American Journal Of Philological Sciences
107
https://theusajournals.com/index.php/ajps
VOLUME
Vol.05 Issue 03 2025
PAGE NO.
107-109
10.37547/ajps/Volume05Issue03-27
"FUNUN UL-BALOGH" - the first theoretical source on
Turkic poetics
Shokhista Mullakulova
Basic doctoral student, Tashkent State University of Uzbek Language and Literature named after Alisher Navoi, Uzbekistan
Received:
22 January 2025;
Accepted:
26 February 2025;
Published:
25 March 2025
Abstract
:
This article discusses the views of an American scholar who studied "Funun ul-Balogha" by Sheikh
Ahmad Tarazi, the first Turkish treatise on poetics in the history of literary studies, created during the Timurid era,
and its only existing manuscript copy.
Keywords:
"Funun ul-baloga," Devin DeWeese, manuscript, fann, ilmi badi', aruz, rhyme.
Introduction:
The end of Mongol rule in Central Asia in
the second half of the 14th century and the emergence
of the Timurid state in its place played a significant role
in the history of the Turkic peoples in this region, who
later became known as Uzbeks, and in their political,
economic, and cultural unification. During this period,
along with science, literature also reached great
heights. As attention to scholars increased, the literary
process intensified as well. Notably, treatises on the
science of poetics were created not only in Persian but
also in Turkic languages.
One of the important sources providing information
about the literary and cultural development of Central
Asian peoples in the 15th century, created during the
Timurid period and devoted to poetry studies, is the
work "Funun ul-balogha" by Ahmad Tarazi. During this
period, along with science, literature also reached a
high level. As attention to scholars increased, the
literary process also intensified.
One of the important sources providing information
about the literary and cultural development of the
peoples of Central Asia in the 15th century, created
during the Timurid period and devoted to poetry
studies, is the work "Funun ul-balogha" by Ahmad
Tarazi.
Devin DeWeese, a professor at Indiana University in the
USA and an Oriental scholar, presents important
insights on a unique monument of literary studies in his
research titled "The Predecessors of Nava'i in the
'Funun al-balaghah' of Shaykh Ahmad b. Khudaydad
Tarazi: A Neglected Source on Central Asian Literary
Culture from the Fifteenth Century" ("Navoi's
predecessors in the work of Sheikh Ahmad ibn
Khudoydod Tarazi: A forgotten source in Central Asian
cultural studies since the 15th century"). As evident
from the research topic, this study is dedicated to the
Western scholar's views on the literature and culture of
the medieval Muslim East and Sheikh Ahmad Tarazi's
work "Funun ul-balogha."
In his research, DeWeese evaluates the work as an
ancient Turkic text on the history and culture of the
Timurid era that has survived to our time but has not
yet been fully studied. In the introduction to the work,
the author introduces himself as "Sheikh Ahmad ibn
Khudoydod Tarozi, may God elevate his status in both
worlds, who is the engineer of this edifice and the
teacher of this expression." Tarazi's friends and
companions also called the work "Funun ul-balogha" by
the name "Latoifi Tarazi." Tarazi says about this: "We
compiled Persian and Turkic words and arranged a
treatise. We named it 'Fununul-balogha.' And some
friends also called it 'Latoyifi Tarozi.'" Additionally, in
the preface to the work, Tarazi offers endless praise in
honor of Mirzo Ulugbek, who patronized him, using
epithets such as "the greatest of kings, the most
learned of rulers, the mine of kindness and generosity."
In the introduction, the author states that the work
consists of five parts covering poetic varieties, the
science of rhyme, the science of rhetoric, the science of
prosody, and the science of riddles.
American Journal Of Philological Sciences
108
https://theusajournals.com/index.php/ajps
American Journal Of Philological Sciences (ISSN
–
2771-2273)
In the chapter titled "The Manuscript, the Author, and
the Work," Devin DeWeese provides detailed
information about the manuscript. Information about
the treatise was initially published by the orientalist
scholar Hermann Ethé in the second volume of the
catalog of Islamic manuscripts in the Bodleian Library.
Ethé briefly mentions the author of the work, its two
different titles, its dedication to Mirzo Ulugbek, and its
preservation under number 127 in column 1225. He
describes the treatise as "an interesting work on
rhetoric and metrics, various fields of poetry."
The manuscript is also mentioned in the fourth part of
Eleazar Birnbaum's 1984 work "Turkish Manuscripts:
Registered and Unregistered Manuscripts Since 1960."
Later, in 2003, based on Hermann Ethé's catalog, Gunay
Kut also limited herself to providing general
information about the treatise.
DeWeese writes that the only copy of the manuscript is
currently kept in London, in the Bodleian Library of
Oxford University, under the number Elliott 127.
However, he notes that the manuscript has been
severely damaged by water, and some passages are
difficult or impossible to read (the first and last few
pages are damaged).
The manuscript consists of 139 pages, with the text
beginning with a decorated frontispiece on f.1b.
According to the colophon (f.139a), the manuscript was
copied in Bukhara in 989 AH (1581 AD) by the
calligrapher Mir Husayn Kulangi Bukhari. Professor
DeWeese became acquainted with this manuscript in
1992 through a microfilm prepared by the Bodleian
Library of Oxford University at the Institute for Inner
Asian Studies at Indiana University. Devin DeWeese
also notes that "Funun ul-balogha" has been published
by Uzbek scholars. Although we note that the work was
dedicated to Mirzo Ulugbek, neither Navoi nor Babur
mentions Tarozi as a scholar. However, in his work
"Risolai aruz," Babur cites a verse by a poet named
Tarozi and writes that this verse appears in "Funun ul-
balogha" (page 1146), but the author's name is not
mentioned.
In the study, the orientalist scholar examines the works
"Badoye' ul-lug'at" by Tole' Hiravi, "Abushqa" by an
unknown author, "Sangloh" by Mahdi Khan, and "Kashf
uz-zunnun" by Haji Khalifa, questioning whether
Tarozi's name is mentioned in sources from his time or
later. However, he reports that these works also do not
contain information about Tarozi and his work "Funun
ul-balogha."
De Weiss notes that Tarozi was knowledgeable in
Persian and Arabic literary studies, emphasizing that he
utilized works such as "Aruzi Qistos" and "Aruzi
Andalusi" in Arabic, and "Me'yor ul-ash'or" in Persian.
He points out that quotations from Arabic and Persian
poetry in the work serve as evidence of this. The
following sentences from "Funun ul-balogha" also
confirm these observations: "This enthusiast studied
many manuscripts, and indeed, delved deeply into the
meters of 'Aruzi Qistos,' 'Aruzi Undulusiy,' 'Me'yor-ul-
ash'or,' and similar works."
Overall, as a result of Devin de Weiss's research, he
offers valuable insights about the period when "Funun
ul-balogha" was written, its language, and the
manuscript copy, attempting to reveal the scientific
value of the treatise.
Additionally, scholar A. Hayitmetov made significant
contributions to introducing "Funun ul-balog'a" to the
scholarly community in Uzbek literary studies. He
provided the first scientific information about the
treatise in the 1st issue of the "Science and Life" journal
in 1994 under the title "Tarazi Encyclopedia." This
information was later published in the March 18th
issue of the "O'zbekiston adabiyoti va san'ati"
newspaper under the title "Sheikh Ahmad Taroziy:
'Funun ul-balog'a'." The only adapted edition of the
work in 1994 was also carried out under the leadership
of A. Hayitmetov.
The work "Funun ul-balogha" was created based on the
needs and requirements of the literary life of its time.
This was because, until then, there was no scientific-
theoretical source that writers in the Turkic language
could rely upon. Sheikh Ahmad clearly expressed the
form in which he wanted to create "Funun ul-balogha"
and the main purpose he had in mind for it. In his view,
when literary scholars of the past wrote books on
literary theory, they often focused on a single issue -
either the types of poetry, meter, artistic techniques, or
they illuminated the features of a specific poetic genre.
Sheikh Ahmad, however, intended to create a
comprehensive manual in this field, illuminating and
analyzing all theoretical issues in his "treatise" - so that
readers could gain as complete information and benefit
from the theory as possible.
Recognizing the shortcomings in the literary
environment of his time, Tarazi says: "Many people
have compiled works in this manner. However, no one
has gathered all the fundamentals of poetry in one
place. For this reason, driven by the air of desire, and
with the beloved of passion emerging from the veil of
the heart, I decided to bring forth a work that would
encompass all the principles and aspects of both prose
and poetry, so that whoever is inclined towards
rhetoric and capable of eloquence may benefit from it."
The work "Funun ul-balogha" traditionally begins with
sections praising Allah and offering na't (eulogy) to the
Prophet. Subsequently, it discusses the reasons for
American Journal Of Philological Sciences
109
https://theusajournals.com/index.php/ajps
American Journal Of Philological Sciences (ISSN
–
2771-2273)
writing the work. The introduction concludes by stating
that the work consists of five parts, referred to as
"fann."
In the first fann, the author explains the types and
varieties of poetry. In this section, Sheikh Ahmad Tarozi
focuses on poetic genres, analyzing them in terms of
form and theme, and provides definitions for ten poetic
forms (qasida, ghazal, qit'a, rubai, masnavi, tarje',
musammat, mastazod, mutavval, fard).
The second fann explains the rules of rhyme and radif.
In this section, the author theoretically examines
rhyme and radif, providing an in-depth and thorough
explanation of these poetic elements. He describes five
types of rhyme (mutavotir, mutarodif, mutarokib,
mutadorik, and mutakovis), as well as three additional
types (mutasoviy, mutarojih, mutazjiyd) later added by
Persian scholars - totaling eight types. Tarozi states the
following about rhyme: "Know that in the school of
thought of all scholars and intellectuals, it is essential
for people of talent to understand the science of
rhyme. For poetry is the result of talent. And rhyme is
the foundation of poetry."
In the third section, he discusses the rhetorical devices
and poetic techniques of language. This part of the
work examines the poetic arts related to the field
known as "ilm al-badi" (science of rhetoric) in classical
Muslim Eastern literature. A total of 97 literary devices
are explained, with examples provided from poems
written in Arabic, Persian, and Turkic languages.
In the fourth section, he explains the prosody and
meters of poetry. This part of the treatise studies the
meters of aruz (Arabic and Persian prosody). The
author pays serious attention to the study of aruz and
writes about it as follows: "Know that by consensus of
Arab scholars, there are sixteen meters. Later, Persian
scholars stood apart and made it twenty-four.
However, this humble one wished to write down the
meters created by those venerable ones, explain them
in Turkic language, and provide examples from Turkic
verses for each meter."
In the fifth section, he examines the methods and
principles of the problem. The fifth part of the work,
which was dedicated to the problem, has not survived
to the present day. According to Devin de Weis, this
section of the manuscript copy of the treatise "Funun
ul-balogha" was severely damaged, along with many
other manuscripts, during a powerful storm and heavy
rainfall.”
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, Sheikh Ahmad Tarazi's work "Funun ul-
balogha" is considered a rare and valuable example of
15th-century classical Turkic poetics. First and
foremost, the most significant feature of this treatise is
that it was written in the Turkic language. In this regard,
"Funun ul-balogha" serves as the foundation for
numerous literary and theoretical sources in Turkic that
were created after it. This treatise discusses the "ilmi
segona" - the triad of sciences.
REFERENCES
DeWeese D. The Predecessors of Nava’i in the “Funun
al-
balaghah” of shaykh Ahmad b. Khudaydad Tarazi: a
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by Sinasi Tekin, 2005, volume 29.
–
P. 73-163.
Д.Юсупова. Темурийлар давридаги арузга доир
рисолаларнинг киёсий тахлили: Филол. фан. докт. ...
дисс. –
Т., 2019.–
272 б
.
Шайх Аҳмад ибн Худойдод Тарозий. Фунун ул
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