Abstract

This article focuses on the prolegomena of Ottoman translations of Tafsir al-Quran, an exegesis written in Arabic, by Abu Lays al-Samarqandi. Since this introductory part is not included in the original Tafsir, it is a genuine work rather than a translation. The muqaddimah (prolegomena) that is written in 15th century Anatolian Turkish belongs to Musa al-Izniki. This introduction, which is significant especially for cultural and religious reasons and in particular Quranic exegesis and Sufism, deals with the core subjects of Sufism within the zeitgeist. Thus the muqaddimah echoes the Sufism of the 15th century. We aim to introduce this significant work where many topics related to Sufism are touched upon, to the academic and scholarly circles. Departing from the questions included in the work we will also try to give some information on the cultural and religious Weltanschauung. The first part of the article has some advance information on the work. The names, subjects and accounts that are referred to in the work are further detailed in the footnotes as they are also compared to other copies and original Arabic text for accuracy. In addition the related original texts with transcription are provided along the article.

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