Islamic
historian (b. 1913, Develi / Kayseri - d. 28 November 1998, Ankara). His
family’s origins trace back to Pir Veli Efendi. He spent his childhood under
the cloud of war and economic problems. Asım Köksal’s father Hafiz Mehmed Edip
Efendi had gone to Argentina to work when his son was a few months old and
wasn’t able to return for 22 years to Turkey because of the Independence War.
He attended Develi Numune Primary School and in 1927, he passed Kayseri High
School and the Military School Exams, but his application was not accepted
because of several reasons so he took lessons at Muslim Theology School on
religious science from the Kayseri scholar Develi Mufti İzzet Efendi. Later he
went to Ankara and received lessons from the Muslim theology teacher Mehmet
Efendi then he obtained a theosophy diploma from Enbiyazade Mehmet Hilmi. He
read Mesnevi* from the great theologian Rahimi. He attended the courses of
Mürşidi İskipli İbrahim Edhem Efendi for twelve years and finally received his
diploma. He worked as an officer in 1933 at the Directorate of Religious Affairs.
He worked in various departments of the Directorate over thirty-one years. He
retired from the Directorate of Religious Affairs where he was a High
Consultation Board member (1964) to write his famous work, İslam Tarihi (The History of Islam).
He started his literary
career by writing verses in 1927 when he read Safahat (Stages) by
Mehmet Akif. Mustafa Asım Köksal, who also published many articles and
scientific research papers, wrote poems in syllabic meter and in metrics.
He became widely known with
the research studies and work he did on the history of Islam. His work, İslam
Tarihi (The History of Islam), also know as Asım’ın İslam Tarihi
(Asım’s History of Islam) which consists of twelve volumes, was awarded first
prize in the world at the Siret’ün Nebî competition, which was organized by the
government of Pakistan in
WORKS:
İslam Tarihi (The History of Islam, 12 volumes, 1989), Peygamberler Tarihi (History of the Prophets, 6 volumes, 1993), Armağan (Gift, in verses), Peygamberimiz (Our Prophets, in verses), Gençlere Din Klavuzu (Religious Guide for the Young), Reddiye (Refusal, a reply to Kaetani’s work of The History of Islam, 2 volumes), Bir Amerikalının 23 Sorusuna Cevap (Answers to 23 Questions of an American), Hristiyanlık Propagandası Münasebetiyle Bir Açıklama (An Explanation on the Propaganda of Christianity), Hz. Muhammed ve İslamiyet (Prophet Muhammed and Islam), Sohbetler (Conversations), İslam’da İki Ana Kaynak: Kitap ve Sünnet (Two Main Sources in Islam: The Book and Muslim Practices), Dini ve Ahlâki Sohbetler (Religion and Ethic Conversations, 3 volumes), İslam ilmihali (Catechism of Islam), Ahmed Kuddisi (Ahmed Kuddisi, 2002). He also wrote study books.