Hadith as a Source of Aesthetics and Poetics in Classical Turkish Literature

Enough studies have been qualitatively conducted in many areas of classical Turkish literature. Nevertheless, an adequate level of academic work still needs to be reached regarding aesthetics and poetics in terms of quantity and quality in Ottoman literature. Albeit sporadically, Ottomans did write about aesthetics, which is classified under theoretical philosophy, and poetics, which is classified under applied philosophy. Many subjects that caused the formation of aesthetics and poetics in classical Ottoman literature such as the Qur'an, mythology, and historical events have been addressed academically. Nevertheless, the role of hadith in shaping the premises of classical Ottoman literature, and thus its aesthetic and poetic principles, have yet to be studied adequately. In this article, I aim to show hadith to have been essential in forming Ottoman aesthetics and poetics. Subtitles such as the legitimacy of poetry, the glorification of poetry, the necessity of poetry, and the nature of poetry can also be considered a portrayal of attitudes toward poetry throughout the Ottoman era. Turkish poets living in Ottoman times addressed these subtitles in terms of their relationships with other concepts: The legitimacy of poetry in relationship with sorcery, the glorification of poetry in relationship with the concept of miracle, the necessity of poetry in relationship with the concept of duty, and lastly the nature of poetry in relationship with mimesis. As a result, the study has revealed the Turkish poets of the Ottoman period who wanted to trace the Qur'an and hadiths to have thought that poetry should be written in line with truth in terms of mimesis and narration.