A PROSE FORTUNE TELLING: HAZÂ KİTÂBU FÂL-I KUR’ÂN

Merve Büyükada

Article Details

A PROSE FORTUNE TELLING: HAZÂ KİTÂBU FÂL-I KUR’ÂN

Authors:

Merve Büyükada

Publisher:

Motif Yayıncılık

Main Topics:

Osmanlı Sahası Klasik Türk Edebiyatı

Journal:

Motif Akademi Halkbilimi Dergisi Vol.18 Issue 50, pp.957-974

Document Type:

Article

Publication Date:

6/2025

Document Language:

Turkish

Document ID (Org No.):

2001352716

pISSN:

1308-4445

Keywords:

Abstract:

 Humans have been curious about discovering what lies in the great beyond and predicting the future since practically the dawn of time. Over the millennia, theyve used stars, animal bones, bird flight patterns, and even books to achieve that  with techniques and tools alike showing immense variation depending the period and geography in question. Nevertheless, fortune telling is seemingly universal acrost most cultures. In the context of Ottoman-Turkish culture, this art is referred to as fal. As such, Ottoman-era fortune telling guide books or manuals were called fal-name. Koranic fal-names commonly dubbed fâl-ı Kuran or tefeülname proved especially popular. Some were written in verse, some in prose, and others in a mixture of both. In this study, we have examined one such a book: Hâzâ Kitâbu Fâl-ı Kuran 55Hk5196, Samsun Provincial Library Collection. Weve specifically focused on folios 63b through 65b out of 111 in total. While the author remains unknown, he do know that it was penned in around 1735 or 1736 CE 1147 AH. The book talks at length about how one should go about reading a fortune at the beginning. Arranged in alphabetical order, every abjad letter corresponds with an ayah from the Quran, followed by two possible interpretations, one good, the other bad. Weve transcribed the folios in question into the Modern Turkish Latin alphabet, and analysed them for content, orthography, and language.

 Humans have been curious about discovering what lies in the great beyond and predicting the future since practically the dawn of time. Over the millennia, theyve used stars, animal bones, bird flight patterns, and even books to achieve that  with techniques and tools alike showing immense variation depending the period and geography in question. Nevertheless, fortune telling is seemingly universal acrost most cultures. In the context of Ottoman-Turkish culture, this art is referred to as fal. As such, Ottoman-era fortune telling guide books or manuals were called fal-name. Koranic fal-names commonly dubbed fâl-ı Kuran or tefeülname proved especially popular. Some were written in verse, some in prose, and others in a mixture of both. In this study, we have examined one such a book: Hâzâ Kitâbu Fâl-ı Kuran 55Hk5196, Samsun Provincial Library Collection. Weve specifically focused on folios 63b through 65b out of 111 in total. While the author remains unknown, he do know that it was penned in around 1735 or 1736 CE 1147 AH. The book talks at length about how one should go about reading a fortune at the beginning. Arranged in alphabetical order, every abjad letter corresponds with an ayah from the Quran, followed by two possible interpretations, one good, the other bad. Weve transcribed the folios in question into the Modern Turkish Latin alphabet, and analysed them for content, orthography, and language.

 Humans have been curious about discovering what lies in the great beyond and predicting the future since practically the dawn of time. Over the millennia, theyve used stars, animal bones, bird flight patterns, and even books to achieve that  with techniques and tools alike showing immense variation depending the period and geography in question. Nevertheless, fortune telling is seemingly universal acrost most cultures. In the context of Ottoman-Turkish culture, this art is referred to as fal. As such, Ottoman-era fortune telling guide books or manuals were called fal-name. Koranic fal-names commonly dubbed fâl-ı Kuran or tefeülname proved especially popular. Some were written in verse, some in prose, and others in a mixture of both. In this study, we have examined one such a book: Hâzâ Kitâbu Fâl-ı Kuran 55Hk5196, Samsun Provincial Library Collection. Weve specifically focused on folios 63b through 65b out of 111 in total. While the author remains unknown, he do know that it was penned in around 1735 or 1736 CE 1147 AH. The book talks at length about how one should go about reading a fortune at the beginning. Arranged in alphabetical order, every abjad letter corresponds with an ayah from the Quran, followed by two possible interpretations, one good, the other bad. Weve transcribed the folios in question into the Modern Turkish Latin alphabet, and analysed them for content, orthography, and language.

 İnsanoğlu çok eski çağlardan beri gaibi keşfetmek ve gelecekten haberdar olmak istemiştir. Bunun için de gökyüzündeki yıldızları, hayvan kemiklerini, kuşların uçuşunu veya rağbet görmüş kitapları kendine araç edinmiştir. Türlü vasıtalar aracılığı ile farklı yöntemler kullanarak yorumda bulunma işi -döneme ve coğrafyaya göre çeşitlilik gösterse de- toplumların kültürlerinde yer edinen bir uygulama olmuştur. Gelecekte yaşanabilecekler hakkında anlamlar çıkarma ve bilinmeyeni söylemeye fal; bu temayı işleyen eserlere de falname denilmiştir. Muhtelif türleri olan falnameler arasında kitap falları önemli bir yere sahiptir. Kitap falları içinde ise daha çok ilgi ve dikkat çeken Kuran fallarıdır. Bu eserler; manzum, mensur ya da manzum-mensur karışık şekilde kaleme alınmışlardır. Fal-ı Kuran ya da tefeülname isimleriyle anılan bu türün örneklerinden biri de Millî Kütüphane Samsun İl Halk Kütüphanesi Koleksiyonu 55 Hk 5196 numara ile kayıtlı Hâzâ Kitâbu Fâl-ı Kurân başlıklı falnamedir. Metin, 111 varaktan oluşan yazmanın 63b-65b sayfaları arasında yer almaktadır. Mensur bir Kuran falı örneği olan eserin müellifimüstensihi belli değildir. İstinsah tarihi ise 11481735-1736dır. Falnamede ilk olarak Kuran falı bakmanın usulü anlatılmıştır. Ardından her bir harf farklı bir ayete isnat edilmiş ve her bir harfin olumlu ya da olumsuz hüküm bildiren tevillerine yer verilmiştir. Elifba sırasına riayet edilen Kuran falında, her harf iki kez yorumlanmıştır. Bu çalışmada metin çeviri yazıya aktarılarak muhteva, imla ve dil hususiyetleri açısından tavsif edilmeye çalışılmıştır.

Article Details

A PROSE FORTUNE TELLING: HAZÂ KİTÂBU FÂL-I KUR’ÂN

Authors:

Merve Büyükada

Publisher:

Motif Yayıncılık

Main Topics:

Osmanlı Sahası Klasik Türk Edebiyatı

Journal:

Motif Akademi Halkbilimi Dergisi Vol.18 Issue 50, pp.957-974

Document Type:

Article

Publication Date:

6/2025

Document Language:

Turkish

Document ID (Org No.):

2001352716

pISSN:

1308-4445

Fortune telling

Falname

Biblomancy

Fal-ı Kur’an

TefeülnameFal

falname

Kitap falı

Fal-ı Kur’an

Tefeülname

Issues

Article Details

Authors: Merve Büyükada

Publisher: Motif Yayıncılık

Main Topics: Osmanlı Sahası Klasik Türk Edebiyatı

Journal: Motif Akademi Halkbilimi Dergisi Vol.18 Issue 50, pp.957-974

Document Type: Article

Publication Date: 6/2025

Document Language: Turkish

Document ID (Org No.): 2001352716

pISSN: 1308-4445

Issues

Authors:

Merve Büyükada

Publisher:

Motif Yayıncılık

Main Topics:

Osmanlı Sahası Klasik Türk Edebiyatı

Journal:

Motif Akademi Halkbilimi Dergisi Vol.18 Issue 50, pp.957-974

Document Type:

Article

Publication Date:

6/2025

Document Language:

Turkish

Document ID (Org No.):

2001352716

pISSN:

1308-4445