Original Ottoman Turkish Text

Metre: Fā‘ilātün Fā‘ilātün Fā‘ilātün Fā‘ilün

Dil sa‘ādet burcı üzredür biter ḫurşīd-i fer
Kim odur dürc-i belālar içre dürr-i mu‘teber
Dürretü’t-tāc-ı ser-i mecmū‘-ı serdārān-ı dehr
Ḳurretü’l-‘ayn-ı ‘uyūn-ı cümle-i ṣāḥib-naẓar
Tā sa‘ādet maṭla‘ından gün gibi itdi ṭulū‘
Başına gün ṭoġdı dehrüñ oldı rūşen baḥr u ber
Baḥr-ı devletden olaldan ẓāhir ol dürr-i laṭīf
Gerden ü gūş-ı ‘arūs-ı baḫt buldı zīb ü fer
Mihr-i ḥibr içre o ṭıfla virmek içün perverīş
Baḫt māderdür sa‘ādet dāye vü devlet peder
Görmedi çār-ümmehāt ile nüh-ābā mis̱lini
Olalı ẓāhir mevālīd-i s̱elās̱e iy püser
Ḫiẕmet eyler aña iki dāyedür nāhīd ü māh
Birisinüñ Zühre’dür adı birisinüñ Ḳamer
Gülşen-i ‘ālemde ol bir mīve-i nev-bādedür
Kim anuñla salṭanat bāġın olupdur bār-ver
Gül-sitān-ı mekremetde bir dıraḫt-ı tāzedür
Dāyimā olsun nihāl-i ‘ömri Yā Rab tāze vü ter
Ṭıfldur gerçi henüz ammā ki baḫtıdur cüvān
Pīr ola dirler ḳamu pīr ü cüvān şām u seḥer
Kimdür ol ṭıfl-ı laṭīf ü pür-leṭāfet dir iseñ
Nūr-ı çeşm-i nūr-ı çeşm-i Ḫüsrev-i Dārāb-der
Ḥażret-i Sulṭān Meḥemmed ibn-i Sulṭān Muṣṭafā
Mefḫar-ı ‘Os̱māniyān şeh-zāde-i nīkū-siyer
Oldı rūşen çihresinde pertev-i devlet anuñ
Şemsden aẓherdür ol ḫulḳ aña bürhānı nider
Ḳutlu gün dirler mes̱eldür ṭoġuşından bellüdür
Her gören ṣāḥib-sa‘ādet olacaġın ḥükm ider
Ṣoḥbet ü bürhān ne lāzımdur ‘ulüvv-i şānına
Fer‘ çünkim aṣla tābi‘dür bilür ṣāḥib-hüner
Ḥüsn-i ṣūretde hemānā Yūsuf’uñ ḳardaşıdur
Ḥüsn-i ḫulḳ ile Muḥammed kendüdür ol nām-ver
Atasından n’ola istidlāl olınsa cūdına
Kim dıraḫt-ı müs̱mirüñ toḫmı olur nīkū s̱emer
Şübhemüz yoḳdur cüvān olup şecī‘ olmasına
Bilürüz çün şīr olur virse netīce şīr-i ner
Çār-sāledür velīkin bir nice sāl evvelīn
Heft kişverde didi bir dānedür ol verd-i ter
Luṭf umarsam n’ola ol ṭıfluñ ṭıfılıdur çü luṭf
Ṭıfl çünkim luṭfdur ḳılsañ ḫurūfına naẓar
El getür taṭvīl ḳo Fażlī du‘ādur çün ġaraż
Ḳıl du‘ā iḥlāṣla eyle kelāmuñ muḫtaṣar
‘Īd irüp şādān olup mecmū‘-ı eṭfāl-i cihān
Cāme-i fāḫir geyüp baġlanduġınca dür kemer
Eğnine ṣalsun ḥayāt-ı cāvidānīden libās
Başına dest-i sa‘ādetden urınsun tāc-ı zer
Yā İlāhī sen ‘ināyet ḳıl aña ‘ömr-i ṭavīl
Devlet ü iḳbāl ü iclāl ile olsun nām-ver
Nev-cüvān olup semend-i devlete olsun süvār
Ġāşiye-dārı öñünce dāyimā fetḥ ü ẓafer
Pīr olup olsun sa‘ādet mesnedinde gūşe-gīr
Meclisinde gūşe-gīr olsun ġam u hemm ü keder
Her murādın Ḥaḳ müyesser eyleyüb iḳbāl ile
Devlet ü ‘ömri dıraḫtı dāyim olsun bār-ver
Açılub bāġ-ı vücūdında sa‘ādet gülleri
Gülşen-i ‘ālemde ḳalsun būy-ı luṭfından es̱er
Ḥaḳ Te‘ālā eyleyüp evlād u ensābın kes̱īr
Her biri olsun serīr-i salṭanatda dād-ger

In English

1. O heart, upon the tower of felicity a sun of splendour is rising; it is a precious pearl in the jewel case of troubles. (The phrase "dürc-i belālar" in the second line is obscure.)

2. He is the pearl of the crown on the heads of all the chiefs of the age, the delight of the eyes of all who have eyes to see.

3. Since he rose like the sun from the rising place of felicity, the sun has risen over the head of the world; land and sea have been lit up.

4. Since that delicate pearl came forth from the sea of fortune, the neck and ear of the bride of good luck have found adornment and splendour.

5. To raise that child in the embrace of love, fortune is the mother, felicity the nurse and prosperity the father.

6. O son, since the three offspring (minerals, plants and animals) appeared, the four mothers and nine fathers have not seen his like. (The four mothers are the four elements, the nine fathers the nine heavens.)

7. Two nurses serve him, Nahid and the moon: the name of one is Zühre, of the other Kamer. (Nahid and Zühre are names of the planet Venus; Kamer is the moon.)

8. He is a first fruit of the season in the rose garden of the world; through him the garden of sovereignty has become fruitful.

9. He is a fresh tree in the rose garden of generosity; O Lord, may the sapling of his life be ever fresh and green.

10. True, he is still a child, but his fortune is young; old and young all pray morning and evening, "may he grow old".

11. If you ask who that delicate, graceful child is: he is the light of the eye of the light of the eye of the Khosrow with the gate of Darius. (That is, he is the son of the sultan's son.)

12. He is His Highness Sultan Mehmed son of Sultan Mustafa, the pride of the Ottomans, the prince of good character.

13. The light of fortune has appeared plainly on his face; this is clearer than the sun, what need is there of proof.

14. "A blessed day is known from its dawning", they say, it is a proverb; everyone who sees him judges that he will be a man of felicity.

15. What need is there of words and proof for the loftiness of his glory; the man of skill knows that the branch follows the root.

16. In beauty of form he is just like a brother of Joseph; in beauty of character that renowned one is Muhammad himself. (The child's name too is Mehmed, that is, Muhammad.)

17. Is it any wonder if his generosity is inferred from his father; the seed of a fruitful tree bears good fruit.

18. We have no doubt that when he is young he will be brave; we know that the cub of a male lion becomes a lion.

19. He is four years old, but some years ago in the seven climes they said, "that fresh rose is unique".

20. Is it any wonder if I hope for grace, for grace is that child's child; if you look at its letters, "child" too is grace. ("Ṭıfl", child, and "luṭf", grace, are made of the same letters.)

21. Fazlî, leave off lengthening, raise your hands; since the aim is prayer, pray sincerely and cut your words short.

22. As long as the feast comes and all the children of the world joyfully put on fine clothes and gird on belts set with pearls,

23. may a garment of eternal life be cast over his shoulders too, and a golden crown be set on his head by the hand of felicity.

24. O God, grant him long life; may he be renowned with fortune, good luck and greatness.

25. May he become a brave youth and mount the steed of fortune; may the bearers of his saddle-cloth before him always be conquest and victory. (The gaşiye is the saddle-cloth carried before the ruler in processions.)

26. May he grow old and withdraw to his corner on the seat of felicity; may grief, care and sorrow withdraw into a corner in his gathering.

27. May God grant every desire of his with good fortune; may the tree of his fortune and life always bear fruit.

28. May the roses of felicity bloom in the garden of his being; may a trace of the scent of his grace remain in the rose garden of the world.

29. May God Most High make his children and descendants many; may each of them be a dispenser of justice on the throne of sovereignty.

Literary and Historical Commentary

Structure of the Poem

The poem is a kaside (qasida) of twenty-nine couplets (beyit). The metre is the "fā‘ilātün fā‘ilātün fā‘ilātün fā‘ilün" pattern of the remel family. The rhyme is the sound "-er" (fer, mu‘teber, naẓar, ber, peder, püser...); there is no redif (refrain word). Its title is simply "Ḳaṣīde". The praised child is named in couplet 12 as "Ḥażret-i Sulṭān Meḥemmed ibn-i Sulṭān Muṣṭafā", the pen name (mahlas) appears in couplet 21, and the last eight couplets are a prayer. According to Özkat, the kaside was written to celebrate the birth of Prince Mehmed, son of Prince Mustafa, and is richer in proverbs and artful expression than Fazlî's other kasides.

The text is found only in miscellany no. 314 of the Âşir Efendi collection of the Süleymaniye Library (fol. 117b). Two details in the text of the kaside are noteworthy: in couplet 19 it is said that the child is four years old ("çār-sāle") and that his birth was celebrated in the seven climes some years before, and in couplet 22 children putting on new clothes at the feast are mentioned. Accordingly, the poem must have been presented some years after the birth, when the prince was four years old, on the occasion of a religious feast.

Meaning and Figures of Speech

The first eleven couplets of the kaside praise a child whose name is not yet given. The child is a sun rising in the tower of felicity, a pearl come forth from the sea of fortune, the first fruit of the garden of sovereignty. Özkat cites couplets 5 and 7 as examples of simile (teşbih): fortune is the child's mother, felicity his nurse and prosperity his father; Venus and the moon are two nurses who serve him. Couplet 6 makes use of the old cosmology: the four elements ("four mothers") and the nine heavens ("nine fathers") have not seen his like since minerals, plants and animals came into the world. In couplet 10 a contrast is drawn between "pīr" and "cüvān" (old and young); Özkat mentions this couplet as an example of the custom of wishing long life to a newborn child.

The real richness of the kaside comes from its proverbs. The poet presents the saying "A blessed day is known from its dawning" in couplet 14 openly as a "mesel" (proverb); Özkat cites this couplet both in his list of proverbs and as an example of îrsâl-i mesel, the use of a proverb in verse. The sayings "the branch follows the root" in couplet 15 and "the seed of a fruitful tree bears good fruit" in couplet 17 are also among the proverbs Özkat identified; both tie the child's virtues to his father Mustafa. The idea in couplet 18 that the cub of a male lion becomes a lion completes the same thought. In couplet 16 the child is called a brother of Joseph in beauty and Muhammad himself in character; the child's name being Mehmed adds a second meaning to the couplet. Özkat cites this couplet as an example of Fazlî's use of the prophets as terms of comparison.

Couplet 20 is the most skilful place in the kaside. The words "ṭıfl" (child) and "luṭf" (grace) are built from the same letters; the poet says that, if one looks at its letters, the child too is grace, and makes this the reason for his hope of grace. Özkat cites this couplet as an example of "kalb-i ba'z", that is, obtaining another word by changing the order of a word's letters. In the prayer, couplet 22 reflects the customs of the feast; as Özkat notes, at the feast children put on their finest clothes and amuse themselves together. In couplet 26 the phrase "gūşe-gīr" (one who withdraws to a corner) is repeated in the two lines with two different senses: the prince, grown old, will withdraw to the corner of felicity, while grief and sorrow will shrink into a corner in his gathering.

Historical Context

The Mehmed of the kaside is the son of Prince Mustafa. After 1543 Fazlî was Mustafa's secretary of the council in Amasya, and according to Özkat he was appointed tutor to this Mehmed in 957 (1550) and wrote a chronogram poem on the occasion. None of the prayers in the kaside came true: after Mustafa was killed in 1553, his young son Mehmed, who was with his grandmother Mahidevran, was strangled as well. At which year's feast the kaside was presented is not known.

Bibliography

  • Mustafa Özkat, Kara Fazlî'nin Hayatı, Eserleri, Edebî Kişiliği ve Dîvânı (İnceleme-Tenkitli Metin), MA thesis, Marmara University Institute of Turkic Studies, Istanbul 2005, pp. 179-181, kaside no. 19 (Süleymaniye Library, Âşir Efendi 314, fol. 117b); also pp. 43 and 88 (proverbs), p. 52 (on the kasides), p. 59 (chronogram poems), pp. 75 and 78 (subjects), pp. 83-86 (figures of speech), https://katalog.marmara.edu.tr/veriler/yordambt/cokluortam/5E/T0051713.pdf.
  • Şerafettin Turan, "Mustafa Çelebi", TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, vol. 31, Ankara 2020, pp. 290-292, https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/mustafa-celebi.

Online sources