An analysis of Sırrı Pasha's work entitled Nūr al-Hudā Li-Man Istahdā from the perspective of the science of kalam

This study analyzes the work Nūr al-hudā li-man istahdā by the Ottoman statesman Sırrı Pasha of Crete from the perspective of kalam science. In this sense, our study evaluates the views and criticisms of Sırrı Pasha, an important statesman belonging to New ilm-i kalam period, regarding Christianity through Nūr al-hudā. Descriptive, content, and comparative analysis methods were followed in the thesis. Since it was not possible to analyze all the topics in the work from the perspective of kalam, a content-based limitation was applied. The sections containing the historical narrative of Christianity are the subject of the history of religions and have not been evaluated in the thesis; they have been summarized in the introduction to the content of the work. Only the relevant historical narratives have been discussed in terms of their relationship with the theological aspect of the work. The relevant historical narratives have also been taken into account in the context of Sırrı Pasha's purpose, method, and structure in the work. Our thesis consists of an introduction and two chapters. The introduction provides summary information about the nature of the work on which our thesis is based, its subject matter, and the related literature. The first chapter presents Sırrı Pasha's life, works, and a content introduction to Nūr al-hudā. Information is provided about the scholars Sırrı Pasha references in his work and their works, as well as the foreign sources and authors he cites. A brief thematic comparison is made between the works Sırrı Pasha cites as sources and Nūr al-hudā. The second section contains a content analysis of the work. Within the scope of divinity (ulūhiyya), the beliefs of tawhid and the Trinity, the personality of the Prophet Muhammad, his prophethood, his announcement, the identity of the Paraclete, the nature of the Qur'an, and the miracle of Surah ar-Rūm mentioned in the work are discussed. It is evident that Sırrı Pasha, while criticizing Christianity, drew upon Western Orientalist sources and also closely followed the contemporary literature written by Muslim scholars on this subject. Our study is limited to the topics listed above, specifically divinity and prophethood, within the framework of classical kalam topics. It can be stated that Nūr al-hudā is a concise work that can appeal to the general reader, that the author does not define his work as a refutation, but that, in our opinion, the work contains content that can be considered refutation, defense, and even invitation in places. Nevertheless, we put forward our opinion that it is more accurate to conceptualize Nūr al-hudā as tabyīn (exposition) and tanbīh (admonition), with the aim of explaining Islamic truths to Christian and Muslim audiences and drawing attention by narrating the historical process of Christianity in Turkish and providing a theological analysis. The thesis argues that the work's two-part structure, historical and theological, is original and deliberate. It has been determined that Sırrı Pasha followed a method of constructing theological discussions based on historical information in the work. Indeed, it has been seen that Sırrı Pasha analyzed the controversies of Christianity in a historical and theological manner and based his work on a structure that included theological critiques based on historical narratives. The purely theological and theoretical method of criticizing Christianity found in classical kalam books is not continued in the work. We believe that Sırrı Pasha's method could offer a perspective on conversion (ihtidā) processes. However, before reaching this conclusion, we must emphasize the importance of addressing new research questions, such as whether this method, followed by Sırrı Pasha, is found in other works, if so, to what extent, what the method in conversion processes is, and whether it coincides with Sırrı Pasha's. At this point, we also aim to open up new academic research areas based on the questions addressed in our thesis.