The concept of "The End of the World" in Suleiman Bakirgani's treatise "Akhir zaman Kitabi" ("The Book about the End of the World") interpreted by E.A. Malov

The treatise “Akhir zaman Kitabi” (“The Book about the End of the World”) by Sulayman Baqirghani (1091–1186) is a significant work of 12 th century Sufi literature. Sulayman Baqirghani, also known as Hakim-Ata, was a prominent Turkic Sufi sheikh and a disciple of Ahmad Yasawi (1093–1166), the founder of the Yasawiyyah tariqah. His works had a significant influence on the development of Turkic religious literature. Suleyman Bakyrgani's ideas were reflected in the works of subsequent generations of poets and thinkers, such as Sh. Zaki (1822–1865), A. Kargaly (1782–1833), and M. Kutush-Kypsaki (1763–1849). The first edition of "Akhir zaman kitabi" was published in 1846. It was then republished in the Chagatai dialect of the Turkic language in 1860, 1897, 1900, 1901, 1906, and 1908. The translation of this treatise into Russian was completed by Archpriest Evfimy Aleksandrovich Malov (1835-1918) in 1897, which became an important contribution to the development of Islamic studies. E.A. Malov was a professional missionary, professor at the Kazan Theological Academy in the department of anti-Islamic subjects, one of the prominent representatives of the “Kazan school of Oriental studies," and archpriest of the Epiphany Church in Kazan. His translation of the treatise “Akhir zaman kitabi” has an unambiguous missionary character and is therefore overloaded with commentary and explanations in favor of the Orthodox point of view, which cannot but affect the accuracy of the transmission of the original content. E.A. Malov emphasizes the eschatological aspects of the treatise, critically highlighting the differences between Islamic and Christian understandings of the end of the world. Despite its missionary focus, E.A. Malov's translation has become an important source for the study of Islamic eschatology and Sufi literature in the Russian-language context. It has contributed to introducing a wider audience to Muslim understandings of the end of the world, albeit in an interpretation geared toward a Christian audience.