Yunus Emre InstituteTwo thought-provoking lectures were held at Yunus Emre Enstitüsü – London on Saturday 15 November 2025 as part of the exhibition HİÇ: In Pursuit of Nothingness, offering deep philosophical and spiritual reflections on nothingness, being, and self-knowledge within Islamic metaphysical thought.
The first lecture, “The Nothingness (Self-Annihilation) in Mawlana Rumi’s Metaphysics,” was delivered by Prof. Bilal Kuşpınar, Professor of Islamic Philosophy and Mysticism at Necmettin Erbakan University. Prof. Kuşpınar explored the ontological, psychological, and spiritual dimensions of hiçlik (nothingness) in the metaphysical vision of Mawlana Jalal al-Din Rumi. Drawing on the Masnavi and broader Sufi philosophy, he reflected on how Divine Love and the process of self-annihilation (fanāʾ) lead to spiritual transformation and ultimately to subsistence (baqāʾ) in Divine Unity.
The second lecture, “Beyond Nothingness: Reflections on Being and Non-Being,” was presented by Dr. Nurullah Koltaş. Moderated by Nagihan Seymour, the talk offered a philosophical exploration of the relationship between being (vücûd), non-being (adem), and nothingness (hiçlik), concepts central to Islamic metaphysical thought. Drawing on Sufi philosophy and aesthetics, Dr. Koltaş examined how awareness of hiçlik reveals a dynamic continuum between existence and consciousness, presence and absence. Rather than representing negation, nothingness was presented as the hidden ground of creation and continual renewal.
Together, these lectures delved into one of the core questions of Sufism: how self-knowledge leads to knowledge of the Divine, echoing the well-known saying, “He who knows himself knows his Lord.”
