Bir Nebevî Medih Şairi Olarak Yûsuf en-Nebhânî ve es-Sâbikâtu’l-Ciyâd fî Medhi Seyyidi’l-‘İbâd Adlı Divanındaki Hz. Peygamber Anlatımı
The Narration of the Prophet in Yūsuf al-Nabhānī’s (a Madīh Nabawī Poet) Work Named "al-Sābiqātu'l-Jiyād fī Madhi Seyyidi'l-'Ibād

Summary/Abstract: With the prophethood of the Prophet Muhammad, the purpose and content of the madīh poems have been changed. As the Prophet Muhammad became one of the main subjects of poetry and literature with his physical and spiritual existence both in the society he lived in and in the whole of Islamic civilization. The poets compiled all the material transmitted about the Prophed in verse and prose. After that, the birth of the Prophet Muhammad, his spiritual and moral features, his miracles, his physical qualities, family life, wars, migration, his relationship with all the people who believe in him or not, in short, every aspect of him become the subjects of literary works. Madīh nabawī’s historical process literature genre emerged, while the Prophet was still alive. After the Prophet Muhammad passed away, it can be said that there was a standstill period for the madīh literature lasting around five centuries. After this standstill period, with the prominent names such as Yahyā al-Sarsarī (d. 656/1258), Majduddin al-Vitrī (d. 662/1264), Busīrī (d. 695/1296), al-Şihāb Mahmūd (d. 725/1325) and Safiyyuddin al-Hillī (d. 749/1348), the brightest period began in which the madīh poems matured and turned into an independent poetry tradition. Sufi tradition also has an important role in the development of the madīh nabawī genre. The notions related to prophecy belonging to this tradition were included in Arabic poetry through mystic poets. The reflections of many mystical understandings, especially the notion of the al-Haqīqa al-Muhammedī, made itself preference felt in the madīh nabawīs. Both with the madīh nabawīs he wrote and the collections of selection, Yūsuf b. İsmāil al-Nabhānī is considered one of the names who contributed greatly to the development of the madīh nabawī genre and to its transmission from one generation to other. Yūsuf al-Nabhānī lived between 1849-1932, is an important figure and found well known for his works in many field, in particular Hadith (Narrations)and Kalam (theology). In addition to his multilateral personality, he proved himself with his works in the field of madīh nabawī and the odes he wrote. To this respect, he was called as the Hassān and Busīrī of the period. His diwan named al-Sābiqātu'l-jiyād fī madhi seyyidi'l-'ibād is a small-volume and consists of ten couplet eulogies in which each letter of the Arabic alphabet is determined as a rhyme. This diwan is considered the most remarkable works among his other works and it diplays the charecteristics of both classical Arabic poetry and the period he lived in. Yūsuf al-Nabhānī, like many poets, wanted to express his love and affection for the Prophet Muhammad in the poems in this diwan. His desire to support the Prophet's prophethood, to consider the madīh nabawī as a sacred duty, to express his devotion to the Prophet Muhammad, to ask for intercession from the Prophet, and his believe that with the Prophet's mention his words gain value made him to write his poems. In his odes, he preferred relatively shorter ones like Khafīf and Kāmil rather than long ones like Tavīl and Basīt, which are commonly used in Arabic poetry. He started eulogies directly with the main subject, sometimes without any preface. He kept his introductions very short. In the verses in which he praised the Prophet Muhammad, he mostly talked about his shamâil (literature on he human aspect, life style and personal life of the Prophet), his superior and chosen personality, his miracles, the holy lands he lived in and his companions. It should be said that al-Nabhānī has been greatly influenced by Busīrī. His couplets are generally subjected to the classical madīh nabawī tradition and al-Nabhānī does not go beyond this tradition. Sufi thought has also a great influence on the poems of al-Nabhānī. It is possible to argue that his perception of the Prophet, which developed under the influence of this thought in the poet, depicts a very philosophical and metaphysical perception. The mystical feature and concepts of Islamic thought are explicitly included in the medihs of Yūsuf al-Nabhānī, in particular starting with the tradition of Hallāc-ı Mansūr and Muhyiddīn Ibn al-Arabī and focusing on the subjects of existence, knowledge and morality, which cover the whole of existence, and which centers the Prophet Muhammad in Islamic thought.According to the poet, in line with the conception of the al-Haqīqa alMuhammedī/al-Nūr al-Muhammedī, the Prophet appears before us as the cause and the central core of a whole creation in terms of existence. The Prophet Muhammad is also the source of all knowledge and wisdom, as he is the first to be appeared/created by God Almighty and everything originated thanks to him. His knowledge encompasses all realms. From the moral point of view, the Prophet is the only perfect human being. All beauty on the earth emerges from his essence. This concept, which we can call quite philosophical and metaphysical, is clearly seen in the madīh nabawīs of Yūsuf al-Nabhānī and also reveals he adopted this mystical thought and was influenced by it.

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