HАJJ IN THE POETRY OF MАSHHUR ZHUSUP KOPEYEV: SPIRITUАL EXPERIENCE АND SOCIАL IMАGE OF THE LАTE NINETEENTH CENTURY

Abstract

Mashhur Zhusup Kopeyuly, a prominent intellectual of the Kazakh Steppe of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, was not only a poet and a genealogist, but also a thinker who combined the qualities of a traditional Kazakh aqyn, a Muslim scholar, and a public intellectual of his time. His works cover a wide range of issues, from religious themes and social questions to moral instruction and historical-cultural reflection. By integrating folk tradition with Islamic learning, he left valuable texts for understanding local perceptions of pilgrimage within Kazakh society.

Through Kopeyuly’s writings, one can observe how the Kazakhs incorporated the hajj into their own cultural and social system. In his poetry, pilgrimage is interpreted not merely as a component of Islamic ritual practice, but also as a manifestation of moral values, social status, and national identity. The poet reveals a dialogue between traditional ways of life and the norms of sharia, highlighting their interaction and mutual influence.

Engaging with Mashhur Zhusup Kopeyuly’s legacy allows scholars to move beyond a purely formal description of pilgrimage and to identify social meanings and internal tensions within Kazakh society, as well as to understand local forms of Islam under the conditions of imperial colonial governance at the end of the nineteenth century.

In Kopeyuly’s poetry, the hajj appears not only as a religious obligation, but also as a social mirror that reflects people’s motives, aims, and the consequences of undertaking pilgrimage. His poetic discourse demonstrates a critical attitude toward religious formalism and a desire to preserve the authentic meaning of traditional Kazakh Islam.

Key words: hajj, Mashhur Zhusup Kopeyuly, Russian Empire, Kazakh elites.