Ali Ibn Derviş al-Bosnevi's Tercemetü'l-Esmai'l-Hüsna (Review-text-index)

Since the acceptance of Islam, many works have been written to know and recognize Allah. This situation appears as a manifestation of the hadith Qudsī saying, 'I was a hidden treasure, I wanted to be known, so I created the creatures'. Although the works written about knowing Allah are abundant in Arabic and Persian literature, the works in Turkish literature are also quite numerous. Classical Turkish literature, which constitutes a branch of Turkish literature, has rich content in terms of genres related to Allah. These genres can be listed as besmele-name, tawhid, münajat, tehlil, hamdiyye, devriyye, şükür-name, vahdet-name, tefvizname, ilahi, nefes, shathiyye, Esma-i Hüsna... etc. Esma-i Hüsna, which constitutes the genre of the work we have analyzed, undoubtedly constitutes the most important source for knowing Allah. Divine names are of primary importance in recognizing Him. For this reason, in classical Turkish literature, many commentaries on Esma-i Hüsna have been made in verse and prose, mostly explaining the meanings of the ninety-nine names of Allah, mentioning the rewards of counting and memorizing them, their beauty and virtues, and describing their spiritual meanings and qualities. In addition to these, there are also ta'dad and muamma types of Esma-i Hüsna. In our literature, Esma-i Hüsna is usually given in verse, but there are also many prose versions. The subject of our study, Tercemetü'l-Esmai'l-Hüsna, is a prose example of Esma-i Hüsna, but it is also a treatise on the commentary and havass of Esma-i Hüsna. There is no information about the author, whose author is Ali Ibn Derviş al-Bosnevi, in the tezkires. Due to the language and style of the work, it is estimated that it was written in the 16th or early 17th century. We have only one copy of the work registered in the Süleymaniye Library, Tırnovalı collection, fixture number 319.