A Short Instruction in the Past of Bosnia and Hercegovina
SAFVET BEG BASAGIC REDZEPASIC
• Kratka uputa u proslost Bosne i Hercegovine 1463-1850
A Short Instruction in the Past of Bosnia-Hercegovina, 1463-1850 (Kratka Uputa u Proslost Bosne i Hercegovine); Sarajevo: Vlastita Naklada, 1900, Safvet beg Basagic Redzepasic
Introduction: Safvet beg Basagic Redzepasic, born in 1870 in the Hercegovinian town of Nevesinje, is one of the most prominent figures of turn-of-the-century Bosnia. Raised in a family that emphasized literary and artistic values (his father was one of the last Bosnian poets writing in Turkish and his maternal ancestor Smail Aga Cengic is a legendary Bosnian figure), young Safvet developed an appreciation for literature and languages, especially those of the Near East. His love for the literary arts remained the chief mark of his life, which is filled with a variety of accomplishments. As a youth he composed poetry and studied Islamic literature at the University of Vienna, while simultaneously promoting the interests of the Bosniak community. In 1900 he co-founded the "Behar" newspaper and taught Arabic at a high school in Sarajevo, in addition to writing his first work, A Short Instruction in the Past of Bosnia and Hercegovina, from where the following essay is taken. Later, while writing more poetry and scholarship, Basagic was active in three cultural societies, ("Gajret", "El-Kamer", and "Muslimanski Klub") which aimed to educate and make the Bosnian Muslims aware of their history and their political situation under the Habsburg rule. In 1910 he completed his dissertation, Bosniaks and Hercegovinians in the Field of Islamic Literature, at the University of Vienna and received the doctoral degree in Islamic languages (ex linguis islamicis).
In the same year his career took a turn into politics, as Basagic quickly advanced from being a representative to the Bosnian Parliament (Sabor) to presiding over that body. The First World War, however, abruptly ended his pursuit of politics and Basagic returned to cultural concerns, working as a curator at the State Museum and writing fiction, literary criticism and numerous studies. His personal collection of rare Islamic manuscripts, which now resides at the University Library in Bratislava, was recently nominated for safeguarding of documentary heritage under UNESCO protection. He died in Sarajevo in 1934 and left behind him an impressive legacy of literature (including poetry, prose and drama), cultural and social critique, and scholarly works.
The essay below is an appendix from Basagic's first historical study, Kratka uputa u proslost Bosne i Hercegovine (1900). In style and content, the essay "Herceg Bosnia and Eastern Scholarship" is characteristic of Basagic's scholarly work, which is chiefly marked by appreciation for Bosnia's Ottoman and Islamic cultural heritage and by concern over uniting the best qualities of "the East and the West" in Bosnia. Basagic's early works are also indicative of larger concerns of the Bosnian Muslim community at the turn of the century.
Any mistakes in the translation are entirely mine - please notify me (email
ehajdarp@virtu.sar.usf.edu) of any errors, comments, or suggestions. Due to the restrictions of the html format, I have omitted diacritical marks and footnotes. Because of the inherent difficulty in translating poetry, I have decided to leave the verses untranslated, so they appear here in Bosnian (as translated by Basagic). Enjoy.
When I finished this little piece about the heroic past of Bosnia and Hercegovina, it immediately came to my mind that I had forgotten to point out yet another thing; namely, how much Eastern scholarship pervaded our lands. In great scarcity of facts, it is very difficult to write about this; but remembering the old adage, "It's better to write something than to write nothing at all," I decided to say something about those men from our lands, who were known as great scholars, or who as poets left a memorable name in the Eastern Parnassus. Our grandfathers knew not only how to debate with diplomats and make use of weapons, but also, like the famous Eastern scholars, how to write great works about sundry subjects or how to compose delightful poems and beautiful ghazels in the Persian and Turkish languages. With this I want to say to certain people, to get out of their heads the usual prejudices that our fathers were unfamiliar with culture. They accomplished, I can freely say, in the field of Eastern [scholarship] as much as our neighbors did for Western learning.
Through history, these are our great compatriots: great viziers, viziers and pashas, highly educated people in various Eastern disciplines, good friends well-versed in Arabic, Persian and Turkish literature - because such high honors they could not achieve without higher education, and for this assertion the best proof is that they always associated with renowned ulema and promoted learning at all times. Enough indication are the numerous songs of praise and various erudite works dedicated to them, in which they are described as friends of scholars and poets.
As Mahmud Pasha Jankovic [Adnija] is the head figure to all viziers from our lands, to scholars and poets so is Adni (his pseudonym).
Because after the Battle of Kosovo (1389), the lands of Bosnia, Hercegovina, Slavonia and Dalmatia stood against the attacks of the Turkish forces, several times the Turkish raiders forayed into our area and with them took slaves across the border. In one such event, the sultan's dignitary Mehmed-aga brought from our lands three children, which he raised at his expense. In time, these youth acquired such education that during the reign of sultan Fatih they played significant roles among the distinguished sages, whom the learned sultan summoned from across the Islamic world.
When Murat II found out that Mehmed-aga has a talented youth from a noble Croatian family, [Murat] took him into the sultan's court and entrusted the youth as a friend to his son and successor Mehmed II, with whom Mahmud remained an inseparable friend until death, which struck him in his eighty-second year on August 27, 1474.
Adnija (Mahmut-pasha) was, as known from reliable sources, such an enlightened person that he could debate even among the most advanced scholars. Here is what Asik-Celebi says about him in "Teskiretus-suara": "There was rarely anyone in the Ottoman Empire as just as he (Adnija) - [Asaf] similar vizier and noble dignitary. In integrity, justice, benevolence, and keenness - according to the opinion of the critics, no one equal to him ever sat in the chair of the vizier. He was eager to read everything, to comprehend many branches of knowledge in order to gain profound understanding. In public affairs he always stood on the side of justice and soberly performed his duty, and that is why the sultan left to him all the duties of the state. There remains behind him divans, many praised poems and poetic verses.
After that, he lists the three beginning verses of three poems, which sound like this in translation:
Ta smiluj se na te suze -
Drobni biser moga oka!
Znas, da zenski soluf pada
Od pogleda - od uroka?
*
Znam ja, duso, sto skrivas svoga lica krase;
Jer vjetru bez zastora svijece se gase
*
Dok god gledam anber-soluf
Sto se po tvom gjulu svija,
Mislim, da se, sto misk sipa,
Po has-basci seta zmija
*
Ja sam prosac dragoj, koju
Danicino lice krasi,
Sto no, kad pred sunce stane,
Mjesecevo svjetlo gasi.
In the last verse there is a real play on words ("Musteri" means both suitor and Mart).
That much about him, now let's see what happened to his other two friends. One was renowned in the educated world under the name of Abdulkerim, the other under the name Ajas. After juridical sciences, which he received in Mehmed-aga's home from a special instructor, Abdulkerim was taught by the eminent ulema Dosija and Adzem Sinan, who were at the time lauded in the east as the greatest sages. After that, he was a muderis in various medresas, and when sultan Fatih conquered Istanbul, he built for him a great medresa, in which Abdulkerim, in front of numerous highly educated listeners, lectured about various branches of knowledge. He was for some time kazi-asker (minister of law), and then, after Fahruddin Adzemija, became the mufti of Istanbul until his death, which struck him during the reign of Bajezid II.
They say that Mahmud-pasha respected and loved him very much, not just as a compatriot, but also as a scholar and consultant, who helped him in everything and saved him from drunkenness, to which Mahmud succumbed in his youth. During the reign of Bayezid II, there emerged one legal sharia question which not even the sejluh-islam could not answer; but our Mevlan Abdulkerim solved it in such an enlightened way to the amazement of all scholars.
With writing he did not deal much. He composed only "Telvih" hasija (hasija is a work where thoughts and reflections about a book from any area of literature are presented; to some extent it corresponds to a broad critique), "Mutalea" hasija, Sejjid Serif's and Kessaf hasija.
Mevlan Ajas once jokingly said to Mahmud-pasha and Abdulkerim:
"Do you remember when we left our homeland, both of you were on one side of a horse, and I was on the other; yet still you could not pull me off balance; in the same way, in sciences, both of you cannot pull me down." This Ajas received his higher education from Mevlan Ajaslog and finally from the famous scholar Hidr-beg in Bursa. He came into the public affairs as the teacher of Mehmed II and Fatih, while he was still the expected heir to the throne. The coming of Ajas's science (mystical philosophy) deeply cuts into the public and private life of this energetic Alosmanovic. All Fatih's undertakings are closely connected with Ajas's scholarship, without which the mystical behavior and life of this peculiar man cannot be understood. Later, Ajas came to Aribillah-sheyh Tadzuddin, from whom he received the sanction to teach other the secrets of dervishes. For home he chose Bursa, where he, removed from the worldly din, spent his entire life in devotion.
Writing did not interest him much, but he could not resist it nonetheless. He cleansed the Arabic science of understanding the Qur'an of Persian expressions, which over time slipped into the Arabic literature; besides that he wrote hasijas on various learned subjects and rated them with his scientific knowledge. With that he gained the most fame. He died during Bayezid's rule, respected and loved by the ruler and the poor.
What a strange destiny! When our three young boys left their homeland riding in one saddle, what did they think about their future? Who would have thought that each one of them awaited a high calling in foreign lands, in an entirely unfamiliar world - and with those callings came all the riches and glory with which they filled the whole East. There is no doubt that all three were convinced that through their entire lives they would remain slaves to the mad Turk, but not even imagining that providence had destined the first one to be a statesman and military leader, the second a great scholar and judge, and the third a famous theosophe and expert in Arabic learning - of the most powerful and most enlightened state of the time.
After them emerged to the surface the poet Ali-beg Hercegovic, the grandson of herceg Stjepan Vukcic-Kosac and sultan Fatih Alosmanovic. We know about his life that for quite some time he was the main gatekeeper at Suleyman's court, then he was a governor in the province, where death struck him at a mature age. Ali-beg was known in the Eastern Parnassus under the name Siri (Lavski). About his poetic works we know from the notes in "Teskitur Suara," where it states that his poems were not bad, part of which were presented, and which Asik Celebi supported. Here is a partial translation:
Rad bih vigjet: onom suncu
Da l' nebeski mjesec slici?
Da l' cu moc na luku aha -
U plavo se nebo dici?
Cujes, srce, ne varaj se
Na prciju niska sv'jeta!
Sta Karunu hazne hasne,
Kada mu je spomen kleta?
Shortly after Hercegovic, a young Bosniak Ahmed-efendi stepped into the scholarly circles; in the flower of his youth he became a well-known muderis and in his thirtieth year he served at Efdalija, one of the first medresas in Istanbul. Because of a special talent in rhetoric, people always pointed him out. He was also known as a calligrapher and even far more renowned as an expert in Arabic studies.
Two small books, "Concerning the Pen" and "Concerning the Sword," it is said, were very eruditely written. Besides that he wrote a hasija about the famous work "Mula-Dzamija." Much was expected of him, but suddenly unmerciful death cut his life short in the midst of his mature age in the month of redzab 980 (1572).
A contemporary of Ahmed-efendi was Sudi-efendi, who was born in Sudici, a village in the Sarajevo valley. He learned his sciences in Istanbul and in Diari-Bekir from the eminent expert of Persian, Muslihuddin Larija. After finishing his studies, he became a muderis in Istanbul and shortly thereafter was a teacher in Sarajevo's Atmejdan, where he educated devshirme boys for the sultan's court, which had many of our compatriots, as we've already seen. At that service death caught him in the year 1000 (1591).
He was most widely known as an excellent expert and interpreter of Persian literature, which he proved with the comprehensive commentaries about the famous Dzelaluddin Rumi's mystical work "Mesnevija," about Hafiz's "Divan" (a collection of poems), and about Sadi's "Gjulistan" (Rose-Garden) and "Bositan" (Garden). With profound wisdom and a deft pen he defeated all the previous critics Semi, Suri, Lami and others. Even though some new Turkish commentators, not knowing that the Persian nation belongs to the Aryan group to which all Slavic peoples also belong, ironically criticize Sudi, "How could a Bosniak perfectly master Persian," they still must admit that most often they use his commentaries. Besides that he wrote a hasija about the "Hidajetul-hikmet" and translated from Arabic into Turkish "Cefi" and "Safi."
At that time lived yet another our compatriot by the name of Ali-Dede. He studied in Istanbul, where he joined a dervish order. On his way back from Mecca he came to Siget and lived there in the tekija near by the sultan Suleyman's grave, after which he was called "Turbe sejki."
When Mehmed-pasha Saturdzija took his armies on Arad, Ali-Dede was called on as an exhorter (vaiz) to encourage the troops. On coming back from Arad, while praying, death struck him in early 1007 (1598). His body was transferred to Siget and buried in a special grave.
His most renowned work was "Evail ve evahir" (Beginnings and Ends), and his other work "Es-iletum-hikem" (Wise Questions) was also known in the scholarly world. Furthermore, he was an honest, God-fearing, good man.
Sudi's and Ali-Dede's contemporary, Dervish-pasha Bajezidagic [Mostarac], was very well-known as a hero and a poet, and that's why we will speak of him a little more.
In the midst of the craggy Hercegovina, in the white city of Mostar by the cold Neretva, in the sixth decade of the sixteenth century, Bajezid-aga had a son whose name was Dervish. How young Dervish came to Istanbul, he himself tells us in the preface to "Murad-name": "As a child I came alone to Istanbul and joined Atmejdan-saraj, and that happened during Selim II's time." Therefore, this occurred when Mehmed-pasha Sokolovic was at the peak of his might and glory, while he did all he could to raise his compatriots into the driver's seat of the Turkish state, an endeavor in which he mostly succeeded.
In Atmejdan-saraj, young Dervish lived for several years, industriously studying, particularly interested, as he himself says, in studying Arabic and Persian literature. How much poetry intrigued him he himself says:
Slijedeci glase srca
Hocu - necu vise put
Zaronih u divna djela
Poezijom nadahnuta.
Kad bih kakvu krasnu pjesmu
U zanosu proucio,
Cini mi se, kao da sam
Izvan sama sebe bio.
Kao svijetlo zarkog sunca
Scre bi mi razasjala,
A custvenu moju narav
Svojim miljem opcarala.
Hvala Bogu premilome,
Koj' sve moze i sve znade,
Sto i meni velicajno
Nadahnuce pjesme dade.
Pjesnik biti; ko da trazi
Od tog dobra dobro vece?
Cista pamet, pa zrdrav razum, -
Eto za me prave srece!
Prava pjesma svojom moci
Dusu rosi i osvaja,
A covjeka - ko dar bozji
Dize, kr'jepi i opaja.
Ona s neba na sv'jet sagje,
Da se opet k nebu dize,
Jer se vija ispod nebe,
A po zemlji ne gamize.
Ko je shvati i taj s njome
Po eteru vazda pliva;
Nu takovo nadahnude
Bog svakome ne dariva.
After finishing his studies he immediately came to the sultan's court, where he quickly became dogandzi-basa (supervisor of hunting). About it he writes:
Kao zora na istoku
U bajnome ruju sinu
Moja sreca, pa krilim
Visoko se k nebu vinu.
Sugjeno je meni bilo
Uloviti Anka-pticu,
Da ne reknu: gle sokola
Ne zna lovit ni grlicu.
Poso mi je lijep bio
Pjesmom slavit svog sultana;
Bog mu carstvo udrzao
Do sudnjega tamam dana!
Sad kasidu, sad gazel
Ja sam znao krasno viti
Da me u tom niko drugi
Nije mogo natkriliti.
Pjesme moje poletjese
Kao pcele po cvijetu,
A slava mi rasiri se
Po bijelom sv'jetu.
It is evident that he was very satisfied with his service, and for his celebratory poems he received great awards and honorary garbs. Finally luck brought him into the sultan's realm, where as an administrator he gained glory as a useful statesman.
On Murat III's suggestion, he translated an epic from Persian into Turkish and called it "Muradname" (Murat's book), from where I have taken the above verses written for the book's preface. The translation was fairly good for the Turkish language of the time, 995 (1587). What happened to him afterwards is unknown. In year 1000 (1599), a mosque was built in his honor in Mostar. Likewise, he added to it a medresa and a nice library. In two occasions he was the Bosnian governor, in 1008 (1599) and 1010 (1601). He was a participant in several wars and was a commander of fortresses in many towns in Hungary, as we've already remarked, until finally in great misfortune the commander of the janissaries Mehmed-pasha Sokolovic sent him into an obvious massacre.
Catib-Celebi describes the janissary leader and Dervish-pasha so: "When Dervish-pasha came to the place where he had to cross the Danube, he said to the commander, "This is an obvious murder."
"Yes, yes, I see, answered the commander - but so it must be, for we cannot help it in another way. So if you're afraid, do not go."
"By my strong faith, to me dying is like drinking a glass of water. I am not the least bit worried; I am only concerned with the honor of the faith and of the state. When you say go, I will go, so let be what will be."
Under such an impression, the day before his heroic death he wrote the famous poem "About Destiny," here in translation:
Gdje pomoci ne imade
Svesilnoga gospodara,
Tu opravit ne ce nista
Tisuc svjetskih pametara.
Ako Alah jednom robu
Samo bude na pomoci,
Bilo dobro, il ne bilo -
Sve ce mu za rukom poci.
Paznja udes ne odbija,
Zalud su ti sve pomoci;
Vjera ti je! svoju sudbu
Preokrenut ne ces moci.
Neka tisuc pancijera
Od celika na se mece
Smrtnik, ne ce odbit strjelu
S konog luka srece.
Bog je mocan i sve znade;
Kako hoce, 'nako tvori,
Astroloze! sta se mucis? -
Zalud ti je gledat gori.
Sve je divno bez pogreske,
Sto umjetnik vjecni sara;
Sveumjece svjedoci nam:
Da je jedan i bez para.
Ako zelis sretan biti,
Udesu se svom pokori. -
O Dervisu! to upamti
Hazreti pir tako zbori.
Hazreti pir [reference to the poem] is Dzelaluddin Rumi, the famous master and poet of the mystical philosophy and founder of the dervish order "tariki mevlevi." Therefore, we learn from that that Dervish-pasha belonged to that mevlevi order.
As sheyh Fevzi Blagajac in Bulbulistan tells us, Dervish-pasha tried and successfully emulated Rumi's "Mesnevija," but in the end he left it. The same sheyh gives us one ghazel, in which one of Hafiz's most beautiful ghazels is imitated, and that is quite a feat for one Hercegovinian. His language was so truly classical that anyone familiar with Persian would mistake the imitation for the creation of the famous Persian poet.
Here is a translation close to the original:
Ako ono stasito djevoce
Po mojoj se kucici proseta,
U cast njena sjanoga dolaska
Zrtvovacu slasti oba sv'jeta.
Zegj ljubavna ugasit se ne ce
Iz mojega srca zagrijana,
Da ispijem sve, sto ima vode -
U sva sedam svjetskih oceana.
Samo jedan pogled oka tvoga
Sto tisuca srdaca opaja;
Niko nigda ne vidje na sv'jetu
Tako lako, da se pl'jen osvaja.
Zar je cudo, sta ja uv'jek tezim -
Za carima lijepih djeva?
I pjesnik je Adamovo d'jete -
Lijepo ga lice zagrijeva.
Nu pogledaj u srce Dervisu,
Pa se smiluj zaljubljenoj dusi!
Kud ces bolji primjer od slavulja,
Kad zacvili na rumenoj ruzi.
About his poems, here is what sheyh Fevzija has to say:
"He had two divans: one in Persian, the other in Turkish language. Both were beautiful collections of tender and elated sentiments of the poetic soul." With that enough was said, and we will look at another example, to judge from the work, which occupies an important place in the Eastern Parnassus. Here is how he sings about Mostar:
Ko bi mogo opjevati redom
Sve ljepote divnog Mostara;
Zar se cudis srce, sto ga ljubim
Sa ljubavlju sinovskog zara?
O, ne ima na ovome sv'jetu,
Ako nema sred bajnoga raja,
Bistre vode i svjezega zraka, -
Sto covjeka sa zdravljem opaja.
Ko ga gleda, zivot mu se mladi,
A dusa mu u nasladi pliva,
Svaki kraj mu i svako mjestance
Zadivljene oci podraziva.
S vocem, s vodom i ostalim miljem
On je drugi Misir na svijetu;
E bi reko, da je rajska basca, -
Ko ga vidi u majskome cv'jetu.
S dvije kule velika cuprija
Pruzila se preko r'jeke carne -
I sa svojim velicajnim lukom
Pricinja se poput duge sarne.
Cio svijet da obigjes redom
Ne bi naso naroda boljega,
I za svaku znanost i umjece
Vjestijega i sposobnijega.
Tu je gnj'ezdo slavnijeh junaka
I na peru i na bojnu macu,
Ko i prije i sada iz njega
S dana na dan vitezovi skacu.
Neka sute indijske papige,
Neka svoje ne kazuju glase;
O Dervisu! ti si slavulj,
Koji pjeva svog Mostara krase.
• • *
Boze! sa dobrotom svojom
Baci pogled svemilosti
Na Dervisa iznemogla,
Koji pati, trpi dosta.
Koliko ti svemoc hoce
Smilovanje daj mu tvoje:
Nemoj na me ni gledati
Vec na dobro gledaj svoje.
• • *
Grijeh mi je mislim veci,
Vec kapljica rosne kise,
Ja oborih pred njim glavu,
Ne smijem je dici vise.
Dok glas dogje: o Dervisu
Ne plasi se, sve je lako
Po zasluzi i po gr'jehu
Nagragjen ce biti svako.
In his seal he stamped this verse, which was most likely his motto:
Boze! tvoja dobrota ne neizmjerno more,
Ubog Dervis i bogatas jednako te dvore!
That much about Dervish-pasha, and now let us say something about his son Ahmed-beg, about whom we know only what sheyh Fevzija Blagajac recorded in "Bulbulstan," and that is: "Dervish-pasha's son Ahmed-beg - God bless both of them - was far superior to his father both in actions and in thoughts. All of his poems in Persian and Turkish amaze us with their charming reflections and polished beauty. Without a doubt the old saying came true in him: 'How father goes, so will the son.'" Here are some of his verses from one poem:
Hodi! jer se sad Harabat
Ovog sv'jeta proucava;
Za cudo je l'jepo vr'jeme,
Vesela je bujna trava.
Mejhana je zgodan azil,
Jerbo temelj cvrst imade;
Ne popustaj vrc iz ruke -
Oba sv'jeta s njim se grade.
Teskoj brizi i udesu
Sa srca se spomen brise
U covjeka, sto no vazda
Za svojega druga dise.
Divan ti je behar zica,
Kad se s vinom poljepsaje!
Al na zalost ko cvat ruze
Vrlo kratko - kratko traje.
I found in one manuscript found the following two verses, under which it is written: "Dervishpasha-zade Ahmed-beg," and in translation that goes:
Care! tvoje vjerne sluge, a moji akrani
Postadose redom bezi i miri mirani.
Sad u gradu kuca, da sam ja na redu;
Bog je jedan! sad ce srce iz njih na srijedu.
A contemporary of Dervish-pasha and Ahmed-beg was Mostar's own Ejjubi-zade Mustafa-efendi [Seh Jujo]. His father was the muderis Ejjubi-zade Jusuf-efendi. He earned his higher education in Istanbul, where he was so outstanding in many subjects that immediately after graduating they offered him a teaching position at one of the most prestigious medresas. But when his hometown citizens elected him the mufti of Mostar, he left Istanbul and came to craggy Hercegovina, where he taught higher sciences until his death in 1019 (1610).
While he was still teaching at the medresa, he wrote a commentary about the famous work "Mirat-usul" under the name "Miftahul-husul." At the same time he wrote another book about rhetoric and one about Islamic morality. It is not known if he did or did not write anything about Mostar. He was known among the people under the name Seh Jujo. Because of his exemplary life and great piety, people in Hercegovina even today hold dear his memory and pay respect to his grave; they especially believe that if a senseless and stupid child visits his grave for forty mornings regularly , the child's mind will open and his dullness will be removed.
Among all the scholars who contributed to the field of Eastern learning and worked under the sun of our land, Hasani Cafi-efendi Pruscanin occupies the first place.
The silver age of our past had in the forum of enlightenment some excellent representatives. Ali-beg Hercegovic, Ahmed efendi Sarajlija, Sudija, Ali-Dede, Dervish-pasha, Ahmed-beg, Seh Jujo and Cafija were renowned poets and scholars. Their works - composed in the spirit of the time in Arabic, Persian and Turkish languages, are proud monuments of the past spiritual accomplishments in the field of Eastern edification; their names are bright torches on the horizon of our lands, lightening the old pride in the hearts of our young generation, to seek after Eastern and Western education and to contribute something for the progress of our homeland.
Besides the above mentioned, there are many other compatriots about whom not much is known; and there are many others who we know only by their names, for they gained excellent fame among the Eastern scholars, like the teacher of Sokolovic Mahmudi Bedruddin, Munla Bali-efendi Sejhi Hamza Orlovic, Mehmed-efendi Elbosnevi, the right hand of sejhul-islam Jahja efendi, Muniri efendi, Ridvan-efendi Hrvat, great kazasker and numerous others.
That much about that age, and now something about [Hasan] Cafija [Kafi-efendi Pruscanin], who outlined the glorious epoch of our past period with his death in "Leilei Berat" year 1025 (1616). He learned his studies in Bosnia, where he immediately after graduation joined the kadi rank, until he wanted to learn more, so he left for Istanbul to gain more education. When he got the diploma he again devoted himself to the kadi calling. He was a kadi in several cities and everywhere he left a pleasant memory because of his steady sense of justice. In the end came to him the eternal moving, so he disposed of his kadi service as inheritance in Prusac, where he conscientiously performed his duty, bringing pride and honor to his homeland; as a persevering scholar he wrote several learned works about sundry subjects.
Because it would take too long to recount his entire life and works, we will only consider the most important points. His first work was "Nizamul-alem" (Order of the world), written as an advice for sultan Mehmed III on how to govern his empire. The original was written in classical Arabic, but later, on sultan's suggestion, Cafija translated it into Turkish. After that he composed a work about sharia law called "Revzatul-dzenat" (Paradise Gardens) and he himself commented on it under the name "Usuli-itikadat" (Foundations of Faith). On his way to Mecca he wrote "Semtul-vusul" (The Direction of Approach), on which he also commented. Besides that he composed "Nurul-jakin" (The Light of Knowledge) and wrote four tomes of commentary on the famed work of Islamic jurisprudence "Kuduri." As his last work he wrote "Munire" (The Light), which sheds light on "ilmi-kelam" (Islamic theosophy). Catib-Celebi says that he also wrote another book about "ilmi meanija" and some other smaller works.
As for Cafija's life we will only say this much, that he was very pious and a true ascetic. Over thirty years he always fasted and through twenty years every third day he performed the iftar and "savmi davud" (David's fast). He always wore instead of a shirt a garb of thick wool. Several times he joined the army. He participated in the defense of Osijek, in taking of Egre and Ostrogun, where he helped Mehmed-pasha Sokolovic as an expert in the art of combat and greatly contributed to the taking of Ostrogun. In Prusac he built a mosque, a medresa and a mekteb and provided ample resources for their support.
After Cafija, Husrev-pasha Sokolovic appeared in the Eastern Parnassus, whose life we earlier described [in the earlier section of the book], and here we will say only so much as sheyh Fevzi Blagajac says: "Husrev-pasha - may God bless him - was a great scholar and dignitary, a lover of good books, a man who knew all branches of knowledge, and a pious poet. He knew well the mystic philosophy. All of his poems are in perfect form."
(Nastavlja se)
Prijava
Registracija
FAQ
Pretraživač
