Sari Abdullah Efendi's Cevâhir-i Bevâhir-i Mesnevî, ‎volume I (analysis-text)‎

Cevâhir-i Bevâhir-i Mesnevî was authored by Sarı Abdullah Effendi (d. ‎‎1661), a celebrated Sufi and politician in the 17th century. Presented to Sultan ‎Murad IV (1623-1640), this work includes the commentary only on the first book of ‎the Mesnevî and is known as the most comprehensive commentary ever written on ‎that book. Cevâhir-i Bevâhir-i Mesnevî is among the most precious works of the ‎Ottoman cultural heritage. Moreover, it occupies an exceptional position when ‎compared to the other Turkish commentaries on the Mesnevî produced in Anatolia. ‎The publication of this work is of utmost importance both for studies in the ‎Turkish-Islamic literature and for research on Mevlânâ, which is increasing by the ‎day.‎ This dissertation is based on the manuscript no. 740 of Cevâhir-i Bevâhir-i ‎Mesnevî in the Collection of Fazıl Ahmed Pasha in Süleymaniye Library. The ‎manuscript is significant in that it was created by Cevrî (d. 1654), the author's ‎student and companion, and reviewed by the author himself. Furthermore, the work ‎encompasses five volumes; the first volume was printed in Tasvîr-i Efkâr in ‎‎1287/1870, and other volumes were published in Matbaa-i Âmire, the imperial ‎press, in 1288/1871. The expression "Volume I" in the dissertation title refers to the ‎relevant hardcopy part of the manuscript. This dissertation provides a transcription ‎of this part and an analysis of the content of the work. The study is comprised of ‎three chapters as well as an introduction. In the Introduction, several commentaries ‎on the first volume of the Mesnevî are introduced. Chapter 1 contains an account of ‎Sarı Abdullah Effendi's life, his works and his literary identity. Chapter 2 covers a ‎detailed analysis of the content and themes of Cevâhir-i Bevâhir-i Mesnevî. In ‎Chapter 3, the different manuscripts of the work are presented; in addition, the ‎pertinent parts of the folios (1b-107b) of the first volume are transcribed and ‎included in the present study.‎