Abdulvehab Ilhamija Žepčevi (1773 – 1821) was a Bosnian

dervish Dervish, Darvesh, or Darwīsh (from fa, درویش, ''Darvīsh'') in Islam can refer broadly to members of a Sufi fraternity (''tariqah''), or more narrowly to a religious mendicant, who chose or accepted material poverty. The latter usage i ...

and prose writer. In addition to Bosnian, his work was written in Turkish,

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

and

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

Name

His name '' Abd-ul-vehhab'' means "Servant of the Generous" — one of the attributes of God. ''Ilhamija,'' his

Dervish Dervish, Darvesh, or Darwīsh (from fa, درویش, ''Darvīsh'') in Islam can refer broadly to members of a Sufi fraternity (''tariqah''), or more narrowly to a religious mendicant, who chose or accepted material poverty. The latter usage i ...

name, means "inspired."

Early life

Ilhamija was born into a Muslim Bosniak family in

Žepče Žepče ( sr-cyrl, Жепче) is a town and municipality located in Zenica-Doboj Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated in central Bosnia and Herzegovina, between Doboj and Zenica. ...

Sanjak of Bosnia Sanjak of Bosnia ( tr, Bosna Sancağı, sh, Bosanski sandžak / Босански санџак) was one of the sanjaks of the Ottoman Empire established in 1463 when the lands conquered from the Bosnian Kingdom were transformed into a sanjak and ...

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

(today's

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...

). His father's name was Abdulvehab. Both his parents died during his youth. A quote from one of his poems is ''"A mother I do not have, and my father I do not remember."'' Ilhamija was educated in his birth town and in

Tešanj Tešanj ( sr-cyrl, Тешањ) is a town and municipality located in the Zenica-Doboj Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. As of 2013, it has a population of 43,063 inhabitants, while the town ...

and

Fojnica Fojnica ( sr-cyrl, Фојница) is a town and municipality located in Central Bosnia Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is located west of the capital Sarajevo, in the valley of the Fojn ...

. He also attended the Ferhadija Mosque in Tešanj. His final work, the ''Bosnian Book of the Science of Conduct'', is a work that lists 54 religious duties that each follower of Islam must know about, believe in, and fulfill, followed by advice on what a religious person should and should not do. It was published posthumously in 1831, a decade after his death. The book is printed in Arebica, the variant of

Perso-Arabic script The Persian alphabet ( fa, الفبای فارسی, Alefbâye Fârsi) is a writing system that is a version of the Arabic script used for the Persian language spoken in Iran ( Western Persian) and Afghanistan (Dari Persian) since the 7th cen ...

used to write Bosnian language, mainly between the 15th and 19th centuries, after the conquest of Bosnia by the Ottoman Empire.

Execution

In the year 1820, a man named Dželaludin-paša became the Ottoman pasha of Bosnia, a title he would hold until his brutal death in 1821. At first, Abdulvehab Ilhamija supported Dželaludin, believing him to be a fair and just ruler. But over a short period of time the illusion faded and Abdulvehab Ilhamija openly criticized Dželaludin's harsh rule over the Bosnian population in his poetry and writings. In 1821, Dželaludin became aware of Ilhamija's criticisms and invited him to his home in

Travnik Travnik is a town and a municipality in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is the administrative center of Central Bosnia Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated in central Bosnia and Herzegovina, west of Sarajevo. As of 2 ...

. Ilhamija traveled without a horse, on foot from Žepče to Travnik. Before he left, he bid a final farewell to his family and friends, anticipating a grim ending to his meeting with the pasha. To this day, what happened in Travnik remains in the sphere of assumption. There is a legend that says that Dželaludin-paša asked of Ilhamija to renounce his critical writings, when Ilhamija refused to do so, he was either strangled to death or decapitated in the

Travnik Castle Travnik Castle, locally known as ''Stari Grad Castle'' (old town castle), is a medieval town-fortress complex in the town of Travnik, Central Bosnia Canton, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Location The fortress is located in the Plava Voda neighbourhood ...

. News of his death was received with sorrow and revolt among the people. He was buried in Travnik in mausoleum near a former railway station and former hospital, where he remained buried for 138 years until 1959, when his bones and headstone were moved to a different grave.

Partial list of works

The publication years for his works remains unknown. *''Boga traži i plači'' (''Seek God and Cry'') *''Čudan zeman nastade'' (''There Was a Strange Zeman'') *''Dervišluk je čudan rahat'' (''Being a

is a Strange Comfort'') *''Dobro ti ders nadgledaj!'' (''Look at Your Lessons Well!'') *''Dženet saraj'' (''Heavenly Palace'') *''Hajat dok je...'' (''While Life Is...'') *''Hajde sinak te uči'' (''Come and Learn, Son'') *''Ja upitah svog Jasina'' (''I Asked My Soul'') *''Ne rastaj se od sufara'' *''Potlje Boga...'' *''Uči, sinak, i piši!'' (''Learn, Son, and Write!'') *''Ustrajte u sticanju znanja!'' (''Persevere in Gaining Knowledge!'') *''Bosnian Book of the Science of Conduct'' (1831); published posthumously

In popular culture

Fellow Bosniak writer Muhamed Hadžijamaković wrote a biography of Abdulvehab Ilhamija entitled ''Ilhamija: Život i djelo'' (''Ilhamija: Life and Work''). Rešad Kadić (1912–1988) wrote a book about Abdulvehab Ilhamija's death entitled ''Ilhamijin put u smrt'' (''Ilhamija's Journey to Death''), originally published in 1976.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ilhamija, Abdulvehhab 1773 births 1821 deaths People from Žepče People from the Ottoman Empire of Bosnian descent Bosniaks of Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina Muslims Bosnia and Herzegovina writers Bosniak writers Bosniak poets 18th-century poets from the Ottoman Empire 19th-century poets from the Ottoman Empire 18th-century writers from the Ottoman Empire 19th-century writers from the Ottoman Empire Executed people from the Ottoman Empire 19th-century executions by the Ottoman Empire People from Zenica-Doboj Canton Executed Bosnia and Herzegovina people