Sari Abdallāh Afandi's Jawāhir-i Bawāhir-i Mathnawi, Volume III (Commentary-Text)

The main subject of this study is the commentary named Cevāhir-i Bevāhir-i Mesnevį written by Sari Abdullah Efendi (d. 1071/1661), one of the 17th-century authors, on the first volume of Mevlānā's (d. 672/1273) Mesnevį. Sari Abdullah had an intimate understanding of the Bayramī-Melamī, Celvetī, and Mevlevī milieus of his time. He undertook various bureaucratic positions and participated in many expeditions with Grand Vizier Halil Pasha (d. 1038/1629). His works made him one of the prominent authors for the history of Malāmiyya and the fields of literature, tasawwuf and history. Mesnevį commentary of Sari Abdullah reflects his perspective on the subjects and concepts of Sufism within the framework of the principles of Bayramīyya-Malāmiyya and also offers rich material in terms of cultural and social elements. This study presents the transcription of the text of Cevāhir-i Bevāhir-i Mesnevį based on the manuscript copied by Cevrī (d. 1065/1654) and considered to be corrected by the author himself. This manuscript is registered under number 740 in the Collection of Fazıl Ahmed Paşa at Süleymaniye Library (between 203b-297b), and it corresponds to the third volume of the Matbaa-i Āmire edition of 1284. The part subject to the thesis covers the 1951-2773th (1978-2811th) couplets of Mesnevi. Within this framework, the present study attempts to reveal the sources of the text by giving translations of the Arabic and Persian passages. In addition, by analysing the content of the text, the study deciphers the contributions of Sari Abdullah to the commentary literature on Mesnevį. It also examines the literary features, language and style of the text with the commentary method of the author.