This article was automatically translated from the original Turkish version.
I will now convey to you Mehmet Akif Ersoy’s perspective on youth, a holy figure in our time. In this context, I begin with the words of Asım, the sixth chapter of Safahat, which encapsulates the vision, thought, and understanding of our independence poet Mehmet Akif Ersoy regarding youth—thoughts that have rendered him valuable from his day to ours.
Asım, which occupies a distinct chapter in Safahat and is a lengthy poem, possesses the qualities of a narrative in verse. The book consists of dialogues among four characters: Köse İmam, Hocazade, Asım, and Emin. The name Köse İmam has appeared previously in Safahat. Köse İmam represents the ideal religious figure envisioned by Akif Bey—he is none other than Ali Şevki Efendi of Bosnia, known and respected by Akif and many of his contemporaries. A genuinely blind man who never married, Ali Şevki Efendi devoted all his means to purchasing books and was among the students of Akif’s father, Tahir Efendi. Köse İmam’s most defining trait is his blunt honesty—he speaks directly to a person’s face without softening or concealing any faults. Another character in the poem is Hocazade—that is, Mehmet Akif Ersoy himself. Hocazade is devoted to his faith and homeland and believes in the necessity of seeking knowledge, whereas Köse İmam is more conservative and traditional. At the end of the work, at Hocazade’s request, Asım departs for Berlin with his companions to study the positive sciences. The story concludes there.
Akif presents observations and solutions concerning individual, societal, ummah, and national life. It is at this point that Asım emerges. Akif’s hope for revival, his faith, and his ideal find expression in Asım and his generation. It is Asım who will carry forward this cause on behalf of the individual, the family, the nation, and the ummah, and who will restore revival to a decaying society. Asım is, in one sense, the veterinarian Ibrahim Bey who has properly learned the knowledge of both the East and the West and offers his knowledge, skills, and experience in service to his nation, free from any ambition for fame; he is Köse İmam in his unwavering adherence to the nobility of human nature and values; he is Caliph Umar in his sense of responsibility and justice; he is Küfeci Hasan in his desire to read and Seyfi Baba in his diligence. Above all, Asım is none other than Mehmet Akif himself. Therefore, let us ask: Who is ASİM, who embodies goodness, beauty, truth, and the ideal?
The most consistently emphasized and highlighted aspect of Asım throughout Safahat is his identity and personality—that is, the consciousness of being human: his faith, morality, loyalty to his nation, history, and values, his diligence, determination, hope, heroism, idealism, and spiritual insight. Akif believes that two fundamental values—marifet and fazilet—are essential for the prosperity and future of any society. Fazilet encompasses Asım’s character, disposition, ethics, education, and faith. Marifet encompasses education, skills, talents, and experience. It is marifet and fazilet that make a person unique. It is marifet and fazilet that render Asım unparalleled. This is why we must take Asım as our model: we must integrate the knowledge of the West with the moral virtues of the East within our own character.
Asım is a human being fully conscious of the purpose of creation. Though physically small in comparison to the universe, he is acutely aware of his own worth and the responsibilities he bears. For when a human resolves, there is nothing he cannot achieve. Asım constantly moves toward the future and never succumbs to despair. Thus, no power or obstacle can stand before his will and determination. Asım’s character is defined by this framework: he is not selfish, self-serving, cowardly, or irresponsible. Like his nation, he worships God and is devoted to justice and law.
Another quality that makes Asım unique is that he is, in the truest sense, a genuine Muslim. The foundation of his identity, which bows to no earthly power except in prostration, is the faith in his chest. Asım’s source on matters of faith is the Qur’an and the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). His words and actions are grounded in inspiration drawn from the Qur’an, interpreted within the understanding of his age. Therefore, Asım is not swept away by the growing tide of irreligion in his time. For Asım recognizes labor as a duty and disapproves of Muslims who fall into false reliance on fate. Asım advocates not inherited or imitative faith but verified, personally understood faith. A Muslim must believe not merely by seeing and hearing from ancestors, but by reading and comprehending the Qur’an. The responsibility for this lies with us: we must question, investigate, learn, and convey what we have learned to society so that we may attain peace and prosperity.
Asım is so devoted to his nation that he is ready to sacrifice his life without hesitation. Asım, who is loyal to his national values, vehemently rejects corruption, excessive admiration for other nations, imitation of them, and forgetting his own roots. We are a nation rich with historical victories. It is not wise to take as models states that have branded our history with the label of colonialism rather than drawing lessons from our own past. Asım believes that a revolution is necessary, one grounded equally in fazilet on one foot and marifet on the other. His mind is sharp, his knowledge solid, and his insight profound—there is nothing left for him to say. Asım has dedicated himself entirely to his nation, his ummah, and the values he believes in; he is an idealist and a man of cause. Such an identity inevitably demands responsibility and sacrifice. In the Sixth Chapter of Safahat, his name, physical, spiritual, intellectual, and social identity are partially portrayed; in reality, with his superior qualities, Asım permeates the entirety of Safahat as the ideal hero who transforms into reality the cause to which Mehmet Akif devoted his entire life.
Asım is a model for new generations and for youth. We, the youth, must wage war against laziness, stand firm for our values, and strive to become morally superior and faithful individuals, ending the “I versus you” mentality and becoming “we.” We must exert effort, for only through our work for our homeland can we truly please Akif’s spirit. Whatever misfortunes befell our nation in the past came from idleness. We shall abandon laziness and take action. May we become a generation worthy of Asım.
I conclude my words with these lines by Mehmet Akif Ersoy:
You who are of Asım’s lineage, do not disgrace your honor, From horseback, cast off the nightmares of fear and negligence. Though they burn you alive as if you were Nimrod, Never, never abandon your faith and your religion.
