Original Ottoman Turkish Text

Eliftir evvela a’lemi yoktan vâr eden
B-Berati Minallah bâ’yi Bismillâh Ali
T-Taalâllah kudretin Ademde izhar eden
S-Senâda zikrederiz Sümme Veçhullah Ali
Cim-Cemâlin sahvesinden açıldı dörtyüz kitap
Hâ-Hayyül hakimin’dir ister bizden yevmel hesap
Hı-Hayıra yaz kalemin gösterme Yarabbi azâb
Dal-Delil ola vasfına ye’de Yed’ullah Ali
Zel-Ziyade severiz kamudan Ali evlâdı
Rı- Rehber oldu gösterdi bize ezel ustazı
Ze- Ziyaret ederek oldum Pirimin irşâdı
Sin-Saadet sultanimdir hem Esedullah Ali
Şın-Şehadet ederiz Mustafa’nın Dinine
Sad -Selâvat getiririz Sâllû alâ şanına
Dat-Dalâlette koyma bizi Tı-taharet ihsanına
Zı-Zâmirimden geçer herdem Zilli-Zıllûllah Ali
Ayın-Ayıbımı yüzüme vurma Settar’ül uyub
Gayn-Gayret eyleyüp eylemez meni mağlub
Fe-Fena fillâh fahrevinde mihmanız tahtel-gulub
Kâf- Kadimi Kur’anımdır Kat kefâ billâh Ali
Kâf- Kelimi nutku haktan getirdi vahyi Cebrail
Lâm – Lemyelid valem yûled oku ihlâsı ey sâil
Mim-Muhammed Mustafa’nın emrine olduk kâil
Nun-Nasr-un minallahi sahibi Seyfullah Ali
Vav-Vefâyet mülkünde oldur kâdim Padişah
He-Hidayet rahında Müminler püştü penah
Lâ’melif -Lâ deme hergiz şeytan gibi olma gümrah
Ye-Yemutû mutlak Hayyü Küntü Kenzullah Ali
Haşan-Hüseyin bendesiyim Zeynel Aba Çâkeri
Ba’kır, Ca’fer gulamiyem Kazım-Musa Rıza kemteri
Tâki-Nâki Şah Askeri olan Mehdi’nin kanberi
Bunların Ceddi bakası vasiyyi Resulullah Ali
FEDAİ’yem Aleviyem Pirim Bektaşi Veli
Kanda baksam görür gözüm Balım Sultan Kızıl Deli
Muradın-maksudum sensin Terrahum kıl yâ Ali
Binbir ismin müsemmâsı Ayn-i Zatullah Ali

In English

1. Alif: he is the one who first brought the universe out of nothing. Ba: the patent from God, the ba of the Basmala, is Ali. Ta: he is the one who made manifest in Adam the power of God the Exalted. Tha: the one we name in praise as "there is the face of God" is Ali.

2. Jim: four hundred books opened from the page of his beauty. Ha: God, the Living and the Wise, will demand a reckoning from us on the day of reckoning. Kha: O Lord, write your pen to the good, do not show us torment. Dal: let it be proof of his qualities; Ya: the hand of God is Ali.

3. Dhal: we love Ali's descendants more than anyone. Ra: he became our guide and showed us the master from eternity. Za: by visiting I attained the guidance of my patron saint. Sin: the sultan of my bliss, and the lion of God, is Ali.

4. Shin: we bear witness to the faith of Mustafa. Sad: we invoke blessings upon his glory. Dad: do not leave us in error; Ta: grant us the gift of purity. Za: the one who passes through my heart at every moment, the shadow of God, is Ali.

5. Ayn: O God who covers faults, do not cast my fault in my face. Ghayn: striving, he will not let me be defeated. Fa: with the pride of annihilation in God we are guests within the hearts. Qaf: he is my eternal Qur'an; the one pointed to by the words "God suffices as witness" is Ali.

6. Kaf: the word of the Interlocutor (Moses) is from God, Gabriel brought the revelation. Lam: O questioner, read the Sura al-Ikhlas, which says "He begets not, nor was He begotten". Mim: we have consented to the command of Muhammad Mustafa. Nun: the master of the tidings "help from God", of the sword of God, is Ali.

7. Waw: he is the ancient sovereign of the realm of sainthood. Ha: he is the support and refuge of the believers on the path of guidance. Lam-alif: never say "no", do not go astray like Satan. Ya: the one who does not die, the absolutely Living, the "hidden treasure", is Ali (the word "Yemutû" at the start of the line is not clear in the transmission).

8. I am the slave of Hasan and Hüseyin, the servant of Zeynelâbidîn; I am the slave of Bâkır and Ja'far, the lowliest servant of Kâzım Musa and of Rıza. I am the Kanber of Takî, of Nakî, of Shah Askerî and of the Mahdi; their ancestor, the everlasting one, the executor of the Messenger of God, is Ali.

9. I am Fedâî, I am an Alevi, my patron saint is Bektaş Velî; wherever I look my eye sees Balım Sultan and Kızıl Deli. You are my wish and my aim, O Ali, have mercy; the meaning of your thousand and one names, the very essence of God, is Ali.

Literary and Historical Commentary

Structure of the Poem

Given in the source under the title "Eulogy of Hazret-i Ali, may God honour his face", the poem consists of nine quatrains whose quatrains end with the redif "... Ali". The first quatrain has alternating rhyme ("vâr eden, izhar eden" with "Bismillâh Ali, Veçhullah Ali"); in the following quatrains the first three lines rhyme among themselves ("kitap, hesap, azâb"; "evlâdı, ustazı, irşâdı"; "Dinine, şanına, ihsanına"; "uyub, mağlub, gulub"; "Cebrail, sâil, kâil"; "Padişah, penah, gümrah"; "Çâkeri, kemteri, kanberi"; "Veli, Deli, Ali") and the fourth line is tied to the first quatrain by the redif. The lines are long and their syllable counts are not equal; the poem rests on the divan-style tradition of the "elifnâme" or letter poem. The pen name appears in the first line of the last quatrain. In the source's typesetting the word "Bismillâh" in the first quatrain is misprinted as "Bismiliâh"; it has been corrected in the text.

Meaning and Figures of Speech

The weave of the poem rests on the order of the Arabic alphabet. The poet places the name of a letter at the head of each line and continues the line with a word beginning with that letter: Alif "evvelâ", Ba "berat", Ta "Teâlallah", Tha "senâ", Jim "cemâl"... In this way the letters from Alif to Ya are strung together in praise of Ali. Cafer Özdemir describes Fedâî's poems based on letter symbolism and the passage of this approach from Hurufism into Bektashism; this eulogy applies that tradition most openly, turning the order of the letters into a sequence of praise.

The lines are woven with quotations from the Qur'an: "thamma wajhu'llah" (al-Baqara 115), "kafa bi'llah" (God suffices), the verse "lam yalid wa lam yulad" of the Sura al-Ikhlas, "nasrun mina'llah" (al-Saff 13). Each of them is linked to Ali's attributes; the epithets "Yedullah" (hand of God), "Esedullah" (lion of God), "Seyfullah" (sword of God) and "Zıllullah" (shadow of God) follow one another in the fourth lines of the poem. In the eighth quatrain the twelve imams are listed in order, and the poet presents himself as their slave and as the "Kanber" of the Mahdi; Kanber is the name of Ali's faithful servant. "Balım Sultan" and "Kızıl Deli" in the last quatrain are two names the Bektashi tradition holds in great reverence. Özdemir notes that the poet names the twelve imams in his düvaznâme poems and that the figure he dwells on most is Ali.

Bibliography

Online sources