The Evaluation Of Ayntabi's Tercume-i Tibyan Commentary With Regard To Content And Method

Abstract

The Commentary of Terceme-i Tibyan was written by Muhammed b. Hamza el-Ayntabi ed-Debbag, who was also known as Tefsiri Mehmet Efendi, upon the will of Sultan IV. Mehmed. The Sultan wanted Ayintabi to translate Koran, the original of which is in Arabic, into Turkish and explain the secrets, unique truths, metaphors and graceful examples of it. After Ayntabi wrote the Commentary, he presented it to the Sultan and the the people.

We realized that some of the commentaries of Tercume-i Tibyan in our library were recorded in the name of Seyhulislam Debbagzade Muhammed b. Mahmud. We also came across that in some bibliography sources, the commentary of Tercume-i Tibyan was recorded among the Works of Seyhulislam Debbagzade Muhammed b. Mahmud. We determined that the commentaries of Tercume-i Tibyan which was recorded in the name of Seyhulislam Debbagzade Muhammed b. Mahmud in our libraries was actually the commentary of Tercume-i Tibyan which belonged to Muhammed b. Hamza el-Ayintabi ed-Debbag. We determined that in the bibliography sources, this commentary was recorded among the works of Seyhulislam Debbagzade Muhammed b. Mahmud by mistake, in fact its author was Muhammed b. Hamza el-Ayintabled-Debbag. Ayntabi wrote the commentary using the quotations from Begavi's, Razi's and Beydavi's commentaries. He, when needed, used some other quotations, too. We also identified that this commentary wasn't the translation of Hizir b. Abdurrahman el-Ezdi's Tibyan commentary.

In our study we evaluated resources of the commentary, the content and the method which Ayntabi followed while writing the commentary of Tercume-i Tibyan by giving information. The information about the writer of Tera me-i Tibyan and its interpreter was clarified. Besides, in our study we enlightened the position of this commentary /Tercume-i Tibyan in the Commentary Activities in the Ottoman Age.