Âşıkî, Manzume 184: Ne han kim uzada zulm elin ile

Manzume 184 — Ne han kim uzada zulm elin ile

Amasya05 Editorial Board • Editor: Mevlüt Erdem Öztürk • 01 October 2026 • Updated: 14 October 2026 • 3 min reading

Four couplets on the end of oppression, in the chapter where Murad II dismisses Fazlullah Paşa saying "in our land there are three lawful morsels."

Original Ottoman Turkish Text

Ne han kim uzada zulm elin ile
Ölincek rahmeti varmaya bile

Şular kim dünyâyı ma'bûd idindi
Göñül bagladı ol bir çöplü kıla

Şu kim beñzer oturmış vîrân evde
Gāfildür üstüne dîvâr yıkıla

'Âşıkî vir ögüdi kendüzüñe
Unutma bag u bendlerüñ sökile

In English

1. Whatever khan stretches out the hand of oppression, may mercy not go with him when he dies.

2. Those who made the world their idol bound their hearts to a hair full of straw.

3. He is like one sitting in a ruined house; he does not know the wall will fall upon him.

4. Âşıkî, give the counsel to yourself; do not forget that your bonds and ties will be undone.

Literary and Historical Commentary

Three Lawful Morsels

The heading of the hundred and sixty-ninth chapter is "the virtues of the sovereigns of the House of Osman". The chapter lists the good works of the Ottoman sovereigns: Osman gives food to the poor once a month, Orhan has imarets built, those after send gifts to Mecca and Medina. Murad II sends gifts every year to Jerusalem, Hebron, Medina and the Kaaba. At the centre of the chapter is a story. Murad wants to send florins to the poor of Medina, but no florins are found in the treasury; they are borrowed from Halil Paşa. The sovereign says, "Halil, beware of giving florins from bribes"; Halil Paşa says this is gold inherited from his father. Seeing this, Fazlullah tells the sovereign that a treasury is needed and that, if he wishes, he could collect wealth from the people of the province. Murad's answer is the heart of the chapter: "In our land there are three lawful morsels, which are not in other lands. One is the mines, one is the poll tax taken from the infidel, and one is the wealth gained in holy war." The army is an army of gazis and needs lawful food: "The sovereign who feeds his army unlawful food, that army becomes an army of robbers." These words cause Fazlullah's dismissal.

The Ruined House

The counsel drawn from the story is a warning against oppression. The khan who stretches out the hand of oppression will not reach mercy when he dies. The second couplet tells of those who made the world their idol, a thing to be worshipped: they have bound their hearts to a hair full of straw. The third uses a strong image: such a man is like one sitting in a ruined house, unaware that the wall will fall upon him. In the final couplet the author gives the counsel to himself: the bonds and ties of his body will be undone, and he must not forget it. These couplets stand in the section that may come from another pen. Murad II's words agree with the thought of lawful gain and the army of gazis seen elsewhere in Âşıkpaşazâde's work. The rhyme stays on "-ile/-ıla" through ile, bile, kıla, yıkıla and sökile.