Abstract
Hafız Cemali’s Muvaşşah (Acrostic) Poem Named “Silsilename-i Tarikat-ı Aliyye-i Uşşaki”
Silsilename which is formed by combining the words silsile meaning “chain, bond; lineage, ancestry; a genealogy showing the uninterrupted continuation of a progeny” and name meaning “a treatise, book, letter”, has found the opportunity to be used in a wide area from religious sciences, especially the science of hadith to calligraphy, from the sect sheikh to the dynasties. Silsilenames are important documents in terms of showing the uninterrupted and undistorted continuation of the generation or the transmitted information. Sect silsilenames which were influenced by the tradition of isnad in the science of hadith are thought to be written after the 13th century when the sects started to occur are evidences that show that all sects are connected to the prophet Muhammad without interruption. The number of sect silsilenames written in three forms as verse, prose and verse-prose within the Sufi culture is quite high. As far as it can be determined, it is observed that qasida and masnavi verse forms are preferred in verse silsilenames and the number of couplets varies between 20 and 150. Uşşâkî sect silsilename in the masnavi style that consists of 297 couplets by Cemâlî Hâfız Kâsım which is the subject of this article, is one of the examples of this genre. The silsilename, which was completed on H. 25 Zilhijja 1305 (2 September 1888), draws attention among other examples of the genre, with its large volume and being arranged in the "muvaşşah" (acrostic) style based on rhyming sounds. This work, in which the letters of the last three verses of the surah "Basmala", "Al-Fatiha", "Al-Ikhlas" and "Saad" are chosen as rhymes, is of great importance in terms of the “silsilename” genre as well as the "muvaşşah" genre in Turkish literature.
Keywords
Silsilename, muvaşşah, Uşşaki silsile (genealogy), Cemali Hafız Kasım, sufi literature.