Latinization and evaluation of pages 248–355 of Uryânîzâde Ali Vâhîd's Book "Turkish Sermons"

Throughout history, sermons have been an important tool in Muslim societies, providing religious information in a simple and understandable language and guiding the religious and moral development of individuals. The sermon tradition, which has continued uninterruptedly throughout Islamic history, was the subject of debates in the last periods of the Ottoman Empire, especially in the context of the language problem; different opinions emerged on whether sermons should be read in Arabic or Turkish. After the proclamation of the Republic, it was made compulsory for sermons to be read in Turkish by the decision of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey. The main purpose of this study is to translate the sermons on pages 248-355 of Uryânîzâde Ali Vahîd's Turkish Hutbeler, which sheds light on the process of Turkification of sermons and is considered as one of the important examples of the period, into Latin alphabet and to reveal how the issues addressed in these texts are handled in the context of belief and practice. For this reason, the analysed sermons were thematically classified in terms of content and it was determined that the themes of belief were predominant. In this context, it was observed that concepts such as Judgement, Religion, Sharia, Holy Quran, Hereafter, Destiny, Judgement and Paradise were at the forefront. In addition, it was determined that the religious messages in the sermons were not only addressed within the framework of individual responsibility and worship consciousness, but also issues such as social unity, solidarity, protection of moral values, strengthening the understanding of justice and the construction of a common spiritual identity were significantly emphasised. Thus, it is concluded that Uryânîzâde's sermons not only reminded the individual of his responsibilities towards God, but also had a function of strengthening social order, regulating social relations and reinforcing common values.