Vesîletü’n-Necât’ın En Eski Nüshası ve Süleyman Çelebi’nin Bilinmeyen Şiirleri

Abstract

It can be said without hesitation that Süleyman Çelebi's mawlid named Vesîletü'n-necât is one of the most reproduced and read Turkish works in the Ottoman Empire. This work, which has reached the present day with increasing popularity and influence in every century, is considered both the prototype and the most beautiful example of the works written in the type of mawlid in our literature. Every library that contains Turkish manuscripts includes more than one copy of Vesîletü'n- necât. Unfortunately, the original copy of the work, which was written in 812(Muslim Calendar)/1409 (Gregorian Calendar), has not been found until today. Despite this popularity and a large number of copies, the oldest known manuscript of the work is dated about a hundred years after the original copy was written. Naturally, this time difference between the original copy and the oldest known copies is so great that it calls the authenticity of the Vesîletü'n-necât texts produced using these copies in question. Likewise, although Süleyman Çelebi is the owner of a valuable work like Mawlid that has survived for centuries, information about his life is also very limited today. Just like Yunus Emre, Süleyman Çelebi, who was embraced and respected by the Turkish nation and had a great contribution to Turkish being a "language of religion", remained an unknown person whose work is famous. The available information is far from shedding light on his life, personality, and other works if any. In this article, the oldest copy of Vesîletü'n-necât, which was newly identified and thought to have been copied while the author was alive, was introduced and the text of the six poems of Süleyman Çelebi in this copy was revealed for the first time and these poems were examined in terms of form and content.