Minister of Culture and Tourism Mehmet Nuri Ersoy announced that they had presented President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan with a facsimile edition of Ruhu’l-Beyan fi Tefsiri’l-Kur’an, a 16-volume work written in Ismail Hakki Bursevi’s own handwriting.
Ersoy said the work was presented to President Erdoğan while he was meeting families at the Rami Library as part of AileFest. He said the publication had been prepared in cooperation with the Türkiye Manuscripts Institution and the Bursa Governorship to mark the 300th anniversary of Bursevi’s death.
Bursevi’s manuscript published as a facsimile for the first time
Ersoy said the commentary, completed over approximately 23 years, was intended to be passed on to future generations in the form in which it emerged from its author’s pen, adding that the work had been brought to the world of scholarship and culture.
According to a ministry statement, no facsimile edition had previously been made of the copy prepared in Bursevi’s handwriting. Preserved at the Bursa İnebey Manuscript Library of the Türkiye Manuscripts Institution, the copy has been presented to readers in the new publication with its original features preserved.
The work was first recited at Bursa’s Grand Mosque, later attracting interest across a broad geography stretching from the Balkans to Anatolia and from Damascus to the Hejaz, and was translated into different languages many times.
The manuscript’s original features preserved during publication
Comprising thousands of pages, the work is significant not only for its scholarly content but also for its features related to Ottoman calligraphy and book arts. The preparation of the facsimile was carried out with contributions from a scholarly advisory and publishing board comprising experts in Quranic exegesis, Sufism and Bursevi studies.
Experts in the field were consulted at every stage, from imaging the manuscript to printing it, and from producing the paper to binding the volumes. The work’s dimensions, calligraphy, text layout and background color were taken into account during preparation, while advanced printing techniques were used.
The facsimile is presented in a special wooden box. The name of the work and its author appear on the box in the calligraphic composition of calligrapher Mehmed Özçay.
The publication is also accompanied by a study bringing together the findings of recent research on Ismail Hakki Bursevi and Ruhu’l-Beyan.
Erdoğan’s foreword included in the publication
The facsimile edition of Ismail Hakki Bursevi’s author’s copy also includes a foreword written by President Erdoğan. In the text, Erdoğan highlighted Bursevi’s place in the history of scholarship and thought.
“A nation’s greatest wealth and source of pride are its scholars, thinkers, artists and writers,” Erdoğan wrote. Describing Bursevi as a historic figure who devoted his life to scholarship, wisdom and service, Erdoğan said his influence had extended beyond the borders of the Ottoman Empire.
Erdoğan also said he believed that printing the 16-volume Ruhu’l-Beyan commentary in separate volumes, using the author’s own calligraphy, to commemorate the 300th anniversary of Bursevi’s death constituted an important legacy of the work to be passed on to future generations.
Ersoy thanked Erdoğan for writing a special foreword for the publication and supporting the preservation and continuation of the cultural heritage. The minister also expressed his gratitude to Bursa Governor Erol Ayyıldız and to the academics, artists, experts and institutional staff who contributed to the project.
