The Concept Of Ḥikma in Sufi Lore: A Brief Case Study of Khoja Aḥmad Yasawi’s Divān-ı Ḥikmat

Authors : Abdul Basit Zafar
Pages : 687-698
Doi:10.17120/omuifd.1764392
View : 76 | Download : 181
Publication Date : 2025-12-29
Article Type : Research Paper
Abstract :This paper investigates the broad idea of wisdom (ḥikma) as articulated in Islamic history and considers the poetic Compendium of Wisdom (Divān-i Ḥikmat) of Khoja Aḥmad Yasawī as its case study. Yasawī was a seminal Sufi saint in the religious and cultural landscape of Central Asia during the heyday of the Seljuk Empire (circa 1100-1200 CE). Yasawī’s poetry and teachings evoke a lived religious experience that echoes in the spiritual imagination of Turkic Muslim communities to this very day. Like his person, his hikmat also played a crucial role in the Islamization of the region. Khoja Yasawī’s Divān is embedded in Hanafi-Māturīdi scholastic discourse at large, yet it has much more to offer a believer. Each part is considered a hikmät that contains wisdom in its holistic sense. The Divān has many versions stretched across Central Asia and remained part of oral tradition, as noted by DeWeese (2013). The work stretches between biographical themes, high terms of Parisinate Sufism, zikrs, and anecdotal dialogue (Yesevî 2017). Therefore, Yasawī’s contribution to the Central Asian highlands transcends doctrinal supersessionism and has an invitation to self-inquiry and humility. The paper explores ḥikma (wisdom) in a broad sense, focusing on Khoja Yasawī’s Divān as an oral tradition and on his ascetic discipline, ethical focus, and way of being within his historical context. This paper not only explores the religious importance of ḥikma within Sufi metaphysics but also looks at how Yasawī’s ḥikma is reflected in his poetry, providing a detailed understanding of how religious ideas and love for the divine come together in the Central Asian Sufi tradition of the Yasawī order.
Keywords : Sufi geleneği, Hoca Ahmed Yasawi, Divān-i Hikmat, Orta Asya

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