Müstakim Mustafa Niyâzî's Sülûkü'l-Kavîm ve's-Sırâtu'l-Müstakîm: Transcription and textual analysis

The aim of this thesis is to bring to light a work called "Sülûkü'l-Kavîm ve's-Sırâtu'l-Müstakîm" by Müstakim Mustafa Niyâzî who is an 18th century Naqshbandi sheikh and author unbeknown to historical resources of his age. In "Sülûkü'l-Kavîm ve's-Sırâtu'l-Müstakîm" Müstakim Mustafa Niyâzî adresses the novices of the Naqshbandi Tariqa telling the significant rules and manners of the order in a didactical way. This is a didactic work written largely in prose but also containing verse section. In this study, based on the two manuscripts of the work in Süleymaniye Kütüphanesi, a transcription of the text is provided and then the text is examined according to its form and context. In the first chapter, a brief historical account of the Naqshbandi Order is given. Then the lineage to which "Sülûkü'l-Kavîm ve's-Sırâtu'l-Müstakîm" belongs is compared to this mainstream lineage and thereby "Sülûkü'l-Kavîm ve's-Sırâtu'l-Müstakîm"s Naqshbandi identity is set forth. Afterwards, the author of the work is introduced. In the second chapter, a summary of the work, its thematic and structural features and the analysis of major symbols and doctrinal Naqshbandi terms in "Sülûkü'l-Kavîm ve's-Sırâtu'l-Müstakîm" are given. In the third chapter manuscripts used in preparing the text and the rules anticipated in the course of this study are described. Lastly, the transcription of the text is provided. In the fourth, Persian and Arabic sections with their translations are given. In the final part, the two manuscripts of the work and a bibliography of the study are provided.