Dinden Mücerret Bir Tesellinin İmkânı Üzerine: Îliyyâ Ebû Mâdî’nin Felsefetü’l-Hayât Kasidesi
On the Possibility of a Consolation Isolated from Religion: Falsafa al-Hayat Ode by Īliyyā Abū Māḍī

Summary/Abstract: Since the second half of the 19th century, when the Ottoman Empire entered the process of disintegration, many people from Lebanon, Syria, Palestine and Jordan immigrated to America for sociopolitical reasons. Among these immigrants, who suddenly found themselves in a completely different world, writers with literary competence came together and established associations. The literary products presented by this intellectual group, which will be defined as "Mahjar Literature" in the future, are the subject of literary studies with the expansions they bring to form and content. In this study, a poem of Īliyyā Abū Māḍī, one of the prominent names of Mahjar literature, which calls for an optimistic outlook on life, has been examined. The poet defends the principles and justifications of having a positive view of life in his poetry. It has drawn our attention that the poet tried to look optimistically even to an inevitable reality such as death, but did not refer to religious references while doing this. When we look at the whole poem, it is understood that the real consolation and support point that people need in life can be obtained with a perspective isolated from religion. Because the poet advises to face difficulties and not be afraid of death without using religious concepts such as resurrection, heaven, tawakkul and thawab. In the study, the possibility of such optimism and consolation is discussed through the aforementioned poem.

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