Original Ottoman Turkish Text

Metre: eleven-syllable syllabic metre

Ali’m ol eğnine giyindi zırhlar
Gün bir mil kalınca yerinden fırlar
Bu yolda değil mi yediler Kırklar
Acep niçin hor bakarlar bu yola
Kâbe’nin önünde duran eşikler
Didarı cennette yanar ışıklar
Bu yolda değilmi cümle âşıklar
Acep niçin hor bakarlar bu yola
Semavat yüzünde duruyor Hayber
Ali’nin ardından geliyor Kamber
Bu yolda değil mi cümle peygamber
Acep niçin hor bakarlar bu yola
Kudret dolusunu doldurup yazan
Muhammed Ali’dir elini basan
Bu yolda değil mi ol İmam Hasan
Acep niçin hor bakarlar bu yola
Kudret dolusuyla serden esmeyin
Kime darılıp da kime küseyim
Bu yolda değil mi İmam Hüseyin
Acep niçin hor bakarlar bu yola
Mahzun dara çekilmiş çağrır aynen
Elinden geldikçe iyilik eylen
Bu yolda değil mi ol İmam Zeynel
Acep niçin hor bakarlar bu yola
Mümin kullar Hakk’a yalvarır zikir
Aslına hiç akıl ermiyor fikir
Bu yolda değil mi ol İmam Bakır
Acep niçin hor bakarlar bu yola
Söyleye söyleye kalmadı sözüm
Tarikat yolundan ayırmam özüm
Bu yolda değil mi Cafer’le Kazım
Acep niçin hor bakarlar bu yola
Hakk’ın ihsanıdır her daim bize
Günah defterimi sevaba yaza
Bu yolda değil mi İmamı Rıza
Acep niçin hor bakarlar bu yola
Açıldı dostunun bahçesi bağı
Durmayıp eriyor yüreğmin yağı
Bu yolda değil mi Tağı’yla Nağı
Acep niçin hor bakarlar bu yola
Açıldı gülleri gülü gösteri
Bir muradım varsa senden isteri
Bu yolda değil mi Hasan Askeri
Acep niçin hor bakarlar bu yola
İmamların bunda kalmadı ahtı
Yakın yıkılması münkirin tahtı
Bu yolda değil mi Askeri, Mehdi
Acep niçin hor bakarlar bu yola
Gönlüm sende yârenliğe erdin mi?
Kendi vücudun sualin sordun mu?
Hiç Yezit’ten bir evliya gördün mü?
Acep niçin hor bakarlar bu yola
Sefil Kul Hüseyn’im yalvar Tanrı’ya
Düşmüş kullarına yardım eyleye
Bu yolda değil mi cümle evliya
Acep niçin hor bakarlar bu yola

In English

1. My Ali put armour upon his back; when the sun draws a mile near, he springs from his place. Are the Seven and the Forty not on this path; I wonder why they look down on this path.

2. The thresholds standing before the Kaaba, the lights burning in paradise of his countenance; are all the lovers not on this path; I wonder why they look down on this path.

3. Khaybar stands upon the face of the heavens; Kamber comes after Ali. Are all the prophets not on this path; I wonder why they look down on this path.

4. Those who filled and wrote the cup of divine power, who laid their hand upon it, are Muhammad and Ali. Is that Imam Hasan not on this path; I wonder why they look down on this path.

5. Do not give up your heads with the cup of divine power; with whom shall I be angry, with whom offended. Is Imam Hüseyin not on this path; I wonder why they look down on this path.

6. The sorrowful one drawn to the dar calls out just as he is; do good as far as you are able. Is that Imam Zeynel not on this path; I wonder why they look down on this path.

7. The believing servants entreat God with remembrance; neither reason nor thought reaches His root. Is that Imam Bakır not on this path; I wonder why they look down on this path.

8. I have spoken and spoken until no words are left; I will not part my self from the road of the order. Are Cafer and Kâzım not on this path; I wonder why they look down on this path.

9. God's bounty is ever upon us; may He write my ledger of sins as merit. Is Imam Rıza not on this path; I wonder why they look down on this path.

10. The garden and vineyard of the Friend have opened; the fat of my heart melts without pause. Are Taki and Naki not on this path; I wonder why they look down on this path.

11. Its roses have opened, it shows the rose; if I have a wish, it asks of you. Is Hasan Askerî not on this path; I wonder why they look down on this path.

12. The imams' covenant did not remain here; the denier's throne is near to falling. Are Askerî and the Mahdi not on this path; I wonder why they look down on this path.

13. My heart, have you attained friendship within you; have you asked the question of your own body; have you ever seen a saint come from Yezid. I wonder why they look down on this path.

14. Poor Kul Hüseyin, entreat God that He may help His fallen servants. Are all the saints not on this path; I wonder why they look down on this path.

Literary and Historical Commentary

Structure of the Poem

In each of the fourteen quatrains an imam or a company is named, and the third lines are mostly built on the pattern "Bu yolda değil mi ..." (is ... not on this path); then comes the refrain "Acep niçin hor bakarlar bu yola" (I wonder why they look down on this path). The third line joins the rhyme of the first two: "zırhlar, fırlar, Kırklar", "eşikler, ışıklar, âşıklar", "Hayber, Kamber, peygamber", "yazan, basan, Hasan", "esmeyin, küseyim, Hüseyin" and so on. The metre is the eleven-syllable syllabic measure; Işık counts the text as a nefes. In the closing quatrain the pen name (mahlas) takes the form "Sefil Kul Hüseyn'im". The text rests on the account of Erdoğan Koç.

Meaning and Figures of Speech

The poem is a defence. The question of the refrain is addressed to those who scorn the Alevi path: if the Seven and the Forty, all the lovers, all the prophets, Hasan, Hüseyin, Zeynelabidin, Bakır, Cafer and Kâzım, Rıza, Taki and Naki, Askerî and the Mahdi, and at last all the saints are on this path, why is this path looked down upon. The poet gives no answer; by naming the Twelve Imams one by one he makes the question itself the answer.

Işık writes that Kul Hüseyin lived in a period when the Bektashis suffered serious persecution, when the Janissary corps and the Hacı Bektaş lodge were closed, and that in the same period there were disputes with the ulema of the central government. The question of this deyiş can be read as the voice of a community excluded in such a setting; this connection is our interpretation. The line in the thirteenth quatrain, "have you ever seen a saint come from Yezid", states through a sharp contrast that right lies on the side of the Prophet's Family. In the final quatrain the poet entreats God for the fallen servants; the defence closes with a prayer.

Bibliography

Online sources