Marife Turkish Journal of Religious Studies

Abstract

In a section where friendship is explained in the work of Mevlânâ Celâleddîn-i Rûmî, which is compiled from his talks, Fîhi Mâ Fîh, the Arabic expression Liqâ al-halîl shifâ al-alîl is included. It has been determined that the expression in Islamic literature is narrated in different ways with word changes and it has been observed that these expressions are used in quite different contexts in texts, cultural and artistic materials. In the article, firstly, the presence of the expression Liqâ al-halîl shifâ al-alîl in religious, literary and cultural resources was examined. Then it was tried to determine how similar expressions that appear with different words in Islamic literature are included in the sources. Turkish, Arabic, Persian prose and poetic works written within the Islamic civilization and cultural and artistic materials belonging to this civilization were scanned. As a result of the information obtained from these scans, comments were made. The ultimate goal of this article is to follow the course of a doctrine in the religious heritage tradition and similar transmissions in Islamic civilization, based on the expression Liqâ al-halîl shifâ al-alîl in the Fîhi Mâ Fîh. Thus, it will contribute to understanding the process of civilization’s building itself on written culture and artistic works.
Rûmî narrated the expression Liqâ al-halîl shifâ al-alîl while stating the influence of friends on each other. The expression that could not be found in primary and secondary hadith sources was also quoted in the form of Shifâ al-alîl liqâ al-halîl with the exact same word order.
In the text scans, the following narrations similar to the expression in the form of Liqâ al-halîl shifâ al-alîl were found: Likâ al-halîl shifâ al-galîl, Shifâ al-alîl liqâ al-Celîl, Shifâ al-qulûb liqâ al-mahbûb, Shifâ al-qulûb fî liqâ al-meclûb.
Like the Shifâ al-alîl liqâ al-halîl, these expressions are also not found in primary or secondary religious sources. The expression in the form of Liqâ al-halîl shifâ al-galîl was narrated in reference to Ibn Aisha, a hadith and genealogy scholar who lived in the 9th century and was found in the works of Arabic history and Emsâl books which contains Arabic proverbs and idioms. It can be translated as "The face of the friend is the cure for the inner fire (thirst)" or "The face of the friend is the cure for the person who is thirsty."
In the Mevlânâ Museum, an expression in the form of Shifâ al-alîl liqâ al-Celîl, which means "The healing for the patient in the face of God" was seen on a miniature mihrab. In this usage, the "friend's face" (liqâ al-halîl) in the previous similar expressions took the form of "the face of Allah" (liqâ al-Celîl). It is clearly seen that the Mawlawî tradition reinterprets the expression in Fîhi Mâ Fîh and uses it in a more metaphysical context.
The expression Şifâ al-qulûb liqâ al-mahbûb, which we can translate into English as "The healing of hearts is the face of the lover" is the most used and most known among similar narrations. The expression is mentioned in work titled Sıfatu Sâhib al-Zevq al-Selîm ve Meslûb al-Zevq al-Leîm by Suyûtî, who lived in the 15th century, and in the Rûh al-Mathnawi of İsmail Hakkı Bursevî, who lived in the 17th and 18th centuries. The expression is also included in Osman Hamdi Bey's famous painting, named The Tortoise Trainer in the 19th century. In the uses of Suyûtî and İsmail Hakkı Bursevî, the lover (mahbûb) refers to the lover, which is an element of earthly love. However, the place in Osman Hamdi Bey's painting is Bursa Yeşil Mosque, and there is calligraphy with the name Muhammed right next to the related text in the painting. In the light of this information, it is thought that the context in the use of the expression has completely changed. While trying to reveal the Ottoman Empire's religious identity, Osman Hamdi Bey has handled the expression in a metaphysical dimension. It has been observed that the expression of Shifâ al-qulûb liqâ al-mahbûb is included in manuscript covers, calligraphy works, and even embroidered on woven rugs. The expression has also appeared as the name of many books; there are works with different contents, named as Shifâ al-qulûb bi-liqâ al-mahbûb, Shifâ al-qulûb ve liqâ al-mahbûb.