and writtenwith a certain purpose this poetry continued its development process and Kaside-i Bürde (Burden Ode) and translations of Kaside-i Bürde(Burden Ode) have emerged that were written in order to praise the Prophet. Jahiliyyah term, which is used to distinguish beliefs, attitudes and behaviors from the Islamic period and Jahiliyyah age, which does not represent an experienced and finished historical processs, but it represents a culture, also we find traces of this culturein Odes as we did in many works. Even after Islam and during the Prophet period it is possible to find traces of Jahiliyyah age. Yet, Islam supported some nice behavior of this period and protected them. Therefore, the most striking features of Jahiliyyah (Ignorance) culture and customs and traditions that shape the political and social life of Arabs have been studied. Customs and decorum such as generosity, pacta sunt servanda, justiceships, oathetc. were mentioned, a short panorama of this era drawn and hints of the era’s religious understanding and society has been tried to put forward. Each civilization imports and exports its cultural property in a variety of ways. Translation is one of the concrete examples of this exchange. As in many translations, kaside-i bürde (burden ode) translations also have opened the door of interactions between civilizations and it has played an important rol

Özet

Arapların kendilerine has ilimlerinden biri olan şiir, kafiyeli, vezinli bir söz olmaktan öte onların ruhi faaliyetlerinin muhteşem bir sonucudur. Arap şiirinin ilk defa nasıl teşekkül ettiği, nasıl düzenli bir şekil aldığı kesin olarak bilinememekle birlikte M. VI. yüzyıl başlarında bütün kabilelerin bildiği ortak bir dil hâlini alışı hususunda araştırmacılar hemfikirdirler. Cahiliye devrinden Hicret'in ilk yıllarına kadar Arap şiirindeki tarihi süreçte ilk örneklerini Muallakat adı verilen muhtelif yedi şiirde bulduğumuz kaside ise Arap edebiyatının ilk ve en köklü nazım şeklidir. Kaside; methiye, hiciv, iftihar ve tasvir olmak üzere dört temel konuyu işlemiş; İslam'ın inanç ve ahlak prensipleri ile çelişen temalar zamanla yerini Kuran'dan mülhem İslami değerlere bırakmıştır. İşlediği konu bakımından diğer kasidelerden ayrılıp kendi başlarına müstakil bir eser hüviyetinde olan Kaside-i Bürde'ler ise Hz. Peygamber'i methetmek maksadıyla yazılan eserlerdir ve bu eserlerin Hz. Peygamber sevgisini ifade etmede adeta bir ibadet telakki edilmesi edebiyatımızda birçok tercüme, şerh ve tahmislerinin kaleme alınmasına vesile olmuştur. Cahiliye dönemi kültürünün izlerine birçok eserde olduğu gibi Kaside-i Bürde Tercümeleri'nde de rastlamak mümkündür. Zira Cahiliye kavramı ve Cahiliye dönemi, yaşanmış bitmiş bir tarihi süreci değil bir kültürü temsil etmektedir. Bu nedenle bu çalışmada Cahiliye kültürünün dikkat çekici özellikleri araştırılmış, Arapların siyasi ve sosyal hayatlarına yön veren örf ve âdetleri Kaside-i Bürde Tercümeleri'nde incelenmiştir. Şurası bir gerçektir ki medeniyetler arası kültür ticaretinin somut birer delilleri olan tercümeler birçok kültürde olduğu gibi Arap ve Türk kültürü arasında da köprü vazifesini yerine getirmiştir