Original Ottoman Turkish Text

Metre: eleven-syllable syllabic metre

Gel ey kardeş hacı olmak dilersen
Hakikatte kâbe veçhi Ademdir
Küllü masivayı kalpten silersen
Hakikatte Kâbe veçhi Ademdir
Fesemme veçhullah buyurdu Halik
Bu ayet manasın bilmez halâyık
Bilir bu rümuzu Ehl-i Maşayih
Hakikatte Kâbe veçhi Ademdir
Nedir Beytullahta ihram giyinmek
Eğnindeki esvapların soyunmak
Maksat küllü günahlardan arınmak
Hakikatte Kâbe veçhi Ademdir
Beyti Tavaf edip Zemzemden içmek
Beytül A’lemiynden Sür’atle geçmek
Manayı hattı üstüva ilmini seçmek
Hakikatte Kâbe veçhi Ademdir
Çıkıp Arafata münacaat kılmak
Kurban zecreyleyip Mina’ya gelmek
Şeytanı taşlamak cehaleti yenmek
Hakikatte Kâbe veçhi Ademdir
Fakihler mescidde Namaz kıldırır
Cemaati sırf kendüne uydurur
Ahirinde halka yüzün döndürür
Hakikatte Kâbe veçhi Ademdir
Ey FEDAYİ sen bir mürşid bulursun
Kâbe’nin sırrını anlar bilirsin
Meramın ol ise Hacı olursun
Hakikatte Kâbe veçhi Ademdir!

In English

1. Come, brother, if you wish to become a pilgrim, know that in truth the Kaaba is the face of man. If you wipe from your heart everything other than God, in truth the Kaaba is the face of man.

2. The Creator declared "Wherever you turn, there is the face of God"; the people do not know the meaning of this verse. The sheikhs, the elders of the path, know this hidden sign: in truth the Kaaba is the face of man.

3. What is putting on the pilgrim's garb at the House of God? It is taking off the clothes on your back. The aim is to be cleansed of all sins; in truth the Kaaba is the face of man.

4. Circling the Kaaba and drinking from Zamzam, passing swiftly before the House of the worlds, is grasping the meaning of the knowledge of the "hatt-ı istivâ"; in truth the Kaaba is the face of man.

5. Climbing Arafat and praying to God, sacrificing and coming to Mina, stoning Satan, is defeating ignorance; in truth the Kaaba is the face of man.

6. The jurists lead the prayer in the mosque and make the congregation follow only themselves; but at the end they turn their faces towards the people. In truth the Kaaba is the face of man.

7. O Fedâî, if you find a spiritual guide you will understand and know the secret of the Kaaba. If that is your wish, you will become a pilgrim; in truth the Kaaba is the face of man.

Literary and Historical Commentary

Structure of the Poem

This koşma of seven quatrains is in the eleven-syllable metre. The line "Hakikatte Kâbe veçhi Ademdir" (in truth the Kaaba is the face of man) is the refrain repeated at the end of every quatrain, and in the first quatrain it also stands as the second line. The pen name appears in the last quatrain. Cafer Özdemir quotes this last quatrain from page 60 of the divan as "Ey Fedâî sen bir mürşit bulursun / Kâbe'nin sırlarını anlar bilirsin / Meramın ol ise hacı olursun / Hakikatte Kâbe vech-i âdemdir"; the small differences ("sırrını" and "sırlarını") can be explained by Özdemir's statement that he corrected spelling and grammar when quoting from the divan.

Meaning and Figures of Speech

The poem lists the outward requirements of the pilgrimage one by one and gives each an inward meaning. Putting on the pilgrim's garb is undressing and being cleansed of sin; the prayer at Arafat, the sacrifice and the stoning of Satan at Mina are the defeat of ignorance. All these pairings are tied to the idea that "the Kaaba is the face of man". In the second quatrain the phrase "fa-thamma wajhu'llah" (there is the face of God), taken from verse 115 of the Sura al-Baqara, is cited as the scriptural basis of the Alevi-Bektashi and Hurufi understanding that treats the human face as the place where God becomes manifest. The phrase "hatt-ı istivâ" in the fourth quatrain is, in the language of these circles, the name given to the line that divides the human face down the middle; the poet equates circling the Kaaba with understanding the knowledge of this line. The line "Beytül A'lemiynden sür'atle geçmek" in the same quatrain may refer to the brisk walk around the Kaaba or to the run between Safa and Marwa; its reading is not clear.

The sixth quatrain carries the poem's subtlest idea. The imam leading the prayer keeps the congregation behind him and faces the Kaaba, but at the end of the prayer he turns his face to the congregation. Starting from this everyday image, the poet ties the direction of prayer to the human face and gently mocks the jurists' attachment to outward form. In the last quatrain the path to the secret leads to the spiritual guide. According to Özdemir, the guide is the mystical theme the poet dwells on most, and for Fedâî the way to go on pilgrimage and grasp the meaning of the Kaaba also passes through the guide.

Bibliography

Online sources