Original Ottoman Turkish Text

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

Ḥabbeẕā iy nūr-ı çeşm-i ḫüsrev-i rūy-ı zemīn
Ḥażret-i ṣāḥib-ḳırān Şeh-zāde-i devlet-ḳarīn
Dāyimā olsun saña Bārī naṣīr ü hem mu‘īn
Fetḥ ü nuṣret hem-‘inān u ‘izz ü devlet hem-nişīn
Taḥt-ı ‘ālī-baḫt yāver furṣat u şevket hemīn
Salṭanat zīr-i ‘inān u memleket zīr-i nigīn
Kim cihān ‘adlüñle ma‘mūr oldı iy şāh-ı güzīn
Luṭf u cūduñdan zemāne buldı ferr ü zīb ü zīn
Cān u dilden saña eylerler du‘ā erbāb-ı dīn
Āferīn iy iftiḫār-ı Āl-i ‘Os̱mān āferīn
Nāmuñ el-ḥaḳ nāme-i ‘adl içre mesṭūr eyledüñ
Ẕāt-ı pākuñ ‘adl ü inṣāf ile meşhūr eyledüñ
Luṭf u iḥsānuñ sebīl-i Ḥaḳ’da mevfūr eyledüñ
‘Ayn-ı ‘adl ile cihān ḫalḳını manẓūr eyledüñ
Devrden bī-dād u ẓulmi cümleten dūr eyledün
Fitneyi def‘ eyleyüp ḳaṭ‘-ı şer ü şūr eyledüñ
Cümle ‘ālem ḫalḳınuñ ḳalbini mesrūr eyledüñ
Rūḥını ecdāduñuñ ḫayr ile pür-nūr eyledün
Ḥāṣılı devrüñde milk-i Rūm’ı ma‘mūr eyledüñ
Āferīn iy iftiḫār-ı Āl-i ‘Os̱mān āferīn
Muṣṭafā nāmuñ Muḥammed ḫulḳsın Ḥaydar-seḫā
Server-i Bū Bekr-i Ṣıddīḳ vaṣfıdur ‘Os̱mān-ḥayā
‘Adl ile ḫod Ḥażret-i Fārūḳ’sın sen ḫüsrevā
Re’fet ü cūd u mürüvvetde naẕīr olmaz saña
Muṣṭafā’sın ḥaḳ budur aḳrānuñ içre Muṣṭafā
Görmedi mis̱lüñ senüñ dünyāda erbāb-ı ṣafā
‘Adl ü inṣāfuñ görüp iy ḫüsrev-i gerdūn-serā
Cān ile dilden du‘ā-gūyuñ olup bāy u gedā
Ẕikr ü tesbīḥinde der iḫlāṣla ṣubḥ u mesā
Āferīn iy iftiḫār-ı Āl-i ‘Os̱mān āferīn
İñlemez devrüñde bir kimse meger meclisde ‘ūd
Kimseden yanup yaḳılmaz kimse līk āteşde ‘ūd
Kimsenüñ burmaz ḳulaġın kimse iy ṣāḥib-vücūd
Ber-baṭ u çengüñ meger bezmüñde erbāb-ı sürūd
Pāy-māl olmaz ḳapuñda kimse līk iy baḥr-ı cūd
Ehl-i istiḥḳāḳa dest-i luṭf u cūduñdan nuḳūd
Ḥāṣıl itdi cümle-i ‘ālem senüñ devrüñde sūd
Şem‘dür el-ḥaḳ zebān üzre oda aldum şühūd
Ḫurrem ü ḫandān ider her gice ẕikr-i “Yā Vedūd”
Āferīn iy iftiḫār-ı Āl-i ‘Os̱mān āferīn
‘Adl ü dād iy şāh-ı ‘ālem çün şi‘āruñdur senüñ
Luṭf u cūd u re’fet ü şefḳat-dis̱āruñdur senüñ
Merḥamet ḫalḳ-ı cihān ḥaḳḳında kāruñdur senüñ
Ġam yime ‘avn-i İlāhī dest-yāruñdur senüñ
Ehl-i īmānuñ du‘āsı yār-ı ġāruñdur senüñ
Evliyānuñ himmeti ḫōd pāsdāruñdur senüñ
Şāh-bāz-ı devlet ü ‘izzet şikāruñdur senüñ
Fetḥ ü nuṣret ‘izz ü devlet çār-yāruñdur senüñ
Luṭf u cūduñdan cihān hep şerm-sāruñdur senüñ
Āferīn iy iftiḫār-ı Āl-i ‘Os̱mān āferīn
Bir hümāsın evc-i devlet üzre olduñ āşikār
Her kime ṣalduñsa sāye iy şeh-i gerdūn-vaḳār
Pādişāh itdüñ gedā iken bi-ḥaḳḳın Kird-gār
Ḳullaruñuñ her biri devletde Cemşīd-iḳtidār
Salṭanat da‘vāsın eylerken nice İsfendiyār
Bendeñ olurdı göreydi kürsini iy şehriyār
Gerçi kim Nūşirevān ‘adliyle buldı iştihār
Sen unutdurduñ anı ancaḳ cihānda adı var
Bārek-Allah ancaḳ olur ‘adl-ise iy kām-kār
Āferīn iy iftiḫār-ı Āl-i ‘Os̱mān āferīn
Fażlī-i üftādenüñ budur du‘āsı bī-gümān
Salṭanat bāġında iy serv-i ḫırāmān her zemān
Tāze vü ser-sebz olup ḳıl geşt-i bāġ u būstān
İrmesün ‘ömrüñ gülistānına ās̱ār-ı ḫazān
Ol muṭarrā ġonce k’oldı bāġ-ı devletde ‘ıyān
Ḥaḳ Te‘ālā bād-ı āfetden aña virüp amān
Gül gibi gülsün açılsun dāyimā ol şād-mān
Ḳıl naẓar lutf ile biz bī-çāreye iy kām-rān
Tā ki disem ḥaşr olunca eyleyüp vird-i zebān
Āferīn iy iftiḫār-ı Āl-i ‘Os̱mān āferīn

In English

1. How fine, O light of the eye of the ruler of the face of the earth, his Highness the prince, lord of the auspicious conjunction, close to fortune. May God always be your helper and support; may conquest and victory ride at your side, and honour and fortune sit beside you. May the throne of lofty destiny be your helper, may opportunity and splendour be ever with you; may sovereignty be under your rein and the realm under your seal ring. O chosen king, the world has prospered through your justice; time has found splendour, ornament and adornment through your kindness and generosity. The people of religion pray for you with heart and soul. Bravo, O pride of the House of Osman, bravo. ("Light of the eye" means a son; the ruler of the face of the earth is Sultan Süleyman the Lawgiver.)

2. You have truly had your name inscribed in the book of justice; you have made your pure person famous for justice and fairness. You have spent your kindness and bounty abundantly in the way of God; you have looked upon the people of the world with the eye of justice. You have driven injustice and tyranny wholly out of your age; you have dispelled discord and cut off evil and turmoil. You have gladdened the hearts of all the people of the world; you have filled the souls of your ancestors with light through good deeds. In short, in your time you have made the land of Rum prosperous. Bravo, O pride of the House of Osman, bravo.

3. Your name is Mustafa, your character that of Muhammad, your generosity like that of Haydar, that is, Ali; in you are the quality of our leader Ebubekir the Truthful and the modesty of Osman. O sovereign, in justice you are his Highness Faruk, that is, Ömer; in compassion, generosity and manliness you have no equal. The truth is that you are a Mustafa chosen from among your peers; the people of pleasure have never seen your like in the world. O sovereign whose palace is in the heavens, rich and poor alike, seeing your justice and fairness, have become your well-wishers with heart and soul; morning and evening, in their remembrance and their rosary, they say with sincerity: Bravo, O pride of the House of Osman, bravo. (The name "Muṣṭafā" means "the chosen".)

4. In your age no one moans except the lute in the assembly; no one burns and is consumed because of another except the aloe wood in the fire. ("‘Ūd" is both the lute and the aloe wood that gives a sweet scent when burned.) O lord of being, no one twists anyone's ear except the barbat and harp of the musicians in your assembly. (Instruments are tuned by twisting their pegs, called "ears".) O sea of generosity, no one is trampled underfoot at your door; only the coins scattered from your generous hand to the deserving are trodden underfoot. The whole world has gained profit in your age. Truly, the one who holds fire upon its tongue is only the candle, I have called it to witness; and every night, joyful and smiling, it makes the remembrance "Yâ Vedûd". (These two lines are obscure; the meaning has been conjectured in this direction. "Vedûd", the All-Loving, is one of the names of God.) Bravo, O pride of the House of Osman, bravo.

5. O king of the world, justice and equity are your emblem; kindness, generosity, mercy and compassion are the cloak you wear. Mercy towards the people of the world is your work; do not grieve, God's help is your friend. The prayer of the people of faith is your companion of the cave; the spiritual power of the saints is your guardian. (The companion of the cave is the name given to Ebubekir, who stayed in the cave with the Prophet during the Hijra, and means the closest of friends.) The falcon of fortune and honour is your prey; conquest, victory, honour and fortune are your four friends. ("Çār-yār", the four friends, is the name given to the first four caliphs.) The world is put to shame before your kindness and generosity. Bravo, O pride of the House of Osman, bravo.

6. You are a huma bird that has appeared at the summit of the sky of fortune; O king with the dignity of the heavens, whomever you have cast your shadow upon, by God, you have made him a padishah though he was a beggar. (The huma is the bird believed to make a king of whomever its shadow falls upon.) Each of your servants has the might of Jemshid in fortune. O sovereign, many an Isfendiyar laying claim to sovereignty would have become your servant had he seen your throne. Nushirvan indeed won fame for his justice, but you have made him forgotten; only his name now remains in the world. O fortunate one, God bless it, this is what justice truly is. Bravo, O pride of the House of Osman, bravo.

7. Without doubt this is the prayer of humble Fazlî: O gracefully moving cypress, may you always stay fresh and green in the garden of sovereignty and stroll through orchard and garden; may no trace of autumn reach the rose garden of your life. May exalted God protect from the wind of calamity that fresh bud which has begun to open in the garden of fortune; may it ever laugh and open joyfully like a rose. O fortunate one, look with kindness upon us helpless ones, so that I may make it my litany until the Resurrection and say: Bravo, O pride of the House of Osman, bravo.

Literary and Historical Commentary

Structure of the Poem

The poem is a muaşşer of seven stanzas. A muaşşer is a musammat whose every stanza consists of ten lines; musammat is the general name for verse forms written in stanzas in which the last line or lines of each stanza are bound to a common rhyme. In this poem the first nine lines of each stanza rhyme among themselves, and the tenth line is a refrain repeated unchanged in every stanza: "Āferīn iy iftiḫār-ı Āl-i ‘Os̱mān āferīn". A musammat with a repeated refrain is called mütekerrir. The metre is the "fā‘ilātün fā‘ilātün fā‘ilātün fā‘ilün" pattern of the remel family. The rhymes of the stanzas are, in order, the sounds "-īn", "-ūr eyledüñ", "-ā", "-ūd", "-āruñdur senüñ", "-ār" and "-ān"; in the second and fifth stanzas "eyledüñ" and "-dur senüñ", which follow the rhyme, serve as a redif (refrain word).

Mustafa Özkat states that this poem is the only muaşşer found in Fazlî's divan and that it was written in praise of Şehzade Mustafa. In his view the poem praises the prince with sincere feeling in a manner recalling the kaside; the seventh stanza is the prayer. The poem is found only in miscellany no. 314 of the Âşir Efendi collection of the Süleymaniye Library (fol. 110a), under the title "Mu‘aşşer-i Fażlī Çelebi". The original form of the word "zīn" in the eighth line of the first stanza is "zeyn"; it was written in this form to fit the rhyme. "Nāmuñ" in the first line of the third stanza reads "nāmum" in the manuscript.

Meaning and Figures of Speech

The muaşşer praises the prince first through his lineage and fortune, then through his justice, then through religious exemplars and finally through comparison with legendary kings. In the first stanza Mustafa is called the "nūr-ı çeşm", the light of the eye, of "ḫüsrev-i rūy-ı zemīn", the ruler of the face of the earth; this is the poem's way of saying that he is the son of Sultan Süleyman the Lawgiver. The title "ṣāḥib-ḳırān" is used for great rulers whose destiny coincides with an auspicious conjunction of the planets. The second stanza is built entirely on justice and, with the line "devrüñde milk-i Rūm'ı ma‘mūr eyledüñ", draws the portrait of a ruler who has made the land of Rum prosperous.

The third stanza builds a congruence of images (tenasüp) by naming the prince together with the Prophet and the four caliphs: his name is Mustafa, his character that of Muhammad, his generosity that of Haydar, that is, Ali; his truthfulness is like Ebubekir's, his modesty like Osman's, his justice like that of Faruk, that is, Ömer. The line "Muṣṭafā'sın ḥaḳ budur aḳrānuñ içre Muṣṭafā" in the stanza is a play of repetition and derivation on the name, which means "the chosen". The words "yār-ı ġār" (companion of the cave) and "çār-yār" (four friends) in the fifth stanza continue the same religious frame; conquest, victory, honour and fortune become the prince's four friends.

The fourth stanza is built on a series of exceptions: in the prince's age no one moans except the lute; no one burns except the aloe wood; no one twists anyone's ear except the ears of the instruments; no one is trampled underfoot except the scattered coins. This is a chain of witticisms based on exception, in which something is denied and then transferred to an unexpected object, and it opens with the double entendre (tevriye) in the word "‘ūd". In the sixth stanza the prince is likened to the huma bird, which makes a king of whomever its shadow falls upon; Isfendiyar and Nushirvan are named as kings of old who shrink beside him.

Historical Context

The refrain "Āl-i ‘Os̱mān" and the name Mustafa in the third stanza show that the muaşşer was presented to Şehzade Mustafa. After the death of Şehzade Mehmed in 1543, Fazlî became Mustafa's divan secretary and remained in his service at Amasya until 1553; the year in which the muaşşer was written is unknown. That the prince is praised like a ruler, as one who has made the land of Rum prosperous "in his age" and made Nushirvan forgotten by his justice, accords with the expectation, seen also in Fazlî's other poems, that Mustafa would come to the throne. In the seventh stanza protection from God is asked for "the fresh bud that has begun to open in the garden of fortune". Since it is known that in 957 (1550) Fazlî composed a chronogram on the appointment of a teacher for Mustafa's son Mehmed, it is highly likely that this bud is the prince's young son; but no name is given in the poem.

Bibliography

Online sources