Abbâsî dönemi ilim ve kültür hayatından bahseden bütün araştırmalarda bu dönemin en önemli ilim merkezinin Bağdat Beytülhikmesi olduğu belirtilir. Abbâsîler devrinde bir süre ilmî faaliyetlerin etrafında yoğunlaştığı Beytülhikme, Hârûnürreşîd tarafından Bağdat'ta kurulmuş, oğlu Me'mûn tarafından da geliştirilmiştir. Anlaşıldığı kadarıyla bu dönemde Beytülhikme, çeşitli dillerden tercüme faaliyetlerinin yürütüldüğü merkez haline gelmiştir. Kaynaklardaki bazı kayıtlardan anlaşıldığına göre, muhtemelen sarayın bir bölümünde yer alan Beytülhikme'de tercüme faaliyetleri dışında halifenin ulema ve üdebâ ile yaptığı sohbetler de gerçekleştirilmekteydi.
Dervishes were important figures who embraced asceticism, modesty, poverty, and patience as a way of living and played a key role in spreading Islam among the Turks. Culturally influential dervishes have been a common topic of research in many disciplines. In Sufi literature, dervishes are portrayed as nomads who advise people to be honest, have good morals, devote their lives on the path of truth, and are committed only to God. After the birth of orientalism in the West, which mainly focuses on the ever-fascinating East, dervishes appeared in different cultures and literature. For instance, in Russian culture and literature, dervishes are defined similarly but portrayed differently, depending on periods, conditions, and literary movements. However, the most potent example of a dervish notion, characterized by wisdom and mysticism, is Suhbat Aflatuni's "Clay Letters, Floating Apples." The author emphasizes the mystery of the East and the importance of being a perfect human being and conveys a profound life philosophy in his works. In this long story, the mystical dervish of the East reveals himself as a teacher. The dervish teacher comes to a village cursed by drought, poverty, and ignorance due to a cruel murder of a dervish a long time ago. He almost suffers the fate of the previous dervish, but divine powers help him complete his mission, and then he disappears. Aflatuni reflects all the aspects of the dervish image in his work and provides a unique example of intercultural interactions. This paper discusses the traces and intercultural similarities of mystical dervish images in Russian literature.
The issue of servants' acts is one of the most controversial issues in Islamic thought and helped to sharpen the characteristics and differences between theological schools, mainly due to its relation to taklīf and servants' responsibility. Therefore, understandings of this issue revealed differences in understandings of divine justice and wisdom, as well as in interpretations of fate and destiny.
One of the noteworthy theories is that of Ibn 'Arabī (d. 638/1240) and his followers, who attempted to establish responsibility and negate the determinism of servants through al-a'yān al-thābita (fixed entities) and ʻadam maj'ūliyat al-mahiya (un-createdness of quiddities). They also focused on the construction of fate and destiny in accordance with this theory and considered such construction to constitute "the secret of destiny" and "the absolute proof" of God over the peoples.
While studying the servants' acts and the extent of their freedom of choice, we must deal with the issue of fate and destiny, as nothing in this universe is beyond fate and destiny. Human beings and their voluntary acts are no more than a part of this fate. We, therefore, first set out to understand the meaning of fate and destiny as understood by Ibn Arabi in this article. Then, we clarify the meaning of al-a'yān al-thābita. Next, we detail the issue of createdness of quiddities; as the universal entities are no more than realities and quiddities, we then tackle the issue of preparedness of quiddity and its relation to the establishment of the servant's freedom and the negation of determinism. Finally, we explore criticisms of this theory and try to present an objective evaluation of opinions on the issue.
