Abstract
DIVINE LOVE IN LEYLA AND MECNUN THROUGH THE LANGUAGE OF 19TH CENTURY ASHIKS
Love, defined as a strong feeling of affection and attachment towards a person, entity or object, is used in two senses within the Islamic framework, divine love and metaphorical love. Divine love is widely discussed in Sufism. Love, both in the divine and metaphorical sense, has been one of the main themes of literature. A vast body of romantic literature has developed around this concept.In Sufi literature, metaphorical love, defined as loving one of the temporary forms, is considered the first step on the journey to divine love. In Leyla ile Mecnun, one of the love stories with two protagonists, Mecnun's love for Leyla is one of the first examples that comes to mind when we think of metaphorical love. Indeed, this love carries symbolic meaning in many areas and aspects, primarily Sufism, independent of its historical background. Both Mecnun and Leyla are important symbols in the expression of love. The story thematically addresses Mecnun's transition from human love to divine love from a Sufi perspective. In the tradition of the ashık style, the symbols of Leyla and Mecnun are frequently used in poems, and Mecnun's love, which was directed first towards Leyla and then towards Mevla, is among the motifs referred to in the poems of ashık poets. The study examines the ways in which representatives of the 19th-century ashık tradition approached the motif of divine love in the story of Leyla and Mecnun, and the references they made, through examples.
Keywords
Love, Sufism, manifestation, metaphor, tradition.