Translation of Persian Verse: Emâlî Eulogy (Qasida al-Amālī)

Authors

Abstract

Abstract Siraj ad-Din al-Ushi’s confession of faith in rhyme, widely known as al-Amali, has had a great impact on the traditional literature and has been translated and commented upon several times. Although there are dozens of Turkish translations and commentaries of al-Amali, both in verse and prose, we know of a few Persian translations of it. Further, we have not encountered any information about the translator of al-Amali’s translation which we studied. The translation which consists of 66 couplets is particularly notable for its simple language and for being very close to the original text. However, there are some differences between this text and the texts published by Bekir Topaloglu, Hafiz Refiʽi Efendi and Durmus Ozbek. Some couplets are not included in the text we prepared; but three couplets in our text are not included in other publications. There are also differences in the order of several couplets. It was also observed that there were variants in the couplets at the expression level. In this context, the aim of this study to examine Qasida al-Amālī. Accordingly, first of all, information regarding Siraj ad-Din al-Ushi and Qasida al-Amālī has been given. Afterwards, translations and narratives of Qasida al-Amālī has been touched upon. Later, the book numbered 5399, which is located in the Suleymaniye Library Fatih Collection, has been outlined. In the last part of the study, the language, spelling and stylistic features of the verse are dwelled on. As far as it is seen, the translator has largely been stuck to the original text while translating and the simplicity of the expression was tried to be maintained. As the text is theological, the terms of the respective field have been substantially conserved. In addition, commonly used Persian words such as ‘behist’(heaven), ‘duzâh’(hell), ‘peygamber’(prophet) are preferred as the equivalent of Arabic phrases.  Structured Abstract Works written within the tradition of classical literature verse and have didactic character constitute one of the biggest branches of this tradition. Many writers have written the subjects and issues of different scientific fields as verse because the verse is easily memorable. Rather, these works, which were created for the students of the madrasah, have reached a wide audience. Qasida al-Amālī, written by Siraj ad-Din al-Ushi, is among these works. This work, which has received an intense interest since the date it was written, drew broad attention with its translation and commentaries especially in the Ottoman period. Siraj ad-Din Ali b. Uthmān, who was Born in Osh which fall into the border of Kyrgyzstan today and was mentioned with the affiliation of ‘Usi’, is one of the 10th century theologians from Maturidi school of kalam. Usi, whom we know very little about his life, lived in Karakhanid and Seljuk era. Siraj ad-Din al-Ushi, who is one of the scholars from Transoxiana region, passed away in 575/1179. The name of Maturidi scholar (‘alim) who wrote about hadith and fiqh (Islamic law) is mentioned with poetic akait that earned reputation with Amali name (Ozbek, 1994, s.264-265; Toprak, 2006, 66-68). Qasida al-Amālī, in which Islamic rules and principles of faith has been succinctly narrated in accordance with Maturudi schools of thought, is written in a completely didactic style. Classifications that are situated in the books of kalam such as theology (ilahiyyat), prophethood (nubuvvet) and sam’iyyat (sem’iyyat) are also adhered in this qasida. Allah’s tawhid (tevhid) and adjectives are addressed in the first section of verse akaitnâme. Then, that it is obligation/fard (farz) to believe in prophets and angels and Muhammad is the last prophet have been depicted. The first section is concluded with the truth of Miraj (Mirac), conditions of prophethood (nubuvvet), ranking of the companions of the Prophet. In the sam’iyyat (sem’iyyat) section, issues such as condition and well-being of faith, heaven and hell, punishment of the grave, and great sins have been mentioned. Another Persian translation is the subject matter of this article. This work, which we could not reach to any record of the identity of translator and copyright date, is located in the number 5339 within Fatih Collection in Suleymaniye Library. This copy is the only known copy of the translation of Persian verse Amali. The translation which is composed of 66 couplets was copied with the Arabic origin. We have not encountered any information about the translator of al-Amali’s translation which we studied. The fact that the original text consisted of only a translation deprived us of certain records of the identity of the work. The absence of a trace of the work in collection of biographies and similar sources prevent us to talk about on this matter. That Persian poetic Amali translation to be included in a book that includes the works we mentioned strengthens the opinion that the work was written in this region. The fact that this work is about Mâturidiyy