Some Considerations About Seyyid Ali Hemedānī's Risāle-i Fütüvvetiyye Work as A Continuation of Copyrights Studies on Futuwwa

Abstract

Futuwwa is considered a mystical concept as a moral ideal that we can see in almost every culture. Ṣūfīs blended futuwwa with mystical content in order to distinguish themselves from various futuwwa conceptions and experiences adopted by segments with different priorities. In this context, the principle of adherence to religious provisions was prioritized on the basis of the definitions of futuwwa, and the virtues aimed at protecting the law of others in social practices, especially generosity and altruism, constituted the essence of futuwwa. Melāmet, as an integral part of futuwwa, facilitated the applicability of futuwwa morality by glorifying the piety that one would live by hiding one's self in the network of social relations. In this direction, the ṣūfīs made various definitions and explanations about futuwwa, and with the emergence of ṣūfī literature, these words were also revealed in the first works under the titles of good morals or futuwwa. The futuwwa treatises, the first example of which we can see in Sulemī, are composed of narrations that ṣūfī sheikhs spoke about within religious boundaries and that reflect the morality of īsār. Apart from Sulemī's treatise, it is seen that futuwwa is only mentioned in the title of the subject in the first period ṣūfī classics. These works presented futuwwa as a sign of a perfect piety on the moral plane. However, it is seen that futuwwa took on an institutional structure in the sixth and seventh centuries of the hijra, later on gained an economic structure under the name of Ahi-order and continued its existence as an individual organization under the roof of Ṣūfīsm. In this period, when the organization became widespread in the community, detached works were written about futuwwa, the content of which was created in the form of a regulation. When we examine these treatises, we see that the futuwwa is now represented at the organizational level and that in addition to its moral dimension, some formal rules and rules of its own are formed. Conditions such as wearing a shalwar or belt, being male, sane, and reaching puberty can be counted among these. In addition, some principles were also laid down regarding the relationship of the members of the futuwwa with each other or with their pirs. On the other hand, St. Ali's leadership in futuwwa manifests itself as one of the main features of the futuwwatnāmes of this period. We come across many examples of futuwwatnāmes, especially the works of Suhrawardī and Ibn al-Mi'mār, one of them being the futuwwa treatise of Seyyid Ali Hemedānī, one of the Kubravī sheikhs. Hemedānī, who continued his life in the geography of India, played an important role in the rise of Islam in this region, and he received his mystical education from Maḥmūd Mezdekānī and Takıyyüddīn Ali Dostī, the caliphs of the Kubraviyya sheikh Alaüddevle Simnānī. The treatise translated into Turkish by Tāhir al-Mawlawī can be considered as an extension of the previous futuwwa in terms of revealing the mystical aspect of futuwwa, making descriptions that we can follow the relationship between ahi-order and futuwwa, continuing the understanding of futuwwa of the early ṣūfīs, and trying to draw the religious boundaries of futuwwa. In this study, the prominent features of the futuwvetnāmes written by some basic names such as Sulemī and Suhrawardī will be examined, and in the second title, Hemedānī's Risāle-i Fütüvvetiyye, which we can consider as an extension of this tradition, will be discussed over points.