Ahmet Dursun Nātıkī is a Divan literature representative, a prominent scholar with the ability to write works in Arabic and Persian as well as Turkish, a professor, a preacher and a mufti with works in various fields such as language, rhetoric and ethics. Nātıkī’s most important work is Takrīzātu Ebyāt (Partition of Lines) where he studied poems in Muhtasarü’l-ma‘ānī by Sa’düddin Teftāzānī. Takrīzātu Ebyāt is a significant work on Muhtasarü’l-ma‘ānī. It is an annotation of Telhīsü’l-Miftāh, an argument in terms of Arabic rhetoric due to Muhtasarü’lma‘ānī, but has never lost its importance. Both Telhīs and Muhtasarü’l-ma‘ānī were the textbooks of Ottoman madrasas. They were studied in eastern madrasas in academic sense, and several studies were conducted on them. When looked from this perspective, the fact that Takrīzātu Ebyāt was written on Muhtasarü’l-ma‘ānī in the last period of Ottomans shows its continuing significance. Partition of nearly 280 couplets of Muhtasarü’l-ma‘ānī is done in Takrīzātu Ebyāt although total couplet number is more. The couplets which were mentioned to make comparison and support the original example, being Persian and Turkish in some parts and not taking place in source text were not abbreviated. The work is a prosodic practice. As the author points, the primary aim of the work is to provide the madrasa students studying Muhtasarü’l-ma‘ānī, to both understand the difficult poems and make many practices on prosody. Takrīzātu Ebyāt consists of 1 preamble, 1 preface, 3 parts and epilogue. In the preamble part consisting of Basmala, Hamdala and Salwala, the author uses complex sentences in which he points the content and thus the subtleties of the rhetoric. Afterwards, he utters praising words for Sultan Mahmut II of the period; and states that the sultan closed the door of corruption and rebellion by abrogating janissary troops and establishing Asākir-i Mansure-i Muhammediye. Author, using praising words for commander-in-chief Esad Mehmet Muhlis Pasha, mentions his contributions to science and scholars. In preamble, Nātıkī introduces himself briefly and explains the date and reason for writing. After the preamble, the work continues with a twelve-page preface. Extensive information is given about prosody in this part. Its definition is made, and its founder and relations with other sciences are explained. Some basic concepts such as bahir, fasıla etc. are investigated in detail. Nātıkī says that although not poem, all bahirs are present in the Holy Qur’an, and gave bahir examples in Qur’anic verses. He explains the circles and bahirs based on Arabic prosody as follows: Dâiretü’l-muhtelife: Tavîl, Medîd, Basît; Dâiretü’l-mü’telife: Vâfir, Kâmil; Dâiretü’l-müctelibe: Hezec, Recez, Remel; Dâiretü’l-müştebihe: Serî‘, Münserih, Hafîf, Muzârî‘, Muktedab, Müctes; Dâiretü’l-müttefika: Mütekârib, Mütedârik. Nātıkī also states that prosody circles are generally drawn with Arabic poems; and that he, however, prefers Turkish poems to facilitate it for the beginners and gladden the experts. Nātıkī divides Takrīzātu Ebyāt into three main sections as meaning, statement and aesthetic, based on the rhetoric’s division practised in Muhtasarü’l-ma‘ānī. He also mentions the “epilogue” (hatime), which is included in the source text and whose subject is poetic plagiarism. He divides main parts into sub-sections by taking as basis the division in the source text. This method is generally followed throughout the work. In the work, the author mentions about a poem as: “It is example of such and such issue”, and then he studies the words in the poem both structurally and semantically, and explains the meaning of the poem simply and as a whole. When he finds Arabic insufficient, he tries to explain the words in Turkish and Persian. Sometimes, he transfers the whole couplet into Turkish or Persian. Although not in all poems, he uses the grammar analyses after giving the meaning, and divides the complex sentences into its elements. After studying the structure and meaning of couplets, the author establishing bahirs and partition process. If the poem is about a basic issue of rhetoric, before all, he gives information about it. Apart from these, Nātıkī sometimes includes in various views from the linguists and litterateurs of the time about prosody and rhetoric. Yet, he does not make any preference between them. He also gives place to the names of poets. When a poet’s name is unclear, he uses general expressions such as “author mentioned the poem” or “the poet said”. Additionally, he thanks Allah since only he notices some points. While explaining the bahirs of the poems, he sometimes narrates the opinions in other sources, states that they are wrong and reveals the true view of himself. Nātıkī frequently uses such expressions as “Nātıkī preferred so”, “Nātıkī’s statements”, “Nātıkī explained so”, “I understood so”, “pay attention to this”, “think about”, “understand this” etc. at the end of every poem whose explanation he finishes. While mentioning his name, he usually includes the words of prayers. Takrīzātu Ebyāt, regarded as an original work for prosody practices, is the summary of Muhtasarü’l-ma‘ānī, which is a source document mostly on explanations about interpretation, istishhad and rhetoric. The explanations belong to the author although the source text is benefitted during grammar examinations.
