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Yunus Emre is one of the most famous Turkish folk poets, born in 1238 AD and considered one of the most popular poets who greatly influenced Turkish culture.
Yunus Emre was also a famous Sufi as his poems written in the Turkish language are filled with many hidden meanings and rulings.
In the following article, we learn about the details of the life of the famous Turkish poet Yunus Emre, who is known by the nickname Yunus Al Gharib which means “Yunus the Stranger”.
Who is Yunus Emre
Yunus Emre is a famous Turkish Muslim poet who greatly influenced Turkish literature. He was born in 1238 AD and died in 1321 AD.
Yunus lived his life with his mother in his youth, and according to some historical sources, he felt lonely and alienated, as he was called “Yunus The stranger” from time to time. Yunus Emre wandered in the middle of vineyards and orchards in a state of deep contemplation.
The years that Yunus Emre lived witnessed the Mongol invasion of Anatolia and the constant battles between the Turks and the Mongols, and at that time famine and devastation spread around Anatolia.
Yunus Emre toured many cities and states, the most prominent of which was his trip to Kayseri, Tabriz, Sivas, Mers, Baghdad, Nakhchivan and Shiraz.
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Yunus Emre was a contemporary of the Seljuk state, as he was born in the town of sarıköy (called Yunus Emre Nowadays), which is affiliated with Sivrihisar in the state of Eskişehir today.
What is the secret of Yunus Emre’s fame
Yunus has became famous for his poems that talked about human values, human love and social peace.
Yunus Emre’s poetry had a great influence on late Turkish Sufis and also inspired poets of the renaissance of Turkish national poetry after 1910 AD.
The Turks consider Yunus Emre as an epic hero and dervish of the righteous, as Yunus chose the lonely and empty places in which to establish nooks and crannies and transform them into places that is full of life.
What are the most important works of Yunus Emre
Yunus composed many distinguished poems that were called “Divan”. Yunus Emre also wrote the book “Risalah al-Nasih”, in which he provides religious advice similar in style to the famous “Masnavi” book written by Sufi Mawlana Jalal al-Din al-Rumi.
Yunus Emre wrote his Nasha-Risala which consists of 573 sections in 1308 A.D.
In terms of the poetry of Yunus Emre “Divan”, there are the following copies: Al-Fatih’s copy, Noor Ottoman copy, Yahya Effendi copy, Karman’s copy, Balikesir copy, Niazi’s copy of Egypt, Bursa copy.
Also read: 10 Poems of the best Yunus Emre poetry
Sufism and Yunus Emre
Yunus Emre is the founder of a unique style in the literature of Turkish mysticism, where he is considered the godfather of the poetry of the hospice, where the mystical aspect of his poetry appears clearly.
Yunus Emre dealt with human relations with himself, with things and God, and he also dealt with topics such as death, birth, dedication to life, justice and human love, and all of these topics are considered to be the basis of Sufi thought.
There are many stories about the life of Yunus Emre, but the most correct one is that Yunus spent a long time next to the Sufi Sheikh Tabuk Emre, who lived in the Nalihan district in Ankara and reached maturity at that time.
Many historical sources mention Yunus Emre’s meeting with Hajj Baktash vali, the famous Sufi, and his conversation with him during a famine in his village.
What distinguishes the poetry of Yunus Emre
Yunus Emre’s poetry is distinguished by its deep meanings and wisdom, with the simplicity of style, as the poems were written in the popular Turkish language that was spoken by the local Anatolian Turks, unlike the rest of the poets of his time who wrote their poetry in Arabic and Persian.
The poems of Yunus Emre, devoted mainly to themes of divine love and human destiny, are distinguished by deep feelings and direct style.
Yunus poems were also distinguished by their ability to blend with music in terms of content, form and language, which contributed to the ease of memorization.
The death of Yunus Emre
Yunus the stranger died in 1321 AD at the age of 83 and was buried in Mihalıççık, which is located in Eskişehir.
