International Journal of Theological and Islamic Studies

Abstract

One of the classic works in the science of rhetoric, which is one of the sources of Ottoman thought, is Ebü’l-Kâsım es-Samerkandî (d. 888/after 1483)’s work on metaphor: Risâletü’l-istiârât. An annotation was written on this work by İsâmüddin İsferâyînî (d. 945/1538), and Filibeli Halil Fevzi Efendi (d. 1301/1884) wrote another annotation with approximately a thousand pages. This book, which we can consider an interdisciplinary text, depicts the world of thought of an intellectual through Halil Fevzi Efendi. This article deals with the interdisciplinary aspects of this work. The fact that this science is related to many fields such as diplomacy, politics, law, usul al-fiqh, tafsir, theology, and logic shows that the intellectual mind cannot remain independent of it and also points out why we turn to metaphor and figurative meaning. The article aims to give the metaphorical forms in Turkish, briefly or in detail, as they appear in the annotation; the application of logical propositions or metaphysical interpretation to rhetoric; It evaluates different forms of presentation, such as the adaptation of the rhetorical method to logic, as in the case of intermediate sentences. Quotations from classical metaphysical texts for the concepts of soul, heart and soul; Discussing the concepts of will, knowledge and power, as well as issues of tasawwurât, tasdîqât and discussion techniques; drawing attention from time to time to the Meşşâî and Işrakî traditions, and the difference between the methods of hukemâ and mutakallim, shows the interdisciplinary feature of the work. In addition, the article, which included the
forces of theory and action, the inner feelings and proportional accidents, and the concepts of whereness, quality, and time space, also explained mental forms. It is seen that the work, which deals with the concepts of mind and perception intertwined with medical science, also exemplifies the relationship between metaphor and movement through physics. Another point that should not be forgotten about the extra-field literature in 19th century rhetorical texts is the Akbari style of interpretation, which comes from Ibn alArabī (d. 1240). Of course, there is always a philosophical aspect of texts in different fields, such as rhetoric, mysticism, ethics, theology, and fiqh. However, the reason why philosophical color increases when a commentary or especially an annotation is written on them is the interpretation of the gnostic line. Essentially, this situation is related to the concept of tahqîk, which came to the fore in the 13th century AD. Those who adopted the methods of hukema and mutakallim after Fahreddin Râzî (d. 606/1210) were called muhakkîn ulema or ahl-i tahqîk. As a matter of fact, Halil Fevzi Efendi also included the views of “muhakkikûn” scholars from Sufis, mutakallims or Ash’ari and Maturidi under almost every conceptual heading of his work, and also mentioned “Imâm Muhakkık” Birgivî and “Master Scholar Fâzıl Muhakkık Ali Fikrî Efendi.” Sometimes he made transfers by saying “according to some muhakkiks” without giving the name of the sect. Halil Fevzi’s work was written with an interdisciplinary method to contribute as much as possible to a student’s general culture. Logic issues are included in the annotation from the very first page, and propositions about rhetoric are processed in the form of syllogism. Similarly, the categories (ten categories: mekûlât-ı aşere) and the substanceaccidental issue, especially the types of accidents, are discussed in detail. In the annotation, after giving the forms of metaphors and similes in Arabic according to the majority of scholars or Sekkâkî, a summary in Turkish is also provided. Before Turkish explanations are given, they are indicated as “summary” or “detailed” summary Apart from the field of rhetoric, Halil Fevzi Efendi mostly chose strong names such as Gazzâlî, Cürcânî, Îcî, which gave the philosophical color to Islamic thought, as sources, and from time to time he delved into the sources they used. Rhetoric has increasingly incorporated the perspectives of logic and philosophy traditions into its content over time. Accordingly, we do not only have rhetorical texts. On our hand, there is a text with a wide range of topics that opens up topics in logic, metaphysics, and theology for every reason. It is possible to say that Halil Fevzi Efendi’s Hâşiye is a mihlâb or keşkül specific to the rhetoric culture, in the style of Bahaeddin Âmilî (d.1031/1622). In this article, it has been evaluated through the example of Hâşiye that the studies on rhetorical texts in Ottoman literature do not only focus on this field, but also aim to present a much broader scientific culture to students and readers. This study aims to contribute to issues such as out-of-field literature and conceptual diversity in rhetorical texts.