The structure of extraordinary motifs in Şemseddin Sivâsî's works of the hagiography genre

Hagiographies are works that emerge from oral tradition, focusing on the lives of saints and the extraordinary situations they display. These works provide glimpses into the lives of the Prophet's companions, the four caliphs, the founders of religious sects, and saints. While they possess historical reality, they also draw on popular beliefs as they spread through oral tradition, including extraordinary events that we refer to as miracles. Hagiographies are works that arise from the compilation of legends about a saint by a writer. Shamseddin Sivâsi, a 16th-century Ottoman author, is the founder of the Shamsiyye branch of the Halvetiye order. He produced over twenty works in Turkish, Arabic, and Persian, most of which deal with religious and mystical topics. His works that belong to the genre of hagiograpyh include "Menâkıb-ı Çehâr-Yâr-ı Güzîn," which contains legends about the four caliphs, companions, and the family of the Prophet; "Menâkıb-ı İmâm-ı A'zam," which includes legends about Imam Abu Hanifa; and "Abdülvehhâb Gâzi Menâkıbı," which he wrote as a short treatise. In our thesis titled "The Structure of Extraordinary Motifs in Şemseddin Sivâsî's Works of the Hagiography Genre" we have examined these three works. In the hagiopgraphies discussed in the thesis, motifs from various sources such as pre-Islamic Turkish beliefs, the holy books of monotheistic religions, myths, epics, and legends are found together. The motifs we identified in our study demonstrate that the Turks have been influenced by different beliefs and cultures throughout history, while also revealing Shamseddin Sivâsî's perspective on other sects as a member of the Sunni Hanafi school. Keywords: Sufism, Shamseddin Sivâsi, Hagiography, Motif, Miracle, Saint.