Civility in the Enchanted City: The Malfūzāt of Ḥażrat Niẓāmuddīn Awliyā’

Abstract

Civility has been variously described as a social norm, an attitude, even a virtue. The wide variety of ascriptions attached to it indicate as much its versatility as its indispensability for the construction of a sustainable society. Yet how widespread is civility, across history and societies? This is a question that attempts to wean the concept off its often-Eurocentric conceptualization, wherein civility was tied to the ‘civilizing process’ described and championed by Norbert Elias. This article undertakes a study of civility in a very different social context, by zooming onto the Chishti khānqāh of Ḥażrat Niẓāmuddīn Awliyā’ in early thirteenth century India. The underlying contention is that civility in this milieu was expressed through the key Sufi vocabulary of adab, futuwwa and gharīb nawazi, it was not tied to the civilizing process of a Leviathan State. Rather, it was the individual moral self, trained and elevated by a charismatic Shaykh, aided by the comradeship of the khānqāh, and grounded in a world that was resolutely ‘enchanted’ that made the acquisition and solidification of civility a feasible process. This article seeks a sociological examination of that project.

Keywords

• Civility
• Sufism
• adab
• futuwwa
• civilizing process

Efsunlu Şehirde Edep: Nizâmeddîn Evliyâ’nın Melfûzât’ı

Öz

Edep, kimi zaman sosyal bir norm, bir tavır ve hatta bir fazilet olarak çeşitli şekillerde tanımlamıştır. Kavrama atfedilen tanımların çeşitliliği, onun, sürdürülebilir bir toplumun inşası adına vazgeçilmezliğine olduğu kadar çok yönlülüğüne de işaret etmektedir. Peki ama edep tarihte ve toplumlar arasında ne denli yaygındır? Bu soru, edebin Nobert Elias tarafından tanımlanan ve savunulan “medenileşme süreci” ile ilişkilendirildiği, kavramın ekseriyetle Avrupa merkezli bir kavramsallaştırmadan sıyrılmasını sağlamaya çalışan bir sorudur. Bu makale, oldukça farklı bir sosyal bağlamda, on üçüncü yüzyıl başlarında Nizâmüddin Evliyâ’nın Hindistan’daki hankahı özelinde edep kavramını mercek altına almaya çalışmaktadır. Çalışmada ileri sürülen fikir, belirtilen sosyal çevredeki edebin, Leviathan devlet tipi bir medenileşme sürecine bağlı olmaktan ziyade, âdâb ü erkân, fütüvvet ve garib-nüvâzlık (garipleri gözetme, kollama; onlara hoş davranma, gönüllerini alma) gibi temel tasavvufî terminoloji aracılığıyla ifade edildiğidir. Bilakis, edebin kazanılmasını ve pekiştirilmesini uygulanabilir bir süreç haline getiren şey, hankahtaki ihvan kardeşliğinin desteğine ve hankah içinde kararlı bir biçimde sürdürülen “efsunlu” bir dünyaya dayanarak, etki sahibi bir mürşidin terbiyesi altında tekamül eden bireysel ahlâkî benliktir. Bu makale, söz konusu uygulamanın sosyolojik bir incelemesini amaçlamaktadır.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Edep
• tasavvuf
• âdâb
• fütüvvet
• medenileşme süreci

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