Tasavvuf dönemi kaynak eserlerinde fakr kavramı

Abstract

ABSTRACT Poverty (fakr) is one of the most important notions of the Islamic Mysticism (Tasavvuf). It means privation (to be poor materially) but in Tasavvuf it is to feel someone himself needy to God continually. This has got a spiritual meaning. According this, all people are poor and it is only God who is the Absolute Rich. This understanding derives this meaning from the Koranic provenance in verses such as: ` And Allah is the Rich, and ye are the poor` And `O mankind! Ye are the poor in your relation to Allah. And Allah! He is the Absolute, the Owner of Praise.` T here are also a lot of traditions reported from the Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) about this subject Especially there are a lot of traditions in which poverty praised in books of Sufis and these traditions used as a source about superiority of Poverty. Spiritual poverty got a great significance in Islamic Sufism, moreover it is discussed that whether Tasavvuf or poverty superior. Even though the Sufis adopted themselves to live in Spiritual poverty on the other hand they also preferred to live in the material poverty. They thought that as a provident way to reach God and to abstain from worldly affairs. For this, they developed some methods and described how they should behave. Of course there are some people who m isunderstand a nd m isuse this n otion a nd w ho c ontinued t heir 1 ife w ith begging. This situation did not agreeable by the Sufis. Even though sometimes Sufis had exposed to some critiques and they accused with that as if they detain people from working. In sufis sources poverty linked with some notions such as ztthd, conviction (kanaat), resignation (tevekkül) and consent (rızâ). In later centuries poverty had got more importance and unified with Absence notion.