Turkish showbiz industry is producing megahits back-to-back. Who is unaware about the riveting hits like Diriliş: Ertuğrul and Kuruluş: Osman nowadays? These serials in fact attracted a large viewership equally in the country itself and the abroad. In the queue of these serials one blockbusting serial is Yunus Emre: Aşkın Yolculuğu (Yunus Emre: The Journey of Love).
Originally produced in 2015-2016, the biographical and historical drama series is based on the life of the famous Turkish Sufi poet Yunus Emre who had lived between thirteenth century and the first quarter of fourteenth century in Anatolia (Turkey). Like Diriliş: Ertuğrul, on the recommendation of Prime Minister of Pakistan-Imran Khan, this drama series too was broadcasted on the state-run Pakistan Television, with Urdu dubbing, under the title Yunus Emre: Rah-e-Ishq (Yunus Emre: path to love) and has gained popularity among its mass viewers. It is also available with subtitles in different languages on various channels of YouTube and other social media networks.
Replete with the spirit of Tasawwuf the serial covers the important concepts of Shari‘at (exoteric path), Tariqat (esoteric path or the path to realization), Haqiqat (the inner Truth) and Mu’arifat (the self-realization and realization of God) seen in the Journey of Love taken by its protagonist –Yunus.
Beginning as a Qaḍi (judge) of Nallihan (a town in Turkey) he claims to have mastery of the knowledge of Shari’at and is curious, eager, bold and confident enough to implement it. Meanwhile he meets a Sufi Sheikh- Tapduk Emre, apparently an illiterate old man, whom he finds an actual treasure trove of ‘Ilm (knowledge and wisdom). Impressed by his wit, vision and knowledge along with his humility and humbleness he leaves his profession and adopts the Dervish way of life in Tapduk Emre dergâh (lodge) and starts to walk on the path of Tariqat.
Breaking through a series of trials and temptations with Riyāḍat (religious exercise or devotion) and Adhkār(remembering and praising God) he gradually reaches Haqiqat (the inner Truth) and becomes a visible manifestation of the Hadith i Qudsi, which mentions “…My servant continues to draw near to me with supererogatory works so that I shall love him. When I love him I am his hearing with which he hears, his seeing with which he sees, his hand with which he strikes and his foot with which he walks. Were he to ask Me, I would surely give it to him and were he to ask Me for refuge, I would surely grant him it..”
In other words, Qaḍi Yunus (Shari’at) gives birth to Dervish Yunus (Tariqat) which in turn gives birth to Yunus Emre (Haqiqat). Emre means, as one of the dialogues of the serial suggests, Lover (Aşık). This transformation becomes possible through the strong Musa and Khiḍr like parrable between Yunus Emre and his Murshid (spiritual guide)- Tapduk Emre. Tapduk Emre facilitates Fana (annihilation) of Yunus’s self-consciousness i.e. he helps him to shun the multiple identities of his I-ness, in order to make him Hanif and Mukhlis (upright and sincere) in love towards his God, by invoking the Divine attribute of Jalal (Majesty) believing that one can reach his destiny more quickly by experiencing the Divine attribute of Jalal (Majesty) than experiencing His attribute of Jamal (Beauty).
He guides Yunus in crossing the different stages of Nafs – like Nafs al Ammara (the evil commanding self), Nafs al Lawwama (the reproaching self), Nafs al Mulhima (the inspired self), and directs him to reach the door of Nafs al Mutma’innah (the satisfied self). Here he becomes exposed to the secret of al-Haqq (The Truth). After Nafs al Rāḍiyyah (the pleased self) and Nafs al Marḍiyyah (the pleasing and gratifying self) he brings him to the stage of Nafs al Sāfiyyah (the complete self) and reveals to him the secret of Wilāyat (companionship of the Beloved).Reaching up to this level every speck of love for other than God vanishes from his heart and he becomes ‘Arif– he knows himself and finds his Beloved. And from here his Baqa (Subsistence) starts and now he lives with and only for his Beloved-God.
The drama serial shows Yunus Emre to be a cynic of poetry in the beginning of his journey and it finishes turning him into a full-fledged Sufi poet. Though the plot may seem quite similar to that of the meeting of Rumi and Shams Tabrez in the famous Novel ‘The Forty rules of Love’, rest assured the series has its own revelations and distinctions.
When Yunus’s heart begins to speak, it speaks in the form of poetry. He speaks poetry in plain Turkish – the language of the common people at large, and not the literary language of his time and eventually becomes the poet of the people pouring eternal truths to their hearts with lucidity; Uniting God with the common people. Through the medium of poetry he expresses Divine love and mystical concepts like Wahdatul Wajood (Unity of Being), presents message of tolerance and love for humanity, along with other things. This serial is a wonderful piece, filled with Love in the form of melancholy and ecstasy as a result of Jalal and Ikrām (Majesty and Honor) of the Beloved who is Dhul Jalal- i wa al Ikrām (The owner of Majesty and Honor). Love turns the life of Yunus Emre into what is called Sokhtan Nātamām (ever burning fire of longing) manifested through his cravings for seeing his Beloved:
Bize didar gerek dünya gerekmez
Bize mânâ gerek dâvâ gerekmez
We need to see God Himself, we do not need the world
We need meaning, we do not need the contention
Brimmed with rich dialogues and moral lessons, this series answers many abstruse and philosophical questions of the ‘Self’ in a very beautiful, clear and distinctive manner. It depicts the rich history and glorious legacy of Turkey in particular and the Muslim world in general. It would not be exaggerating to say that Turkey has been constructing a new narrative of how entertainment is much more than what it is considered today.
