Sayyid Mehmed Hâkim Efendi and His Siyer-i Kebîr (Transcription and evaluation of the mukaddime section)

The main reason for the emergence of the science of siyer, which is about the life of the Prophet, Hz. (sas) and is used for works written in this branch, is the statement of the Qur'an. It has been pointed out in many verses that the value of the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) in the sight of Allah, the integrity of religion and its application to practical life cannot be achieved without the Sunnah of our Prophet (sas). As a result of this, accepting the life of the Prophet of Allah (sas) as a measure of life for himself/herself and being able to recognize Him in all aspects are considered the most basic duty. This situation formed the basis of the science of the siyer and writing by necessitating the collection of information about the life of the Prophet (sas). Like other societies, the Turks who have been honored with Islam, made an effort with the desire to get to know the Prophet Muhammad (sas) and they did translation activities from Arabic and Persian works in this regard. The works copyrighted by the authors came into existence in later periods. The first known Turkish translated work was written in the second half of the 14th century, and the first copyrighted work was written in the first quarter of the 17th century. Studies that have evolved over time have brought to light valuable works on siyer in different centuries. One of these is the work called Siyer-i Kebir, written by Seyyid Mehmed Hâkim Efendi, who lived in the Ottoman geography in the 18th century and was one of the important poets, writers, historians and calligraphers of his time. In this study, the transcription and evaluation of the Mukaddime part of his large- volume work, which is strengthened by over a hundred rich sources which we think it is not used much in the field of siyer, will be done. Keywords: History of Islam, Siyer, Hz. Muhammed, Mehmed Hakim Efendi, Siyer-i Kebir.