Yahyâ bin Abdullâh's commentary on the Qasîdat al-Burda: Tercümetü'l-Esrâr fî Medhi Seyyidi'l-Ebrâr (Analysis and critical edition)

This study examines the work Tercümetü'l-Esrâr fî Medhi Seyyidi'l-Ebrâr, authored by Yahyâ b. Abdullâh in the 17th century, within the context of the commentary (sharh) tradition in Turkish literature. The concept of "sharh" refers to the activity of explicating a text, making it more comprehensible, and interpreting it-often within an academic or scholarly framework. This tradition was developed to facilitate the understanding of religious, philosophical, and literary texts and holds a significant place in classical Turkish literature. The primary aim of this study is to examine Yahyâ b. Abdullâh's commentary on the Qasîdat al-Burda in terms of its form, content, and methodology, and to determine its position both within the sharḥ tradition and among other commentaries on the Qasîda. The study also explores similarities and differences between this work and other sharḥs, evaluating the extent to which it adheres to classical commentary methods while also identifying features unique to the author. The research is based on qualitative methodology, primarily document analysis. Three manuscript copies of the work were identified and examined. These were transcribed into the Latin alphabet through a comparative transcription method. The most complete manuscript-Süleymaniye Manuscript Library, Manuscript Donations, No. 5515-was used as the principal source, and the other two copies were analyzed in comparison. The transcribed text was subjected to thematic analysis. Based on this, biographical information about Yahyâ b. Abdullâh was compiled, and the work's content, linguistic features, commentary structure, and exegetical method were analyzed in detail. The findings reveal the unique characteristics of the work and its position within the classical commentary tradition of Turkish literature.