Shaykh Muhammad Yahya Efendi and his work entitled "Mir'âtu'l-Mubtadi" (Review-text)

The subject of the thesis is Sayyid Muhammad Yahya Efendi, one of the mujaddidi branch sheikhs of the 19th-century Naqshbandi sect, and his work entitled Mir'āt al-Mubtadī. Sheikh Sayyid Muhammad Yahya Efendi lived in Istanbul between 1822-1880. He carried out the duty of sheikh for about 32 years in the Mustafa Pasha Tekke located in the Otakçılar district. Although it is not known exactly what kind of education Sheikh Sayyid Muhammed Yahya Efendi received, it can be said that he studied Islamic sciences based on his work, teaching tafsir, hadith, and fiqh in the Mustafa Pasha Tekke, and his close relationship with the scientific circles of the period. In addition to his irshad (spiritual and ethical guidance) activities, Sheikh Sayyid Muhammed Yahya Efendi established a printing house in Mustafa Pasha Tekke and pioneered the printing of many works. With this aspect, he contributed to the development of Ottoman scientific and cultural life. Sheikh Sayyid Muhammed Yahya Efendi wrote Mir'āt al-Mubtadī upon the request of the fellows of the sect to write a work describing the ādāb of the sect. He completed this work on January 16, 1876. In Mir'āt al-Mubtadī Sheikh Sayyid Muhammed Yahya Efendi has explained ādāb by dividing it into two parts as formal ādāb and spiritual ādāb. After briefly mentioning formal ādāb, he gave a wide place to spiritual ādāb in the rest of his work. The work contains important information that will guide the new entrants to the sect in their sayr al-sulūk (spiritual journey) and contribute to their spiritual development. Sheikh Sayyid Muhammed Yahya Efendi wrote his Mir'āt al-Mubtadī with the knowledge he obtained from the Sufi classics and with his own views.