The Karakhanid Turks embraced Islam in 961. About one hundred years later, Yusuf Hass Hajib wrote the Qutadgu Bilig in Karakhanid or Middle Turkic and presented it to the Karakhanid Khan. There are four major characters in this work: 1) Rising Sun (the king who represents justice), 2) Full Moon (the Vizier who represents fortune), 3) Highly Praised (a sage who represents intellect/wisdom, and 4) Wide Awake (a ascetic who represents man’s last end). The work is Islamic and gives advice to future generations.
Comments: 2/3/10
As stated by Hajib on page 252:
I finished writing this discourse in the year 462 (20 Oct. 1069-8 Oct. 1070). Whatever topic my mind encompassed I set down here, that you who read and understand may have a share. And I have briefly expounded the various modes of proper conduct, so you may gain a firm foundation for your life. Here is the path of Religion and the path of the World. Stray not from this path or you will howl in hell. If it is this world you desire, here is the way; and if you desire the next world, this is the path you must follow. Perform your duty as God's servant, and He will give you strength. Follow this way or that, do not seek a third.The work is didactic and gives moral advice not only to rulers, but also to ordinary people. The following passage, from page 67, promotes the values of honesty, humility, maturity, patience, modesty, temperance, submissiveness, sobriety, charity, beneficence, generosity, and selflessness.
The king said: “You are right. So guard yourself and seek to please me. Now let me enumerate those who are unworthy to serve and with whom you should have nothing to do. First is the liar, and after him the wrongdoer. Then come the greedy, the immature, the hasty, and the immodest. Also there are the man of ill temper and the man given to anger, the one who extends his hand to wine and the one who stints his hand from charity. I tell you frankly that these sorts of people do not please me, and that if you wish to please me you must not adopt any of their qualities. Then you will become closer to me each day and gain greater honors and rewards.”
Full Moon said: “Now tell me the characteristics of the one who is worthy.”
The king answered: “The worthy man is he whose beneficence extends to all the people as their share, who does not lend out his favors as a loan, who seeks only the welfare of others, never of himself, and who never claims a return for his acts of goodness.”The Qutadgu Bilig promotes the straight path of Islam and reminds the ruler and people that one should remember God and the afterlife when making decisions in this life. From page 110:
This is the way of princely rule. Some find satisfaction in it, others disillusionment. If you wish to enjoy both this world and the next, then pay attention to these things: Keep heart and tongue upright. Take refuge in God and obey His command. Be satisfied with whatever comes from the Lord, for servitude to Him is the basis of contentment. Have compassion for all creatures. Always do what is right and what benefits the people, and put down what is wrong and what does them harm. Then this world is yours, you may eat and sleep without anxiety as long as you live; and when your life is cut off, you may be of good hope that God will requite your goodness with a good road.Descriptors: 1980s, book, H, historical, literature, pre-Tsarist, translation
