TSV 601 The Understanding of Knowledge and Being in Sufism
The aim of the course is to comprehend the understanding of knowledge and being in Sufism. To this end, it first covers learning research techniques and writing rules, establishing ethical rules in the use of sources and methods of citation, identifying the nature and basic characteristics of knowledge and being, explaining the related concepts, learning the source of Sufi knowledge and the ways of attaining it, determining its areas of validity, comparing it with other types and ways of knowledge, and questioning it in terms of its certainty, accuracy and binding force. The course content comprises the explanation of concepts related to knowledge and being in Sufism; the nature, source and means of attaining Sufi knowledge; the resulting framework of Sufi methodology; the contributions of Sufi knowledge to the understanding of Qur'anic verses and hadiths; the issue of error in knowledge, its causes and the problems it gives rise to; the nature, characteristics, sources and representatives of the understanding of being; and the levels of being.
TSV 602 Methods of Text Establishment in Sufi Literature
This course focuses on preparing, using scientific methods, transcriptions of verse or prose, manuscript or printed texts written in Ottoman Turkish within the field of Sufi Turkish literature. To produce critical editions, students will gain technical knowledge such as the transcription alphabet, accurate transfer from Ottoman Turkish into Latin script, textual criticism/collation, text emendation, glossary preparation and footnotes, as well as skills such as library research and constructing stemmata.
TSV 603 Classical Texts of Sufism
By reading texts selected from the classics of Sufism, the course aims to analyze the fundamental concepts of Sufism; discuss its thought on being and knowledge; examine the relationships between God and the universe and between God and humans; identify the stages and methods of Sufi education; and evaluate fundamental topics through specific concepts.
TSV 604 Fundamental Issues of Sufism
The course content consists of identifying and analyzing issues related to the essence of the Sufi understanding and system; learning research techniques and writing rules for accurate knowledge of Sufism; observing ethical values in the use of sources and methods of citation; learning different views on fundamental topics together with their representatives; comparing and evaluating the relevant texts identified; and, within this framework, determining the nature, scope and dimensions of Sufism and its position within religion.
TSV 605 Special Topics in Sufi Studies
This course has been planned to enable academics who will be at the Institute For Sufi Studies as visiting researchers to offer courses in their own fields of expertise during their stay, which are expected to contribute to the program beyond the topics included in the current curriculum. For this purpose, it is expected to consist of various topics under the broad heading of “Islamic Studies.”
TSV 607 Theory and Method in Sufi Studies
This course introduces the theoretical approaches encountered in Sufi studies and the methods used in the study of Sufism, and also addresses practices encountered in interdisciplinary studies.
TSV 608 Classics of Sufi Literature
The course consists of reading influential and renowned classical works in verse or prose of Sufi Turkish literature from their original texts; examining them in terms of sources, subject, style and content; and acquiring bibliographic knowledge.
TSV 609 Sources of Sufi Turkish Literature
The course aims to introduce the primary sources of Sufi Turkish literature, such as the Holy Qur'an, the noble hadiths, tadhkirat al-awliya, qisas and menakibnames, as well as works that have had widespread and lasting influence in the field of Sufism and the literature on these works.
TSV 610 The Story in Sufi Literature
In the Holy Qur'an, stories and narratives of the prophets are frequently included while divine rulings are conveyed. Stories are also included in some noble hadiths. Sufi poets and writers apply the same style. Sufis have used the story as an educational tool because stories stay in the mind, are easily remembered, explain difficult topics through examples, and have high persuasive power owing to their indirect mode of expression. This course will address the story tradition, storytelling techniques, narrative style, the identification and classification of the sources of stories, and the layers of the messages conveyed through stories.
TSV 611 Text Studies in Sufi Turkish Literature
The aim of the course is to read, from manuscript or printed copies, Sufi texts in verse or prose written in Ottoman Turkish between the 14th and 20th centuries; to recognize the Arabic, Persian and Old Anatolian Turkish words in these texts; and to analyze texts of Sufi literature.
TSV 612 Prose Works in Sufi Turkish Literature
Prose, types of prose, stylistic features and saj' (rhymed prose); classification and evaluation of religious, Sufi and moral prose works written in Anatolia from the 13th to the 20th century; translations and commentaries; transcription of printed or manuscript prose works from Ottoman Turkish into Latin script and their rendering into Turkish of Türkiye; text establishment and analysis studies on prose examples from Sufi literature.
TSV 613 The Masnavi in Sufi Turkish Literature
The course content covers the masnavi verse form and its compositional features; the development of the masnavi in Arabic, Persian and Turkish literatures; original, translated, nazira and response masnavis and the khamsa; the classification of religious, moral and Sufi masnavis; the influence of Persian literature on Turkish masnavi literature; the influence of Rumi's Masnavi; and the reading and analysis of sample texts from printed and manuscript copies of masnavis written in Sufi Turkish literature from the 13th to the 20th century.
TSV 614 Methods and Problems of Teaching Sufism
Apart from the dominant Orientalist and fundamentalist discourses prominent in Islamic studies, it is now a widely accepted and valid approach worldwide that Sufism has its own distinctive methods. In this course, in which these methods will be analyzed, priority will be given in particular to the problems encountered in teaching Sufism around the world. The problems that have arisen in academic studies between the extremes, at times also under the direction of international politics, and their impact on Sufi studies will be examined. Beyond researching Sufism with academic methods, this course adopts an interdisciplinary approach in which ideas emerging worldwide regarding criticisms of teaching Sufism as a classroom subject will be discussed.
TSV 615 The Sufi Exegesis Tradition (Sufi Commentaries on the Qur'an and Hadith)
Knowledge has been classified into two groups according to how it is acquired: acquired (kasbi) and bestowed (wahbi). For this reason, the commentaries on the Qur'an and hadith written by Sufis through direct experience hold a special place and importance within the exegesis tradition. The study of these sources is considered important for revealing the Sufis' approach to the Qur'an and the Sunnah, the main sources of the religion of Islam, and for understanding the foundations in the Qur'an and the Sunnah, as well as the development processes, of the fundamental issues and concepts of the Sufi movement, which stems from the essence of Islam.
TSV 616 Methodology in Sufi Studies
When it comes to Sufi studies, in addition to theological studies, we encounter the different approaches, theories and methods of the fields of Oriental Studies and Religious Studies. The aim of the course is to examine the history, types, leading examples and current practices of this research in order to offer new horizons and perspectives to those pursuing Sufi studies.
TSV 617 Sufism and Music
In addition to reason and perception, another faculty that distinguishes humans from animals is the sense of beauty and aesthetics given to humans, also called the sublime sentiments (hissiyat-i aliyye). Based on the sayings reported from the Prophet, "Learn the Book of Allah and chant it" and "Adorn the Qur'an with your voices,” it has been believed that reciting the Qur'an with the most beautiful voice and melody stirs a person's religious feelings; and owing to its effect of strengthening spirituality and enriching the inner world, some have regarded music as a divine and celestial art. Within the framework of Turkish-Islamic culture, music became an indispensable part of both mosque worship and Sufi and tekke life from the very beginning. The aim of this course is to become familiar with the rich heritage of Ottoman-Turkish Religious Music formed over centuries, to get to know its composers, their works and the genres of Turkish Religious Music, and to analyze its effects on people.
TSV 618 Sufi Terminology
The subject of the course is the terms specific to Sufism. The emergence over time of the expressions used by Sufis and the reasons for their emergence are also within the scope of the course. For example, al-Sayyid al-Sharif al-Jurjani's al-Ta'rifat includes important terms used in sciences such as exegesis, hadith, jurisprudence, theology, Sufism, Arabic language and literature, rhetoric, philosophy, logic, mathematics, astronomy and medicine, while Abu al-Baqa al-Kafawi's al-Kulliyyat addresses terms used in the Islamic sciences, primarily the Qur'an and hadith. In these works, particular emphasis will be placed on Sufi terms.
TSV 619 Ottoman Sufi Institutions
In this course, the cultural and architectural characteristics of the institutions founded by Sufis who lived in the geography ruled by the Ottoman State will be examined, and the social, religious and, where applicable, other impacts of these institutions will be discussed. The functioning of the tekkes of some Sufis that worked in the construction of fortresses, bridges and roads will be studied, also taking into account the endowment deeds (waqfiyyas) that served as the founding documents of these organizations.
TSV 620 Masnavi Commentaries of the Ottoman Period
Rumi's Masnavi, as one of the masterpieces of the history of Sufism, is among the most widely read works in the world. For this reason, a tradition emerged of reading the work, in which the fundamental issues of Islam and Sufism are narrated and examined through stories and symbols, by way of its commentaries, and leading Ottoman-Turkish Sufi scholars wrote Masnavi commentaries for this purpose. The aim of the course is to study these works, which directly reflect the history and thought of Ottoman-Turkish Sufism.
TSV 621 The Commentary Tradition in the Ottoman Empire
In addition to the works they produced as advice to disciples in the teaching of Sufism, Sufis also produced works that transcend all times and paths and have influenced everyone for centuries, such as the books of Ibn Arabi or Rumi. The theoretical approaches in these works have at times been subjected to criticism. Throughout the historical course of Sufism, the tradition of Sufis writing commentaries on their own works continued for centuries, and these criticisms were also answered. In this course, which focuses on the approaches encountered in the works of Ottoman Sufis, the criticisms of Sufis will also be examined.
TSV 622 Sources of Ottoman Sufi Thought
The course content covers the origins of the Sufi thought adopted during the Ottoman period; the sources, figures and schools on which it was based; the fundamental characteristics of its understanding of Sufism; the points at which it diverged from and converged with earlier and later periods; the scholarly works, intellectual movements and their representatives that emerged in this period; and their relationships with one another.
TSV 623 History of Ottoman/Turkish Sufism
This course has been designed to introduce the works and products of the history of Sufism that emerged in the Ottoman period and geography, and to analyze the characteristics, main topics and areas of interest of these works as well as the place of Ottoman-Turkish Sufism within the course of the general history of Sufism.
TSV 624 Sufism in the Holy Qur'an and Hadith Literature
Foremost among the texts that are the primary sources of Sufism are the Holy Qur'an and, within the Sunnah of the Prophet, his hadiths. Portions of the primary sources of Sufism are found in many institutions in the Seljuk and Ottoman geography. In the works of Sufis, too, the primary sources form the basis of their discussions. In this course, which will address how these sources were grounded by historical Sufi figures, priority will be given to students who know Arabic.
TSV 625 Sufism in Islamic Civilization
In this course, which will investigate the role of Sufism within the states founded by Muslims and the cultural heritage they created from the time of the Prophet to the present day, sources written in English will be examined with particular emphasis on civilization studies.
TSV 626 Fusus al-Hikam and Sufi Thought
Ibn Arabi, who systematized and enriched many ideas and concepts that emerged in the history of Sufism in his works, left a profound impact on the Islamic world, and very few Muslim scholars have become as well known in the West as he has. Fusus al-Hikam is regarded as the quintessence of his works owing to its depth and density. The aim of the course is to examine Ibn Arabi's thought through this work and, in this way, the main concepts and issues of Sufism.
TSV 627 Analysis of Classical Persian Sufi Texts
In this course, in which Sufi texts written by Sufis who left their mark on the classical period, such as Najm al-Din Kubra and Ruzbihan Baqli, will be read from their Persian sources, close readings and analyses of the texts in their original language will be carried out first. In the analysis of the texts, read with the help of dictionaries such as Farhang-e Ziya, Persian Sufi expressions and terms will also be emphasized.
TSV 628 Persian Sufi Sources
By reading texts selected from the Persian classics of Sufism, the course aims to introduce these works and their characteristics, examine their approaches to the fundamental issues of Sufism and analyze their concepts.
TSV 629 Persian Text Readings
This course is aimed at teaching the Persian language and reading simple texts.
TSV 630 Sufi Studies in the West
The aim of the course is to introduce the research and works that have emerged, starting from the 19th century, particularly in the fields of Oriental Studies and Religious Studies; to gain insight into different questions, starting points, theories and approaches; and to become acquainted with different interdisciplinary methods.
TSV 631 Books of Ethics
As the hadith "Islam is the religion of good character" also states, it is not possible to separate the concepts of religion and ethics from each other. When Sufism is added to this, which authors made very extensive use of while teaching religious and moral principles to the public in an effort to convey the strictness of religious rules within a sphere of love, the boundaries of these three institutions have become intertwined. Nevertheless, there are numerous works of the siyasetname, nasihatname, futuwwatname and wasiyyatname genres in which advice on ethics comes to the fore for the purposes of preaching and guidance and in which ethics is the main subject. In this course, reading and analysis from the original texts and literature research will be carried out on verse and prose works of the aforementioned genres.
TSV 632 Sufi Texts in Ottoman Turkish
The aim of the course is to grasp the vocabulary and grammatical features of Ottoman Turkish and to read and understand Sufi texts written in Ottoman Turkish. Within the scope of the course, Arabic and Persian elements in Ottoman Turkish and texts of Sufi literature are read.