As an Ottoman author Ya'kûb b. Abdullatif's scholarly personality and his views on islamic sects

The heresiographical literature in the History of Islamic Sects has its own distinctive traditions. The significant examples of the tradition appear in the classical period. The contributions to the literature continue in the Ottoman period via some special studies in the area. One of these works is the study of milal-nihal type which Yakub b. Abdullatif wrote. This comprehensive work that is written in Ottoman language contains the matters in different religions and faiths, theological issues in addition to the Islamic sects. Our study which evaluates the work of Yakub b. Abdullatif according to the heresiographical literature consists of three chapters. In the first chapter, there is a general evaluation of the sixteenth century that includes the period of Yakub b. Abdullatif lived. The second chapter contains the examination and the evaluation of the work produced by Yakub b. Abdullatif in terms of its physical properties and composition, the classification system and its sources. In addition to the evaluation of the work, in this chapter, some important contributors to Ottoman literature before the period of Yakub b. Abdullatif and their studies are mentioned with underlying the differences from Yakub b. Abdullatif's work. The last chapter includes Yakub b. Abdullatif's interpretation of the Islamic sects in his work in comparison to its sources and finally gives the determination of its originality.