Abstract
Female Characters in the Elegy of Karbala : Example of Âsî's Dîvân
In the literary works describing the Karbala Incident in
Turkish Literature, Husayn and those who were him are
explained. Other characters bearing the sad traces of what
happened during and after this sad event were the women
in Karbala. It has been observed that there are very few
studies on Karbala and women. The Divan of Asi
composed entirely of Karbala elegies and written by
Meşhedi Hasan AgaAsi in Tabriz, is an original example
of the works in which the Karbala is told. In the work
together with the elegies of Huseyin and those who were
martyred with him, Hz. Fatıma, Ummu Salama and the
woman of the Ahl- al-Beyt in the Karbala Incident.
Characters such as Zeynep, Gulsum Fatıma Ummu'l-
Benin, Sekine, Rubab and Leyla are also included. In these
elegies, female characters are generally depicted as criying,
wailing, lamenting, supporting each other in the face of
attacks and reciting the Qur'an after the dead. Asi's Divan
reveals the experiences of the women of Karbala in a very
dramatic style. The elegies in the divan were sometimes
sung by the martyrs themselves and sometimes by the
women of Karbala. The belief that Husayn will be an
intercessor, expressed from the Shia point of view, is also
stated here for Fatıma. The Divan of Asi is an exemplary
work in terms of revealing the place, experiences and
importance of women in the Karbala Incident. We hope
that our article on this original work will set an example
for studies on Karbala and women.
Keywords
Turkish Islamic Literature, Elegy, Divan, Karbala, Woman.