<Research Notes>İmâm Birgivî on Sufism

This paper examines the conception of Sufism of an Ottoman scholar, İmâm Birgivî (d. 981/1573). Since Islamic thought in the Ottoman period is believed to have been in stagnation, few studies have been made. Birgivî, who has influenced the anti-Sufi oriented Islamic revival movement known as "Kadızade movement, " is an exceptional figure. He has always been a strong critic of deviation and evil innovation such as dancing, singing or howling dhikr – which he regarded as pleasurable activities enjoyed by the Sufis in his time. Through his Tafsir and his most famous treatise entitled "al-Ṭarīqa al-Muḥammadīya (The Path of Muḥammad), " Birgivî tried to eliminate these deviations and attempted to re-establish the Islam of the time of Muhammad and his companions. Despite his harsh remarks against Sufis, Birgivî has never denied Sufism entirely. As a matter of fact, he developed his own concept of true Sufism. He believed that the Sharīʻa is regarded as the ultimate element one needs to consider to be close to Allah. He further emphasized efforts to fulfill ‘commanding the right and forbidding the wrong' (amr bi-l-maʻrūf wa nahy ʻani-l-munkar) as the only touchstone to determine a person as being a true seeker of God. Birgivî's Sharīʻa-oriented Sufism shows the close relationship between commanding the right and forbidding the wrong and Sufism, which has been never examined carefully