MUHAMMED HAMDI YAZIR’S UNDERDTANDING OF THE SOUL / MUHAMMED HAMDİ YAZIR’IN RUH ANLAYIŞI

Muhammed Hamdi Yazır of Elmalı is one of the major thinkers of 20th century. He is known in the field of Islamic thought as an important commentators. However, when his work named Hak Dini Kur'an Dili is examined, it is understood that he is not only commentator but also he is a large scaled thinker refering natural philosophy, psychology, sociology, metaphysics, ethic and politics. Our thinker touches upon existential problems related to the mentioned areas. In addition to this, he has placed special emphasis on the soul which completing the integrity of the human. Islamic philosophers have studied in detail the soul subject, but they benefited substantially from Ancient Greek philosophy and other thought systems in this subject. As well as Muhammed Hamdi Yazır has taken in consideration the philosophical approaches. He has basically taken as a references to the Qur'anic principles. So it is a meaningful and compulsory that examined the Yazır's thoughts in the context of the relationship between religion and philosophy. In case of the soul is known, it is possible to understood that the truth, the human, the relationship between human and universe, and it's existential problems. In this context, it is discoursed that knowability of soul, faculties of it, relationships between soul and self (nafs), soul and body, eternal/eternity of soul or genesis and decay of it. As part of Yazır's thoughts, while determined to Yazır's place of intellectual history about the subject of soul, it is related to the views of thinkers (Plato, Aristotle, Alkindi, AlFârâbî, Avicenna, Averroes, Ghazali, Rağıb İsfahânî, Fakhr al- Din al-Razi) in case of need, and is emphasized that resemblances and differences among views of them.