Salâhî’nin Fâtiha Suresi Tefsiri Üzerine: Bireysel ve Siyasî Ahlakın İşârî Yorumu (Tahlil–Tahkik–Tercüme)
On Ṣalāḥī’s Exegesis on Sūrat al-Fātiḥa: An Esoteric (ishārī) Interpretation of Individual and Political Ethics (Analysis–Critical Edition–Translation)

Summary/Abstract: This study examines the critical edition, analysis and translation of Tafsīr Sūrat al-Fātiḥa, a treatise authored by the 18th-century Khalwatī-Ushshāqī shaykh ʿAbd Allāh Ṣalāḥī. The methodology is based on preparing a critical edition of the only extant manuscript preserved in the Süleymaniye Library, Hazreti Nasuhi Dergâh Collection, in accordance with ISAM’s critical edition principles (ITNES), followed by an analysis of the text through contextual connections. The objectives of the study are to identify Ṣalāḥī’s method of esoteric (ishārī) interpretation through his exegesis of al-Fātiḥa, to examine how he conceptualizes the relationship between politics and ethics, and to contribute to the field by presenting the critical edition of the treatise. The study has yielded the following findings: In his treatise, Ṣalāḥī draws a parallel between Sūrat al-Fātiḥa and the ruler of the state, emphasizing that the ruler, like al-Fātiḥa, must be inclusive toward his people and beneficial to everyone. He builds this comprehensiveness upon three ethico-practical dimensions derived from alFātiḥa: taḥaqquq, taḥalluq, and taʿalluq. This system is described in the text as “justice” and is explained through a practical ethical model by linking it to the divine names. Ṣalāḥī states that the word ṣirāṭ, which appears twice in the sūrah, points to two levels of the straight path, and he explains that what matters—both for a ruler and for any Muslim—is not outward appearance but the intention one holds and the manner in which that intention is put into practice. The author not only places at the center of his text the Sufi principle of adopting divine attributes—often emphasized in mystical traditions—but also, by composing this work during a highly turbulent period, reveals his political thought. In conclusion, the treatise is considered not only a remarkable example of ishārī tafsīr in modeling how a justice-based administrative system could be realized, but also a valuable work reflecting Ottoman political-ethical thought. However, no evidence was found to suggest that the treatise was authored as a direct critique of the political authority of its time.

• Details
• Contents