The Tract on „Transcendental Humanity“ by Ali-Deda Bošnjak

Abstract

(Ali-dede al-Bosnawi: Risalatu fi bayani rigali l-gayb) 'Ala'u d-din 'Ali-dede ibn Mustafa al-Bosnawi (died 1007/1598) was an eminent representative of the Halveti Order in Rumelia and sheik of the tekke next to Sultan Suleyman's turbe at Sziget and worked, among other things, on the introduction of the serhat „murids“ in the above mentioned dervish order. To this end he also wrote several essays on the tesawwuf in which he discusses the concept of walayat, the source of Sufi learning, the moral character of the „murids“ and the methods by which one could become a „sheik“.

The subject of this paper, the tract „Fi bayani rigali l-gayb“, is also his attempt at a theoretical explanation of belief in „transcendental humanity“ and for an outline of a lecture in which he postulates a hierarchic ladder „of transcendental humanity“ and throws light on its role within hierohistory. As such, this tract represents an introduction to a series of essays written under the strong influence of Ibn Arabi's work, „Al-futfthatu l-makkiyya“, (The Revelations of Mecca). Within this subject area the author also partially disinters,some other questions important to an understanding of the tesawwuf, such as: the Sufi teaching that without man the world is only „an uncut mirror“, the phenomenon of the „Sultan's sheik“ and its interpretation and/or the forecasting of events „by favour of the evlis“ and the source of popular belief in the power of „good men“. As can be seen from the translation of The Tract, Ali-dede is hinting at things about which he wrote in more detail in some of his other works.

At present we know of two manuscripts of this tract. One is in the Collection of Manuscripts at the Oriental Institute in Sarajevo (kodex no. 604), the other is in Gazi Husrevbeg library in Sarajevo (kodex no. 946). According to its content, the latter Silsile-i name: is closer to that of Ali-dede.