Original Ottoman Turkish Text

Metre: fifteen-syllable syllabic metre (as stated in the source)

Sabahın seherinde yârimin yolun gözlerim
Al elim ya Muhammed divanda ağlatma bizi
Hem kalbimde şahadetsin hem dilimde ezberim
Al elim ya Muhammed divanda ağlatma bizi
Seni nurundan yaratmıştır cihanın serveri
Din İslam’ın direği müminler kıble gâhî
Bir cevabın iki olmaz hak yanında vallahi
Al elim ya Muhammed divanda ağlatma bizi
Korkarım günahım çoktur başım gider araya
Mübarek ellerin ile melhem eyle yaraya
Ümmetliğe kabul eyle bizi de kat sıraya
Al elim ya Muhammed divanda ağlatma bizi
Yârın kabire varınca cevap vermek güç olur
Elim ermez eşe dosta andan halim nicolur
Sen kerem kani sultansın şefaat senden olur
Al elim ya Muhammed divanda ağlatma bizi
Kul Hüseyin Hak bakarım doğru giden yoluma
Senden gayrı kimsem yoktur nazar eyle halime
Mümin kulların suçun bağışla ben günahkâra
Al elim ya Muhammed divanda ağlatma bizi

In English

1. At the break of dawn I watch the road of my beloved; take my hand, O Muhammad, do not let us weep at the court of Judgement. You are both the witness in my heart and what I know by heart on my tongue; take my hand, O Muhammad, do not let us weep at the court of Judgement.

2. The lord of the world created you from His own light; you are the pillar of the faith of Islam, the direction of prayer of the believers. Before God your answer is not two, by God; take my hand, O Muhammad, do not let us weep at the court of Judgement.

3. I fear my sins are many, my head is lost; with your blessed hands apply balm to my wound. Accept us too into your community, add us to the ranks; take my hand, O Muhammad, do not let us weep at the court of Judgement.

4. Tomorrow, when we reach the grave, it will be hard to answer; my hand cannot reach wife or friend, how will I fare. You are the mine of generosity, a sultan, intercession comes from you; take my hand, O Muhammad, do not let us weep at the court of Judgement.

5. I, Kul Hüseyin, O God, look to the road that runs straight; I have no one but you, look upon my state. Forgive the faults of the believing servants and of me, the sinner; take my hand, O Muhammad, do not let us weep at the court of Judgement.

Literary and Historical Commentary

Structure of the Poem

The five quatrains are sung in the fifteen-syllable syllabic metre, a long measure rarely used in folk poetry, and so the lines move slowly, like the recitation of a prayer. Işık classes the poem as a nefes and a münacat, a prayer. The refrain "Al elim ya Muhammed divanda ağlatma bizi" (take my hand, O Muhammad, do not let us weep at the court of Judgement) fills the second and fourth lines of the first quatrain and afterwards only the last line; in those later quatrains the first three lines rhyme with one another ("serveri, kıble gâhî, vallahi", "araya, yaraya, sıraya", "güç olur, nicolur, senden olur", "yoluma, halime, günahkâra"). The pen name (mahlas) "Kul Hüseyin" comes in the closing quatrain. The informant was Halil Sezgin.

Meaning and Figures of Speech

A münacat is a poem of supplication to God; in this deyiş the supplication is directed to Muhammad and his intercession is sought. The word "divan" here describes the court of reckoning to be held on the Last Day. The poet watches the beloved's road at dawn, the hour before daybreak held to be the fittest for prayer; but this beloved, as the second quatrain makes clear, is the Prophet himself. The belief that he was created from the light of God appears often in Alevi-Bektashi poetry together with the idea of the light of Muhammad and Ali.

The third and fourth quatrains express the fear of sin through concrete images: the loss of one's head, the balm applied to the wound, the hardship of answering in the grave, the hand that cannot reach wife or friend. The thought that man will be alone in the grave and saved only by intercession is a familiar feeling of popular piety. In the final quatrain the poet asks forgiveness for himself and for all believing servants with him. Işık writes that Kul Hüseyin's deyiş are accepted in the region as sacred word and recited in the cem; this deyiş too is in a language of prayer suited to that use.

Bibliography

Online sources