Atatürk University Prof. Dr. From the Fuat Sezgin Library, where the most distinguished works of Turkish and World literature and many valuable manuscripts are located, one of the oldest copies of the history of Islam, the Tafsir Copywritten by Kâdî Beyzâvî about 750 years ago was discovered.

The work, written by his student while he was alive, also includes the date of death of Kâdî Beyzâvî, which was not known until this time.

 The oldest Kâdî Beyzâvî commentary copy of history was discovered by Prof. Dr.Dündar Alikılıç, Head of the Department of Information and Document Management, Faculty of Letters, and his team.

Prof. Dr. Dündar Alikılıç: “The abundance of copies of this distinguished tafsir among the Islamic manuscripts is an indication of the kindness towards the work. At the same time, the fact that he has more than 250 commentaries and hashiyya (footnotes) is a sign of the importance attributed to him by the Islamic scholars of Envaru't-Tenzil ”.

The work is copied by the student while the author is alive

Underlining that this copy, which is among Atatürk University Seyfettin Özege Manuscripts Collection, Sakıp Danışmend manuscripts, is one of the oldest copies in the world and is the oldest and most robust copy belonging to Kâdî Beyzâvî: “What makes this copy important is that it was copied when the author is alive by his student Zahîrüddin Abdüssamed b. Mahmud b. Abdüssamed el-Fârûkî al-Fârâbî (d. 707/1307 alive). ”

The Oldest and Sturdiest Copy Belonging to Kâdî Beyzâvî

Prof. Dr. Alikılıç: “Among the manuscripts, we could detect in the libraries of the world, the 3334 copies in the National Library of Iran are known as the oldest one. Paper etc. as a type of writing and other supplementary information. features reveal that the copy is not the oldest copy as mentioned. In this case, the copy we have is a work that has the feature of being the oldest copy in the world.

The Exact Date of Death Has Also Revealed

Another feature of the work is a date dropped by his student to the death of his teacher. The dates of Kâdî Beyzâvî's death are shown differently in many works. There is no consensus on this matter. In the Diyanet Islam Encyclopedia, many different dates are given on the date of death of Beyzâvî, ranging from 641 (1243) to 716 (1316). However, most of the sources state that he died in Tabriz in 685 (1286). A note was made by his student at the end of this copy, which is included in the Seyfettin Özege Manuscript Collection of Atatürk University, stating that the death of Kadî Beyzâvî was on Şevval 691 / September-October 1292. Since it was assumed that his student remained with his teacher until his death, the rumors about the date of death of the author disappeared and the date of death was finalized with this important copy ”.

Rector Çomaklı: "History Comes Up Again"

Stating that these and many other important works are in the library of Atatürk University, Rector Prof. Dr. Ömer Çomaklı said that they are trying to bring such valuable works to light with the work done. Stating that Atatürk University has an important archive with its 63 years of history, Çomaklı stated that both the archive studies carried out within the Directorate of Corporate Communications and the scans carried out in the library reveal the history again.

Studies on the Tafsir Copy Will Continue

Prof. Dr. Çomaklı: “We are grateful to everyone who wrote, owned and brought such precious works to the present. Thanks to them, many treasures decorate our knowledge world. On this occasion, I would like to thank our academicians who created one of the oldest commentaries in history and wish them success in their studies ”.

CORPORATE COMMUNICATION DIRECTORATE - 19.12.2020