Original Ottoman Turkish Text

Metre: mefā‘īlün mefā‘īlün fe‘ūlün

Bu lāzım mı ki sen monlā olasın
Cihānda cümleden dānā olasın
Çün olduñ nāḳıṣātü’l-‘aḳldan sen
Degül lāzım k’ola her sözüñ aḥsen
Sözüñe dir isen ‘āḳil diye lā
Saña ġam yoḳ ḫaṭā ḳılur ol illā
Budur ‘ādet olaldan işbu ‘ālem
Kişi baḥs̱ eyler aḳrān ile her dem
Zemānuñda nisā baḥs̱i çün āsān
Ricālüñ ‘ālimi ḫod olmaz aḳrān
Saña daḫl itse bir ‘aḳl ile fā’iḳ
Saña faḫr u aña ‘ār ola lāḥıḳ
Ger aḳrāniyyet is̱bāt itse fāżıl
Bu işden bī-ḥużūr olur mı ‘āḳıl

In English

1. Is it necessary that you be a great scholar, that you be wiser than everyone in the world?

2. Since you are among those counted "deficient in reason", that is, among women, it is not required that every word of yours be the finest. ("Nâḳıṣâtü'l-‘aḳl", those deficient in reason, is an expression used of women in old texts.)

3. If some wise man says "no" to your words, you need not grieve; he only commits an error. (The couplet can be understood in two ways: either the person who criticises a woman's words is doing something unseemly, or the criticism does not bind the woman poet in any case.)

4. This has been the custom ever since the world began: one always disputes with one's peers.

5. In your time disputing with women is easy; and the learned among men are in any case no peers of yours.

6. If someone superior in reason meddles with you, honour will fall to you and shame to him.

7. If a learned man claims to be your peer, would a sensible person be troubled by it? (That is, a scholar's entering into debate with you is an honour for you.)

Literary and Historical Commentary

Structure of the Poem

These seven couplets too are among the fragments of Hubbî's lost mesnevi Cemşîd ü Hurşîd quoted by Âşık Çelebi. The biographer gives them immediately after the earlier couplets of apology, with the words "Yine bu vech ile kendin tesliyet itmişdür ki", "in the same way she consoled herself". The fragment is an inner dialogue in which the poet addresses herself in the opening section of the mesnevi. Each couplet rhymes within itself (olasın / olasın, sen / aḥsen, lā / illā, ‘ālem / dem and so on). The metre, like that of the mesnevi as a whole, is from the hezec family of aruz (quantitative metre), "mefā‘īlün mefā‘īlün fe‘ūlün". In one manuscript of the anthology "mevlānā" is read for "sen monlā" in the first couplet, and "olur bī" for "olur mı" in the last.

Meaning and Figures of Speech

In the preceding fragment Hubbî had apologised, saying that she was not a scholar great enough to write on hadith or Qur'anic commentary. In this fragment she addresses herself and explains why this should not be counted a shortcoming. The idea on which the poet draws looks at first like self-belittlement: she is among the "nâḳıṣâtü'l-‘aḳl", those counted deficient in reason; therefore it is not expected that every word of hers be the finest. The poet repeats in her own voice this expression used of women in old texts. As the couplets proceed, however, the words turn into a defence.

From the fourth couplet on, Hubbî recalls that dispute takes place between peers. In her time disputing with women is easy, but male scholars are not counted her peers. The real subtlety lies in the sixth and seventh couplets. If a person superior in reason meddles with her words, honour falls to Hubbî and shame to the meddler, for a scholar has stooped to deal with someone he considers beneath him. If a learned man claims to be her peer, a sensible person is not troubled by it; on the contrary, it is an honour. Thus the poet takes a formula that belittles women's knowledge and turns it to her own advantage: criticism does her no harm, it diminishes the critic.

The words "‘āḳil" (wise), "fāżıl" (learned), "‘ālim" and "dānā" (knowing) recur often in the fragment, and "aḳrān" and "aḳrāniyyet", from the same root, bring the idea of peerage to the fore. This choice of words supports the fragment's line of thought, built on knowledge and dispute. Texts in which a woman poet speaks so openly about her own position are rare in divan literature; the fragment is therefore a valuable document reflecting the period's view of women as well as Hubbî's poetic gift.

Historical Context

The biographers find Hubbî's poetry "merdâne", manly. Kınalızâde Hasan Çelebi says that her words were "not a girl's embroidery but quite manly" and that she was counted unique among her sex; Âşık Çelebi, too, ranks her above all the women poets of Iran and Rûm. This fragment shows in her own voice how a woman poet defended her poetry. When the mesnevi was written is not known; it is known that Hubbî was at court from the princely years of Selim II to his reign, and that she was an influential figure under Selim II and Murad III.

Bibliography

Primary sources

  • Âşık Çelebi, Meşâ'irü'ş-şu'arâ, ed. Filiz Kılıç, Ankara: Kültür ve Turizm Bakanlığı Yay., 2018 (e-book), pp. 495-496, entry on ‘Â'işe Hâtûn (Hubbî). ekitap.ktb.gov.tr
  • Kınalızâde Hasan Çelebi, Tezkiretü'ş-şu'arâ, ed. Aysun Sungurhan, Ankara: Kültür ve Turizm Bakanlığı Yay., 2017 (e-book), p. 287, entry on Hubbî. ekitap.ktb.gov.tr

Books

  • Mustafa İsmet Uzun, "Hubbî Hatun", TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, vol. 18, Istanbul 1998, pp. 265-266. islamansiklopedisi.org.tr