Manuscript/Mixed Material Kitab-i Muhammediye
About this Item
Title
- Kitab-i Muhammediye
Summary
- A free verse adaptation and translation of part of the author's Maghārib al-zamān.
- This Ottoman Turkish manuscript covers the life and attributes of the Prophet Muhammad. The author, Yazicioglu Mehmet (also seen as Yazicioglu Muhammad, died 1451), and his younger brother Ahmad Bican Yazicioglu (died circa 1466), were educated by their father, Yazici Salih. Both became adherents of influential Sufi master Haji Bayram Wali (died 1429 or 1430). Yazicioglu Mehmet later formed a school or retreat for Sufi study and practice and wrote a treatise in Arabic on the Prophet Muhammad entitled Magharib al-zaman (Sunset of time). The work presented here, Muhammediye (The book of Muhammad), is a poetic translation of the treatise into Turkish. It is written in a simple style composed of couplets in groups of varying length and arranged thematically. Some of the verses are biographical and cover, for example, Muhammad's hijrah from Mecca to Medina, his battles, and similar topics; others deal with eschatological matters, for example Gog and Magog, the sun rising in the West, and the Day of Resurrection. There are also explanations of Qurʼanic verses and a drawing of Muhammad's liwa' (flag). The work ends with couplets of praise to the author's mentor, Haji Bayram Wali, and to other contemporary figures. The numerous manuscript copies of the work, some of which are sumptuously decorated, attest to its popularity. The work was printed in the 1860s in a lithographed edition. Some of the poems have been adapted for musical performance. In this manuscript dating from 1558 or 1559, an unknown reader has provided notes and reference terms in the margins. The title, guide words, and ownership by one Madin Vaqf are indicated in a different, much shakier hand than the main text, which is in a naskh Turkish Arabic script. World Digital Library.
Names
- Yazıcıoğlu Mehmet, -1451
Created / Published
- 966 [1558]
Headings
- - Muḥammad,--Prophet,---632--Poetry--Early works to 1800
- - Islam--Poetry--Early works to 1800
- - Manuscripts, Turkish--Washington (D.C.)
Notes
- - Date from colophon.
- - Diagram illustration on folio 163b.
- - Folios 1a-278a.
- - Library of Congress. Near East manuscript, 155.
- - Manuscript.
- - Modern envelope binding in dark tan leather; remnants of the original binding preserved with the piece.
- - Name of scribe not indicated.
- - Naskhī script; completely vocalized; 17 lines in wrtten area 20.5 x 14 cm.
- - Paper: thick, dark cream color paper; no visible chain lines or watermarks; black ink with red ink used for section titles with vowel marks probably in gold ink, now turned grey; text surrounded by a border of two thin lines; pages separated in center by space of 10 cm bordered by similar sets of thin red lines; scattered marginal notes and corrections; catchwords on rectos.
- - Title from margin of first leaf.
- - Written in pencil on flyleaf: "Muhammadiye" The Life & Sayings of the Prophet Muhammed in Turkish verse. Written by the scribe Galipolily Yazidjioglu Muhammed in the year of the Hegira 966, i.e. A.D. 1550.
- - Written in Turkey.
- - TDV İslam ansikl., v. 43, p. 362-363
- - Also available in digital form on the Library of Congress Web site.
- - Turkish Arabic script.
- - "Purchased Aug. 18, 1891."
Medium
- 278 leaves (17 lines) : bound, illustration ; 30 x 21.5 cm
Call Number/Physical Location
- BP75.27 .Y39 1558
Digital Id
Library of Congress Control Number
- 2015421266
Online Format
- image