Original Ottoman Turkish Text

Elüñe her ne girse kısmetüñdür
Veger râhat vegerni mihnetüñdür
Dime kim ola oglum tuta yirüm
Nasîb olmasa ancak niyyetüñdür
Demüñde fursatuñı sen geçürme
Yile virme bu 'ömri ni'metüñdür

In English

1. Whatever comes into your hand is your lot, be it ease or hardship.

2. Do not say "let my son take my place"; if it is not allotted, it is only an intention.

3. Do not let your opportunity pass in its time; do not cast this life to the wind, it is your blessing.

Literary and Historical Commentary

The End of a Prince

The son Emir Süleyman left behind is the subject of the seventy-first chapter. This child, who had fled to Constantinople after his father's death, after a while crosses towards Yanbolu with the raiders of Karın Ovası. His tutor Derzibaşı Zağanos seizes him and brings him to Mehmed Çelebi. He is blinded and sent to Bursa; he is given a timar at Akhisar in the district of Geyve. Emir Süleyman's daughter is given to a provincial governor. So no one remains of Emir Süleyman's line who could lay claim to the throne.

Intention and Allotment

Opening on "kısmet", one's lot, the three couplets weigh a father's hope of leaving a throne to his son. The first couplet says that whatever comes into one's hand is one's lot; both ease and hardship are part of it. The second ties this directly to Emir Süleyman's case: to say "let my son take my place" is only an intention, and if it is not allotted it does not come to pass. The third is counsel: one must use one's chance in its time and not cast life to the wind. This couplet makes a quiet allusion to Emir Süleyman's days spent in revels at Beg Kavağı. The prose of the chapter tells the event in dry language; details such as the blinding and being content with a timar are left without comment. The author's judgement is heard only in this verse, indirectly, in the language of lot and allotment. The refrain is "-üñdür": kısmetüñdür, mihnetüñdür, niyyetüñdür, ni'metüñdür.

Bibliography

  • Âşık Paşazade, Osmanoğulları'nın Tarihi, ed. Kemal Yavuz, M. A. Yekta Saraç, Istanbul: K Kitaplığı, 2003, pp. 420-421 (transliterated text, bâb 71).