Osman Tevfik and Sharh Qasida al-Burda Tarjama Mucmali (Review-text)

Qasida as a literary genre that first appeared in Arabic literature, has preserved its importance in Arabic poetry for all time, although there were some changes in its verse form and subjects after Islam. Qasida al-Burda, as a kind of ode, written by Saʿīd al-Būṣīrī in the 13th century in praise of Muḥammad. This ode was highly appreciated by scholars and various volumes of commentaries were written on it throughout the centuries. The work titled Asedatu's-shuhda qasida al-Burda, written by Omar b. Ahmad al-Ḫarpūtī in the first quarter of the 19th century, is one of the commentaries on Qasida al-Burda published in the last period of the Ottoman Empire. It is seen that al-Harputi made a comprehensive study in his commentary, using his scientific knowledge in various fields. In his work, his explanations and style on subjects such as fiqh, tafsir, hadith, kalam, logic, poetry, grammar, syntax, and rhetoric were highly appreciated by scholars and criticisms were written, and his book was published in different scientific centers of the Islamic world. In our thesis, the work called Sharh Qasida al-Burda Tarjama Mucmali, which is the only printed translation of this commentary, was examined and turned into a transcribed text and brought to the scientific world. The translation, written by Osman Tevfik Efendi, chief clerk of the Court of Appeal of Thessaloniki, in the last quarter of the 19th century, was compared with its commentary and its differences were identified. It was seen that a popular work such as Asedatu's-shuhda was summarized by Osman Tevfik Efendi to make it available to those who are not experts in science, and some additions were made from different sources.