Mystical Interpretation of Sheikh Badr al-Dīn Ibn Qāḍī Samāwnā’s Controversial Ideas

Abstract

An important factor that affected political, religious, and social life during the period of Ottoman history called the “Ottoman Interregnum” was Sheikh Badr al-Dīn ibn Qāḍī Samāwnā’s (d. 823/1420) ideas and activities that resulted in a rebellion. Sheikh Badr al-Dīn, who managed to come to prominence in each position that he held, received the highest level of edu-cation. In addition to his scholarly identity, he officially served as qāḍī ʿaskar (judge of the army), an important bureaucratic rank for the state. Finally, as a Sufi, he attracted many supporters in a short time. Although several studies have examined his life and ideas, a considerable number of these studies were written for ideological purposes. A Sufi scholar, Sheikh Badr al-Dīn has been unrighteously and incorrectly accused of being a pio-neer of atheism, pantheism, anarchism, communism, and materialism in Ottoman times. The main reason for these inaccurate accusations is that his work al-Wāridāt has not been regarded as a mystical text. In this pa-per, I will attempt to address his controversial ideas at the mystical level, demonstrating the similarities and differences between his thoughts and those of earlier Sufis. The first commentaries written on al-Wāridāt are the main sources for the paper.

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