Post on 29-Mar-2023
Al-Ahari 1
The Mevlud: The Jewel of Bosnian Literature
IS 501 – The Academic Study of Islam
Muhammed Abdullah al-Ahari
American Islamic College
Professor Jawad Qureshi
January 20, 2015
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The Mevlud: The Jewel of Bosnian Literature
What is Mawlid-ul-Nabi?
The Mawlid is celebrated traditional during the month of
Rabi al-Awwal. The Prophet Muhammad told his followers that he
was born on a Monday during the year of the Elephant (the year
when Abraha attempted to invade Mecca with a cavalry of
elephants). The event of the people of the elephant became the
focus of one of the chapter Surah al-Fil in the Qur’ān. Most of
the Mawlids begin with the birth of the Prophet Muhammad
(p.b.u.h.) and praise his mother Amina and father ‘Abdullah.
Is celebrating Mawlid-ul-Nabi innovation (bidah)?
When discussing the concept of Mawlid, the reader will often
find discussion about whether celebration the birthday is an
innovation. This discussion will come to three possible answers:
1) it is not a bidah of belief and action, but is a bidah hassana
(a good innovation), 2) it is a bidah and is haram to practice it
because it was not done in the prophet’s lifetime, and 3) it is
not a bidah and there are examples of poetry and words in the
Hadith and Sirah that would suggest it should be practiced.
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According to Avdić (1977) the first public Mawlid al-Nabi
ceremonies can de dated to the year 604 A.H. (1208). That was
“when Al-Malik Muzaffar ad-Din Kokburi, brother of Salah ad-Din,
initiated this celebration which included parades, torch-light
processions as well as chanting poems expressing the unique
position of the Holy Prophet.”
Fatwas about the legality of the celebration were written
from this era and have continued to be issued till the current
era. One of the most important was by Imam al-Suyūṭī and is over
25 pages in published editions. A quote from near the beginning
can summarize his view on the issue.
“My answer is that the legal status of the observance of the
Mawlid – as long as it just consists of a meeting together
by people, a recitation of parts of the Qur’ān, the
recounting of transmitted accounts of the beginning of (the
biography of) the Prophet – may God bless him and grant him
peace – and the wonders that took place during his birth,
all of which is then followed by a banquet that is served to
them and from which they eat, whereupon they take their
leave without doing anything else – is a good innovation
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(bidca ḥasana), for which one is rewarded because of the
esteem shown for the position of the Prophet – may God bless
him and grant him peace –, that is implicit in it, and
because of the expression of joy and happiness on his – may
God bless him and grant him peace – noble birth” (as
translated in Kaptein, 1993: pages 48-49).
The Beginnings of the Bosnian Language Mevlud
When Bosnians adopted Islam in mass in the 16th century,
they started to use Arabic and Turkish as mediums of
correspondence and exchange in addition to their language written
in Arabic, Cyrillic, and Latin scripts. However, like the
Persians and other early converts, they eventually developed a
literature written in their own language. In the 20th century the
use of Arabic and Cyrillic scripts to write the Bosnian language
declined and even stopped. In their place, like in Malay,
Turkish, and many African language, Latin based scripts replaced
Arabic script for writing the language. In Bosnia Muslims tended
to use Arabic and Latin scripts, but also had their own Cyrillic
script. This fluidity of script and language would change in the
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middle of the 20th century when most Islamic schools were closed
and Bosnian began to be written in Latin script only (Fine,
1994).
One of the most unique forms of Bosnian literature is poetry
based upon the story of the Prophet Muhammad’s (p.b.u.h.) birth.
These are called Mevlud in Bosnian, Mevlut in Turkish, and Mawlid
in Arabic. The earliest in Bosnia are from the 17th century and
were written in Arabic and in Bosnian in Arabic script. The later
script is referred to as Aljamiado and the most famous author in
that mode, Muḥammad Rušdi, also wrote stories of the Prophets
before Islam (Ayyub, Ibrahim, Daud, etc.) called Hikiyat (morality
or wisdom poetry).
19th century Bosnian Mevluds
Until 1878 when Hafiz Salih Gašević wrote his Mevlud in the
Bosnian language, all of the Mevluds that were performed were
either in Turkish – with the Mevlud of Sulayman Čelebi being the
most popular, and in Arabic with those of Barzanji and the Qasida
Burda of the Egyptian Sufi Busiri being the most widely recited.
All three of these have multiple manuscript copies in Gazi Husref
Beg Library and in other manuscript repositories in Bosnia.
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‘Iqd al-Jawhar fī Mawlid al-Nabiy al-Azhar (The Jeweled Necklace of
the Resplendent Prophet’s Birth) was the work of the poet and
Shafi jurist of the city of Imam as-Sayyid Ja’far ibn Hasan ibn
‘Abdal Karim al-Barzanji (1690-1766 C.E). Al-Barzanji composed
his Mawlid with the Prophet Muhammad’s (p.b.u.h.) birth as its
main theme. The text is based upon the Holy Qur’ān, Hadith, and
books of Sirah. The Barzanji Mawlid contains two books: the first is
Mawlid Barzanji Nathr, with 19 fasl (chapters) in 355 verses; while the
second is Mawlid Barzanji Nazm in 16 chapters in 205 verses. All of
the verses rhyme with the letter Nūn. When the Mevlud is recited
in Bosnia, no matter what language the Mevlud being read is
written in, the audience stands when the verses related to the
physical birth of the Prophet Muḥammad (p.b.u.h.) are recited.
Bosnian Mevlud choirs have traditional recited the Mevluds
above and also those by Muharem Dizdarević (1825-1903) written
under the pen-name Mohammed Rušdi, Arif Saraliji (1861-1916) and
Seid Zenunović (1875-1932). The last Mevlud collection was
printed in 1942 in Sarajevo. All collections published since then
has been based upon this collection. Gašević’s Mevlud has been
published in more than thirty editions in both Latin and Cyrillic
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scripts. Other poets who have used their linguistic and poetic
skills in this genre have included Musa Ćazim Ćatić (1878-1915),
Safet Basagić (1870-1934), Semaudin Sarajlić (1887-1960), Rashid
Kadić (1912-1988), and Esref Kovačević (1924-1996).
The innovation of writing the Mevlud in Bosnian allowed
ownership by the reciter since they understood it and could
develop a mode of recitation that was more of the Balkan
experience and less of the Ottoman mode. This would become
increasingly important in preserving a Balkan Islam when the
Ottoman Empire retreated from the area, the Austrian-Hungarian
Empire entered, and an office of Grand Mufti of Yugoslavia
replaced the Sultan as the supreme religious leader over Muslims
in the area.
Hafiz Salih Gašević (1850-1899) was born in Nikšić (in
modern day Montenegro). Gašević finished his studies at the
mekteb and ruždi in his hometown and then he continued his studies
in Istanbul. At one time he worked as financial manager of the
town of Nikšić, and later became kajmekam (mayor) in Kolasin
(i.e. Sahovici, Tomaševo today). It was in Šahović that he sang
the famous Suleiman Çelebi Mawlid, may Allah have mercy on him, a
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pious Turkish scholar, which is Mawlid found its place in Mevlud
collections in the original Turkish. His Mevlud was first printed
in the Sarajevo based periodical Tarik in Sarajevo in 1909 with a
forward to the text by Džemaludin Čaušević –the Reis-ul-Ulema of
his time. It included the biographical information that is given
above. The text also includes dova (duas) in Arabic. The Mevlud’s
24 line opening written in couplets can be considered an original
creation by Gašević, while the rest in essentially a Bosnian
language translation of the Mevlut of Čelebi (Zbirka Mevluda, 2009,
page 9 for biographical data on Gašević).
Gasevic’s Mevlud and its preface stand out as a call to
Bosnian Muslims to identify themselves based upon the name of the
land rather than as an identity forced upon them (Yugoslav,
unidentified, or muslim). The time it was written was after the
end of Ottoman rule in Bosnia, so the praise to the Sultan links
it to the past and the call to writing a Bosnian mevlud links it
to a future where Bosnian reestablish the identity of Dobri
Bošnjaka (Good Bosnians) found in medieval texts written before
the establishment of Ottoman rule over Bosnian which was later
replaced by the Austrian-Hungarian Empire and the then the
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Yugoslav Communist state. It also became a text that was used as
a blueprint for later mevluds such as Muhamed Rušdi’s Mevlud
written in aljamiado (Bosnian written in Arabic script before the
20th century). In the 20th century the old Arabic script that was
used by Rušdi and other early Bosnian writers was discontinued
and a new one developed by Reis-ul-Ulema Čaušević was used to
write Bosnian for a few decades at the beginning of the 20th
century. Gašević’s Mevlud has remained popular is also one of the
most widely recited mevluds even till today.
Prologue:“Always to my dear God do we give thanks for Islam,And to the Prophet blessings and peace.
Our Caliph Gazi Abdul Hamid Khan,With him will help let this be Mennan (bountiful).
While reciting blessed (hajr) du’a and ikdam,On the right path should prosper intimacy.
When I found in Kolasin kaimekam (town),I want so badly to know the smell of the kalam (a flower).
I prayed to receive the first Kolasin,As commanded we write the Mawlid in Bosnian.
Now known that tarih (history) when I prayed with me,The day was the tenth of Rajab was.
We are avid to know what Mawlid says,We are all of the Prophet ašik (lovers) too.
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In the Qur’ān all of us have iman,For Bosnia we construct this mevlud, please...!
The layman saw the work was for thawab (blessings),Before I write, I wash my face, then I kitab (write).
Dear God, I have labored for our I ask You to no worse for hata (love).
A Muhađir (refugee) I was from my watan (district) Nikšić,My name is Hafiz Saleh Gašević.”1
1 My translation from the text found on pages 11-12 of Zbirka Mevluda.
“Bogu dragom vazda šukur na islam,A salavat Pejgamberu i selam.
Naš halifa Gazi Abdul Hamid han,S njim pomoć tvoja nek je, ja mennan.
Dok je na nas hajr du’a i ikdam,Na pravi put treba činit intimam.
Kad se nađoh u Kolašinu kaimekam,Znadem da sam puno nakis na kelam.
Moliše me kolašinski prviši,Nama Mevlud bosanski napiši.
Sad je tarih kad me oni moliše,Dan deseti od redžepa bijaše.
Mi smo žudni znati Mevlud šta kaže,Pejgamberu svi smo ašik odviše.
U Kur’anu na sve iman imamo,Bosanski nam gradi mevlud molimo...!
Laik viđoh poraditi za sevab,Napisati kako umijem ja kitab.
Dragi Bože, ja se trudih za ata’,Molim Tebe da ne gorim za hata’.
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Muḥammad Rušdi (1825-1903) was the pen name for Muhamed Aga
Dizdarević. He was one of the most prolific writers in Alhamijado,
even though he wrote during at a period at the end of the
nineteenth century when Cyrillic and Latin scripts were replacing
Arabic script for writing Bosnian. He wrote two mevluds, two
poems on the Miraj, poems of the death of the prophet Muḥammad
(p.b.u.h.) and his daughter Fāṭimah (r.a.), and two didactic
poems – “Bosnevi Baghdad and the Jewish woman who converted to
Islam” and “The Nature of the Prophet Muḥammad” in addition to
hikaja – stories of the prophets (Job, David, Sulayman, etc.)
(Nametak, 2001).
According to Šiljak-Jesenković (2008), the first mevlud was
composed of 210 couplets and began with a ten couplet poem
entitled: The value of learning mevlud. The Miraj was designed to
be recited along with the Mevlud and the poems the death of
Muḥammad and Fāṭimah. The Mevlud was modeled after Gašević, with
several lined being identical. However, Rušdi did not merely copy
the earlier model. His was slightly longer and there is a visible
effort of the author to express his own feelings and thoughts.
Muhadžir sam, vatan mi je bio Nikšić,Ime mi je hafiz Salih Gašević.”
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Although it was developed following Gašević’s model, it contains
more Orientalisms (Turkish, Arabic, Persian vocabulary).
The other Mevlud from Rušdi’s pen has a 15 couplets
introduction along with the 189 couplets basic text in the
Bosnian language written in Arabic script. His Miraj contains 88
couplets. Like his Mevlud, it is richer in Turkisms than the
mevlud of Gašević. Both of Rušdi’s mevluds are written in the
tradition of Gašević, but they also express the author’s desire
to teach listeners the benefit to be gained from learning, loving
and giving reverence to the mevlud. In Rušdi’s Mevlud, the Prophet
is said to have asked his Ummah to recite prayers and salutations
upon him. When these lines are read, it is common for the
audience to cry tears of joy. He also composed a prayer in the
Turkish language to be recited after the Mevlud (Šiljak-
Jesenković, 2008).
Rušdi’s “Death of the Prophet Mohammed” and “Death of
Fāṭimah” are of the genre of vefats (poems on death). “The Death
of the Prophet Muḥammad” tells the story of the Prophet’s
preparation the way to eternal life in 164 couplets. Although the
Prophet was pleased for the upcoming meeting with his Lord, the
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poem is melancholy in tone. This is especially true when he bears
the wistful looks of his daughter the moment she learns her
father is about to die. At the instant of death Muhammed, as,
caring for his Ummah and the Archangel Gabriel says:
“My sick soul still lives angels,
Remove my soul angels.”
At this point we are presented with one essential
characteristic of God’s chosen one: his total commitment to his
Creator, and his love, generosity, modesty, and devotion to his
Ummah. “The Death of Fāṭimah” was written as a continuation of
the story of the death of the Prophet's death and is comprised of
91 couplet. Fāṭimah’s tears have not dried from her eyes even six
months after her father's death. Visiting her father’s grave
daily did not sooth her pain, and she asked her husband ‘Ali to
build a house by her father’s grave. In the poem she receives
sign of her own approaching death. That pleases her, but she will
miss caring for her own children.
“Oh when will I wash your head,
And when will I comb your hair.”
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At the conclusion of the poem Fāṭimah leaves her children
with one consolation – she leaves them with a caring father, and
with this she had a feeling of calm and left this world (Šiljak-
Jesenković, 2008).
Rušdi’s poems on the Prophet Muhammad’s death and the Nature
of Prophet Muḥammad belong to the didactic literature. The
Prophet is presented as a form of knowledge, goodness,
righteousness, piety, virtue, and therefore everything is done
exemplary. This is also true of his poems on the previous
prophets called hikaya (short stories) where Rušdi used terms in
the Arabic language in order to better express his religious
thought (Nametak, 2001).
Bosnian language Mevluds in the early 20th century
During the 19th/ 20th century writers of the Mevluds, for the
most part, began to write the compositions in Cyrillic or Latin
script rather than in Arebica. Writers in this later period such
as Musa Ćazim Ćatić, Safet Bašagić, Arif Brkanić Sarajlija,
Semsudin Sarajlić, Rešad Kadić, and Esref Kovačević became poets,
novelists, short story writers and translators in addition to
writing poetry about the Prophet Muḥammad (p.b.u.h.).
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Musa Ćazim Ćatić (1878-1915) wrote a poem entitled “Lejlei-
Mevlud” (The Night of the Mawlid) in the literary journal Behar,
Vol. V, issue 16/1904, pages 33-36. Ćatić was one of the most
important Muslim poets during the past century. From Kujundžić
(1999) we find that Ćatić’s “Lejlei-mevlud” contains only 92
verses which makes it shorter than the usual mevlud. The only
theme covered is the birth of Muḥammad. Unlike other mevluds, it
does not touch upon other life events like the Miradž, major
battles, important life events such as his receiving the first
revelation, or his death. This mevlud was not as popular as
others as a result, and it was not publically performed. It is
known mainly by scholars on the writings of Ćatić rather that by
reciters of the mevlud.
Dr. Mirza Safvet-beg Bašagić (May 6, 1870 – April 9, 1934),
who was also known as Mirza Safvet, was a Bosnian poet,
historian, translator, and essayist who is considered to be the
father of Bosnian Renaissance, and one of Bosnia’s most cherished
poets at the turn of the 20th century. He was born in Nevesinje
and educated in Vienna. He taught Oriental languages at the
University of Zagreb and was an associate of Croatian national
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poet Silvije Strahimir Kranjčević. Bašagić was also a founder of
the Bosnian cultural society and on the editorial board of the
society’s magazine Gajret, and was elected President of the
Bosnian Parliament in 1910.
Bašagić was curator of the Archeological Museum in Sarajevo
from 1919 to 1927. Bašagić was also known for compiling a
biographic dictionary of Bosnian writers with over 700 entries
and for writing a Mevlud in the Bosnian language. He translated
the Rubije of Omar Khayyam, wrote a study of Ghazi Husref Beg,
several works on Bosnian history, and several collections of
original poetry. Bašagić is buried in the harem of Gazi Husrev-
beg’s Mosque in Sarajevo, the city where he died.
He sought to unite Croatia and Bosnia together as a nation
where Bosnian Muslims would be equal partners and have the
opportunity to develop their own literature and identity that is
reflective of their religious identity. This idea can be seen in
the preface to his Mevlud where Mevlud Safet Bašagić writes,
“And here Safet Ibrahim
Teaches you the ‘Mawlid’ chanted
In the language which our Mujo understands,
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For he hears Bosnian in his ears.”
Arif Brkanić Sarajlija (1865?-1916) was from Novi Pazar but
is commonly known after the city where he settled (Sarajevo). His
mevlud published in 1911 and was based upon the prior mevluds of
Mehmed Çelebi and Salih ef. Gašević. This mevlud was 21 pages
long and contains brief instructions on how to read the mevlud
and the virtues of the mevlud. It ends with dova to be read after
the recitation. It was reprinted in both Arebica and Latinska
scripts in Zbirka Mevluda (2009) pages 177-206 (Latin script) and
pages 15-33 (in Arabic numbers) in Arebica script. This mevlud
marks the beginning of the development of a structured program of
reciting the mevlud.
Šemsudin Sarajlić (1887-1960) was born in Knezina kod
Vlasenica. He received his education in Sarajevo Gazi Husrev beg
madrasa, the Darul-Ruzdija, and one year in Istanbul. He had a
perfect knowledge of oriental languages, which enabled him to
translation work. He worked mainly in Sarajevo. He wrote in
almost all modern newspapers and magazines in former Yugoslavia,
and at one time was editor of the literary journal Behar. Besides
writing a mevlud, he also wrote the work Nova Turska in 1943 about
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the new republic in Turkey started by Attatürk. He was also
deputy JMO in the Constituent Assembly in Belgrade. He died in
Sarajevo in the year 1960. The Mevlud of Šemsudin Sarajlić was
not published during his lifetime. According to Kujundžić (1999)
it saw print as “Mevlud,” Zemzem, XIX/1986., issues 10-12, pages
23-30.
Rešad Kadić (1912-1988) was one of the writers who focused
on how the prophet Muḥammad (p.b.u.h.) was named in his mevlud
when in the section on the Prophet’s birth he told the story of
how his grandfather chose his name.
“Then the boy’s grandfather embraced him
Like a sheep to his chest,
His tears would not be hidden,
And he said comforting words and he kissed him,
Then he rose up in front of everyone,
With serenity and pride in his eyes,
The good grandfather solemnly said:
“The boy’s name will be Muḥammad!”2
2 This was published after Kadic’s death in 1989. The biographical data on Kadić is from Kujundžić (1999).Tad dječakov djed kao ovca s jed,zagrli unuče, htjede suzu skrit,poče blago tepat, oči mu ljubit,
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The Mevlud of Rešad Kadić was first printed in 1963. The
poem was written for a competition to create a modern Bosnian
mevlud by the Supreme Islamic Council in Sarajevo. Kadić included
many didactic points scattered liberally throughout the poems
sections: Prologue, Arabia before Islam birth, childhood,
manhood, Reflection, First Release, spread of Islam, Miraj,
Migration, Farewell Hajj, Islam, and death. The poem covers the
essential points of the entire life of the Prophet Muḥammad
(p.b.u.h.). The topics are presented rationally and the poem
composition had a strong reliance upon historical facts found in
the Sirah and Hadith. Kadić shows his ability as a poet when he
covers events that only have a skeletal framework within the
historic texts effectively in individual lines.
Kujundžić (1999) finds that this mevlud differs from the
others mentioned above because it does not mention the name of
the language it was written in, nor the nationality of the people
it was written for. This is a reflection of the Bosnian Muslims
a onda ga diže gore iznad svih,s vedrinom u oku, ponosan nad njim,pa svečanim glasom reče dobri djed:“Dječakovo ime biće Muhammed!” – Rešad Kadić, Mevlud, Sarajevo 1989 page 17 asquoted in Kujundžić (1999).
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anxiety during the sixties, when the poem was created, over what
their ethnicity and nationality was.
Smailović (2009) reports that Esref Kovačević (1924-1996)
was known as a professor of Arabic language and calligraphy. The
closing of the mufti college in 1947 destroyed his possible
career as a Muslim civil lawyer and he went back to college in
Belgrade where he received a doctorate with the dissertation
Limits Bosnian Pashaluk by Austria and the Venetian Republic under the provisions of
Karlovac Peace in 1971. He is also known for the calligraphy in
several mosques in the Balkans with the most well-known being the
Zagreb, Croatia mosque.
During the Communist era new mevluds became rare since
institutions of Islamic higher education were closed and public
performance of Islam was proscribed to what was deemed folklore
and entertainment. His mevlud was not printed until 1981.
Kovačević’s mevlud starts with these words,
“Muḥammad, a man greatly beloved of the Creator,
The One we give Selam with every breath and heartbeat!
There is no heart which devotes time, health,
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But it burns with love (Aškom) for this celebration is above all
celebrations!”
(My translation)
The Čelebi Mevlud as the source of Bosnian Mevluds
The vast majority of Bosnian mevluds used the Mevlut of
Suleyman Čelebi of Bursa (1351-1422) as their source for both
theme and rhyme scheme. For the most part no other Bosnian poetry
uses the same rhyming pattern and meter as the mevluds. According
to Avdić (1977), “Suleyman Čelebi, a contemporary of Chaucer and
one of the Court Imams under Sultan Bayazid the Thunderbolt
(1389-1403). There is nothing like it probably in the entire
Turkish literature to move the hearts of Turkish people.” It was
for these reasons it was one of the most recited, studied, and
copied poems on the subject in the Turkish language.
The Mevlud, which was written in the year 1409, was composed
in 16 parts and contained 770 rhyming couplets with each line
having twelve syllables. Originally the Mevlut of Ćelebi also had
a section on Miraj and the deaths of the Prophet Muḥammad and his
daughter Fāṭimah. These sections are not often recited in Bosnia
either in the Turkish original or in Bosnian translations.
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According to MacCullum (1943) the reason for it composition was a
dispute among religious scholars over which prophet was superior.
Ćelebi wrote his Mevlut in answer to Jewish and Christian scholars
to proclaim the exalted nature of the Prophet Muḥammad.
The Mevlud as a symbol of Bošnjačkog identity
Like other nations, the literature of Bosnia is an
expression of the spirit of what it means to speak the Bosnian
language and live on Bosnian land. Bosnia is a multicultural land
and its literature reflects this. However, the Muslims have
Bosnia developed their own literature to express what it means to
be a Bosnian Muslim. The Mevluds became the pinnacle of Bosnian
belle letters during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and
circles of choirs that recited the Mevluds were started at most
Bosnian mosques, mektabs, and madressas. Overtime around thirty
Mevluds were composed in the Bosnian language written in Bosnian
in Arabic, Cyrillic, and Latin scripts. Of these six or seven are
recited today, with those by Rašad Kadić and Dr. Safvet-beg
Bašagić being the most widely printed and recited.
According to Bringa (1995) the Mevlud ceremony is not only a
religious ceremony, but a didactic one that teaches the value of
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social interaction and the transmission of Islamic identity.
Mevluds are sponsored not only for the participants to gain favor
with God, but to gain social acknowledgment of being part of a
larger Muslim community. Bringa (1995) holds that a specifically
Bosnian component can be seen in the idea of hospitality and
community. Food and drink are served to the guests and the
members of the mevlud choir by the sponsors of the recitation.
This and the recitations in Bosnian, Arabic, and Turkish link
them with a Bosnian identity and with one of being a lover of the
Prophet Muḥammad (p.b.u.h.) and thus part of the larger Muslim
Ummah (community).
Smailović (2009) has some background of the current ways to
celebrate the mevlud in his Zbrika Mevluda. There we find that in
many mosques in Bosnia the mevlud was recited not only to mark
the day of the birth of the Prophet Muḥammad (p.b.u.h.) but also
to mark the new Hijri year, the day of the Yawm Ashura, and
Lajletul-Qadr. In addition, Bosnians also recited the mevlud for
moving into a new house, when their children marry, during the
funeral for a son that died in battle, for the entry of a son or
daughter in the Madrasa or university, and for other reasons.
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After the war of Bosnian independence (1992-1995) many
communities organized “Šehidske Mevlude.” This was where the mevlud
would be read to honor those who died for the sake of Bosnia and
Islam. Over time these have become a well-attended tradition. The
program of the mevlud recital may differ from place to place but
they all contain Qur’ānic recitation, the chanted Takbir, the part
of the mevlud which deals with the prophet’s birth, calling the
Salavat upon the Prophet Muḥammad (p.b.u.h.), and speeches by
Imams and other learned scholars.
Kujundžić (1999) posits that the drinking of sherbet after
the verses about the prophet Muḥammad’s (p.b.u.h.) birth is in
remembrance of his mother being given something to drink when she
asked. Legend holds that she was attended by Mary, the mother of
Jesus, and Aseya, the mother of Moses, during the birth. This
would show that his message would the successor of those of Jesus
and Moses.
The First American Mevlud
When Bosnians began to settle in the United States at the
beginning of the 20th century, they brought the idea of reciting
the mevlud at important life events with them. However, until the
Al-Ahari 25
1990s their numbers were only several hundred families centered
in the Chicago area. They assimilated quickly and their children
and grandchildren often spoke English instead of Bosnian. In the
mid-1950s they opened their first mosque at 1800 Halsted Street
in Chicago led by al-Azhar graduate Ćamil Yousef Avdić (Kamil
Yūsuf Avdich). He opened a weekend school which was taught in
English and sought other ways to preserve Bosnian identity such
as communal meals, weddings, and mevlud gatherings. It was not
until 1977 that he actually decided to compose a mevlud to be
recited in English by the descendants of these early Bosnian-
American pioneers (Avdić, 2006).
Shaykh Kamil Yusuf Avdich Effendi (July 10, 1914 – December
2, 1979) was the first permanent Bosnian imam in the United
States. It was of primary importance for him to preserve Islam
among immigrants and present a proper and understandable
explanation of that faith to non-Muslims in the West. The
methodology he used was through speeches, several textbooks on
Islam that he developed, and this bold attempt at the first
Mawlid written in English for English speaking Muslims.
Al-Ahari 26
This Mawlid was originally published in the Volume II, Number
2: February 1977 (Safar 1397) issue of The Islamic Center of Greater
Chicago Newsletter. The sources of this Mawlid are Arabic, Turkish,
and Bosnian, but Shaykh Avdich presents the thoughts from those
diverse languages in a simple and easy to read fashion. The
mevlud was published in the English language and an essay was
also published when gave the history of the concept of Mawlid-ul-
nabi. This mevlud was recited in English on March 2, 1977 at the
Islamic Cultural Center in Northbrook, Illinois. At that event
Imam Ćamil Avdić gave a speech about the Mevlud and the students
from the mektab recited the English language mevlud. It is not
known how many times it has been performed in public, but since
Avdić died on December 2, 1979, it is likely it was only done
twice – for the Mawlid in 1977 and in 1978.
Themes and organization of Avdich’s Mevlud
In the Bosnian community there are poems called Mevluds that
are recited in when mosques and schools are opened, at someone’s
birth and in remembrance of the deceased. The Mevluds tell the
story of the Prophet Muḥammad (p.b.u.h.) and his family and early
followers from the time of his birth to his death. The poems and
Al-Ahari 27
chanted and are valued as some of the best examples of Bosnian
Islamic literature.
As a preface to the Mevlud he composed in English, Avdić
(2006) gave a speech about the social significance of the Mevlud
and its importance to Bosnian Muslim identity. His Mevlud ends
with lines showing the role of the Prophet as a moral exemplar
for the Bosnian Muslims:
“Whosoever conducts himself this way
Can claim that to the fold of Islam to belong.
However, God alone knows what is in human hearts,
To Him Alone, we beg for mercy and guidance.” (Avdić, 2006,
page 262).
In this speech he also made the following points about the
Bosnian Mevlud:
“Because of his extraordinary qualities, poets had vied
with another for centuries in describing the event of his birth
in most beautiful verses in all languages that the Muslim peoples
speak” (Avdić, 2006. Page 245).
“There is always inspiration for us in reviewing these
events. There is a moral in them for the Muslims as individuals
Al-Ahari 28
and as bearers of a truly universal world order, for which they
are requested to struggle and sacrifice” (Avdić, 2006. Page 245).
“The Noble Prophet’s position in Islam is quite clear. He is
not a divinity, he is not an object of our worship; he is a human
being, a man, like the rest of us, with one distinct difference:
he was entrusted by God, our Creator, to deliver to mankind His
ultimate message concerning the concept of God, man’s
relationship to Him and to his fellow-men, man’s position in this
Universe and the purpose of his ephemeral life on this planet.
This is Muḥammad, the man, the servant of God and Messenger to
all mankind. He is set for us in the Holy Qur’ān as an example of
righteousness and as an ideal of human conduct and behavior”
(Avdić, 2006. Page 151).
Avdić related the following about the prophetic example,
“Islam is not confession by words only, but actions and deeds.
You ought to do something to prove who you are. Action is to the
faith is what is the head to the body. All good, positive and
constructive Islamic qualities ought to manifest themselves
through our individual and collective conduct and actions”
(Avdić, 2006, page 83).
Al-Ahari 29
Avdich’s mevlud had more in common with that of Musa Ćazim
Ćatić as far as it length and restricted content than the mevluds
he used as sources. It only covered the Prophet Muḥammad’s birth
and the miraculous events surrounding it. Avdić’s mevlud is eight
typed pages long in manuscript and is little known today whether
in the Bosnian-American community or the larger Muslim community.
The specific topics he covers are: introduction, the birth
of the noble prophet, welcome to the new-born prophet, prophetic
succession, miracles of the prophet, giving a name to the new-
born prophet, searching for truth: Muḥammad before the
revelation, Muḥammad receives the call – Islam, Duca al-Mawlid, and
selected verses from the Qur’ān. Thus the story of the deaths of
the Prophet Muḥammad and his daughter Fāṭimah and the story of
Miraj are missing from Avdić’s mevlud.
Avdić (1977) told us the following about the process he used
to compose his English language mevlud, “My main sources for this
story, however, were two Bosnian poets: late Dr. Safvet beg
Bašagić (Mirza Safwat) (d. 1934) and the contemporary Bosnian
poet Reshad Kadić. Bašagić’s poem is older and is the first
original poem in Bosnian which has acquired a very large
Al-Ahari 30
popularity and was chanted, partly in chorus, by students of
Muslim schools for a long time. The poem by Reshad Kadić is, in
my humble opinion, the best I have read so far. Many ideas from
this poem have been used in our story.”
The borrowing from Kadić can be seen in Avdić’s beginning
where he writes, “First of all, let us recall
Almighty God’s name.
Every action, every deed,
Should always start with the same.”
This beginning in God’s name is common in all mevluds and
can be seen in that of Ćelebi also.
“Allah! The name invoke we in the beginning,
For this is ever due from us, his servants.”
The topics of Kadić’s mevlud (Prologue, Arabia before Islam
birth, childhood, manhood, Reflection, First Release, spread of
Islam, Miraj, Migration, Farewell Hajj, Islam, and death) are
more expansive than the Mevlidi Sherif by Ćelebi. The topics
there are prologue, Fātiḥah, prophetic succession, birth of
Muḥammad, the miracles of Allah’s Apostle, the Heavenly Journey
of Allah’s Apostle (Miraj), the Petition, the Refuge in Allah,
Al-Ahari 31
closing duca, and the Fātiḥah. While in Avdić’s mevlud only the
prologue, birth, prophet succession, miracles of birth, and
giving the name are in common with his source texts. He also
changed the meter from the 12 syllables per line in rhyming
couplets of Ćelebi’s Mevlut to a style easier to recite for the
English speaker. Avdić’s line lengths vary and it is not in
couplets, but grouped by subject.
Conclusion
Bosnian Muslims have attempted to be aware of the social
effects of their actions in the world. This can be traced to
their reciting poetry such as the Mevlud which are didactic and
nature and which also provided a means to preserve a Bosnian
Muslim identity under a Communist system which proscribed study
of Islam unless it was done under a cover of folklore.
In the United States the Bosnian immigrant community would
attempt to preserve their language and culture and would turn to
the use of folklore – traditional dance, poetry, music, and food
to do this. The mevlud was retained as an essential component of
folklore within the Bosnian-American Islamic community like it
was in a Communist era Yugoslavia. After independence the mevlud
Al-Ahari 32
has continued to hold an elevated place within Bosnian literature
and as an essential component of a Bošnjak identity.
Al-Ahari 33
Works cited
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Al-Ahari 34
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