Basic research. The spiritual heritage of the Ulama of Dagestan has not been fully studied. Appendix

Philosophy/philosophy of culture

Abdulaeva Medina Shamilyevna, Ph.D. n.

Dagestan State Pedagogical University, Russia

(Associate Professor, Head of the Department of Theory and History of Music, Methods of Music Education)

ARAB-MUSLIM EDUCATION IN DAGESTAN: ON THE ISSUE OF DIALOGUE OF CIVILIZATIONS

Influenced by the changes that took place in the second half XIX V. in the socio-economic and cultural life of Dagestan, the views of Hasan-Efendi Alkadari (1835-1916), a Dagestan scientist brought up in the traditions of Arabic-language culture, were formed. Formation of socio-political views, analysis of philosophical, aesthetic, ethical views of G.-E. A number of works are dedicated to Alkadari.

A versatile scientist and educator, Alkadari left behind a great scientific legacy, but, according to Dagestan scientists, his most fundamental work is “Asari Dagestan” (1891). Based on various information gleaned from Arabic, Turkish, Persian, Russian sources, Alkadari outlined the history of Dagestan from ancient times to the middle XIX V. The scientist’s extensive legacy is represented by major research, various scientific works, and collections of poetry written in Arabic, Azerbaijani, and Persian. The work “Divan al-Mamnun” describes the events of 1877, the life of the highlanders exiled by the tsarist government to the Tambov province, and the author’s return to Dagestan. The work “Jarab al-Mamnun” contains Alkadari’s correspondence with scientists of Dagestan and clergy; it reflects issues of law, the author’s philosophical views and his attitude to science (the achievements of astronomy, geography, geology). Highly appreciating Alkadari as a legal scholar, the famous Arabist M.-S.D. Saidov considered the above work to be a model of “reflection of Muslim law and local adats in Dagestan” [Cit. from: 3, p.9].

Alkadari's worldview was not limited by Muslim dogma. He studied Arabic-language philosophy and knew the works of al-Farabi and Ibn Sina. At the same time, collaborating with public figures of Azerbaijan in the newspaper “Ekinchi”, he perceived the advanced socio-political and philosophical thought of the neighboring region. The leading representatives of Azerbaijan, united around this newspaper, attached great importance to education. They considered school one of the main means of involving the highlanders into the mainstream of advanced culture. Alkadari also lived by these ideas.

The formation of Alkadari’s worldview was influenced by the socio-political and cultural thought of advanced Russia. Calling on the mountaineers for religious tolerance, he at the same time had sympathy for the Russian people and Russian culture. While in the service of the Russian administration (after the liquidation of the Khan's administration in Dagestan), Alkadari, communicating with Russians, learned the Russian language. He highly appreciated the work of Pushkin, Lermontov, L.N. Tolstoy. With great gratitude he speaks of P.K. Uslare regrets that “...the new writing he invented has not yet become widespread. When this general in 1885 died, after that there was no one else who would have worked so hard on other languages ​​and dialects or who would have completed his solid research.”

In his works, Alkadari more than once addressed the assessment of the annexation of Dagestan to Russia. He understood that Dagestanis would be able to overcome the economic and cultural lag only by becoming familiar with Russian culture. In “Asari Dagestan”, he spoke in a very categorical form regarding those mountaineers who advocated for the isolation of the social life of Dagestan from Russia: “... some scientists who lacked prudence and adherents of Sufism, without taking into account reality, imagined that when power ceased Persia and Turkey, so the Dagestanis will be able, submitting to Russia, to create and maintain some independent administrations” [ibid., p. 126]. Alkadari considered the annexation of Dagestan to Russia the only correct and progressive act. He writes: “Under Russian rule, calm and relief were established in Dagestan,” “the people began to live better.” The scientist expressed the same idea in the poetic preface to the book “Asari Dagestan”:

“Praise be to Allah, now it’s Russia’s turn,

Control over justice was created among the people,

The doors to enlightenment have opened for Dagestanis

And a field opened up for honest, peaceful labor.”

Alkadari pointed out the importance of preserving the originality of local culture and emphasized: precisely because the highlanders strive to “be on par with other peoples and develop their national culture, they must join Russian and European civilization” [Cit. from: 1, p.247].

Alkadari attached great importance to research into the cultural heritage of the peoples of Dagestan. He condemned the “rulers and elders” for not showing concern for the development of science and schools, “since in no village or city there are visible remains of numerous ancient books, and for a thousand years after the Hijra there was no collected library anywhere here . (...) From the ancient books found in local schools and mosques, it is only clear that most of them were collected and
compiled...at the beginning of the twelfth century ( XVIII V. Chr. era)" (1). Therefore, Alkadari took the trouble to collect material about outstanding scientists, philosophers, poets - representatives of the socio-political thought of the peoples of Dagestan. He dedicated one of the sections of the book “Asari Dagestan” to their activities.

In the activities of Alkadari, an exceptional place was occupied by the promotion of the education of the people. Adhering to Sharia regulations and the opinions of the Muslim clergy on issues of religion, civil law, and everyday life, the scientist defended progressive views on science and education. He called on the mountaineers to study Russian culture and reproached them for underestimating Russian civilization. He wrote about this in 1875 in the newspaper “Ekinchi”: “Misunderstanding this civilization, they wander in the desert of ignorance” [Cit. from: 1, p.222]. In the same newspaper, he advocated the opening of schools to teach children Russian literacy: “The population of this region (Southern Dagestan - M.A.) does not speak Russian... We agreed that everyone, according to their capabilities, would contribute a certain amount for these funds to open a school in Kasumkent so that children there could learn the Russian language, Russian writing and learn other crafts...” [ibid., p.255]. Regretting the lack of writing in Dagestan that corresponds to the phonetic features of the Dagestan languages, Alkadari supported Uslar’s ​​attempt to create a written language for the peoples of Dagestan based on Russian graphics. For a scientist brought up on Arab-Muslim principles, this was a rather bold act, given that the bulk of the Dagestan clergy perceived Uslar’s ​​initiative to create a national script based on the Cyrillic alphabet as an encroachment on the traditions and norms of Islam. Alkadari entered into similar contradictions with the clergy, supporting the initiatives of the tsarist government in attracting Dagestani children to secular schools. Without taking direct part in the educational process, the formation of the worldview of children studying in Russian schools, the scientist, according to the author of the translation of “Asari Dagestan” A. Hasanov, “felt that doctors, engineers... and other cultural workers who came from Russian schools were doing his supporter of an education of a different order than that which he himself received.”

Thus, G.-E. Alkadari understood that the level of culture in his era should be judged not from the position of Sharia, but from the point of view of modern achievements of human thought. In one of the poems included in “Jarab al-Mamnun”, Alkadari expressed his attitude towards the education of the mountaineers:

“May Dagestan be illuminated by science

And leading him along the right path,

May his youth live

Rains of giftedness" [Quoted from: 4, pp. 95-96].

Research into the activities of Dagestan educators and individual representatives of the Dagestan intelligentsia XIX V. showed how strong the influence of Russian culture was on them. The influence of Russian culture was carried out in several directions:

Socio-political thought gradually leaned towards loyalty towards Russia. Enlightened Dagestanis perceived Russia primarily as a carrier of advanced culture; they recognized that only with the help of Russia and Russian culture is it possible to overcome the cultural lag of the peoples of Dagestan.

Dagestan educators, who received their initial education in Arab-Muslim schools, welcomed the emergence of secular education in Dagestan and called on the mountaineers to educate their children in Russian schools, thus recognizing the priority of secular education and the prospects it provides.

The mountaineers, who received their education outside of Dagestan, became the first representatives of the Russian-speaking Dagestan intelligentsia. The “new” Dagestanis understood that only through enlightenment can a person become a full-fledged member of society. Secular education has become a real opportunity to improve the social status of Dagestanis.

Dagestan educators had the opportunity to communicate with representatives of the Russian intelligentsia, teach in educational institutions of the country, and publish in various Russian-language printed publications.

Following the example of Russian researchers, the Dagestanis began to collect ethnographic and historical material from the mountainous region. This was most clearly expressed in their desire to convey information from the life of their people to a wide range of readers.

At the same time, it should be emphasized that the Dagestan educators, having enthusiastically accepted Russian culture, did not allow the thought of abandoning the national Dagestan culture, which was based on the norms of adat and Islam. Declaring an orientation toward Russian culture as a conductor of enlightenment, they called for the preservation and develop your national culture, enriching it with the best achievements of Russian and European cultures.

Note

1. The assumption made by Alkadari is refuted by the research of the Dagestan scientist, specialist in Dagestan literature in Arabic M.-S.D. Saidova. In particular, A.B. Baymurzaev, speaking about the inconsistency of Alkadari’s categorical statement, points to the results of scientific research by M.-S.D. Saidov, which are dedicated to the legacy of the Dagestan scientists Mohammed bin Musa bin al-Faraj ( XI c.), Ali Mirza from Andi and Ali from Kazi-Kumukh - the author of “al-Mukhtasar” ( XV V.). Taking into account that the studies of M.-S.D. Saidov were carried out in the second half XX c., we believe that Alkadari’s remark, with all its categoricalness, is for the second half XIX V. was relevant and legitimate.

Bibliography

1. Abdullaev M.A. From the history of philosophical and socio-political thought of the peoples of Dagestan in XIX V. – M.: Nauka, 1968. 336 p.

2. Abdullaev M.A. Thinkers of the peoples of Dagestan XIX and early XX centuries.

3. Alkadari G.-E. Asari Dagestan. – Makhachkala: IIAE DSC RAS, 1994. 222 p.

4. Baymurzaev A.B. From the history of social thought in Dagestan in the second half XIX V. – Makhachkala: IYAL DF AS USSR, 1963. 239 p.

5. Guseinov G.I. Hasan Alkadari. – Makhachkala: Mavel LLC, 2001.

6. Zulpukarova E.M.-G. The influence of Russian enlightenment on the educational movement in Dagestan (end XIX – early XX centuries) // Dagestan as part of Russia: historical roots of friendship between the peoples of Russia and Dagestan: Sat. Art. – Makhachkala: IYALI DSC RAS, 1990. P. 113-120.

As you know, an ideological movement that arose in a number of Western European countries in the 18th century on the basis of the successes of reason and science went down in history under the name “Enlightenment.” It is characterized by a firm belief in human reason and the need to liberate it from prejudices and dogmas, faith in the possibility of changing, on the basis of reason, the inhumane nature of relations between people. The Enlightenment sought to dispel myths and, with the help of scientific knowledge, completely change the human imagination.

Although in each individual country the Enlightenment has a specific character, in general it has a common basis: faith in human reason, deliverance from the shackles of ignorance, superstition, myths, defense of scientific and technical knowledge as a tool for improving the living conditions of mankind, religious and ethical tolerance, defense of the inalienable natural rights of man, criticism of superstition and defense of deism (but also materialism), struggle against political tyranny. It is these features that make the different directions of the Enlightenment that have developed in different countries similar to each other.

Approximately the same features are characteristic of Dagestan educational thought, which was formed much later than European thought, namely at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries. The reason for this time lag should be sought in the socio-economic lag of Dagestan, in the dominance of patriarchal-feudal ideology in the economic and spiritual life of the mountainous region.

The patriarchal-feudal ideology was opposed by the Enlightenment ideology that emerged at the end of the 19th century and increasingly penetrated the minds and consciousness of progressive people. The peculiarity of its development was that it consisted of two movements: Arab-Muslim and Russian-European. Arab-Muslim education in Dagestan was influenced by a more advanced Russian-European culture in terms of development and fought against ignorance, for scientific and technical knowledge, for the modernization of the Muslim education system, for improving the living conditions of the Dagestan people.

Arab-Muslim education in Dagestan is most clearly represented in the works of Hasan Alkadari, Hasan Guzunov, Ali Kayaev and a number of other scientists of the second half of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century.

Hasan Alkadari(1834-1910) studied first at his father’s madrasah in the village of Alkadari, then with the famous scientist and poet Mirza Ali Akhtynsky he improved his knowledge in Azerbaijan for about a year. After that, he independently studied Arabic grammar, mathematics, astronomy, logic, rhetoric, philosophy, and mastered Arabic, Persian, Turkish, Russian, and Lezgin languages. A significant part of his life was an official - secretary of the Kyurinsky District Court. Suspected of sympathy for the uprising of 1877, Hasan Efendi was arrested and then exiled to the Tambov province, where he spent about four years. Returning from exile, he opens the first secular school among Lezgins in his native village of Alkadari, where he himself teaches history, geography, astronomy, and mathematics.

Alkadari made a lot of efforts to open secular schools in Dagestan and contributed in every possible way to introducing the Dagestanis to the culture of more developed nations. He points out that the mountaineers are far behind in their development, very few among them understand the needs and demands of the era, they did not realize the importance of culture and education, and do not take advantage of the opportunity to unite Dagestan with Russia. In his opinion, a factor in overcoming backwardness and ignorance in Dagestan is the promotion of scientific knowledge, the introduction of technology, and the raising of the educational and moral level of people.

Thus, the defining feature of Alkadari’s activities and views is his commitment to educational ideology and practice. It is from an educational perspective that he assesses the role of Russia in the historical fate of Dagestan.

Hasan Alkadari had extensive connections with many scientific and cultural figures of the Caucasus. Together with M.F. Akhundov, he collaborated in the Azerbaijani democratic newspaper “Ekinchi” (“Plowman”). In accordance with the spirit of the newspaper, Hasan Efendi opposes the ignorance, isolation and conservatism of the mountaineers, points out that hostility and conflicts between people, fights and theft occur due to their ignorance. Hence, he considers education to be the main means of strengthening friendship between people and eliminating immoral acts among them.

Hasan's scientific research is devoted primarily to the study of the history of his native land, Muslim jurisprudence, the popularization of the ideas of the Enlightenment, European civilization, as well as the explanation of the knowledge known to him in philosophy, geography, astronomy and geology. His most famous scientific works are “Asari Daghistan” (“History of Dagestan”) and “Divan al-Mamnun”, which sets out his philosophical views.

In his philosophical articles, the main place is occupied by questions of the relationship between being and consciousness, objective and subjective reality, the role of sensory perceptions and abstract thinking. In explaining the relationship between being and spirit, Alkadari, like every thinker who believes in God, proceeds from a religious-idealistic position. God is primary, was before material reality and is the creator of everything that exists. But at the same time he gives it some pantheistic overtones. You cannot think of God, he writes, as a being with a certain size, figure, face. God is nowhere and there is no place where he is. As for the material world, after creation it exists objectively.

Hesitantly, but still breaking with Muslim orthodoxy, Alkadari tries to elevate the human mind. Noting the rapid progress of natural sciences and technology, he comes to the conclusion that man is gradually conquering the Earth and the Universe and learning their secrets. This faith in the power of human reason, in its objective content, is opposed to the religious views of the scientist. He says that the object of knowledge is the material world, and it is comprehended by the senses and thinking. Accordingly, knowledge is acquired in different ways. A person gains knowledge about those objects and phenomena of the material world that are directly accessible to the senses through sensations and perceptions, while knowledge about objects and phenomena that are not directly accessible to our senses can be obtained only through the mind. In particular, these are ideal essences - will, desire, soul, faith.

Thus, Alkadari rightfully points out that, depending on the nature of the object being cognized and the specifics of the cognitive situation, the researcher obtains knowledge either through the senses or through the mind.

However, he loses sight of the fact that, despite all the differences, there is no rigid boundary between sensory knowledge and knowledge through reason, that human knowledge is always, in all its forms and manifestations, a unity of the sensory and the rational. Without one of these points there is no human knowledge. Therefore, the transformation of the sensual or, on the contrary, rational into independent stages is erroneous. At the same time, the statement about the fallacy of transforming the sensory or rational stage of cognition into an independent entity does not mean at all that it is impossible to single out certain levels in cognition that are qualitatively different from each other.

Alkadari pointed to the autonomy of scientific knowledge from religious faith and considered the parallel existence of science and religion inevitable. He is confident that when studying problems related to natural phenomena, one should rely not on religious faith, but on sensory experience and evidence, because the sacred books do not concern what can be established in sensory experience and one should not look for answers in them to questions that a person can solve with his own mind. But religion will exist as divine truth, religious reasoning is concerned with the question of the “meaning” of our lives. Science and faith each do their own thing and on this basis they coexist. Adhering to the theory of "dual truth", according to which the truth of science and the truth of religion do not contradict each other, since they talk about different things, Alkadari does not hesitate to give preference to science when exploring the natural world.

Deism and the theory of “dual truth,” which expressed the essence of Alkadari’s philosophical views, undoubtedly had progressive significance in the conditions of Dagestan at the end of the 19th century. Defending the autonomy of scientific knowledge from religion, which reigned supreme in the spiritual life of that time, made it possible, albeit not fully, to develop the natural sciences and philosophy, freeing them from the tutelage of the clergy.

It is not surprising that Alqadari's philosophy was met negatively by Islamic orthodoxy, which, however, in no way weakened its influence or prevented its influence on the population.

Hasan Guzunov(1854-1940) was born in the village of Kumukh, received a spiritual education, studied Arabic and Turkish, independently mastered the Russian language and for a number of years worked as an employee of the district chancellery. Guzunov is known in Dagestan mainly as an astronomer, philosopher, historian and poet. His largest works are: “Jevahir ul-Bukhur” (“Jewels of the Seas”) and “Divan” in Arabic and Lak languages.

Guzunov sets out his natural scientific views, based mainly on the achievements of world astronomy and the results of his own observations of the starry sky, in his original work on astronomy “Jevahir ul-Bukhur”. Guzunov reproaches the Dagestan clergy for being incompetent in matters of astronomy. He explains the lag of astronomical science in Dagestan, first of all, by the blind faith of Dagestan theologians in everything that was said during the Middle Ages by Arabic-speaking scientists, many of whom believed that science was hostile to religion. Since the Koran says nothing against these sciences, Guzunov believes, religion should not deal with these issues: “This is a matter of science, religion as a whole must deal with Allah, with the rules of life and with what is established by Allah.”

During the Abbasid period, Guzunov says, the Muslim East was famous for its scientists, then caliphs and imams helped scientists, astronomical observations were a state matter, astronomers were highly valued and supported. Therefore, Muslim astronomers made invaluable contributions to science. Guzunov especially highly valued Ulugbek, who managed to surpass all astronomers of the East and West.

Guzunov is a supporter of Copernicus’ heliocentric system, Newton’s theoretical mechanics, and a popularizer of the scientific achievements of Laplace, Kant, and other European scientists. He compiled star charts, calendars, made globes, calculated tables of geographic coordinates, and taught all this to his students. Guzunov talks in detail about the structure of the solar system, about the planets and their satellites, comets; scientifically explains the pattern of changing seasons, day and night, the cause and essence of eclipses of the Sun and Moon, the ebb and flow of the seas. He defends the hypothesis of an infinite number of star systems and the infinity of the Universe as a whole. Defending a materialistic view of the Universe, he denies the existence of anything immaterial and supernatural in the Universe.

Philosophical problems occupy a significant place in Hasan’s work. Philosophy, he says, is an important science that allows a person to penetrate into the essence of things. However, there is a wrong attitude towards it: every philosopher is considered an atheist and his works are rejected out of the gate. At one time, one of the ideologists of the Muslim reaction, Al-Ghazali, wrote: “Philosophers are divided into a number of categories, and science is divided into several categories. But all philosophers, no matter which of the many categories they belong to, certainly bear the same stigma - the stigma of unbelief and atheism.” (Quoted from the book: Abdullaev M.A. Op. cit. pp. 166-167). As if responding to Al-Ghazali’s statement, Guzunov instructs the reader: “You will make the wrong mistake if you reject a philosopher on the grounds that he is a philosopher. Learn to understand the philosopher."

Guzunov's philosophical views underwent a certain evolution. In his youth, under the influence of family upbringing and the religious education received at the madrasah, he stood for the ideology of the Koran. Subsequently, acquaintance with European science gave impetus to his transition to the position of deism. According to him, God is the great creator of the world. To create a universe with such amazingly interesting and varied phenomena requires a supernatural master, which is Allah. The world created by Allah is material, will exist endlessly, it changes and develops according to the laws established by God. The universe is made up of four elements: earth, fire, air and water. These elements, in turn, consist of chemical elements, the number of which reaches 80. Obviously, the scientist is familiar with the achievements of the physical and chemical sciences of his time and is trying to use them in his concept of the structure of matter. But his teaching about the structure of matter retains the influence of the outdated concept of the four elements as the basis of the material world.

The scientist pays great attention to the study of the process of cognition. He wrote that cognition is associated with the activity of the five senses and the brain. The thinker distinguishes three types of knowledge: general feelings (perceptions), reflection (judgment), decision (inference).

Guzunov develops interesting ideas in his sociological teaching, where he tries to figure out how society was split into rich and poor, how state power arose and why it ended up in the hands of a minority. Adhering to the theory of violence, he argues that through violence and deception, some people have concentrated wealth in their hands. Subjecting severe criticism to the existing unjust system, Hasan becomes imbued with sympathy for the masses.

Guzunov's views on the issue of ways and means to achieve the well-being and happiness of peoples are permeated with illusions. They are bound by faith in wise, enlightened rulers who base their activities on the interests of the people and strive to create a society where science and culture flourish. As such an example, he names the Arab caliphate of the Abbasid period.

Ali Kayaev(1874-1943) was a scientist with widely encyclopedic knowledge: philosopher, theologian, historian, orientalist, astronomer, geographer, teacher. Kayaev was born in Kazi-Kumukh, one of the centers of Arab-Muslim culture in Dagestan. Distinguished by his great talents and determination, Ali in a short time received a traditional Muslim education in Dagestan, but, not being satisfied with this, in search of higher knowledge he visited Astrakhan, and then Egypt and Turkey. As a result, he mastered the level of knowledge that the Muslim East had reached by that time. Kayaev’s practical activities were varied: he was a teacher at Cairo al-Azhar University, editor of the newspaper “Jaridatu Daghistan”, public qadi, rector of a madrasah, and employee of a research institute.

Kayaev’s creative heritage clearly shows the influence of not only Arabic-language, but also European-Russian culture, which at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century became an important component of the intellectual life of Dagestan.

In the second half of the 19th century, a galaxy of scientists and educators appeared in Dagestan, who in their works synthesized the scientific achievements of the East and West. They believed that one of the reasons for the backwardness of Dagestan was archaic scholastic approaches to the upbringing and training of the younger generation. They advocated for the introduction of general education disciplines in schools and paid special attention to secular education. Ali Kayaev was rightfully considered by his contemporaries to be a generally recognized ideological inspirer, who absorbed the spiritual values ​​of not only Arabic-speaking, but also European culture.

In his philosophical works (“The Path of Islam”, “Dialogue of a Materialist and an Idealist”, as well as a series of articles in the newspaper “Jaridatu Dagistan”) Kayaev touches on many problems, while revealing a deep knowledge of the subject. Especially often, he draws the arguments he needs from the arsenal of natural science and philosophical ideas of Arab Aristotelianism. Of the European scientists and thinkers, C. Darwin and R. Descartes most often come into Kayaev’s field of vision.

A. Kayaev characterizes the history of philosophical teachings as the history of a struggle between two directions. At the same time, he considers himself an idealist and, to substantiate the latter, refers to the work of naturalists-spiritualists, who allegedly proved the existence of spirits. At the same time, he recognizes the connection between materialist philosophy and science and emphasizes that with the development of science, materialism is becoming more and more widespread. “Undoubtedly, the materialists are right,” he writes, “when they prove that in nature there is nothing except matter with its properties. They are mistaken only in that they recognize the presence in matter itself of a force capable of independent creation. There is no such force in nature." In his opinion, it is outside of nature and is expressed in the face of God.

However, later his idealism develops into deism and dualism. According to Kayaev, the creator of everything that exists is God, who gave the first impetus to the movement of all things. But along with the divine principle, the thinker also recognizes the material principle. Perhaps, he believes, God created nature, the living world and the entire Universe from matter, having previously created it. Perhaps matter also existed from eternity, and the creator only renewed it before the act of creation.

How does Kayaev characterize the spiritual and material and how does he solve the problem of their relationship?

Analyzing Kayaev’s views on the relationship between the material and the spiritual, we are convinced that he departs from consistent idealism and solves this problem in the spirit of dualism. The spirit, he believes, is the substance with which the entire mental life of a person is connected, it is what determines the individuality of a person, preserving it unique, despite changes in the material world. “Renewal of the human body,” he writes, “would lead to the fact that a person could not remain himself after a certain period of time and the acquired knowledge, if it were connected with the body and not with the soul, the person would constantly lose along with old cells. A person remains what he was before, although his body is constantly renewed. This constancy of personality is maintained thanks to the spirit.”

The spirit itself is devoid of any qualities. Therefore, it is not directly amenable to sensation, and can be judged thanks to the processes occurring in material things. The spirit is pure and incorruptible. It is in unity with matter as long as the latter develops and is able to contain it. Over time, when the matter composing the body decomposes, the spirit leaves this body and goes into a special world.

Matter, according to Kayaev, is endowed with all those attributes that the spirit lacks: extension, mass, density, variability, etc. Matter is everything that produces sensations and influences the human senses.

Thus, the scientist comes to the conclusion about the existence of two independent principles in the objective world, the union of which gives rise to a thing, object, body, and separation leads to the disappearance of such.

The thinker highly values ​​human cognitive abilities and is of the opinion that it is possible for a person to achieve complete knowledge of nature. The scientist shows how gradually, step by step, man learned to recognize the deep secrets of things and use them to satisfy his needs. He highly appreciates the merits of natural scientists, as well as the achievements of engineering and technical thought, who created a variety of amazingly perfect machines, apparatus, and communications. Kayaev quite clearly understands the importance of science in modern society and considers it the basis for the development of both society as a whole and its economy in particular. Therefore, demanding from scientists a tireless search for something new, revealing new secrets of nature, in many articles he reproaches the Dagestan alims, who chew on long-developed known truths and are convinced that this is not enough to solve scientific problems. In this regard, philosophy seems to Kayaev not just a collection of teachings, dogmas and views, but a great weapon of reason in the fight against the unreasonable.

To characterize Kayaev’s epistemological views, his solution to the philosophical problem of the relationship between the sensory and the rational in cognition is of great interest. He recognizes sensations as the only signals received by human senses, on the basis of which it is only possible to create an idea of ​​material reality. Moreover, these signals not only notify the senses about the presence of something material outside them, but together create the correct image of objective objects and phenomena in the human mind. Therefore, sensory images correspond to reality.

Analysis of sensory images, according to Kayaev, is the next stage of the cognition process. Here the mind comes into play, the task of which, along with the analysis of sensations, also includes controlling the senses to achieve purposefulness in the process of cognition. In mental analysis, accuracy of the analysis is required, otherwise the image will be distorted, and conclusions from a superficial analysis will give knowledge that is unclear and sometimes false, as is the case with people with an immature consciousness.

Thus, the thinker has a fairly clear idea of ​​the process of reflection of objective reality in the human mind, although he understands the so-called “mental analysis”, most likely, as a simple arithmetic operation with incoming sensory signals, and not as a complex mental process.

Application. GREAT THOUGHTS OF GREAT PEOPLE

About wisdom

Higher wisdom b - know yourself

G. Galileo

Wisdom- this is the elevation of the individual above his own limitations.

Socrates

Wise not the one who thinks he knows everything, but the one who understands that he knows little.

Socrates

Wiser all the time: it reveals everything.

Thales

If one can be learned by someone else's learning, then wise we can only be our own wisdom

M. Montaigne

Much easier to manifest wisdom in other people's affairs than in one's own.

F. Larouchefoucauld

In many ways wisdom a lot of sadness; and whoever increases knowledge increases sorrow.

Ecclesiastes

About philosophy and science

Philosophy is an era captured in thought.

G. Hegel

Philosophy – This is the pre-dawn crow of a rooster, heralding the new youth of the world.

G. Hegel

Owl of Minerva begins its flight only at dusk.

G. Hegel

Philosophy is the spiritual quintessence of its time, it represents the living soul of culture.

K. Marx

Philosophers they do not grow like mushrooms from the ground, they are a product of their time, their people, the most subtle, precious and invisible juices of which are concentrated in philosophical ideas.

K. Marx

Philosophy and medicine have made man the most intelligent of animals, fortune telling and astrology the most insane, superstition and despotism the most unfortunate.

Diogenes

Philosophers They are born, just like poets, and much less often.

A. Schopenhauer

To many philosophers as troublesome as night revelers disturbing the sleep of civilians.

A. Schopenhauer

True philosopher there is one who, without boasting, possesses the wisdom that others boast of who do not possess it.

J.D'Alembert

Nations will be happy when philosophers will be rulers, and rulers will be philosophers.

Plato

In order for a country to be truly free, its entire population must consist of philosophers.

Napoleon

What despot could love philosophy? Does a thief love a night lamp?

K.Weber

Everywhere where a strong society, state, religion has been formed, everywhere where tyranny has been established, they hate equally philosophers, for philosophy opens to man a refuge where no tyranny can penetrate.

F. Nietzsche

Thoughts philosophers, like stars, they do not shine too much because they are too sublime.

F. Bacon

Let no one put off studying in his youth philosophy, and in old age he never tires of studying philosophy: after all, no one is either immature or overripe for the health of the soul.

Epicurus

In the eyes of the Greeks, only two activities distinguished man from cattle: interest in public affairs and study philosophy.

T.Peng

IN science there is no wide high road, and only those who, without fear of fatigue, climb its rocky paths can reach its shining peaks.

K. Marx

The scientist must organize the facts , for the science built from facts, like a house from bricks; but a simple collection of facts is no more a science than a heap of stones is a house.

A. Poincaré

About thinking and knowledge

Thought must never submit to dogma, passion, authority, preconceived idea, or anything other than facts, for to submit would mean to cease to exist.

A. Poincaré

Our entire dignity lies in our ability to think. Only thought lifts us up, not space and time, in which we are nothing.

B.Pascal

Thought is the main ability of a person; expressing it is one of his main needs; spreading it is his most precious freedom.

P. Buast

Knowledge is power, but it becomes real power only when it is true.

F. Bacon

True knowledge consists not in the acquaintance with facts, which makes a man merely a pedant, but in the use of facts, which makes him a philosopher.

G.Bockle

Don't always say what You know, but always know what you are saying.

F. Larouchefoucauld

Who knows– he doesn’t speak, and whoever speaks doesn’t know.

Taoists

Youth is happy because it knows nothing; old age is unhappy because everything knows.

F. Chateaubriand

Ignorance- not an argument.

B. Spinoza

Whoever wants to be blissful in this world, let him engage in trade, and whoever wants to be blissful in the next world, let him seek abstinence and piety. Whoever wants to find bliss in both worlds, let him seek it in learning and knowledge.

Muhammad

About truth

Plato is a friend, but true- an even greater friend.

Aristotle

I'd rather find at least one the truth than to become king of Persia.

Democritus

Three paths lead to truth: the path of reflection is the noblest, the path of imitation is the easiest and the path of experience is the most bitter.

Confucius

Thousands of paths lead to error, to truth- only one.

J.-J. Rousseau

Does not exist true beautiful without a bit of weirdness.

F. Bacon

True appears into the world not in the splendor of decorations, not in the radiance of thrones, not to the sounds of trumpets and kettledrums, but in silence and uncertainty, among tears and groans.

L. Feuerbach

Be a friend truth to the point of martyrdom, but do not be its defender to the point of intolerance.

Pythagoras

True It is not a minted coin, which is given in finished form and hidden in the same form in a pocket.

G. Hegel

Scientific truth always paradoxical when judged on the basis of everyday experience, which captures only the deceptive appearance of things.

K. Marx

Neither knowledge nor thinking ever begins completely truth– she is their goal; thinking would not be necessary if there were ready-made truths.

A. Herzen

True loves criticism, because it benefits from it, lies are afraid of criticism, because it loses from it.

D. Diderot

When a new, amazing true, people first say: “This is not true,” then, “This is against religion,” and finally, “This is an old truth.”

Ch. Lyell

True eloquence consists in saying everything you need to say, but nothing more.

F. Larouchefoucauld

Determine correctly words, and you will rid the world of half the misunderstandings.

R.Descartes

None word does not contain only what the etymological dictionary ascribes to it. Every word contains the person who pronounces it, the circumstances under which it is said, and the reason why it is said.

V. Havel

About a human

Human there is a measure of all things: existing - in the fact that they exist - and non-existent - in the fact that they do not exist.

Protagoras

Any Human who considers himself the master of others is himself a slave. Even if he is not always really such, then he still has a slave’s soul, and in front of the first stronger one he comes across, he will crawl vilely.

I. Fichte

Evil people live in order to eat and drink, virtuous people eat and drink in order to live.

Socrates

Human belongs to his age and his race even when he fights against his age and his race

E. Renan

Much easier to find out person in general than any person in particular.

F. Larouchefoucauld

There is nothing stupider than the desire to always be smarter than everyone else.

F. Larouchefoucauld

Custom pushes person for many stupidities, the greatest stupidity is to become his slave.

Napoleon

Everything is poison and everything is medicine, only the dose makes one or the other .

Paracelsus

The feeling of suffering is depressing person more than suffering itself.

Seneca

Human comes into the world with clenched palms and seems to say: the whole world is mine, but leaves it with open palms and seems to say: look, I’m not taking anything with me.

Talmud

The doctor sees person in all his weakness, the lawyer in all his meanness, the theologian in all his stupidity.

A. Schopenhauer

More often than not, the one who is not taken seriously wins.

E. Rotterdam

Now that we have learned to fly through the air like birds, to swim under water like fish, we lack only one thing: to learn to live on earth like people.

Bernard Show

Preface 3

Islamic culture and Islamic traditions in Dagestan (Ruslan Isaev, Murtazaali Yakubov)
To the popular science publication “Traditional and Fictional Islam”,
F. Khaidarov, Moscow, 2013

Islamic culture and Islamic traditions in Dagestan

In the 7th century A new religion arose on the Arabian Peninsula - Islam, which marked the beginning of a new period in the life of the peoples of the countries of the Near and Middle East, playing an important role in the destinies of the peoples of the Caucasus and Dagestan.
The Arabs brought both their language and their religion to the conquered countries. In the Caliphate, the process of interaction between different civilizations gave birth to a new highly developed culture, the language of which was Arabic, and the ideological basis was Islam, a new monotheistic religion with a unique system of ethical and legal ideas and religious and political institutions, which originated in Arabia and spread during the Arab conquests. This Arab-Muslim culture determined the development paths of peoples who professed Islam for many centuries to come, affecting their lives to this day. The process of Islamization of Dagestan chronologically covers a large period of time: the second half of the 7th - first half of the 10th centuries, the second half of the 10th-16th centuries, the 17th-18th centuries, the 19th - early 20th centuries, the second half of the 80s of the 20th century. .- present tense. During the first two stages, the spread occurred in breadth, and in the 17th - early 20th centuries. Islam has thoroughly “grown” into Dagestan, where it has become not only a religion, but also a culture and way of life.

Islamic culture in Dagestan

Islam played a huge role in the formation of the written literary heritage and culture of the peoples of Dagestan. The process of Islamization “prepared the ground for the development of Arabic literary writing over a vast area, even larger than that in which Arab political dominance had ever been established.
The process of Islamization of Dagestan, which lasted several centuries (VII-XVI centuries), was accompanied by the spread of the Arabic language and Arabic culture. The spread and strengthening of Islam stimulated the construction of educational institutions (maktabs, madrassas), the study of the language of the Holy Scriptures of Muslims, and the dissemination of Koranic literature.
The most significant stage in the development and spread of the Arabic language on the territory of Dagestan is associated with a number of factors and, above all, with the emergence of local, original literature in Arabic, mainly historical works, the first examples of which date back to the 10th century. Subsequently, the social position of the Arabic language, Arabic-language literature and Arabic culture on the territory of the republic became increasingly stronger, and in the 18th – early 20th centuries. marked by a flourishing of scientific and literary activity in Arabic. The works of Dagestan scientists on Islamic law, dogmatics, ethics, logic, medicine, metrics, historical works, poetic texts - everything was written mainly in Arabic, which was largely ahead of other languages ​​in this area. The Arabic language, without replacing local languages ​​in everyday life, at the same time became the main “tool” of literature, science, education, office work, private and official correspondence, memorial materials, memorial and construction texts. Moreover, the Arabic alphabet formed the basis of the writing of the Dagestan peoples (adjam). All this largely determined the role of the Arabic language and literary creativity of the peoples of the Near and Middle East in the destinies of Dagestan culture and traditions.
On the territory of the Arab Caliphate, through the efforts of peoples and generations, a rich written literature was created, the basis of which was the cultural traditions of the Mediterranean and ancient civilizations of the East. Arabic literature, according to H.A. Gibb, this is “an immortal monument created not by one people, but by an entire civilization.” Cultural values ​​created in one language by bearers of a single official religion quickly became the property of the entire Caliphate both during the period of its unity and after its collapse, when territorial and political integrity collapsed, but the pan-Muslim cultural area was preserved.
Initially, of course, interest in the Arabic language and Islamic culture was associated with the study of the Koran, Koranic literature, and the penetration of Islam, but subsequently the scope of the language turned out to be more extensive. Here another factor comes to the fore - a significant expansion of economic and multilateral cultural contacts of the peoples of the Caucasus with the countries of the Middle East and Central Asia. Trade and economic cultural ties with the peoples of these countries, which developed in the X-XII centuries. and increasingly growing since the 14th century, contributed to the widespread dissemination of the Arabic language as a means of communication between different peoples.
Arabic-language culture acts as a factor of centuries-old influence on the cultural life of the peoples of Dagestan and the Caucasus, “as one of the sources that nourished the cultures of this region,” and the process of mastering the Arabic language itself is a reflection of the spiritual need of the mountain population for knowledge and for familiarization with the achievements of world civilization.
The composition and structure of literary monuments that became widespread in Dagestan testify to the familiarity of local authors with many traditional works of the medieval East - the Koran, tafsirs, hadiths, grammatical treatises, works on lexicography, Islamic law, theology, ethics, philosophy, history .
All of the above facts not only speak of Dagestan’s contacts in the sphere of culture with such large centers of medieval social thought as Baghdad and Bukhara, but also indicate a fairly wide familiarity of its inhabitants with the fundamentals of Islamic law, with prominent Sufi works, in particular with ethical dogmatic treatise of al-Ghazali. It is no coincidence that one of the Ulama in Derbent bore the honorary title “philosopher” - it was Abu-l-Fadl ibn Ali the Philosopher, “a good man, originally from Derbend,” whom Nasir-i Khusrau met in Shamiran. It is also quite understandable that a Sufi treatise was created in Derbent at the end of the 11th century. and the presence there of a large number of Sufi sheikhs, as well as majlises and khanqahs.
Numerous Arabic inscriptions of the X-XV centuries, available in Dagestan, should also be considered as a significant cultural phenomenon, as a result of communication between peoples in the sphere of culture. The number of Arabic-language inscriptions in Dagestan is enormous; they represent a manifestation of local culture, proof that Arabic writing was widespread here and its experts were found not only among representatives of the ruling elite.
The epigraphic heritage as a monument of culture in general and the written language of the peoples of Dagestan, in particular, did not develop in isolation, not on its own, but in inextricable connection with such a genre as Dagestan historical works.
The initial stage of the formation of historiography in Dagestan, as in other areas with strong Arab influence, is also associated with the rather large Arab population of Dagestan in the 8th-10th centuries. Historical works and Sufi treatises in Arabic are at the same time the first narrative sources that have come down to us - monuments of written book culture. It is not yet possible to determine the early stages of recording historical knowledge in Dagestan, but the participation of the Arab population in the creation of the Dagestan historical tradition (written and, especially oral), as well as in the preservation of semi-legendary historical stories that existed in Dagestan before the adoption of Islam and after Islamization, is undoubtedly.
It is well known that folklore plots and stories served as the basis for the first historical works. The cycle of legendary and semi-legendary stories, traditions, and genealogical series that has developed in Dagestan reflects the already formed historical
tradition. The cultural and political influence of the ideas that circulated in the Caliphate is also undeniable. Genealogies and genealogical legends either appeared from the very beginning in a local shell, or, being introduced, gradually acquired a Dagestan appearance.
Among the first historical works that have reached us are “Derbend-name”, “History of Shirvan and Derbend”, “Akhty-name”, “History of Abu Muslim”, “Tarikh Dagestan”.
“Derbend-name” is a valuable historical work, now known in numerous copies both in Arabic, Persian, Turkic, and in the languages ​​of the peoples of Dagestan. A thematic relationship between all the lists known to us is revealed. All of them are characterized by four main themes: Iran's policy in Dagestan; Arab-Khazar confrontation in Dagestan; Islamization of the region; relationships between Arab commanders and local rulers.
If we characterize the general line of “Derbend-name”, then this is a story based on individual historical records and historical legends about the “triumphant march” of Islam across Dagestan. Although the work is called “Derbend-name”, in essence, we are talking about Dagestan as a whole, about a radical change in the confessional appearance of the region thanks to the efforts of Arab commanders.
“The History of Shirvan and Derbend” (the second title is “The History of al-Bab”) is already a complex, multifaceted work, a valuable source on the history of the Eastern Caucasus of the 8th-11th centuries.
In accordance with the dynastic principle of periodization, the “History of Shirvan and Derbend” is divided into two parts.
The first part is about the dynasty of the Shirvanshahs - the Yazidids, the founder of which was Yazid ibn Mazyad al-Shaybani (died in 799), and the Derbent Hashemids (869-1077). Its main content is the complex relationship between the rulers of Shirvan and Derbent, into which the rulers of Arran, Serir, Haidak, as well as the Seljuk Turks in the Eastern Caucasus are often drawn. The second part is in the same vein as the first, with an emphasis on the activities of the Hashemids and their relationships with neighboring possessions. The work was compiled in 1106 and tells about the events in Derbent and Shirvan between the last quarter of the 8th century. and 1075. In its structure, this is a weather, sequential presentation in the manner of chronographs or dynastic chronicles. Both genres (the history of cities and the history of dynasties) became widespread in the territory of the former Caliphate.
Despite the outward impartiality, we see in the author of “The History of Shirvan and Derbend” an ardent supporter of local authorities, regardless of who we are talking about - the Shirvanshah or the Derbent emirs. The official nature of the work is also explained by a phenomenon typical in the 10th-11th centuries. for many regions of the Caliphate, in political historiography the place of the traditionalist and scientist was taken by the official. Hence the clear clerical style of the composition, the rigor of the presentation, the historical outline, devoid of legendary, religious, folklore motifs.
The author of the “History of Shirvan and Derbent” was, in all likelihood, a resident of Derbent, he knew in detail the life and social structure of the Eastern Caucasus, showed good knowledge of the topography of the city, was outwardly objective and depicted with equal impartiality the activities of the Shirvanshahs and Derbent rulers, but his sympathy for Derbent emirs, although very rarely, are discovered.
The author of the “History of al-Bab” used different local data than the compiler of “Derbend-name”. This is due to various author’s tasks: “Derbend-name” is focused on the genre of “history of Arab conquests”, and “History of al-Bab” - on internal political history, the history of relationships between social elites, political entities, accurate data distributed across cities, structural perfection - all this suggests the presence of certain traditions in the internal history of the city itself.
The general nature of the “History of Shirvan and Derbend”, its relative completeness, the abundance of information from the field of historiography used by the author, a certain type of historical presentation shows that local, Dagestan materials occupy a leading place in it.
“The History of al-Bab” structurally seems to repeat the presentation of events by city, as was the case with Arab authors of the 10th century. at-Tabari and al-Kufi, but with the difference that now we are no longer dealing with a description of the Arab wars of conquest. The essay has a different content: the relationship between Shirvan and Derbent, their rulers, the struggle to strengthen Islam, the politics of the Seljuks. The genre of “History of al-Bab” is also a continuation of the genre of “history of Arab conquests,” but in completely new conditions, when the independence of individual parts of the former united Caliphate determined the emergence of local histories: dynastic genealogies, the history of individual states. The History of al-Bab appears to us as a skillful combination of state histories and dynastic genealogies. The work can also be considered an example of regional historiography. Here we trace the development of Dagestan historiography in line with the pan-Arab one: starting from the first decades of the 10th century. the process of the political collapse of the Caliphate and the formation of independent states was reflected in the appearance of dynastic chronicles and works on the history of states.
The category of monuments of regional historiography also includes the so-called small chronicles - “The History of Abu Muslim” and “Akhty-name”. In essence, both chronicles, outwardly reminiscent of a variety of the genre of “military histories of Islam,” are genealogical stories: the first together with the genre of hagiography, the second – within the framework of the chronicle of one village. In the Caliphate in the 9th-10th centuries. the parallel development of the genre of history and biography in close connection with each other was common. The development of themes of local history and biographies of Arab military leaders elevated to the category of “saints” (Maslama - Sheikh Abu Muslim), the unity of these themes within the framework of one work speaks of the weak differentiation of historical literature of the small genre.
“The History of Abu Muslim” is an anonymous story about events in Dagestan in the 8th-10th centuries, first published in 1862 by N.V. Khanykov (“Gagarin’s list”), however, it has not yet become the subject of a comprehensive source study.
The chronicle covers several main topics: the genealogy of Abu Muslim, going back to Abdalmuttalib, the uncle of the Prophet; the activities of Abu Muslim to spread Islam in Dagestan, the construction of mosques in almost all large Dagestan villages; descendants of Abu Muslim, who settled in almost all Dagestan possessions and villages.
The last topic, which substantiates the rise to power of the descendants of Abu Muslim throughout Dagestan, deserves special consideration, because it plays an important role in the formation of a new look of the chronicle, its new quality: purely local, southern Dagestan (i.e., narrowly local) topics are replaced by general Dagestan, the concept of a universal Muslim (from the line of the Prophet Muhammad (saw) genesis of political power in Dagestan is affirmed. How unique this concept is can be seen from the fact that the theme of the Accident, political power in which was previously assigned to anyone (Pharaohs, Persians, Russ), but only not the Muslim world, in the above context acquired a purely Islamic basis. As for the time of compilation of the “History of Abu Muslim”, we can assume that this is the beginning of the 10th century (the date of one of the lists), and the chronicle itself covers the events of the 8th - early X century
It is of considerable interest to compare the two works described. “Akhty-name” is, rather, a continuation of the widespread genre of “conquest” on the scale of one village; the military-political aspect in it is predominant. “The Story of Abu Muslim” carries a broader meaning. Abu Muslim became a Muslim "saint", and the "Roman of Abu Muslim", widespread in the Near and Middle East, left its mark on the work in question. The activity and genealogy of the sheikh is one of the main motives of the essay. New topics also appeared: the genealogy of the descendants of Abu Muslim, the construction of mosques, the biography of the ruling elite. “Akhty Name” does not provide information about the construction of mosques, but for “The History of Abu Muslim” this is one of the main topics. If in “Akhty-Nama” the focus is on the single village of Akhty, then “The History of Abu Muslim” is the history of several equal (or rather, independent, independent) villages.
To analyze the process of formation of the genre of historical works, the Dagestan historical work “Tarikh Dagestan” by Muhammadrafi plays a huge role.
This is one of the most complex, controversial and at the same time extremely interesting and valuable literary (historical) monuments, which is a collection of various passages or documents united by one idea, one political tendency. It represents an apology for the power of the Gazikumukh Shamkhal, i.e. is of a purely official nature and propagates the idea of ​​the inevitability of Islamization of all regions of Dagestan. The essay highlights several independent narrative lines: the fate of paganism and the rulers of Avar (Avaria), the Islamization of Dagestan societies, Kumukh’s struggle for his lands, shamkhals, their genealogy and tax policy.
“Tarikh Dagestan” is the most widespread historical work in Dagestan and widely known in the scientific world. Up to 40 of his lists in Arabic have already been identified. Covering the events of the VIII-XIV centuries. (with significant insertions of the 15th-17th centuries), this work is, as already indicated, a collection of various historical stories and records, each of which deserves independent study.
The most ancient part of the text can be considered its beginning - a story about the pagan Avaria, the income of its rulers, the taxes they received (kharaj): “The ruler (malik) in the city of the Avar region, called at-Tanus, - and he is the strongest of the cities of Dagestan with his power, the source of unbelief - was an infidel, strong, tyrant, worthless, a bearer of evil, violence and misfortune named Suraka, nicknamed nusal... This ruler received income from kingdoms (muluk), possessions (wilayats), subject lands (imarate), and he owned the Kharaj, Jizya and Ushr from the inhabitants of all Dagestan... various kinds of property, cash, grain, sheep, cattle, fabrics, vegetables and so on, even eggs.” The story is dedicated to the power and might of the ruler of Avaria. It was in the second half of the 9th - first half of the 10th century. The Dagestan feudal state of Sarir (Avaria), distinguished by its multi-ethnic composition of the population, grew significantly stronger.
Other main topics (the struggle of the inhabitants of Kumukh against the Mongol troops and the list of taxes to the Gazikumukh Shamkhal) give reason to say that the events described date back to the 13th-14th centuries.
Numerous rewrites undoubtedly left their mark on the content of the text, but the main text, despite all the additions, also had to be preserved. It would be important to determine which part and in what form arose from the pen of Muhammadrafi.
“Tarikh Dagestan” is both a valuable historical source and an important written monument of the culture of the peoples of Dagestan. Its complex composition requires, first of all, serious source study work on each of its component parts, each individual work that makes up a single whole.
Until recently, the important historical work of Mahmud from Khinalug, conventionally entitled “Events in Dagestan and Shirvan. XIV-XV centuries." It was compiled in the village of Ikhir (Southern Dagestan) in 861/1456-7 on the basis of numerous sources, including genealogies. The book is a unique source on the history of Dagestan and Shirvan in the 14th-15th centuries. and a valuable monument of written culture. It provided detailed coverage of many issues of the political, socio-economic and diplomatic life of medieval Dagestan and Shirvan society (Timur’s campaign, his role in imposing conditional forms of land ownership, in strengthening the power of local rulers; the relationship between the rulers of the Dagestan possessions of the Gazikumukh Shamkhalate and Kaitag Utsmi in matters inheritance of power; Shirvan-Dagestan political, diplomatic and dynastic ties; forms of land ownership).
The work of Mahmud from Khinalug constitutes an important stage in local historiography; it is focused mainly on the study of large regions, political, diplomatic, socio-economic history, and not military actions.
Of course, the historical works that we talked about were not the only genre category of literary and scientific activity in Dagestan in the 10th-15th centuries; by the beginning of the 12th century. In Derbent, there were already strong traditions in hadith studies and the compilation of Sufi treatises. The ethical and dogmatic treatise “Wafq al-murad” (“Compliance with the object of desires”) by Ahmad al-Yamani (d. 1450), written in Kumukh, has also reached us. However, the genre of historical works was the most significant and represented by the largest number of diverse works in the process of formation of the Dagestan national literary tradition.
Dagestan is the largest center of the Arab-Muslim literary tradition. The assimilation of Arab-Muslim cultural and philosophical traditions began with the establishment of Islam. Today, the role of Arab-Muslim literature and the Arabic language in the development of national cultures and in strengthening cultural contacts between the peoples of the Near and Middle East and the Caucasus is becoming increasingly clear. Arab-Muslim culture acts here as one of the sources that nourished the cultures of this region.
Arab culture and the Arabic manuscript book became more widespread than the territory inhabited by the Arabs or the area of ​​their military and political domination.
The first wave of the spread of Arab culture followed the early conquests, which simultaneously brought Islamization and Arabization of the region.
This process connected the peoples of the North and East Caucasus to the Muslim circle of the world cultural community for many centuries. The mutual exchange of material and spiritual values ​​in the context of the more developed traditions of the Arab-Muslim civilization awakened their own potential in local cultures, bringing to life new intellectual needs and creative capabilities of the local peoples.
It is known that X–XV centuries. in the Middle Eastern zone of the Old World, and this is the area of ​​​​functioning of Arab, Persian, Turkic and Caucasian cultures, is the time of the greatest flowering of Renaissance culture. It was Arabic literature that acted as a leader for many peoples and drew into its process other literatures that developed nearby and were part of a given cultural circle.
If we turn to chronology, the penetration of the Arabic language into Dagestan can be attributed to the 7th century, and the penetration of Arabic handwritten books to the 8th–9th centuries, i.e., the early Abbasid period. At the initial stage, the scope of this process was limited to Derbent and nearby areas populated by Arabs. But the possibility of manifestation of this process in the previous period is not excluded, namely during the period of settlement of the Derbent quarters by the Arab population and the construction of the quarter mosques by Maslama in 733.
From the middle of the 8th century. The attention of the Arabs from the policy of conquest turns to the internal problems of the state. During this period, all conditions emerged for the development of Arabic book culture, the center of which was Baghdad. It is with this city that the emergence of Arabic book collections and Houses of Science is associated, which gave way to libraries, mosques and madrassas in the second half of the 11th century.
As for the subjects of monuments of oriental writing, these are traditional disciplines for the medieval East - theology and philology (grammatical treatises, lexicography, jurisprudence, philosophy, etc.).
The most ancient works of Arab scholars that have come down to us are copies of the famous Arabic dictionary “Al-Sihah” (“Authentic”) by al-Jawhari (d. 1008), which were made in 519/1125, 574/1178–1179, 593 /1196, and the no less famous book “Al-Gharibayn” by al-Harawi (d. 1010) - an explanatory dictionary of the Arabic language, rewritten by Muhammad, the son of Abu al-Hasan, in 689/1290.
Disappearance of book collections of the 8th–10th centuries. in Dagestan is associated with the internal political situation during this period: bloody clashes between Arabs and Khazars, internecine wars between local rulers, and the instability of life, which did not in any way contribute to the preservation of existing books. However, epigraphic material, closely related to the origins of the book culture of Dagestan, helps fill this gap. Thus, Kufi inscriptions that have survived to this day indicate the spread of Arabic writing in Dagestan already in the 9th–10th centuries. In the subsequent XI–XV centuries. the significance of the Arabic language is increasing, as evidenced by epigraphic monuments identified in Derbent, Tabasaran, Akhtakh, Rutul, Tpiga, Tsudahar, Kumukh, Khunzakh. According to V.V. Bartold, Arabic, of all the languages ​​of Muslim peoples, has become the international language par excellence.
The study of Arabic entailed the creation of numerous textbooks compiled by local authors. Thus, the written literature of the peoples of the Near and Middle East was the basis for Dagestan written literature that contributed to its emergence and further development.
The creative assimilation of monuments of written literature from the Near and Middle East had its logical continuation in Dagestan. From the 10th century significant works of a narrowly local nature were created, and at the same time single-aul chronicles were created: “The History of Tsakhur” (XIII century), “The History of Karakaytag” (late XV - early XVI centuries), “History of the village of Kurkli” (XV century).
As a result, extensive oriental literature accumulated in medieval Dagestan for many hundreds of years in the form of private and public collections of Arabic books. Many of these library collections contained not only theological literature, but also sources on the humanities and natural sciences, philosophy, philology, mathematics, geography, astronomy, and medicine.
Historians note, for example, widespread use in Dagestan back in the 12th–14th centuries. well-known in the Muslim East works on the interpretation of the Shafi'i teachings "Kitab al-Imam al-Shafi'i" ("Book of Imam Shafi'i") and "Cosmography" by Qazvini - a kind of encyclopedia of the natural sciences of the Muslim world. The world-famous multi-volume works and expositions of the greatest Arab historian of the early period, at-Tabari, also penetrated here. It should be noted that after the 15th century. The Arabic language persistently made its way to India and the Malay Archipelago, to Central Africa, Asia Minor, the Balkans and, finally, to Russia, namely to Tataria, Crimea, and the North Caucasus. That is, in the era when the independence of the Arab countries is finally dying, the Arabic language, in spite of everything, conquers more and more new territories, experiencing a kind of “renaissance”.
In the XV–XVII centuries. Kumukh becomes one of the creative centers in Dagestan. In the first half of the 15th century. Here lived and worked Ahmad bin Ibrahim bin Muhammad al-Yamani (d. 1450), author of the book (“Wafq al-murad” - “Compliance with the Object of Desire”) - religious leader, mudarris, scientist, copyist of manuscripts, disseminator of Islam in Dagestan. Academician I.Yu. Krachkovsky, establishing the time of creation of original local literature in Dagestan and the North Caucasus in general, wrote: “In the Caucasus we can trace two waves of Arab influence: the first, which came with the early conquests, did not deeply affect the local population of Transcaucasia, and the second, which slowly grew from the 16th century century, gradually created original local literature in Arabic in Dagestan, Chechnya, and Ingushetia.” Dagestan scientists came to the conclusion that it would be necessary to “move forward significantly the chronological framework of the “second wave” and attribute it to the 10th–15th centuries, or the early stage of the creation of local Dagestan literature in Arabic.”
In the first of these periods, several centers of Arab-Muslim culture emerged in Dagestan - Derbent, Kumukh, Akusha, etc. A special place was given to Derbent, which “was the most important support of “Arabism” in the Caucasus.”
Due to the accumulation of rich Arabic-language literature from the 16th–17th centuries. In Dagestan, more and more libraries are appearing at mosques, mosque schools and in the homes of Arabic scholars who enjoy recognized authority from representatives of the entire Muslim world as a whole. Thus, the Dagestan scientist Muhammad, the son of Musa al-Kuduki, who traveled through Egypt, Hijaz and Yemen and settled in Aleppo, where he died around 1717, was a student of Sheikh Salikh al-Yamani (d. 1109/1698). In the 70s of the XIX century. another Dagestani, Muhammad Tahir al-Karahi (1809–1880), also maintained fairly close ties with Meccan and Egyptian scientists. Al-Karahi received a good education in various madrassas, moving, according to the then established tradition, from village to village. According to him, he took a course in the villages of Koroda, Mokhsokh, in the Gidatl society, in the villages of Gagatl, Gonokh.
The famous Yemeni Arabist al-Shawqani, who visited at the end of the 18th century. Dagestan, wrote with delight about one Dagestan: “...I have not seen anything like him in the ability to express himself well, use pure language, avoid vulgarisms in conversation, and pronounce speech perfectly. Listening to his words, I was overcome with such delight and joy that I even began to tremble.”
The level of knowledge in general, and the Arabic language in particular, was very high, since many Dagestanis who received education in the cities of the Arab Caliphate maintained contacts with scientists from the countries of the Middle East and Central Asia.
The history of the material and spiritual culture of the peoples of Dagestan provides numerous evidence that this region has never been isolated from other geographical areas and historical civilizations. The Middle Ages were marked by certain connections between the Country of Mountains and Europe and many regions of the East, such as Central and Western Asia, India, etc. It is known, for example, that not only examples of Sufism al-Maari and al -Farabi, not only the Muslim teachings of Egypt, but also the treatises of Aristotle and Plato. The transmitter and “carrier” of these values ​​to the Caucasus and Dagestan was the Arab-Muslim culture. To spread it, religious educational institutions were built everywhere

The spread of Islam in Dagestan is closely related to the arrival of handwritten books from Syria, Egypt, Iran, Central Asia, and Azerbaijan. These were works on various branches of science, on Arabic grammar, Islamic law, logic, ethics, works of art, tafsirs, hadiths and, of course, the Koran - the Scripture of Muslims, the first book of Muslims. But the early stage of the gradual development of the Qur'an into a popular book is unclear; it is difficult to say how quickly its copies multiplied and how long it remained the only Arabic book, when the second book appeared, and others after it.
In the 8th century There were already quite a few Arabic written works, at least their names and authors are known, some works were even preserved in later copies. In the next century, there were hundreds of authors and works, and then book writing grew rapidly, embodied in many different types of books of secular “spiritual content.” “The Arab manuscript-book tradition was distinguished by its intensity and gave rise to a huge production, which was the result of a number of reasons and circumstances.” Among the reasons for A.B. Khalidov calls the long existence of the Arabic manuscript-book tradition in the Arab area; significant volume and diversity of the primary fund of written monuments; proclamation of the value of knowledge and writing as its repository; numerous authors; the presence of a large number of patrons and customers, on the one hand, and copyists and booksellers, on the other; maintaining continuity.
In Dagestan, first of all, books on fiqh, grammar, and Koranic literature were in great demand. Among the widely circulated works we can name “Sharkh al-Izzi” by Sa'adaddin Umar al-Taftazani, “Sharkh al-Kawaid al-Irab” by Mustafa al-Kujawi, “Sharkh al-Unmuzaj” by al-Ardabili, “Izhar al-asrar “Muhammad al-Birqawi, “Minhaj at-Talibin” by al-Nawawi, “Sharkh Minhaj at-Talibin” by al-Mahalla, “Tuhfat al-Muhtaj” by Ibn Hajar al-Haytami,” etc. Dagestan also has its own original works in Arabic language.The Arabic language was the fundamental element that served as the impetus for the development of the written language of the Dagestan peoples on an Arabographic basis.
The Arabic sign system, convenient for Semitic languages ​​with a small sound composition, cannot reflect the specific features of non-Semitic languages, the phonetic composition of which includes a large number of sounds. Therefore, many non-Arab peoples (Turks, Tatars, Kazakhs, Azerbaijanis, Tajiks, Uzbeks, etc.), having adopted the Arabic letter, subsequently made minor additions to it using superscript and subscript (diacritic) signs, as well as some additional characters, those. to some extent adapted it to the phonetic system of their languages.
Dagestan scientists are making attempts to adapt Arabic graphics to create writing in their native languages ​​- the “Ajam” system of signs. By the end of the 18th century. the creation of such a system in Dagestan was completed. According to Professor A.R. Shikhsaidov, in Dagestan, already in the 17th century, “there was a tendency to convey the phonetic features of local languages ​​through additional letters or vowels, especially in the transmission of non-Muslim names.”
It should be noted that with the introduction to Russian culture there was a process of transfer of cultural orientation from the East to Russia and the appearance of literature by local authors in Russian in Dagestan. Dagestan literature of the 19th century was created in Arabic, local and Russian languages. Gradually, giving way step by step, especially from the middle of the 18th century, its position in the field of artistic creativity, the Arabic language in the field of science, Islamic ideology, and the official life of the society of pre-revolutionary Dagestan continued to dominate, at times reaching its heyday.
Only the deep traditions of Eastern education could maintain interest in literature in Arabic in Dagestan even after its annexation to Russia.
In the second half of the 19th century, printed books in oriental languages ​​became widespread in Dagestan, and at the beginning of the 20th century, books in Arabic were published in the local printing house. At the same time, the correspondence of manuscripts did not stop.
But the years after the October Revolution of 1917 until the beginning of the 80s of the twentieth century. went down in history as the era of the triumph of militant atheism and the decline of religious culture, which cut off the roots of religion that seemed to be sitting deep in the Dagestan soil. Books in Arabic were mercilessly destroyed. People, trying to save manuscripts, hid them in attics and walled them up in walls. Many Ulama of Dagestan were repressed. And only in the second half of the 80s, with the implementation of the restructuring of all spheres of social and political life, the situation changed radically. The return to Islamic values ​​is perceived as the most important historical and cultural process, inextricably linked with the national revival of the Dagestan peoples and their national cultural values. Today, addressing the topic of Arabic handwritten books in Dagestan is very relevant and logical.
Identification and introduction into scientific circulation of written historical monuments in Arabic and the languages ​​of the peoples of Dagestan is one of the urgent tasks facing orientalists in Dagestan today. When justifying the relevance of the topic, an important factor is the current state of Caucasian source studies in general. Many written monuments still remain unknown to modern science, so scientists are faced with the question of identifying and publishing them.
Attempts to comprehensively cover the entire manuscript tradition in Dagestan have not yet been made. For a long time there was a tendentious approach to manuscripts in Arabic, when the manuscripts were destroyed and burned. A significant part of the manuscripts have reached us in a deplorable condition.
Many manuscripts of Dagestan authors are scattered all over the world: Turkey, Syria, USA, Germany, Israel, Egypt, the Republic of Azerbaijan, the Georgian Republic, Armenia, Moscow, St. Petersburg. Close cooperation between scientists will make it possible not only to establish the composition, volume and content of Dagestan works, but also to study issues of mutual influence and interaction of different cultures on the basis of written heritage.
The description of many private collections, mosque libraries and, based on all available data, the systematization of the history of Arabic books in Dagestan is a big step in the development of Dagestan historical source studies.
The origins of the handwritten Arabic-language tradition of Dagestan go back to the 10th-11th centuries. The handwritten heritage is huge and diverse, covering both handwritten books created in the regions of the Middle East and Central Asia, as well as a large number of works written by Dagestanis, works of Dagestani authors in Arabic, Persian, Turkic and local languages ​​(“adjam”).
In Russian oriental studies, there are established traditions of studying monuments of oriental culture, in particular Arabic handwritten books.
To one of the founders of Russian oriental studies M.A. Kazembek is credited with publishing a list of the Dagestan historical chronicle “Derbend-name”
As an appendix to “Derbend name” M.A. Kazembek for the first time gives the Arabic text of the Dagestan historical chronicle of Muhammadrafi “Tarikh Dagestan”. He also published such works as “Muridism and Shamil”, “History of Islam”, “Bab and Babids” and a number of other works, many of which, due to the depth of their research and the breadth of sources used, do not lose their significance even today. The scientist’s scientific works have received recognition in Russia and abroad. Many of his works were published in Western Europe; for “Derbend-name” he was awarded the Demidov Prize and the Queen's Gold Medal of Great Britain.
A detailed analysis of the question of the origin of the “Derbend-name” was given by a major researcher in the field of the history of the Arabs and the Middle East, V.V. Bartold. In the works of the greatest historian of the medieval East for the 19th century, V.V. Bartold's Arabist will for a long time draw not only individual subtle observations on the historical life of the Arabs or Islam, but will also find broad generalizing pictures of the entire line of development in his popular science books - the result of very long and thoughtful work, which have not yet been replaced by new books from him same dignity.
Outstanding Soviet orientalist, academician I.Yu. Krachkovsky discovered the handwritten heritage of Dagestan for European science. He noted the need for a consistent and systematic study of the entire set of sources in Arabic that help explain the historical past of the peoples of the Caucasus. Noting the importance of local original literature in Arabic, I.Yu. Krachkovsky emphasized the need to study it, especially materials related to the people's liberation movement of the 20-50s. XIX century under the leadership of Shamil.
Student I.Yu. Krachkovsky A.M. Barabanov published a translation of the Arabic text of the historical chronicle of Muhammad Tahir al-Karakhi, one of Shamil’s secretaries. He also owns the valuable article “Explanatory Icons in Arabic Manuscripts and Documents of the North Caucasus,” where the original system of auxiliary icons is revealed and a detailed analysis of this system is given.
Caucasian scholar A.N. also paid great attention to sources in Arabic. Genko. His article “Arabic language and Caucasian studies” is of great importance for the study of Arabic materials related to the Caucasus. In it A.N. Genko, among the sources for studying the history of the peoples of the Caucasus, highlighted the special role of sources of Arab origin.
One of the major researchers of written monuments of Dagestan in Arabic was M.-S. Saidov. In his report, read at the twenty-fifth international congress of orientalists (1960), he for the first time gave a detailed description of Arabic-language literature and presented its systematization: works on Sufism, fiqh, mathematics, astronomy.
The nature of Dagestan literature in Arabic is determined by the peculiarities of the historical development of the country. Developing as provincial literature, it is of great importance for the science of Dagestan, as a historical source and interesting literary material for general Arabic studies, as it makes it possible to present a clear picture of the development of one of the side branches of Arabic literature.
“The manuscript of Abubakr Muhammad, son of Musa, son of al-Faraj ad-Derbendi “Raikhan al-haqaik wa bustan ad-dakaiq,” which, being a comprehensive dictionary of Sufi terms, is of great importance for the study of the ideological and social life of Dagestan society in the 10th-11th centuries . The introduction of this manuscript into scientific circulation opens new pages in the study of the historical and cultural appearance of the city of Derbent as one of the major centers of culture in the Caucasus.
This work opens up new opportunities for us to understand the socio-economic, political and intellectual life of Dagestan society of that time. The book contains many new facts on the history and culture of the mountain peoples of the Caucasus, tracing their contacts with the Iranians, Hun-Savirs, Arabs, Khazars and other peoples. The work of ad-Darbandi is the earliest and so far the only surviving source of classical Sufism in the Caucasus.
Interesting for the study of Islamic traditions in Dagestan is the work of Abdurakhman from Gazikumukh “Kitab tazkirat sayyid Abdurakhman” (Book of memories of sayyid Abdurakhman). The book “Kitab tazkirat sayyid Abdurahman” consists of two interconnected, but differing in content parts. The first is a brief summary of information about three imams - Gazimuhammed, Gamzat and Shamil. The second part reflects the internal life of Dagestan society in the 20-50s. XIX century The author shows us the internal structure of the imamate, the system of government, institutions of power, covers issues of education and training in madrassas, the tax system, and various customs.
The role of the Arabic literary tradition in the formation and development of Dagestan literature is determined by the quantitative and qualitative characteristics of Arabic-language literature, both coming from the countries of the Middle East and Central Asia, and created within Dagestan.
The discovered cultural monuments allow us to talk about stable mutual contacts between representatives of the culture of Dagestan and the countries of the Middle East and Central Asia in the field of science and education, depict a developed book culture and educational system in medieval Dagestan, show the role and importance of madrassas and other forms of Muslim education, reveal the phenomenon of Dagestan as the largest center of book culture on the periphery of the Islamic world.
The study of printed books in Arabic is a relatively new direction in the research of Dagestan scientists. The activities of the famous distributor of printed books in Dagestan Muhammad Asadov, Dagestan publishers A.M. Mikhailova, M.M. Mavraev, the thematic and technical characteristics of printed materials in Arabic (available on the book market of Dagestan in the late 19th and early 20th centuries) played an important role in the development of Islamic culture on the territory of our republic.
Documents of the epistolary genre constitute only one, although by far the largest section of the entire complex of historical materials in Arabic. However, to study the features and paths along which the Arabic language developed, every Arabic monument deserves attention, regardless of its content.
After the emergence of Islam, the Arabic language spread over a vast territory inhabited not only by Arabs. The more than thousand-year history of Arabic book culture in Dagestan is inextricably linked with the establishment of long-term general cultural contacts with the countries of the Middle East, Central Asia, and Transcaucasia with a well-established exchange of cultural values. Since the 10th century, we have already observed the formation of our own Arabic-language literary tradition, represented in our time by a rich and varied thematic literary heritage.
The abundance of manuscript collections, the number of manuscripts in Arabic, and the many centers where active work on the reproduction of manuscripts was carried out make Dagestan one of the major centers of the Arabic manuscript tradition. Today, the spiritual past of the peoples of Dagestan appears in a new way, unknown pages in the formation of written culture emerge, and the image of the Dagestan scientist of the past appears more clearly. A scientific approach to historical monuments will allow us to appreciate the contribution of each of the nationalities of Dagestan to the cultural treasury of our civilization. The study of eastern sources is not an end in itself; the research and publication of these sources should contribute to the comparative study of the history of Dagestan. One of the important tasks of Arabic studies is also to connect the history of manuscripts with the history of libraries, ancient and newer... The sum of data on manuscript collections of the past and present, combined with a critical assessment of source reports, allows us to speak of medieval Arabic manuscript literature as the most richest in the world for its time.
To summarize what has been said, it should be noted that the culture of the Arab-Muslim East played a huge role in the destinies of national cultures and the creativity of the peoples of Dagestan. At present, we have every reason to believe that if at first the local culture, which was of a general Dagestan character, was enriched at the expense of the Arab-Muslim culture, now it has acquired independence and is making its small, but very noticeable in content, contribution to the general culture and literature of the East.

Islamic traditions in Dagestan

Islamic traditions in Dagestan are rooted in the era of Islamization of the region. A special feature of our republic is that religion was brought here by the companions of the Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, and therefore has been preserved in its original form, unlike the countries of the Arab world, in which in recent centuries movements have emerged that deny the traditional (i.e. transmitted from the Prophet) Islam. The very concept of “traditional” comes from the Arabic word Sunnah (Tradition), which served as the basis for many scientists and sheikhs to claim that Dagestan is a special territory in which the religion of Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, will remain in its original form until the Day of Judgment.
As studies show, Islam penetrated into the territory of Dagestan thanks to the asceticism of adherents of Sufism, which was the reason for the special respect among Dagestanis for Sufi sheikhs (ustazs), many of whom are descendants of the prophet or his companions. This circumstance played an important role in the emergence of such a phenomenon of Dagestan history and culture as muridism. The basis of muridism is following the Tariqat - a special Path, which in the Koran is called the Straight Path of Islam. As M.A. writes Kazembek, “Muhammad was not against the Tariqa, even he appropriated it for himself and said: “The Tariqa is my deeds.”
Kazembek himself in the book “Muridism and Shamil” writes about Tariqa: “this word, as already explained above, means the path to the True God. It is otherwise called Sufism and mysticism.” After listing the main Sufi brotherhoods, the author writes: “The history of Sufi literature represents a register of more than 600 famous sheikhs who had more or less murid adherents, at least a third of whom were famous writers and poets.” As for the poetic gift of Sufi sheikhs, reality confirms the relationship between love for the Almighty and the presence of this talent. For example, one of the most famous Dagestan sheikhs of our time, Said-Afandi al-Chirkawi (Atsaev), wrote his instructions in poetic form. Mawlana (Jalaluddin Rumi) said about this: “Poets are next after the prophets!”
Here is a brief description of the traditions of Muridism, set out in the book “Muridism and Shamil”:
1) Tariqa leads the one who goes to the knowledge (marifat) of the truth - to God.
2) The one walking along the Path (salik) is guided by attraction (iradt), which develops in him through spiritual education (irshad).
3) The right to spiritual education is hereditary according to teaching, i.e. passes from the teacher-educator (murshid) to his spiritual student (murid) directly.
4) The origins of this education stem from ancient times from Khizr, the patron of the mystics, and in Islam from Ali, the son-in-law of the prophet.
5) Salik, through education and development of grace reaches perfection (kamal); the degree of “wusul” is achieved perfectly, i.e. spiritual communication with the truth - God; those who have reached this degree are called “vasyl”.
6) The spirit, striving for the degree of vusul, or making sayr to the truth, reaches various degrees, of which the highest is as-seir-fi-Llahi, i.e. the desire for God in the bosom of the divine spirit: here the mortal reaches divine revelation and, as Muslims say, “huwa fihi, wa huwa fihi” - “he is in Him and He is in him,” i.e. man in God and God in man.
All schools of Sufis or mystics are developed on these principles; there are differences only in some subtleties.
In general, Sufis call themselves “arif” (from the above “marifat”), i.e. those who have known the truth. A person’s calling to this knowledge is called “jazb”. This calling leads a person to “Suluk”, and then to the perfection of “Kamal” or “Wusul”; the one who reaches the first is called “salik”, the one who reaches the second is called “kamil” or “vasil”. All members of the circle of “perfection” are called “auliyya” (singular “vali”).
In the history of muridism, we see that the word “murid” first appeared between Tariqa societies. Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, had students and proselytes under the general name “ashab” - students, companions, and private:
A) muhajirin - those who accompanied him on hijret (migrations)
B) Ansar - those assistants who accepted him after the Hijra and assisted him in his enterprises.
The names of both can be found in separate brochures entitled “Ashab” and “Ashabi-Badr”. The latter was published in Kazan in 1843. The disciples of the ashabs are called “tabiin”, i.e. "followers". Therefore, the murid actually belongs to the Tariqa, and the first use of this word dates back to the first century of Islam.
In all religious upheavals and revolutions of Islam, the leaders of the revolutionary parties were spiritual persons who acquired sufficient importance among the people to surround themselves with followers, as soon as provided that their murshid (teacher) more or less belonged to the Tariqat, even if only as an impostor.” .
From Kazimbek’s research it follows that “traces of muridism existed as early as the beginning of the 8th century AH or around the end of the 15th century according to Christian chronology, but no facts show that an entire militia or society bore the official or political name of murids: this could only be the result of many previous events. In the history of mystics, we have two or three names of famous Sufis who belonged to Dagestan in past centuries: on the other hand, scholastic teaching entered Dagestan along with the first missionaries of Islam: it developed there, although slowly, but firmly and to a significant extent. In the list of Eastern scientists, more than fifty big names belong to Dagestan; There were, as there are now, excellent (according to Muslim estimates) philologists, philosophers and lawyers.”
The teaching of Muridism reached its greatest development during the Caucasian War under the leadership of Imam Shamil.
Currently, in Dagestan, according to some estimates, there are more than 100,000 murids of the Naqshbandi and Shazili Tariqats, thanks to whom traditional Islam did not lose ground or completely disappear under the onslaught of newfangled trends, as happened in most countries of the Arab world.
The characteristics of these flows are given by F.A. Khaidarov in the popular science publication “Traditional and Fictitious Islam.”
Another feature of Islamic traditions in Dagestan is love for the Prophet, which is expressed in mawlidahs - rituals of remembrance and praise of Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him. After all, the Almighty says: “Whoever blesses My Messenger once, I will bless him tenfold!” At these mawlids (literally “birth”), Muslims express their joy at the birth of the best of Allah’s creations, read salawat (blessings to the Prophet), remember the Almighty, and at the end fulfill the command of Islam to treat guests and show them due respect, thereby earning great good in this life and for the next life. About those who attended such events of dhikr (the remembrance of the Almighty and the blessings of Muhammad), it is said in an authentic hadith that the Almighty forgives them all their sins, and even those who happened to attend Mawlid by accident. This circumstance is the reason that Dagestanis are very fond of attending such godly events, and in the month of Rabi-ul-Awwal, the month of the birth of Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, they are held in almost all mosques of the republic, which are not influenced by Kharijite movements, to which F .A. Khaidarov includes Wahhabis, Salafis, Ikhwanists and representatives of other groups who reject the Sunnah (Tradition), i.e. opposing traditional Islam.
It has become a good Dagestan tradition to hold a large Mawlid in the month of Rabi-ul-Awwal in the Central Juma Mosque of Makhachkala with the participation of the Head of the Republic.
Continuing the topic of Islamic traditions in Dagestan, it should be noted that the followers of the Tradition belong to the madhhab of Imam al-Shafii, i.e. are Shafi'is.
Historians note widespread use in Dagestan back in the 12th–14th centuries. well-known works in the Muslim East on the interpretation of the Shafi'i teachings "Kitab al-Imam al-Shafi'i" ("The Book of Imam Shafi'i").

Theological school or madhhab of Imam al-Shafi'i

The founder of the school: Muhammad ibn Idris ibn Abbas ibn Uthman ibn Shafi'i al-Qurayshiy (abbreviated as Imam al-Shafi'i). Years of life: 767 - 820.
School sources:

1.Holy Quran;
2. The Most Pure Sunnah (Tradition);
3.Unified opinion of the companions (ijmaa);
4.Individual judgments of the companions;
5. Judgment by analogy (qiyas);
6. “Istishab” method (linking, searching for connections).

Geography of the school's distribution: Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Palestine, Jordan, Yemen, Bahrain, Southeast Asian countries, Russia, etc.
Newly emerged movements that have become widespread among Dagestanis in the last two or three decades declare either a complete denial of madhhabs or belonging to the madhhab of Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal.
Along with the historical works of local scientists, an important place in the Islamic traditions of Dagestan culture belongs to such genres as Sufi literature and hadith. After all, Islam in Dagestan spread in the form of Sufism, which was called both religious philosophy and the religion of Islam. Copies of the Koran, commentaries on it (tafsir), stories about the deeds and actions of the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) (hadith), works on Islamic law, Arabic grammar, logic, history, Sufism, ethics, dictionaries, artistic and poetic creativity enjoyed great popularity in Dagestan.
The greatest achievement in the cultural life of Dagestan was the creation in Arabic of works by local authors, such as Yusuf bin al-Husayn bin Dawud Abu Yaqub al-Babi al-Lakzi (d. 1089–90), a hadith expert and historiographer of the Aghlabid dynasty in Derbent; Muhammad ad-Darbandi (died in the first half of the 12th century) is the author of the unique Sufi encyclopedic dictionary “The Basil of Truths and the Garden of Subtleties”; Muhammad Rafii is the author of a historical chronicle compiled in 1465; Shaban from Obod (d. 1667) – compiler of an extensive commentary on the collection of hadiths of al-Bagawi; Muhammad son of Musa from Kudutl (died in 1717) is the author of grammatical works and commentaries “Hashiya ala Charpardi” (“Commentary on Charpardi”) and “Istiara”; Davud of Usish (d. 1757) – author of “Hashiya Davud”, a commentary on the grammatical work of Dinkuzi; Damadan of Meb (d. 1724) – compiler of astronomical and medical treatises; Muhammad Tahir al-Karahi (d. 1880) - famous author of historical chronicles; Hasan Alkadari (1834–1910) – author of the historical, poetic and philosophical works “Diwan al-Mamnun” and “Jirab al-Mamnun”; Nazir from Durgeli (1891–1935) – compiler of a bibliographic reference book.
Among other scientists who received recognition not only in Dagestan, but also beyond its borders, it should be noted Abu ‘Umar ‘Uthman ibn al-Musaddad ibn Ahmad ad-Darbandi, who spent some time in Baghdad. No less famous is the Shafi'i faqih Hakim ibn Ibrahim ibn Hakim al-Lakzi al-Khunliki ad-Darbandi, who studied law with such an outstanding scientist as Abu Hamid Muhammad al-Ghazali (d. 1111), whose writings aroused deep interest in Dagestan in the XV–XVII centuries.
The spread of Islamic traditions was primarily due to the construction of Islamic educational institutions.
At the Juma Mosque in Derbent, a madrasah building was built (the earliest surviving one in Dagestan), in 879/1474-75 under Shirvanshah Farrukh Iassar, when the political influence of Shirvan on Southern Dagestan was significant. There was no strictly defined education system in Dagestan. There were basically three branches of Muslim education: the Koranic school, the maktab and the madrasah. Children were mainly taught to read the Qur'an before the Maktab. Maktab was considered a school of the lowest type, there was no specific period of study, it depended mainly on the mullah who taught them (on average 2-3 years). Madrasah represented the highest level of local education. Schools of this type were opened mainly at mosques. The period of study at the madrasah was long, ten or more years.
But in the confessional schools that were opened in Dagestan, they not only taught religion, but also provided some knowledge in mathematics, astronomy, geography, philology, philosophy, etc. Regarding the educational literature that was included in the training program in the mountains, you can get information in A. Omarov’s work “Memoirs of a Mutallim.” It describes the training program: “on completion of the Arabic alphabet, they are taught the most necessary rules of religion, which are contained in the book of Usuladin. After this, they begin to memorize the book of Tasrif. It is an abbreviated Arabic grammar containing etymology. Following this, they teach a book of the same size “Miata-amil”, which explains the changes in the endings of words. Then they learn the book “Anamuzaj”, which also explains the rules for changing the endings of words. Then they take up the book of Saadu-din, which serves as an explanation of the book of Tasrif. Next, they take on the book of Dinkuzi, which also explains word production, and also the book of Wafiya, with the same content. Following this, they learn Jami's rather large book, which explains the rules for changing the endings of words and the meaning of syllables. After completing Jami, they begin to study several that contain the beginning of logic, namely Isa-Guji, Shamsia and Fanari. Following logic, they study the book Maan (rhetoric), which explains the rules of eloquence in Arabic. Following rhetoric are several books containing the rules of Arabic versification. Following this, the study of legal books and mainly the book of Magalla begins in two parts. This book contains all the laws of Muslims, that is, spiritual, civil, criminal and military. Next, the book of Jalalaini is studied. It contains the entire Quran with an explanation of the meaning of each verse. Then they study the book of Ibn-Ghajir, the most thorough book of Muslim jurisprudence in two parts. Then they go through another book by Jawali, which generally contains a statement of the foundations of Muslim legislation. Then they rarely study mathematics and the so-called science of the unity of God. The latest science in the form of the book of Aqaid is considered almost a necessity for a true Muslim. From a philosophical point of view, it proves the beginning of the world, the existence of God, His unity, etc., how a person is obliged to fulfill prayers; also proves the existence of good and evil, reward and punishment in the afterlife.”
In Dagestan, home teaching of children to read the Koran has also become widespread. In home “Koranic schools”, a significant part of students at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries. were girls. Parents preferred to teach them at home under supervision to avoid contact with boys. Most girls completed their education by acquiring mechanical reading skills. Girls, with rare exceptions, were not taught writing. Unfortunately, we do not have reliable data on the number of Muslim schools. But, undoubtedly, Dagestan was the region most saturated with Muslim schools in the entire Caucasus, which had a decisive influence on the spread of Islamic traditions in it, which made the republic the center of Islamic culture and science on the territory of the Russian Federation.

Based on materials from the Dagestan press

Magomed Yaragsky is a scientist-philosopher, educator and founder of muridism in the Caucasus.

“Everyone who has ever heard the sermons of Sheikh Muhammad turns into a tiger of Islam and is invincible in battles with the enemy.” Imam Shamil

Magomed Yaragsky entered world history as an outstanding historical figure. In Dagestan there was no person superior to him in knowledge of the Koran! A sober and sharp mind, deep knowledge, and conviction in the correctness of his ideas allowed him to step over himself for the great goal of liberating the highlanders. His name became a symbol of infallibility and honor for the Caucasian peoples. His deep knowledge, which Allah bestowed, became the reason that murids flocked to him from all over Dagestan. His name became famous in many enlightened Muslim countries. Only a person of enormous moral strength and purity of faith could rouse the scattered, multi-ethnic inhabitants of the Caucasus to fight. He was an example of excellence in service and worship of the Almighty. The spiritual leader of Dagestan taught endless love for Allah and a favorable attitude towards people.

Magomed Yaragsky was born in the village of Vini-Yaragh Kyura in 1771. He studied at the madrasah with his father Ismail, as well as with many famous Dagestan scientists. Studying with teachers of different nationalities laid the foundations of internationalism in the boy. The future imam received fundamental knowledge in theology, philosophy, logic, rhetoric, studied Arabic, Turkic languages, etc. He was rightly called the most “bookish imam” of Dagestan.” A significant part of Yaragsky’s life was spent in his native village, where he taught at a madrasah, which became a famous educational institution. Here, to the devout Magomed, students from near and far places in the Caucasus, ulama, and spiritual leaders came to come into contact with real faith and higher knowledge. In the madrasah, science and religion are intertwined. The second sheikh of the Naqshbandi tariqa in Dagestan, Jamalutdin from Kazi-Kumukh, also studied with him.future imams Kazi-Magomed and Shamil from Gimra, Khas-Magomed from Bukhara and others. Muhammad Effendi Yaraghi organized lunches and dinners, gathered mountaineers for meetings, did everything possible to attract people and increase the number of his supporters. The efforts bore fruit, and his circle increased day by day with unprecedented speed.

Muhammad Efendi married the daughter of the Akhtyn scientist Aishat. At Yaragskohe had three children: the sons of Haji-Ismail,Isaac and daughter Hafisat. Bothson of Yaragsky steel scientists, and the daughter is the wife of Imam Gazi-Muhammad. Their marriage symbolized and cemented the unity of the first ideologist of the highlander movement and their first leader. Eldest son was the teacher of the largest Lezgin poetEtim Emin, famous scientist, educatorHasana Alk adari. All his life MagomedYaragsky was an exemplary family man, demanding, fair and loving, which allowed his family to honorablyendure all adversities.

After receiving the title of “senior murshid of Dagestan,” Yaragsky with great zeal sought to instruct the mountaineers on the path of truth. He set the task of educating Muslims as much as possible in Islamic dogma, tariqa and marifat. But most of all he was interested in the problem of tariqa, which is associated with increasing the level of consciousness of the faithful. Meanwhile, in reality, Dagestan Muslims, for the most part, led a sinful lifestyle. Extortions, deceptions, robberies, raids and greed became increasingly widespread among them. They did not have a stable faith. “We live now in such a way that we cannot be called either Muslims, or Christians, or idolaters,” said Magomed Yaragsky.

The supreme murshid of Dagestan began his entry onto the path of tariqa with a critical analysis of his own life. In one of his speeches, he publicly said: “I am very sinful before Allah and the Prophet. Until now, I did not understand either the will of Allah or the predictions of his prophet Magomed. By the grace of the Almighty, only now my eyes have opened, and I finally see how the source of eternal truth passes by me like a sparkling diamond. All my past deeds lie on my soul like a heavy burden of sins. I consumed the fruits of your field, I enriched myself at the expense of your goods, but a priest should not take even a tenth, and a judge should judge only for the reward that Allah promised him. I did not keep these commandments, and now my conscience accuses me of sins. I want to atone for my guilt, ask for forgiveness from Allah and you, and return to you everything that I took earlier. Come here: all my property should become yours!Take it and divide it among yourselves.” The people did not take the murshid’s property to divide among themselves and forgave him for his sins before God and the Prophet, unanimously declaring that the murshid would preserve both his house and his property, and severe punishment would befall everyone who dared to touch them. This epoch-making speech played a huge role in understanding the meaning of his life by ordinary Dagestani believers.

In another tariqat sermon to the population, Yaragsky goes even further:

"People! You proudly call yourselves Muslims, but which of you is worthy of the name of a true believer? Have you forgotten the teachings of the Prophet for the vanity of the world, have you abandoned Muhammad and his Sharia for the wealth and pleasures of life? Beware! The day will soon come when your treasures, neither your friends nor your children, will save you. And only the one who appears before God with a pure heart and a bright face will be allowed into the refuge of the righteous! We are pilgrims on earth, why bother about the benefits that block the path to eternal happiness. Whoever wants to be a true Muslim should follow my teaching, abhor luxury, spend days and nights in prayer, avoiding the noisy amusements of sinners, their dances and sinful dances, elevating his soul and thoughts to the Almighty and indulging with all his might in unaccountable love for him. You can find salvation by driving away depravity from yourself by mortifying your passions through fasting and abstinence. Do not drink wine, this unclean product of the devil, do not imitate the infidels who smoke pipes, repent that you will never sin...”

The heroic struggle of the highlanders in the 20-60s was the main event of Caucasian history in the 19th century, and Magomed Yaragsky played an outstanding role in it. In 1824 G . A.P. Ermolov first mentioned his name as the “Kyura sheikh” and the “main culprit” of the unrest in Southern Dagestan and the Cuban vilayat. A. Ermolov decided to destroy “the very source of the teaching and its chapter.”The tsarist government, wanting to decapitate the mountaineer movement, spent a lot of money to physically eliminate the leaders of their struggle. A reward was put on Yaragsky's head, but there were no people willing to kill him.However, neither Ermolov, nor his successors Field Marshal Paskevich, Adjutant General Rosen and Golovin were able to deal with Yaragsky, the mountains and mountaineers did not give up their son, desperate efforts to suppress the movement of the mountaineers in the bud were unsuccessful. The struggle of the mountaineers developed on an increasing scale, covering more and more new areas.

When in 1825 Yaragsky was arrested and imprisoned in the Kurakh fortress in order to be taken to Tiflis to Yermolov under heavy guard, this plan failed, he was released by his comrades.Magomed Yaragsky became the main ideologist of the liberation struggle of the Caucasus mountaineers; he organically combined the qualities of a thinker, religious figure, poet, and simply a highly moral and courageous person. Due to the persecution of the royal authorities and local feudal lords, the family left Vini-Yaragh and lived in Tabasaran and Avaria.

From Yaragsky’s speeches, letters, and appeals, a program was formed that by the mid-20s of the 19th century had acquired clear contours and fundamental content, in which much attention was paid to Islam.Yaragsky could live quite decently, continuing to work in the old way, but he deliberately radically changes his fate and takes the difficult, thorny path of struggle for the liberation of enslaved peoples. He understood that the mountain people needed an inspiring example of serving the Lord; more than other contemporaries, he understood the importance of Islam for the present and future of Dagestan and the Caucasus. As the German historian Bodenstedt rightly wrote, “religion became a fire, from the heat of which heterogeneous elements, having been purified, merged together, became a solution that for a long time united the tribes of Dagestan, fragmented by customs and beliefs, and ultimately became a powerful spring uniting the forces of these peoples.” Yaragsky was one of the few who truly studied the Koran and understood its high purpose. Those who listened to Yaragsky felt the heady smell of freedom and were imbued with dignity and greatness. His understandable, simple and figurative language was in tune with what was in the heart of everyone crushed by double oppression.Soon the circle of Muslims involved in this activity expanded to include the surrounding villages, and Yaragsky’s ideas quickly spread in the Kurin Khanate. According to the figurative expression of the German historian Bodenstedt, the news of Yaragsky and his teaching “spread throughout Dagestan at the speed of lightning.” The Russian historian Potto expressed the same thought as follows: “The news of a new teaching and a wonderful speaker, with the speed of an electric current, covered all corners of Dagestan and swept from there to Chechnya.”

In the wide dissemination and explanation of M. Yaragsky’s program, an exceptional role was played by the congress of representatives of the Dagestan intelligentsia convened by him in 1825 in Yarag, at which he vividly, sharply and emotionally outlined his teaching and the ways of its implementation. At the congress were Jamaludin Kazi-Kumukhsky, Sheikh Shaban from Bakhnod, Gazi-Muhammad, Haji-Yusuf from Gubden, Khan-Muhammad, Kurban-Muhammad ibn Sun-gurbek from Rugudzhi, Khas-Muhammad Shirvani and others. In his address to those present, Yaragsky stated: “Return to your homeland, gather the men of your tribe, tell them my teaching and call them to fight.. The free must avert slavery from themselves! I urge you to turn on my behalf if we are united by faith in Allah and His prophets.”

The doctrine of tariqa required Muslims to strictly adhere to all the laws prescribed to believers in the Koran. Sharia was supposed to regulate all social life, including the rule of rulers, which should also be carried out in accordance with Sharia.The tariqa became the main ideological pillar in the khutba of Ustaz Yaragsky.

In 1830, he addressed a meeting of representatives of the clergy of Dagestan in Untsukul, where he called on everyone to continue the ghazavat, and on his instructions Gazimuhammad was elected imam.He gave his daughter in marriage to Gazimuhammad. After his death, Muhammad Yaragi contributed to the election of Gamzat from Gotsatl as imam. And when Gamzat was killed, Shamil was elected imam, and Yaragi supported him.

It is reliably known that one letter written by Sheikh Muhammad Yaragsky to Shamil says: “If you keep constant contact with us, then you will win, and if not, then you will lose.”The letter was supported by the corresponding suras of the Holy Book and hadiths of the righteous ancestors.

In the last twenty years of his life, M. Yaragsky acted most intensively. The first stage is 1818-1823, when the doctrine of the liberation struggle was developed. The second stage was 1824-1828, when the teaching was intensively explained among the mountaineers. The third stage is 1829 - 1831, when M. Yaragsky became the head of the struggle of the highlanders in Southern Dagestan. The fourth stage is the years 1832-1838, associated with his constant stay in Avaria, which became the epicenter of the people's war. Magomed Yaragsky died in 1838 in the Avar village of Sogratl and was buried there. At the funeral were: Shamil, Jamaludin Kazikumukhsky, Abdurakhman-Khadzhi and others. The historian of the Imamate, Muhammad of Karakh, wrote: “Separation from our Said and the funeral of our savior Muhammad by the mercy of (Allah) is the most destructive misfortune. The death of al-Yaragi, the friend of Allah, is more difficult than anything we have experienced from some defeats.” His mausoleum is still a place of pilgrimage for many peoples of Dagestan.In his place, he left as murshid Sheikh Jamalludin from Kazi-Kumukh, whose religious and socio-political activities in the large-scale historical context of Dagestan began precisely from this period.

Yaragsky was for Muslims a measure of moral purity and spiritual wealth; he was driven not by the love of power, but by the love of freedom.

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Philological Sciences / Philological Science Original Article / Original Article UDC 82 (470. 67)

Enlightenment in Dagestan

© 2017 Akhmedov S. Kh.

Institute of Language, Literature and Art of the Dagestan Scientific Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Makhachkala, Russia; e-mail: [email protected]

SUMMARY. The purpose of this study was to determine the role of modern science of literature in the works and activities of Z. N. Akavov. Method. Comparative historical analysis determined the trends in the development of modern science in Dagestan. Results. The article highlights the problems of enlightenment in Dagestan and identifies current trends in science. Conclusions. The individual stages of enlightenment and the contribution of Professor Z. N. Akavov to the study of the problem are considered.

Key words: literature, enlightenment, educational realism, principle of nationality.

Citation format: Akhmedov S. Kh. Enlightenment in Dagestan // News of the Dagestan State Pedagogical University. Social and human sciences. 2017. ^ 11. No. 1. P. 44-46.

The Enlightenment in Dagestan

© 2017 Suleyman Kh. Akhmedov

Institute of Language, Literature and Art, Dagestan Scientific Center RAS, Makhachkala, Russia; e-mail: [email protected]

ABSTRACT. The aim of the study is determining the role of the modern science of literature in Z. N. Akavov's writings and activities. Method. Comparative historical analysis identified the trends in the development of modern science in Dagestan. Results. The author of the article highlights the enlightment problems in Dagestan and identifies the current trends in science. Conclusions. He considers the various enlightment-stages, Professor Z. N. Akavov"s contribution into the study of the problem.

Keywords: literature, enlightenment, enlightenment realism, the principle of national spirit.

For citation: Akhmedov S. Kh. Enlightenment in Dagestan. Dagestan State Pedagogical University. Journal. Social and Humanitarian Sciences. 2017. Vol. 11.No. 1.Pp. 44-46. (In English)

Introduction

Enlightenment in Dagestan and the North Caucasus was caused by the reorientation of literature from East to West, as well as the gradual development of capitalist relations in the region.

The transition from the Koranic ideas about the world and man to a critical understanding of the problems of existence, from medieval syncretism to new forms of fiction, from the idealization of Islamic warriors to a realistic depiction of man, to the comprehension of his social essence was not a one-time phenomenon and required a number of ascending steps in the knowledge of man and the world .

Materials and research methods

The Dagestan scientist E. Yu. Kassiev, the first to turn to the study of the problem of enlightenment, in his doctoral dissertation develops the thesis that the literature of the second half of the 19th and early 20th centuries was generally dominated by the features of educational realism. At the same time, the scientist was inclined to expand the scope of enlightenment at the expense of other areas.

E. Yu. Kassiev distinguishes Dagestan Arabic scholars of the 18th century (Magomed Kudutlinsky, Magomed Ubrinsky, Dama-dan Megebsky, Daud Usishinsky, Said Arakansky, Mirza-Ali Akhtynsky) from the predecessors of the enlighteners (Devlet-Akhtynsky)

Social Sciences and Humanities

Social and Humanitarian Sciences

Mirza Shikhaliev, Magomed Khandiev, Aide-mir Chirkeevsky, Abdulla Omarov, Magomed-Efendi Osmanov, Gadzhimurad Amirov). As we see, he considered the authors of artistic and ethnographic essays to be the predecessors of the Enlightenment.

"Representatives of the "classical"

stage of the Dagestan enlightenment were Lezgin Hasan Alkadari, Laks Hasan Guzunov, Yusup Murkelinsky, Ali Kayaev, Kumyks Manay Alibekov, Abusufyan, Nu-hai Batyrmurzaev and others,” wrote E. Yu. Kassiev. Further, E. Yu. Kassiev continued: “At this stage, the question of the need to spread enlightenment and education became especially acute. They were given truly universal significance, as a means of man’s conquest of material and spiritual freedom.”

Dagestan educators took the problems of the region to heart. They saw that Dagestan was significantly lagging behind the advanced countries of Europe, and they wanted the Dagestan peoples to “wake up from hibernation”, open modern schools, learn from the European peoples and catch up with them in their development.

Enlightenment was the main demand of the leading figures of Dagestan. Islam slowed down the development of the region, pulled it back to the early Middle Ages, but the enlighteners did not propose its reform; they embarked on the path of Jadidism, advocated for educational reforms, the opening of new method schools, where secular sciences would also be taught. Their proposals did not go further than this. Anti-feudal sentiments were limited to abstract criticism of the omnipotence of the feudal lords (Shamkhals, Nutsals, Khans, Mai-Sums, Utsmievs).

Results and its discussion

At the beginning of the twentieth century, when the Russian Empire began to be shaken by revolutionary events, progressive, European-educated youth became disillusioned with the Enlightenment; its ideals ceased to satisfy the needs of its radical part. In the eyes of young people, enlightenment was no longer sufficient, limited in its requirements and capabilities. In order for the ideas of enlightenment to come true, it was necessary to change the social system in the country, and this was only possible through revolutionary means. This conclusion was reached by Ullubiy Buynaksky, Jalal Korkma-sov, Said Gabiev, Makhach Dakhadaev, Sultan-

Said Kazbekov, Garun Saidov, Alibek Taho-Godi, Magomed Dalgat, Kazimagomed Aga-siev and many others.

Zabit Nasirovich Akavov made a significant contribution to the development of the problems of Dagestan enlightenment with his work “Dialogue of Times” (Makhachkala, 1996).

There was a time when all Kumyk literary scholars (Izamit Asekov, Salav Aliyev, Sultan-Murad Akbiev, Abdul-Kadir Ab-dullatipov, Zabit Akavov) wrote about Kumyk literature of the late 19th - early 20th centuries. Here’s how Zabit Nasirovich writes about it: “Most researchers of the artistic method of Dagestan pre-revolutionary literature, as a rule, take one historical section: the end of the 19th - beginning of the 20th century.”

Just like E. Yu. Kassiev, Z. N. Akavov in the mentioned book “Dialogue of Times” proceeds from the works of V. I. Lenin on enlightenment. He read V.I. Lenin’s articles on this issue in his own way and interpreted them in his own way. Unlike V.I. Lenin, who developed the principles of class and party affiliation, Zabit Nasirovich firmly relies on the principle of nationality. He believes: “The phenomenon of enlightenment is in its universal humanistic essence, focused on the improvement of society and every citizen. And this, in our opinion, is its value...”

Here the scientist is right. But where can you get away from classism? This is not a whim of Lenin and his supporters; life itself pushed writers towards this principle. So Z. N. Akavov believes that “at the beginning of the twentieth century, N. Batyrmurzaev, from the position of revolutionary enlightenment, decisively opposed the leaders of Muslim reformism, the Jadids Ali Kayaev, Abusufyan, Yusup Murkelinsky and others.”

Conclusion

Z. N. Akavov, relying on factual material, argues that the development of the creative method of the bright educator Nukhai Batyrmurzaev was marked by a decisive increase in class analysis, which contributed to the liberation of literature from the layers of other methods. From here it is not far to our conclusions regarding enlightenment in the revolutionary era, outlined above.

At the beginning of the twentieth century, religious consciousness, despite its mass character, no longer reigned supreme over the minds of the educated

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DSPU JOURNAL. Vol. 11.No. 1. 2017

youth. This also affected the new quality of literature, which no longer depended on religious institutions.

In the era of preparation and conduct of bourgeois-democratic revolutions in Russia, social issues are moving to the center of literature. A new line appears

1. Akavov Z. N. Dialogue of times. Makhachkala, 1996. 229 p.

2. Akhmedov S. Kh. Fiction of the peoples of Dagestan: history and modernity. Makhachkala, 1996. 277 p.

1. Akavov Z. N. Dialog vremen. Makhachkala, 1996. 229 p. (In English)

2. Akhmedov S. Kh. Khudozhestvennaya proza ​​narodov Dagestana: istoriya i sovremen-nost". Makhachkala, 1996. 277 p. (In Russian)

3. Akhmedov S. Kh. Istoriya lakskoy literature

Akhmedov Suleyman Khanovich Doctor of Philology, Professor, Chief Researcher, Institute of Language, Literature and Art (YALI), Dagestan Scientific Center (DSC) RAS, Makhachkala, Russia; e-mail: [email protected]

Accepted for publication on January 27, 2017.

literature, literature of modern times. It should be noted that the ideals of enlightenment were fully realized after the October Revolution of 1917, during the years of Soviet power, which paid special attention to the education and enlightenment of the people.

3. Akhmedov S. Kh. History of Lak literature in 3 volumes. T. 1. Makhachkala, 2008. 318 p.

4. Kassiev E. Yu. Dagestan literature on the way to socialist realism (from enlightenment to realism of a new type). Makhachkala, 1982. 120 p.

In 3 volumes. Vol. 1. Makhachkala, 2008. 318 p. (In English)

4. Kassiev E. Yu. Dagestanskaya literatura na puti k sotsialisticheskomu realizmu (ot prosvet-itel "stva k realizmu novogo tipa). Makhachkala, 1982. 120 p. (In Russian)

THE AUTHOR INFORMATION Affiliation

Suleyman Kh. Akhmedov, Doctor of Philology, professor, the chief researcher, Institute of Language, Literature and Art (ILLA), Dagestan Scientific Center (DSC), RAS, Makhachkala, Russia; e-mail: [email protected]