Vücuda

Vücuda is the Turkish term rooted in the Arabic word wujūd and is used in philosophical, theological, and Sufi contexts to denote existence or being. In Turkish discourse, vücut can refer to the state of existing or the reality of things, especially in discussions of ontology and metaphysics. In everyday language the word also appears with its more physical sense of body, but in metaphysical usage it is chiefly about existence.

Vücuda is most prominently encountered in phrases that describe coming into existence or form. The dative form vücuda appears in expressions such as vücuda getirmek, meaning to bring into existence or realize, and vücut bulmak, meaning to take form or to come into being. The term thus functions as a technical label for the ontological status of beings.

In Sufi and Islamic philosophy, wujud (vücut) underpins central doctrines such as vahdet-i vücud, the Unity of Being. This concept, associated with Ibn ʿArabi and later Turkish thinkers, posits that all creatures exist in relation to the one ultimate reality, often interpreted as God. Debates around vücut address whether beings possess real, independent existence or derive their being from the divine presence.

Contemporary Turkish usage retains vücut primarily within academic, theological, and philosophical writing. It is commonly contrasted with terms such as varlık (existence or being in a general sense) and mevcudiyet (existence as a state). The word reflects a long tradition linking language, metaphysics, and mysticism in Turkish thought.