The Conception of Nur al-Muhammed that is One of the Sources of Ottoman Religious Culture and Its Comparison to Its Counterparts in Some Other Cultures

Abstract

This work focuses on the concept of Nur al-Muhammed (the Divine Light of Prophet Muhammed), a widespread thought in the Islamic culture, especially in Sufism and Islamic literature as it also deals with how the concept is perceived in the works that cherish Ottoman religious culture. Behind the concept is the theory of "this Light is the first existence that God created among the others". Although the subject has been treated first time by the works written in the third century of Muhammedan calendar, some claim that it has roots in other cultures. On the other hand, the belief that Nur al-Muhammed is the first to be created has found too many advocates from religious-sufi circles. This tendency is also present in the works that cherish Ottoman religious culture. In almost all works written for the purpose of educating and preaching people we found this concept in extensive amounts. We will try to analyze how the concept is dealt with in Mawlids and afore-mentioned kind of books. Afterwards, we will try to discover the accuracy of the belief and whether there are similarities or interaction between Nur al-Muhammed and its equivalents in other cultures, especially in Christianity.