An Evaluation on the Divine Love Concept on the Dewans of Mustak Baba and Kuddusi Baba

Year 2019, Volume: 18 Issue: 35, 233 - 258, 30.06.2019

Nuran Çetin

https://doi.org/10.14395/hititilahiyat.502604

Cited By: 2

Abstract

Abstract:

Mustak Baba and Kuddusi Baba are among our prominent sufi poets, grown in 19th century Anatolia and leading a life that observed Qur’an and sunnah. These individuals symbolically described, through poetry, the spiritual states they have experienced in their hearts in relation to divine love. Our study has indicated that these two scholars had many things in common. They both lived during the same century, followed the sect of Qadiriyya, were masters in worldly and esoteric sciences, produced works in the fields of religion and mysticism, spent their lives being engaged in activities of science and wisdom and travelled to various locations. 

Looking at the literature of Mustak Baba and Kuddusi Baba, we have realized that they were more indulged in matters such as dhikr, asceticism, dissolution of heart and taming of soul to reach divine love. This article, consisting of two parts, is aiming to get a closer look to both of the individuals as well as the divine love they utter. The first part consists of Mustak Baba’s life, works and his understanding of divine love, while the second part is addressing Kuddusi Baba’s life, works and his understanding of divine love. We have examined the issues reflected by both of the scholars on divine love on the basis of their literature style. And in the conclusion part we have provided a general assessment.

Summary

Divine love is one of the basic components of sufi culture. Considered to be the reason behind the existence of the universe, love has been described in various ways by sufis. According to sufis, love is in fact potentially present in all existing creatures. Love is non-verbal and it is experienced through a spiritual state and therefore the love of every creature differs according to his own capability.

Sufis who have mastered love have tried to describe their intense emotions through their knowledge, feelings and abilities. Rather than using long sentences to describe the love felt in their hearts, Sufi poets resorted to the language of poetry with its symbolic characteristics and containing numerous meanings in each couplet. In this sense, sufis have regarded poetry as a significant tool on the way to reach the right path and used poetry to describe the intricate issues indescribable through prose. As such, several works produced in sufi history under the title of Literature of theology generally address the matter of divine love.

As everything has a goal and target, love also has a goal and target. One needs to know who to love and why to love in order to realize the target. Therefore, sufis did not refer to any simple, random love, but rather a lofty love with a defined purpose. It is possible to see the manifestation of such a love in the lives of prophets too. For instance, Nemrud prepared for months to burn Ibrahim. However, blaze turned into light through love for Ibrahim. Similarly, Musa broke the spell of wizards through love. Yakub felt the scent of his beloved Yusuf through love. Isa ascended to the sky with love. Hz. Muhammed went to Sidrat al-Muntaha with love.It is love that made Farhad bore a mountain and it is love that makes nightingale serenade to rose. As indicated by these examples, the dimensions of experience and feeling are more prominent in love. 

In Islamic sufi history of thought almost every sufi talks about love. Early sufis opted to use the term “muhabbet” as love was associated more with human love. But the following sufis preferred the word love to describe extreme or more comprehensive affection. In this sense, two of the prominent sufi poets of Anatolia, Mustak Baba and Kuddusi Baba, are two significant individuals who referred to divine love in both their lives and in their written works. They regarded poetry as a tool to recite the name of the loved one in the sense of verses and hadiths and used it to describe their experiences of divine love. In terms of their competent personalities, sufi thoughts, works and the activities of wisdom that enlightened the society, it is clear that both of these scholars led highly active lives centred on Qur’an and Sunnah.

As a result of our study, we have realized that the subjects of our article, Mustak Baba and Kuddusi Baba, had a lot in common. Some of their common traits are that they have lived within the same century, followed the sect of Qadiriyya, studied both worldly and esoteric sciences, produced works in different styles in the fields of religion and mysticism in and travelled to various locationsfor the sake of wisdom and science. 

The divine love-themed collections of Mustak Baba andKuddusi Baba include religious sufi poetry written in hece and aruzmeters. In addition to divine love, their works also refer to various concepts such as unity, knowledge, contemplation, sincerity, piety, ascetism, repentance and dhikr. Our scholars have represented their experience of divine love in a sincere manner in their works. Furthermore, both of them have become famous with the pseudonymthey used in their poems.

Mustak Baba andKuddusi Babalived during the second half of 18th century and first half of the 19th century. It was an era that was highly difficult for the Ottoman State in political, economic, social and military terms.Both of these scholars have witnessed the regression and dissolution periods of the Ottomans. It is safe to anticipate that Mustak Baba and Ahmed Kuddusi prevented social dissolution through their wise personalities and advices. They had an age difference of fifteen years between them and both of them were willing to play their roles in the face of the difficulties of their era. As such, both of these scholars have personally took part in the war and did their best to save the nation. For instance, Mustak Baba was part of the troops of Grand Vizer (corresponding to Prime Minister) Yusuf Ziya Pasha (d. 1233/1818) progressing to Egypt, while Kuddusi Baba fought in the Ottoman-Russian wars during the 1222/1807 and 1225/1810 period. In addition to the wars and poverty, they also had to endure certain difficulties posed by the public. Due to the difficulties exerted by the nation, Kuddusi Baba had to live in seclusion in his hometown for many long years. Mustak Baba, on the other hand, has been martyred after being attacked by a crowd that was not fond of him. 

The two individuals subjecting to our study can be briefly introduced as follows: The actual name of Mustak Babais Muhammed Mustafa. His pseudonym is Mustak and he became famous with this name. His family immigrated fromHakkâri to Bitlis in 1051/1641. His ancestry goes back to Abdulkadir Geylani, the founder of Qadiriyya sect. He received his first education from his father, who died when he was ten years old. He was raised by some of the popular names of the era, such as Hacı Hasan Sirvani andHoca Nes’et Efendi. He spent some time in places such as Hakkari, Bitlis, Baghdad, India, Erzurum, Trabzon, Istanbul and Ankara. While travelling to Bitlisin 1247/1832, he was attacked and martyred in Mus and was buried there. The other scholar, Kuddusi Babawas born in the Bor district of Nigde province in 1183/1769. His real name was Ahmed and he used the pseudonymof Kuddusi, with which he became known. His family immigrated from Maras to Nigde. His father died when he was seventeen.After losing his father, Ahmed Kuddusi travelled to places like Tokat, Erzincan, Kayseri, Damascus, Egypt and Hejaz. Kuddusi Babafirst became a member of Naqshbandi but then opted for the Qadiriyya sect. Moved back to his hometown several years later, where he had to endure the cruelties of the locals. He died there in 1265/1849. 

This article, where we introduce the above named scholars and their understanding of divine love, consists of an introduction and two main sections. The first section contains the life, works andthe sufistic notion of Mustak Baba, while the second section is addressing the life, works and notion of divine love ofKuddusi Baba. The conclusion part contains a general assessment. It is highly noteworthy that these two have a lot in common. This is probably because they lived during the same era andpossessed the same philosophy towards life. This article presents the divine love-related notions of Mustak Baba andKuddusi Baba who had a lot in common.

Keywords

Sufism, Sufi, Mustak Baba, Kuddusi Baba, Divine love

Müştâk Baba ve Kuddûsî Baba Dîvânlarında İlâhî Aşk Anlayışı Üzerine Değerlendirme

Abstract

Anadolu’da yetişen önemli mutasavvıf şâirlerimizden olan Müştâk Baba (ö. 1247/1832) ve Kuddûsî Baba (ö. 1265/1849) Kur’ân ve sünnet bağlamında bir hayat yaşamış ilâhî aşk yolunda tasavvufî makamlarda önemli mesafeler katetmiş iki isimdir. 19. yüzyılda yaşayan bu zâtlar gönül dünyalarında tecrübe ettikleri mânevî hâlleri şiir diliyle sembolik olarak ifade etmişlerdir. Her iki ismin pek çok ortak noktalarının olduğu görülmektedir. Aynı yüzyıl içinde yaşamaları, Kādirî tarîkatına mensûbiyetleri, zâhirî ve bâtınî ilimlerdeki nitelikleri, dinî ve tasavvufî sahada eserler kaleme almaları, telifleri arasında Dîvân’larının bulunması, ömürlerini ilim irfân faaliyetleriyle geçirmeleri, muhtelif memleketlere seyahatler yapmaları bu ortak noktalardan bazılarıdır. Müştâk Baba ve Ahmed Kuddûsî’nin eserlerine ve özellikle Dîvân’larına bakıldığında tasavvufî unsurların daha ağırlıklı olduğu görülmektedir. Bu anlamda her ikisinin de şiirlerinde yoğun olarak ilâhî aşka ulaşma gayesiyle zikir, zühd, kalp tasfiyesi, nefs tezkiyesi gibi muhtelif konuları ele aldıkları anlaşılmaktadır. Bu makalede, Ahmed Kuddûsî ve Müştâk Baba’nın Dîvân’ları bağlamında onların ilâhi aşk anlayışları üzerinde durulacaktır. Giriş ve iki bölümden oluşacak olan makalenin birinci bölümünde Müştâk Baba’nın hayatı, eserleri ve ilâhi aşk anlayışına, ikinci bölümde ise Kuddûsî Baba’nın hayatı, eserleri ve ilâhi aşk anlayışına yer verilecektir. Sonuç kısmında ise her iki ismin işaret ettiği ilâhi aşkın yanı sıra ortak noktaları üzerinde değerlendirme yapılacaktır.

Keywords

Tasavvuf, Mutasavvıf, Müştâk Baba, Kuddûsî Baba, İlâhi Aşk

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