The Analysis, Critical Edition and Translation of the Borlevî’s Ilzām al-muʿānidīn wa-ibṭāl zaʿm al-ḥāsidīn

Abstract

Every text, in addition to its main idea and notional framework, has a context that reflects the background of the milieu in which it was written. In this respect, it would be paid attention in the identity of the text, which waiting to be discovered like a hidden treasure within lines and reflecting its time, as much as giving importance to the sentences of the text. Adopting such an approach, in a sense, could contribute to a better understanding of the spirit of the text. In addition, this approach is of great importance in bringing the treatises that built our civilization, especially the stories of many manuscripts waiting to be revealed, to modern scholarship. Therefore, each step on this path of discovery makes an outstanding contribution to the understanding of the ultimate extent of our civilization’s history. This paper aims to take a step on this path by examining a manuscript that depicts the Ottoman scholarly environment in the 18th century. Both the critical edition of the treatise, Ilzām al-muʿānidīn wa-ibṭāl zaʿm al-ḥāsidīn, and its translation constitute the scope and focus of this paper. The paper also aims to have a general view of the historical context of the treatise and a concise analysis in light of this information. Later, it is aimed to let the reader be alone with the edited Arabic text and its Turkish translation by leaving her/him alone in this intellectual journey. Another reason for choosing the treatise is that it is related to ʿiṣmah al anbiyā (the infallibility of the Messengers of Allah), which is a highly sensitive issue of kalām in terms of both thematically and methodologically. Moreover, this subject is extremely meaningful in terms of the revelation-centered structure of kalam, the nature of the concept of Messenger of Allah, and the understanding of the issues formed around being a Messenger of Allah. Following both etymological and discursive evaluation based on classical sources (especially related to fiqh), the treatise discusses whether the Messengers of Allah are protected from the faint (ighmāʾ) or not. Its main question is whether the faint be considered in the context of ʿiṣmah al anbiyā or not. First of all, the author explains the reasons for writing the treatise in the introduction and then, underlines prominently the results in the conclusion. Both chapters may be the most significant parts in respect of reflecting the identity of the text. The given messages by determining the causal relations in these chapters provide significant clues about the conflict between the Kadizādeli and the Sivasī, which adversely affected the history of Ottoman thought, and emerged trends as a consequence of that. The most prominent theme is that it is highly recommended to adopt a moderate way to overcome the negative effects of the conflict that polarized many people. Ultimately, the treatise is an extremely important text in terms of being the first witness of a time period, in which one of the greatest turning points emerged in our intellectual history.