The 12th century is associated with the name of the steppe poet, thinker, and major representative of Sufi wisdom Khoja Ahmed Yasawi (Jazylik Kul Kojo Akmat). The place and date of his birth are disputed. According to the majority of researchers, he was born in the city of Yasyi (later Turkestan in southern Kazakhstan), while another version claims he was born in the Yasyi Valley (Jazy) in southern Kyrgyzstan. If he wandered through the steppes and mountains of Central Asia, then his work “Divan-i Hikmet” — “Collection of Wisdom” wandered through all the subsequent centuries of the existence of common Turkic Muslim education.
“Kul (Servant of God) Khoja Ahmed, be respectful to the scholars,
Listening to their words, know yourself...
The need of scholars is in books,
The need of Sufis is in the mosque.
Lovers like Majnun need Layla,
Carefree ignoramuses need wealth,
The wise need knowledge...”
Such admonitions of his, characterized by simplicity of expression and reflecting the spoken language of many Turkic related ethnic groups of Central Asia and the Volga region, became one of the cementing elements of their common culture and religion. The Sufi order (movement) “Yasawism” had a tremendous influence on the spiritual life of the nomadic ethnic groups that adopted the Hanafi school of Sunni Islam, i.e., a branch of Islam that is tolerant of dissent and pre-Islamic beliefs and traditions of the Turks.
Ahmed Yasawi died in 1166. Later, by the decree of Emir Timur (1336—1405), a dome was built in the city of Turkestan, which has survived to this day. In the post-Soviet period, an International University named after Yasawi was established in the city.