BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA, SOCIETY, CULTURE, HISTORICAL CONTEXT, AND SŪDĪ AL-BOSNAWĪ

While the 16th-century Ottoman Geography expanded in both the East and the West, it witnessed a unique historical juncture where science, wisdom, and culture experienced their golden age. At the heart of this period lay major cities such as Sarajevo, Bursa, Diyarbakır, Damascus, and Baghdad, with Istanbul, the capital of the Ottoman Empire, taking the lead. Embodying the East and the West, along with diverse faiths and cultures, Istanbul became a meeting point for sultans, scholars, poets, and Sufis, thereby gaining its position as the intellectual center of the period. Located on the western borders of the Ottoman Empire, Sarajevo brought forth brilliant figures and works of Islamic thought. Sūdī al-Bosnawī received his initial education in Sarajevo and subsequently moved to Istanbul, the capital of the Ottoman Empire.

 

BRIEF INFORMATION ABOUT SŪDĪ AL-BOSNAWĪ AND HIS WORKS

SŪDĪ AL-BOSNAWĪ (d. 1007/1599 [?])

He was born in the village of Sudići, affiliated with the town of Čajniče near the Montenegro border in Bosnia and Herzegovina. His name was Ahmed, and his being called Sudi is in reference to his village of birth.

After likely receiving his initial education in Foča, he went to Sarajevo. It is understood from the records in his Sharḥ al-Gulistān that a part of his student life was spent there. Subsequently, he moved to Istanbul and completed his higher education. Following his studies, he went to Erzurum for a short period and from there to Diyarbekir.

Estimated to be around twenty-five years old at this time, Sūdī was appointed to the Dānishmand at the Mas‘ūdiyya Madrasah in Diyarbekir. During the years he lived in Diyarbekir, he attended the lectures of Molla Muslih al-Dīn Lārī (d. 977/1569), who was the Chief Professor (Başmüderris) of the Hüsrev Paşa Madrasah in Diyarbekir. Afterward, he moved to Damascus (Dımaşk), where he read the Gulistān from Ḥalīm Shīrwānī, and continued to attend the lectures of Ṣabūḥī-i Badakhshī and Ḥusayn-i Khwārazmī. We learn from the works of the commentator (shāriḥ) that he went to Baghdad after Damascus. While Sūdī was in Baghdad, he tried to comprehend some difficult and obscure parts in the Bostān, Gulistān, and Dīvān of Ḥāfiẓ by consulting Persian scholars (ulema) and sheikhs. He stayed in Baghdad, Kufa, and Najaf for a few years to pursue his education. During this period, he also performed his pilgrimage (hajj) duty and returned to Istanbul.

He was appointed as a teacher to the Gılman-ı Hassa at the Ibrahim Pasha Palace in Atmeydanı, Istanbul. However, shortly thereafter, most likely following the demise of Sokullu Mehmed Pasha, he was retired and dismissed from his duty. Subsequently, he retreated into seclusion and occupied himself with writing his works. According to his own statement, “Jesus Christ never married throughout his life, just like the praying Sudi,” he himself never married either.

 The Bosnian Dervish Pasha (d. 1012/1603), an Ottoman statesman and poet, mentions him in the preface of his work titled Muradname, stating, “Sūdī was my most esteemed teacher, my ustādh al-akram.” Although it is not stated in the sources how long Sūdī remained in this position, there is a record that he left his duty with a meager retirement pension. His departure from his duty coincided with the death of Sokullu Mehmed Pasha. Within this information, the possibility that the privileges granted to the Bosnians came to an end with Sokullu’s death can also be taken into consideration. Sūdī retreated into seclusion and occupied himself with teaching and writing his works.

According to Nev’îzade Atâî and Safvet-beg Bašagić, he passed away in the year 1000 (1591–92), while according to Bursalı Mehmed Tahir and Šaćir Sikirić, he died in 1005 (1596–97) and was buried in Istanbul.

Although Mehmed Tahir states that he was buried in the graveyard of the Aksaray-Yusuf Paşa Mosque in Istanbul, his tombstone was removed during the early years of the Republic under the pretext of road widening.

However, since he completed his commentary on Sa‘dī Shīrāzī’s Bostān on 2 Shawwāl 1006 (May 8, 1598), it is estimated that Sūdī passed away in 1007 (1599) at the earliest. Sūdī was one of the successful scholars of the period, particularly in the field of Persian language and literature. His engagement with the translation and commentary of certain Arabic works demonstrates his command of Arabic, while his appointment as a teacher to the Gılman-ı Hassa alongside his Turkish commentaries and translations indicates that he had a good command of Turkish.

Sūdī al-Bosnawī, one of the greatest commentators (shāriḥs) of the 16th century, wrote commentaries on the world-renowned and most important works of Persian literature. Sūdī’s commentary on the Dīvān of Ḥāfiẓ al-Shīrāzī was translated into Persian by the Persians due to his great mastery.

Deviating from the tradition of Arabic and Persian commentary prevalent in his century, Sūdī penned all of his commentaries in Turkish. Sūdī of Bosnia commented on Sa‘dī Shīrāzī’s Gulistān, a work that influenced world literatures in every aspect, into Turkish in 1595 by employing highly diverse translation strategies. He penned his work titled Sharḥ al-Gulistān to serve as a resource for students learning Persian in the madrasah. While providing meanings for many lexical items, such as Persian proverbs, idioms, and metonymies, along with their Arabic and Turkish synonyms, he also informed us of idioms and proverbs that are now forgotten today.

 

THE WORKS OF SŪDĪ AL-BOSNAWĪ

1. Sharḥ-i Dīvān-i Ḥāfiẓ (The work was first published in three volumes [Bulak, 1250], and subsequently in two volumes on the margin of Ṣadr al-Dīn al-Qūnawī's commentary [Istanbul, 1289]. This work was prepared by İbrahim Kaya and published in three volumes by the Directorate of the Manuscript Institution of Turkey Publications in 2020.)

 

2. Sharḥ-i Gulistān (It was translated into Persian by H. Hoştinat, Z. Çâvûşî, and A. A. Kâzımî under the title Sharḥ-i Sūdī bar Gulistān [Tehran, 1349 sh]).

3. Sharḥ-i Bostān (The work was translated into Persian by Akbar Behrūz under the title Sharḥ-i Sūdī bar Bostān-ı Saʿdī [I–II, Tabriz, 1352 sh]).

4. Sharḥ-i Lughat-i Shāhidī (A copy of this work, which is a commentary on İbrâhîm Shāhidî’s rhymed Persian vocabulary and is not mentioned in the sources, was identified by Nazif M. Hoca [Süleymaniye Library, Süleymaniye, no. 866]).

5. Risāle-i Sūdī Efendi (Two separate treatises containing his commentary on the second couplet of the first ghazal of Ḥāfiẓ al-Shīrāzī and a couplet in Sa‘dī Shīrāzī’s Gulistān were published by Nazif M. Hoca.)

 

6. Sharḥ-i Kāfiya (It is the Turkish translation and commentary of Ibn al-Ḥājib's work on Arabic grammar [naḥw]. The work was published by Osman Hilmi Karahisarlı under the title Shurūḥ al-Kāfiya-yi Sih Zabān: ‘Arabī, Fārisī, Turkī, along with the Arabic text and commentary of al-Kāfiya, and the Persian translation and commentary of Sayyid Sharīf al-Jurjānī [Istanbul, 1312].)

7. Sharḥ-i Shāfiya (It is the Turkish translation and commentary of Ibn al-Ḥājib's work on Arabic morphology [ṣarf].)

8. Tarjuma-i Taqrīrāt ‘alā Khuṭbat al-Farīd al-Dīn (It is the Turkish translation of the work belonging to Ibn al-Ḥājib.)

9. Ḥāshiya ‘alâ Sharḥ-i Hidāyat al-Ḥikma (It is a gloss [ḥāshiya] on the commentary written by Qāḍī Mīr Maybudī on Athīr al-Dīn al-Abharī’s work titled Hidāyat al-Ḥikma.)

10. al-Ḍaw’ Tarjuması (It is the Turkish translation of Tāj al-Dīn al-Isfarāyīnī’s work on Arabic grammar [naḥw].)

11. Sharḥ-i Masnavī.

12. Risāla-i Mushkilāt ve Iṣṭilāḥāt-i Masnavī.

13. Ḥusn u Dil Tarjuması.

 

 

A BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE RELATIONS BETWEEN THE STATE OF BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA AND THE STATE OF THE REPUBLIC OF TÜRKİYE

Türkiye–Bosnia and Herzegovina relations are very strong in social and cultural fields. High-level visits between Bosnia and Herzegovina and our country maintain the dynamism of these relations. Migrations from Bosnia to Türkiye throughout history and the millions of citizens of Bosnian origin living in Türkiye have reinforced the ties of kinship between the two countries and brought about stronger relations.

More than 200 Turkish companies operate in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the total amount of Turkish investments in this country is approximately 2 billion Euros. The investments in question provide employment for more than 3 thousand people in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The Balkans, a part of which lies within the borders of our country, is a highly important geography for Türkiye. Throughout the history every problem experienced in the Balkans has closely concerned Türkiye and influenced the political, cultural, economic, and social stance that Türkiye has maintained toward Balkan countries.

Bosnia and Herzegovina has been an important region for our nation over many years, spanning from the Ottoman Period to the Republic of Türkiye. Recently, it has stood at the forefront of the regions referred to by the term “Our Heart Geography” (Gönül Coğrafyamız).

Sharing common religious, social, and historical roots with Türkiye, Bosnia and Herzegovina has always strived to maintain strong relations with our country since its establishment. Having been the victim of the war in the 1990s, Bosnia was supported by Türkiye under all circumstances, and this support from Türkiye was also accepted and endorsed by Islamic countries and Western nations. In the Bosnian War, to which Western countries remained indifferent from the very beginning, the group that suffered the greatest damage and loss of life was the Muslim Bosniaks. Consequently, the West, being uncomfortable with this majority, has never desired Bosnia and Herzegovina to achieve internal unity and has favored a fragmented system of governance within the country. Although the assistance provided by Islamic countries to Bosnia and Herzegovina was not well received by Western nations, Muslim nations formed a unity among themselves and provided military and humanitarian aid to Bosnia.