On the Creative Legacy of Sheikh Z. Rasulev: Based on the Work “Alifba haqinda” (About the Correct Pronunciation of the Letters of the Alphabet)

This article provides a comprehensive analysis of the pedagogical work “Alifba haqinda” (About the Correct Pronunciation of the Letters of the Alphabet) by the outstanding religious figure and educator Zaynullah Rasulev (1833–1917), published in Orenburg in 1912. This article examines the structure and the content of the textbook, its place in the context of educational reforms in the Volga-Ural Region, the theological justification for the importance of correct pronunciation, and methodological principles for teaching places of articulation (makharij) and sound characteristics (sifat), adapted to the phonetic characteristics of the Turkic languages. The study draws on contemporary works by Russian scholars on Jadidism, the history of Tatar pedagogy, Islamic education, and the legacy of Zaynullah Rasulev.

Particular attention is given to a detailed analysis of the didactic methods used by Z. Rasulev: the method of introducing the alphabet through sound names (sawtiyyah), reliance on the classical tradition of tajwid – in particular, the work of Imam al-Jazari-as well as the method of distinguishing between the “name” of a letter and its “pure sound,” which constitutes the central pedagogical idea of   the textbook. For the first time, a systematic analysis of the internal logic of this work is introduced into the scholar discourse as a holistic methodological system, rooted both in classical Islamic science on Quran recitation and in the progressive pedagogical ideas of the Jadid era. The study’s novelty lies in the fact that Rasulev’s work is analyzed on the basis of its actual text, rather than biographical sources about its author.

1. Gumerov M.M. Dzhadidizm kak novoye yavleniye v obrazovatel’noy sisteme musul’man Samarskoy gubernii na rubezhe XIX–XX vekov [Jadidism as a New Phenomenon in the Educational System of Muslims of the Samara Province at the Turn of the 19th–20th Centuries]. Minbar. Islamic Studies. 2022;15(4):856–868. (In Russian)

2. Rasulev Z. Alifba haqinda [About the Correct Pronunciation of the Letters of the Alphabet]. Orenburg; 1912. 13 p. (In Tatar)

3. Urazova A.I., Frolova I.V. Shaykh Zaynulla Rasulev i sufiyskaya kul’tura narodov Evrazii [Sheikh Zaynullah Rasulev and the Sufi Culture of the Peoples of Eurasia]. Ufa: Kniga-print Press; 2023. 196 p. (In Russian)

4. Nasyrov R.Kh. Shaykh Zaynulla Rasulev [Sheikh Zaynullah Rasulev]. Ufa: Kitap Press; 2008. 176 p. (In Russian)

5. Muftakhutdinova D.Sh. Rol’ tatarskikh medrese Volgo-Ural’skogo kraya v formirovanii kazakhskoy obrazovatel’noy sistemy (vtoraya polovina XIX – nachalo XX v.) [The Role of Tatar Madrasahs of the Volga-Ural Region in the Formation of the Kazakh Educational System (the Second Half of the 19th and the Early 20th Centuries)]. Uchenye zapiski Kazanskogo universiteta. Seriya Gumanitarnyye nauki [Scientific Notes of Kazan University]. 2025;167(2):91–102. (In Russian)

6. Gasprinsky I. Khoja-i sibyan [The Teacher of Children]. Bakhchisaray; 1892. 87 p. (In Tatar)

7. Mukhametshin R.M. Musul’manskoye obrazovaniye u tatar v dorevolyutsionnoy Rossii: sostoyaniye, problemy i perspektivy [Muslim Education among the Tatars in the PreRevolutionary Russia: State, Problems and Prospects]. Minbar. Islamic Studies. 2009;2(2):79-93. (In Russian)

8. Khidoyatov G.A. Moya rodnaya istoriya [My Native History]. Tashkent: Ukituvchi Press; 1990. 303 p. (In Russian)