Abstract
A work thought to be belonging to Osman Salâhaddin el-Mevlevî: Translation of Nesrü’l-leâlî (Pearl Coins)
A Mevlevî House, as is known, is one of the Sufi
foundations operated in 3 continents where Ottoman State
ruled over from the end of the 13th century until 1925 and
even after the mentioned date in some places. Yenikapı
Mevlevî House, one of the well-known Mevlevî lodges, was
founded in Istanbul in 1598 A.D. and survived for
centuries. In this foundation, an important center for
Mevlevis, Osman Salâhaddîn el-Mevlevî (1820-1887)
served as sheikh for a long period. In addition to his Sufi
duty, the place, which Osman Salâhaddîn, appreciated by
Sultan Abdülhamîd II for his offer solving a problem in the
period of the Sultan’s accession to the throne, occupied in
the enlightenment path was popular among many officials
and was followed closely by the governance.
In scientific publications of the last quarter-century
there is detailed information about the life of Osman
Salâhaddîn Efendi and results of the researches on some of
his books has been put forward. It is known that he
translated an Ahdnâme belonging to Caliph Ali into
Turkish in 1879 A.D. for Mehmed Reşad, Sultan’s son. In
the same year, another work thought to be made by
Salâhaddin el-Mevlevî is the translation of 296 Arabic
aphorisms into Turkish. This booklet is the translation of a collection, known as “Nesrü’l-leâlî” (pearl coins), including
approximately 280 sayings attributed to Caliph Ali.
In this work, after a brief information about the life of
Osman Salâhaddin and his works, the translation of
Nesrü’l-leâlî is presented in the contemporary alphabet
and in today’s Turkish.
Keywords
Osman Salâhaddîn, Yenikapı Mevlevi House, Caliph Ali, Nesrü’l-lealî, translation.