Identification of the articles on sufism in the MEB Islamic Encyclopedia and the TDV Islamic Encyclopedia, and comparison of the concepts related to sufism

The emergence of Sufism as a discipline can be traced back to the political turmoil and internal conflicts of the 1st and 2nd centuries Hijri. During this period, the prosperity brought about by conquests led to increased worldliness among the people; in response, Sufi tendencies emerged as a form of resistance against the material life. Sufism developed as a discipline that aims to guide the individual on a spiritual journey toward God, focusing on the purification of the heart and the disciplining of the self within the boundaries of religious principles. Encyclopedias are indispensable sources for academic research, as they present fundamental information across various fields in a systematic and concise manner. In this context, the TDV Islamic Encyclopedia and the MEB Islamic Encyclopedia hold significant positions within the literature of Islamic sciences. The TDV Islamic Encyclopedia was prepared by Muslim scholars specialized in their fields, whereas the MEB Islamic Encyclopedia was mostly compiled with the contributions of Western researchers. Although the topics covered are largely similar, the difference in the profiles of the contributors makes a comparative examination of these two works particularly meaningful. Despite the fact that both encyclopedias include numerous entries on Sufism, there appears to be a lack of comprehensive comparative studies focused on this field. In this study, 1,665 Sufism-related articles from the TDV Islamic Encyclopedia and 207 from the MEB Islamic Encyclopedia were reviewed. Among the 198 articles that appear in both sources, 32 were selected for detailed analysis. These entries were examined under four main categories: 10 practice-based topics, 7 concepts, 9 titles, and 6 figures. The findings indicate that both encyclopedias offer unique contributions to the field of Sufism and should be viewed not as alternatives, but as complementary to each other.