e-Makalat Mezhep Araştırmaları Dergisi

Öz

The concept of Four-Gate (Dört Kapı) is the cornerstone of both community and individual education and located at the center of the educational curriculum of Alevism. This educational program, which aims to make people mature, that is, to build a society on the basis of consent, expresses the process followed to internalize belief and turn it into behavior.
This study aims at examining the Four-Gate program in Alevism based on the written sources of Alevism, namely the tales and poems belonging to the Alevi scholars, the works collected under the name of the Buyruk, Erkânnâme, Velayetnâme, Icazetnâme, and Şecere. Many aspects such as the sources, basic features, main framework and the metaphors of the program were compared by looking at the inner texts of Alevism, and the similar and different aspects were revealed.
The article tries to answer the following questions: Where did the concept of the Four-Gate originate in the written sources of Alevism? What are the main features of the Four-Gate program? In which metaphors is the concept of the Four-Gate have been expressed? How was the Four-Gate concept outlined? Which goals are the individuals foreseen to be achieved by the concept of Four-Gate? Are Şeriat, Tarikat, Marifet, and Hakikat (Sırr-ı Hakikat) doors handled independently or as successive processes?
The study concludes that the written sources of Alevism complemented each other with respect to the foundations, basic features, metaphors, goals of the concept of Four-Gate.