Identification and analysis of the information on the ghazawat in Hak Dini Kur'an Dili

Although the battles of the Prophet are primarily considered within the scope of sîrah and maghâzî studies, the reports concerning these events-since they are directly related to the Prophet's life-have also been examined by various other disciplines. In particular, in the field of Qur'anic exegesis (tafsîr), reports concerning the battles have been utilized to explain the circumstances of revelation (asbâb al-nuzûl) of certain verses. In works composed within this area, it is possible to find information regarding many different stages of the Prophet's life. The subject of our thesis, Elmalılı Muhammed Hamdi Yazır's Hak Dini Kur'an Dili, is not only one of the significant works of Qur'anic exegesis, but also holds the distinction of being the first tafsīr of the Republican era. The narrations concerning the Prophet's battles contained in this work are rich enough to constitute an independent study on their own. In this thesis prepared on the aforementioned work, the aim is to identify the information related to the battles recorded by Elmalılı Muhammed Hamdi Yazır in his tafsîr, to determine the sources he employed, and to evaluate his narrations in comparison with those found in the sîrah-maghâzî literature. In order to identify and analyze the reports concerning the battles in Hak Dini Kur'an Dili, the methods of scanning, identification, description, followed by analysis and evaluation have been applied. Our research shows that Hak Dini Kur'an Dili includes reports regarding fourteen battles that took place during the Prophet's lifetime. The author cites these narrations either as causes of revelation or in order to explain the verses. It becomes evident that, when citing reports about the battles, Elmalılı Muhammed Hamdi Yazır rarely specified his sources, that he mostly drew upon tafsîr works, and that, when analyzed in comparison with the sîrah-maghâzî literature, the information in both traditions generally coincides. Only a very limited number of differences are observed, and in such cases, Elmalılı is seen to prefer the opinions of the exegetes.