Original Ottoman Turkish Text
Metre: Fâ’ilâtün Fâ’ilâtün Fâ’ilâtün Fâ’ilün
Şehzâde-i nev-civân-u zübde-i Osmân idi
Şah Süleyman oğlı idi şâh-ı âlî-şân idi
Mesned-i şer’-i Muhammed hâkim-i dîvân idi
Pâk mezheb ehl-i meşreb Sâhib-i irfân idi
Pür şecâ’at pür sehâvet devlet-i erkân idi
Tab’ı nâzük ehl-i dâniş nüktedân sultân idi
Kân-ı ‘akl u şâh-ı âdil hâfız-ı Kur’ân idi
Âh şâh Sultân Mustafâ âh Sultân Mustafâ
İşidüp nâ-gâh vefâtın cümle insân agladı
Hey ne insan cümle mahlûkât yeksân agladı
Taşlara başın dögüp deryâ-yı ummân agladı
Göke boyandı felek gökde şafak kan agladı
Nâle kıldı yandı […] berk u bârân agladı
Arşa çıkdı bu haber eyvân u keyvân agladı
Çarha girdi nâle vü giryân u sûzân agladi
Merhaba şâh-ı şehîdân âh Sultân Mustafâ
Revnakı gitdi cihânun doldı cevr ile cefâ
Âkil olan ummasun bu garb-ı bîrûndan vefâ
İy dirîgâ saltanatda sürmedi zevk u safâ
Agla sen iy halk-ı ‘âlem gitdi Sultân Mustafâ
Dâr-ı mihnetden bekâ mülkine âgâz eyleyüp
Cümle a‘dânun dahı gönüllerin şâz eyleyüp
Tâc u tahtın mâl ü mülkin cümlesin terk eyleyüp
Agla sen iy halk-ı ‘âlem gitdi Sultân Mustafâ
Cânib-i kudretden iricek enûs ile belâ
Eşrefî sâat içinde olıcak vakt-i salâ
Hazret-i Hakk’a ulaşdı ol şehîd-i Kerbelâ
Agla sen iy halk-ı ‘âlem gitdi Sultân Mustafâ
Çün sefer kıldı cihândan işidün ol pâdişâh
Varıcak rûhın ziyâret itdi gökde şems û mâh
Yirde (vü) gökde olanlar cümlesi itdiler âh
Agla sen iy halk-ı ‘âlem gitdi Sultân Mustafâ
Bu haberi işidicek inledi çarh u felek
Emr-i takdîrde bu imiş geçmedi aslâ dilek
İnüben kıldı namâzın gökdeki cümle melek
Agla sen iy halk-ı ‘âlem gitdi Sultân Mustafâ
Ol civân-baht u hem ol şehzâdelerün serveri
Nûr-ı rahmetle münevver ola kabrinün yiri
Mevti içün tuta mâ’tem in(s) ü cin ile peri
Agla sen iy halk-ı ‘âlem gitdi Sultân Mustafâ
Bin tehiyyât u selâm olsun mübârek rûhına
Hem dahı evlâdına ezvâcına etbâ’ına
Bu felek zulm eyleyüp yok yire girdi kanına
Agla sen iy halk-ı ‘âlem gitdi Sultân Mustafâ
Hem cihân aksine döndügini andan bilün
Şol musîbetler ki oldı bundan ibretler alun
Dahı neler göresidür sonuna kalanun
Agla sen iy halk-ı ‘âlem gitdi Sultân Mustafâ
Kâdirî gel fârig ol bak yüzinün hâline
Fırsatı fevt eyleme koma bu günün yarına
Gör ki kıydı cân Süleyman gitdi ömri varına
Aglasun iy halk-ı ‘âlem gitdi Sultân Mustafâ
In English
1. He was a young prince, the choicest of the house of Osman; he was the son of Shah Süleyman, a shah of lofty glory. In the seat of the law of Muhammad he was the judge of the council; pure in faith, of fine temperament, a man of knowledge. Full of courage, full of generosity, a pillar of the state; delicate in nature, learned, a sultan who understood a subtle word. A mine of reason, a just shah and one who knew the Quran by heart. Ah, Shah Sultan Mustafa, ah, Sultan Mustafa.
2. When they suddenly heard of his death all mankind wept; mankind, nay, all creation wept as one. Beating its head upon the stones, the ocean wept; the sky was dyed the blue of mourning, and in the sky the dawn wept blood. It moaned, the lightning burned, the rain wept (one word of the line is missing in the source); the news rose to the Throne of God, and the palace of Keyvan (Saturn, the seventh heaven) wept. Moaning and weeping entered the wheel of heaven, and it wept, burning. Welcome, O shah of martyrs, ah, Sultan Mustafa.
3. The splendour of the world is gone, and the world is filled with oppression and cruelty; let the wise expect no faithfulness from this base heaven (Hasar reads "garb-ı bîrûn", İsen "çarh-ı bî-dûn"). Alas, he enjoyed no pleasure or delight in sovereignty. Weep, O people of the world: Sultan Mustafa is gone.
4. Setting out from the abode of sorrow for the realm of permanence, gladdening the hearts of all his enemies too, leaving behind his crown and throne, his wealth and possessions, all of them, he went. Weep, O people of the world: Sultan Mustafa is gone.
5. When honey and calamity together came from the side of divine power (the sweetness of martyrdom and the bitterness of death), when the hour of the call to prayer came at the most auspicious time, that martyr of Karbala reached God. Weep, O people of the world: Sultan Mustafa is gone.
6. Hear it: that sovereign has departed from the world; when his soul arrived (in heaven), the sun and the moon visited him in the sky. All who are on earth and in heaven sighed. Weep, O people of the world: Sultan Mustafa is gone.
7. When they heard this news the wheel of heaven and the sky moaned; this was the command of destiny, and no wish prevailed. All the angels in heaven came down and performed his funeral prayer. Weep, O people of the world: Sultan Mustafa is gone.
8. May the grave of that fortunate youth, the leader of princes, be lit with the light of mercy. Let men, jinn and fairies mourn for his death. Weep, O people of the world: Sultan Mustafa is gone.
9. A thousand greetings and prayers upon his blessed soul, and upon his children, his wives and his retinue. This heaven, in its oppression, shed his blood for nothing. Weep, O people of the world: Sultan Mustafa is gone.
10. Know from this that the world has turned upside down; take warning from these calamities that have befallen. What more will those who remain to the end see. Weep, O people of the world: Sultan Mustafa is gone.
11. O Kâdirî, come, withdraw (from the world) and look to your own state; do not miss the moment, do not put off today's work until tomorrow. See: Süleyman took a life, and (the prince) went, giving all the substance of his life (the line can be read in two ways; the subject may be Süleyman or the prince). Let the people of the world weep: Sultan Mustafa is gone.
Literary and Historical Commentary
Structure of the Poem
The poem is an elegy of eleven stanzas and falls into two parts in form. The first two stanzas have eight lines each (müsemmen); the remaining nine are four-line murabba stanzas. The Türk Edebiyatı İsimler Sözlüğü also notes that the elegy begins as a müsemmen and continues as a murabba. The metre is the "fâ’ilâtün fâ’ilâtün fâ’ilâtün fâ’ilün" pattern. The refrain changes twice: the first stanza ends with "Âh şâh Sultân Mustafâ âh Sultân Mustafâ", the second with "Merhaba şâh-ı şehîdân âh Sultân Mustafâ", and from the third stanza on the refrain "Agla sen iy halk-ı ‘âlem gitdi Sultân Mustafâ" settles in. The pen name (mahlas) appears in the last stanza in the address "Kâdirî gel fârig ol".
Mustafa İsen published the text in 1984, together with Selîmî's elegy, from an anthology among the Ali Emîrî manuscripts in the Millet Library. The transcription in Hasar's thesis is followed here. The reading İsen gave in 1994 in his book Acıyı Bal Eylemek is quoted in the Türk Edebiyatı İsimler Sözlüğü and differs in a few places: there the refrain is "Aglaşun ey halk-ı âlem" (weep together, O people of the world), and "garb-ı bîrûn" in the third stanza appears as "çarh-ı bî-dûn" (base heaven). In the fifth line of the second stanza Hasar's text has a one-word gap ("Nâle kıldı yandı […] berk u bârân agladı"); in İsen's book the place is filled with "(hem de)".
Meaning and Figures of Speech
The first stanza is the praise section of the elegy and draws a portrait with the redif (refrain word) "idi" (he was): the prince is the choicest of the house of Osman, a just judge, a courageous and generous pillar of the state, a delicate wit and one who knows the Quran by heart. The second stanza describes the mourning of all creation. The sea beats its head on the stones, the sky is dyed the colour of mourning, the dawn weeps blood, and the news rises as far as the Throne of God. In divan poetry the colour "gök" (sky blue) is the colour of mourning; the heavens being dyed that colour is therefore like putting on mourning dress.
What is striking about this stanza is that it is almost identical to the second stanza of Hasbî's elegy for Prince Mustafa. Hasbî's stanza begins with the line "İşidüp nâgeh vefâtun cümle insân ağladı", and seven of the eight lines of Kâdirî's stanza are found, with small differences, in Hasbî's as well. In Hasbî's text the corresponding line reads "Nâle kıldı ra‘d u yandı berk u bârân ağladı"; it is therefore very likely that the gap in Hasar's text of Kâdirî held the word "ra‘d" (thunder). This shared material is not discussed in the sources we examined; the observation is our own. Whether one poet borrowed from the other, or both used a common lament stanza circulating in the army, cannot be known today.
From the third stanza on, the refrain addresses the people. The prince is presented as one who renounced the world; in the fourth stanza the phrase "gladdening the hearts of all his enemies too" is the only place that hints at whom the death served. In the fifth stanza the prince is called "şehîd-i Kerbelâ" (martyr of Karbala); Hasar records the likening of the prince to the martyrs of Karbala as an image shared by Selîmî, Kâdirî and Rahmî. In the seventh stanza the angels come down to perform the funeral prayer, tying the prince's martyrdom to the confirmation of heaven. In the ninth stanza greetings are sent to his children, wives and retinue as well, which recalls the son who was killed after him and the retinue that was dispersed; this connection is our own reading. In the last stanza the poet addresses himself and closes the poem with advice to take warning from the world.
Historical Context
On the basis of its style, Mustafa İsen considers Kâdirî one of the soldier poets who were with the army at the time of the event; the Türk Edebiyatı İsimler Sözlüğü repeats this view. Who the poet was is unknown; the poets bearing the same pen name in the biographical anthologies and their relation to this poem are discussed in the biographical article in this category. The other elegies are described in our article Elegies for Prince Mustafa.
Bibliography
Academic studies
- Recep Hasar, Türk Edebiyatı'nda Padişah ve Şehzade Mersiyeleri, MA thesis, Fatih Sultan Mehmet Vakıf Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü, 2018, pp. 13, 98, 117-118, 513-516. https://hdl.handle.net/11352/2746
- Mustafa İsen, "Şehzade Mustafa İçin Yazılmış Üç Yeni Mersiye", Türk Kültürü Araştırmaları, 22(1-2), 1984, pp. 104-107 (as quoted in Hasar).
Books
- Tuba Işınsu Durmuş, "Kâdirî", Türk Edebiyatı İsimler Sözlüğü, 2015, "Eserlerinden Örnekler" (text quoted from Mustafa İsen, Acıyı Bal Eylemek, Ankara: Akçağ, 1994, p. 322). https://teis.yesevi.edu.tr/madde-detay/kadiri
Online sources
