City of the Dervish: Castles of the Human Soul in Tuhfetü’l- Letâif

In classical literature, works in the story genre were written in verse and prose forms. Religious subjects such as Qur'anic parables, the struggles of religious figures, the stories of prophets and saints, local subjects based on social life, mystical subjects, love and heroism constitute the main subjects of these stories. Among these, stories on Sufism are narrated through metaphors. Indeed, in Sufism, spiritual journey is a process well-suited for metaphors. Therefore, it is a tradition of Sufi literature to describe the discipline of the soul through metaphors. Within the frame story centered around love in Tuhfetü’l-Letâif, there exists a short story where the process of spiritual journey is narrated through metaphors. Tuhfetü’l-Letâif is an example of a prose story written by Ali bin Naqîb Hamza, consisting of intertwined short stories. The main plot of the story is based on the structure of two heroic love masnavis. The story progresses around the themes of falling in love, separation, and reunion. The protagonist Shāh Rāmin’s struggle to find his beloved Māh Pervīn and the events he goes through are narrated in different fictions in the story. The plot between pages 128b- 155a of Tuhfetü’l-Letâif is a symbolic tale of spiritual journey. The castle encountered by the protagonist Şâh Ramin on his quest for his beloved Mâh Pervîn symbolizes the inner evolution in his spiritual journey. In the story, the journey is symbolized by this castle built by Şedid. The difficulties, requirements and customs of the pilgrimage are depicted through various metaphors in the story through people, places and animals. In this study, we will focus on how the short story of Tuhfetü’l-Letâif, which is written in the 128b-155a varas of Tuhfetü’l-Letâif, narrates the progress of seyr al-suluk by using the metaphors of the castle city, plants, animals and mines, and how the guides of the progress of seyr al-suluk, namely Murshid, Khidr and the Qur’an, are symbolized in the story. Additionally, the story’s source, Şedîd, Şeddâd, and the Garden of Irem will be discussed and evaluated in the context of self-discipline.