Original Ottoman Turkish Text

Metre: Fâ’ilâtün Fâ’ilâtün Fâ’ilâtün Fâ’ilün

Stanza I

Şol sa‘âdet milketinde şâh Sultân Mustafâ
Şol sipihr-i saltanatda mâh Sultân Mustafâ
Şol gazâ ehline devlet-hʷâh Sultân Mustafâ
Şevketiyle mefhar-ı dergâh Sultân Mustafâ
Mukbil ü makbûl-i ehlu’l-lâh Sultân Mustafâ
Mazhar-ı âsâr-ı ‘izz ü câh Sultân Mustafâ
Oldı kurbân fî-sebîli’l-lâh Sultân Mustafâ
Cennetüllâh ola seyrângâh-ı Sultân Mustafâ
Ohıram el-hükmüli’llâh âh Sultân Mustafâ
Âh Sultân Mustafâ eyvâh Sultân Mustafâ

Stanza II

İşidüp nâgeh vefâtun cümle insân ağladı
Hey ne insân cümle mahlûkât yeksân ağladı
Taşlara başın dögüp deryâ-yı ‘ummân ağladı
Nâle kıldı ra‘d u yandı berk u bârân ağladı
Acıdı bu hâl-içün kâfir müselmân ağladı
Göge boyandı felek gökde şafak kan ağladı
İstimâ‘ oldukda cümle ‘ayn-ı a‘yân ağladı
‘Arşa çıkdı bu haber eyvân-ı keyvân ağladı
Çarha girdi nâleler giryân u suzân ağladı
Âh Sultân Mustafâ eyvâh Sultân Mustafâ

Stanza III

Dökilüp berg-i hazân benzin sarardur bâglar
Kara geydi suya gark oldı niçe ocaglar
Bî-karâr oldı bu derdile karalar ağlar
Derde düşdi mübtelâlar sayru oldı saglar
Taşlar döymez buna tâkat getürmez taglar
Bu yasağı gördi mâtem yâs ider yaş aglar
Taglar mâtem tutar kan yaş döker ırmaglar
Taglarda lâleler bagrında yakdı daglar
Yakasın çâk eyleyüpdür haymeler otaglar
Âh Sultân Mustafâ eyvâh Sultân Mustafâ

Stanza IV

Kanı ol şehzade kim bulmışdı bunca iştihâr
Pür-şecâ‘at pâk-meşreb mü’min-i sâhib-vakâr
Pîr ü ferzend ü gazanfer-fer şeh-i Dârâb-dâr
Şol Süleymân-mân Sikender-der ferîd-i rûzgâr
Serv ü ‘ar‘ar olmış-iken kâmetinden şermsâr
Sarsar-ı bâd-ı ecelden düşdi oldı hâksâr
Hasretâ hayfâ dirîgâ hey meded şol gül-‘izâr
Topraga düşdi olup cismi gıdâ-yı mûr u mâr
Ravza-i cennet ola yâ Rab ana dâr u diyâr
Âh Sultân Mustafâ eyvâh Sultân Mustafâ

Stanza V

Ragbet itme mülk-i dünyâya inen kılma taleb
Eyler-isen anı kıl kim cennete ola sebeb
Cehd kıl cem‘iyyet-i cismâniyi kıl müntahab
Bâb-ı dînde mü’mine lâzımdur âdâb u edeb
Kimse bilmez cânib-i Hak’da nedür zîb ü zeheb
Zerre denlü zer hisâb olur hicâb olur haseb
Tanrı dergâhında yeksândur habîb ehl-i neseb
Yâ ilâhî rahmet eyle kullara kılma gazâb
Âh Sultân Mustafâ eyvâh Sultân Mustafâ

Stanza VI

İy niçe sekeşlerün tâvın kapan çarh-ı dü reng
Leşker-i dünyâyı kâdir kırsa bî-âşub u ceng
Gâfil olma ‘âkil ol sana gerekse nâm u neng
Bister-i âgende bâlîn eyleyen bulmadı seng
Her kimün gürg-i ecel ketfine bindi urdı çeng
Mûr-veş eyler za‘îf olsa eger şîr ü peleng
Hamza vü Dahhâk n’oldı yâ kanı Hûşeng ü Şeng
Keykubâd’un bâda virdi başın aldı bî-direng
Oldı çün mesken ten-i ‘üryânuna tâbût-ı teng
Âh Sultân Mustafâ eyvâh Sultân Mustafâ

Stanza VII

Hasbiyâ çün ‘aksine döndi sipihr-i ser-nigûn
Ejdehâ olsan ider dest-i ecel bagrunı hûn
Kime tîr ursa kılur kavs-i kazâ zâr u zebûn
Hak kelâmullâhda buyurdı lâ-yeste’hirûn
Lâ-yemûtûn yazılmışdur verâ’ü’l-mü’minûn
Kimseye bâkî degül fânî-durur dünyâ-yı dûn
Devletinün evveli devletdür ana âhirûn
Mustafâ şer‘in koma elden odur dîne sütûn
Rahmetu’l-lâhi ‘aleyh innâ ileyhi râci’ûn
Âh Sultân Mustafâ eyvâh Sultân Mustafâ

In English

Stanza I

1. That shah of the land of happiness, Sultan Mustafa; that moon of the sky of sovereignty, Sultan Mustafa.

2. He who wished well to the men of holy war, Sultan Mustafa; the pride of the court in his majesty, Sultan Mustafa.

3. Accepted and loved by the friends of God, Sultan Mustafa; in whom the works of glory and honour appeared, Sultan Mustafa.

4. He became a sacrifice on the path of God, Sultan Mustafa; may God's paradise be the promenade of Sultan Mustafa.

5. "Judgement belongs to God", I recite, ah, Sultan Mustafa; ah, Sultan Mustafa, alas, Sultan Mustafa.

Stanza II

6. Suddenly hearing of his death, all mankind wept; mankind, nay, all creation wept as one.

7. Beating its head on the stones, the ocean wept; the thunder roared and moaned, the lightning burned, the rain wept.

8. Unbeliever and Muslim alike felt pity at this and wept; the heavens were dyed the blue of mourning, and in the sky the dawn wept blood.

9. When the news was heard, all the notables wept; the news rose to the Throne of God, and the palace of Keyvan (Saturn, the seventh heaven) wept.

10. The laments entered the wheel of heaven, and it wept, burning. Ah, Sultan Mustafa, alas, Sultan Mustafa.

Stanza III

11. Autumn leaves fall and the vineyards turn pale; many hearths put on black and were drowned and quenched.

12. With this grief the black lands (or those dressed in black) weep without rest; the afflicted fell into affliction, the healthy fell sick.

13. Stones cannot endure it, mountains cannot bear it; whoever sees this mourning (the text has "yasağı") keeps mourning, laments and sheds tears.

14. The mountains mourn, the rivers shed tears of blood; on the mountains the tulips have burned brands into their breasts.

15. The tents and pavilions have torn their collars. Ah, Sultan Mustafa, alas, Sultan Mustafa.

Stanza IV

16. Where is that prince who had won such renown; full of courage, pure of temperament, a dignified believer.

17. Wise, a precious son, with the majesty of a lion, a shah worthy of the throne of Darius; possessor of Solomon's dwelling and Alexander's gate, the unique one of the age (in the line "mân", dwelling, and "der", gate, are used in plays on sound).

18. Though the cypress and the juniper were ashamed before his stature, he fell in the storm of the wind of death and became one with the earth.

19. What longing, what pity, alas, help: that rose-cheeked one fell to the ground, his body became food for ant and snake.

20. O Lord, may the garden of paradise be his home and land. Ah, Sultan Mustafa, alas, Sultan Mustafa.

Stanza V

21. Do not desire the realm of this world, do not seek it; if you must seek, seek what will lead to paradise.

22. Strive and choose to collect yourself; at the gate of religion propriety and good manners are required of the believer.

23. No one knows what adornment and gold are worth before God; even an atom's weight of gold is reckoned, and lineage becomes a veil.

24. In the court of God the beloved of God and the man of lineage are equal; O God, have mercy on Your servants, do not show wrath.

25. Ah, Sultan Mustafa, alas, Sultan Mustafa (the line before the refrain in this stanza is missing in the source).

Stanza VI

26. O two-coloured heaven (of night and day) that takes away the strength of so many rebels; God the Almighty breaks the army of the world without tumult or battle.

27. If you want name and honour, do not be heedless, be wise; even he who made a down-filled bed his pillow did not find so much as a stone beneath his head (in the grave) (the couplet is obscure; this reading is ours).

28. Whoever the wolf of death mounts and sinks its claws into, though he be lion or leopard, it makes him weak as an ant.

29. What became of Hamza and Dahhâk, where are Hûşeng and Şeng; Keykubâd gave his head to the wind, death took him without delay.

30. Since a narrow coffin has become the dwelling of his naked body; ah, Sultan Mustafa, alas, Sultan Mustafa.

Stanza VII

31. O Hasbî, since the overturned heaven has turned upside down, even if you were a dragon, the hand of death would bathe your breast in blood.

32. Whomever the bow of destiny shoots it makes moan and wretched; God said in the Quran that (when their term comes) "they cannot delay it for a moment" (lâ yeste'hirûn).

33. "They do not die" (lâ yemûtûn) is written after the believers; the base world remains to no one, it is transient.

34. The beginning of his fortune is fortune, and so is its end; do not let go of the law of Mustafa (the Prophet), for it is the pillar of religion.

35. God's mercy be upon him; to Him we shall return (innâ ileyhi râci'ûn). Ah, Sultan Mustafa, alas, Sultan Mustafa.

Literary and Historical Commentary

Structure of the Poem

The poem is a muaşşer of seven stanzas in the metre "fâ’ilâtün fâ’ilâtün fâ’ilâtün fâ’ilün"; each stanza has ten lines and ends with the refrain "Âh Sultân Mustafâ eyvâh Sultân Mustafâ". In the first stanza every line ends with the redif (refrain word) "Sultân Mustafâ", and this redif creates the effect of a lament that repeats the prince's name ten times. In the other stanzas the first nine lines rhyme among themselves: the sounds "ağladı" in the second stanza, "-aglar" in the third, "-âr" in the fourth, "-eb" in the fifth, "-eng" in the sixth and "-ûn" in the seventh run through. The fifth stanza has nine lines in the source; the line before the refrain is missing. The pen name (mahlas) appears in the last stanza in the address "Hasbiyâ".

The elegy was published by Muvaffak Eflatun in 2016 in his article "Hasbî'nin Şehzade Mustafa Mersiyesi"; it is given here as quoted in Recep Hasar's thesis. We were not able to consult Eflatun's article directly.

Meaning and Figures of Speech

The first stanza is a eulogy and a lament: the prince is the shah of the land of happiness, the moon of the sky of sovereignty, the well-wisher of the warriors of the faith and a martyr sacrificed on the path of God. The second and third stanzas describe the mourning of the whole universe. The sea beats its head on the stones, the sky thunders, the lightning burns, the dawn weeps blood; the vineyards turn pale, the mountains mourn, the tulips brand their breasts, and the tents and pavilions tear their collars. The pavilions tearing their collars is a powerful personification that recalls that the death took place in an army camp.

The second stanza is almost identical to the second stanza of Kâdirî's elegy for Prince Mustafa. Seven of the eight lines in Kâdirî's stanza are found here too with small differences; Hasbî has in addition the lines "Acıdı bu hâl-içün kâfir müselmân ağladı" and "İstimâ‘ oldukda cümle ‘ayn-ı a‘yân ağladı". This shared material is not discussed in the sources we examined; the observation is our own. The murabba with the refrain "Hâlüme kâfirler acısun müselmân aglasun", which according to Âşık Çelebi Hasbî wrote while in prison, shows that the phrase of "unbeliever and Muslim weeping" was already part of the poet's language.

The fourth stanza draws a portrait of the prince. The phrase "Süleymân-mân Sikender-der" builds a play on sound with the Persian words "mân" (dwelling, house) and "der" (gate); naming Solomon and Alexander in the same line presents the prince as the successor of his father and of the great world-conquerors. The fifth and sixth stanzas are the section of counsel and dwell on the worthlessness of worldly goods and the inevitability of death; the mention of epic and historical heroes such as Hamza, Dahhâk, Hûşeng and Keykubâd says that even the mightiest are defeated by death. In the last stanza there are allusions to two Quranic phrases: "lâ yeste'hirûn", which declares that those whose term has come cannot delay it for a moment, and "lâ yemûtûn", which recalls that martyrs are not counted as dead. In the line "Mustafâ şer‘in koma elden" there is a double meaning (tevriye) between the name of the Prophet and the name of the prince.

Historical Context

Hasbî was the younger brother of the poet Keşfî and, according to Âşık Çelebi, spent ten years in prison during İbrahim Pasha's vizierate. In the Türk Edebiyatı İsimler Sözlüğü, Mehmet Fatih Köksal states that he attached himself to Prince Mustafa and treats the elegy and the chronogram as evidence that he lived on after 1553. The chronogram verse the poet composed for the same event is published as a separate article in this category; his life is described in the biographical article, and the other elegies in our article Elegies for Prince Mustafa.

Bibliography

Primary sources

  • Âşık Çelebi, Meşâirü'ş-şuarâ, ed. Filiz Kılıç, Ankara: T.C. Kültür ve Turizm Bakanlığı, 2018 (e-book), pp. 264-265, entry "Hasbî".

Academic studies

  • Recep Hasar, Türk Edebiyatı'nda Padişah ve Şehzade Mersiyeleri, MA thesis, Fatih Sultan Mehmet Vakıf Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü, 2018, pp. 117-118, 121, 495-498. https://hdl.handle.net/11352/2746
  • Muvaffak Eflatun, "Hasbî'nin Şehzade Mustafa Mersiyesi", 21. Yüzyılda Eğitim ve Toplum, 5(15), 2016, pp. 159-178 (as quoted in Hasar).

Books

Online sources