Original Ottoman Turkish Text

Metre: eight-syllable syllabic metre

Muhammed’in bahçesinde
Servi çınarım Ali’dir
Ta ezelden vücudumda
Canda damarım Ali’dir
İndimde şimal ilinden
İmam Hasan’ın dilinden
Şah Hüseyin’in yolundan
Belde kemerim Ali’dir
Zeynel’i zindana tıkan
Şah Bakır’a kiriş takan
Gül olup da irfan katan
İmam Cafer’im Ali’dir
Ah Yezit kalmaya size
Kâzıma ettiğin ceza
Horasan’da Musa Rıza
Sırda nihanım Ali’dir
Taki’ dir gözümüz açan
Naki’dir müşküller seçen
Askeri’dir meyin içen
Saki pınarım Ali’dir
Bu işler böyle olacak
Alem ne ile dolacak
Mehdi Dedem var gelecek
Kamu mekânım Ali’dir
Kul Hüseyin’im Hakk’a yalvar
Sevdiğim Ali’ye ser ver
Nur olmuş alemde parlar
Şemsi kemerim Ali’dir

In English

1. In Muhammad's garden my cypress and my plane tree is Ali; from eternity in my body, the vein in my soul is Ali.

2. When I came down from the northern land, from the tongue of Imam Hasan, from the road of Şah Hüseyin, the belt at my waist is Ali.

3. The one through whom Zeynel was thrust into the dungeon, who strung the bow for Şah Bakır, who became a rose and added wisdom, my Imam Cafer is Ali.

4. Ah, Yezid, may the punishment you dealt to Kâzım not be left to you; Musa's son Rıza in Khorasan, the one hidden in my secret, is Ali.

5. The one who opens our eyes is Taki, the one who solves difficulties is Naki, the one who drinks the wine is Askerî; my cupbearer's spring is Ali.

6. These things will come to pass thus; with what will the world be filled; my Dede the Mahdi will come; all my dwelling is Ali.

7. Kul Hüseyin, entreat God; give your head to Ali whom I love. He has become light and shines in the world; my sun and my moon is Ali.

Literary and Historical Commentary

Structure of the Poem

The short eight-syllable lines always end on the name of Ali: in the first quatrain the even-numbered lines end "Servi çınarım Ali'dir, Canda damarım Ali'dir", and the last lines of the later quatrains close on "Belde kemerim, İmam Cafer'im, Sırda nihanım, Saki pınarım, Kamu mekânım, Şemsi kemerim Ali'dir". The rhymes of the first three lines are: "ilinden, dilinden, yolundan", "tıkan, takan, katan", "size, ceza, Rıza", "açan, seçen, içen", "olacak, dolacak, gelecek", "yalvar, ver, parlar". Işık classes the seven quatrains as a nefes. In the last stanza the poet says "Kul Hüseyin'im" (his pen name, or mahlas). The text was handed down by Halil Sezgin.

Meaning and Figures of Speech

The poem follows the order of a düvaz-ı imam that names the Twelve Imams, but at the end of each imam it returns to Ali: Imam Cafer, the hidden Rıza, the cupbearer's spring and all the dwelling are Ali. The idea that the Twelve Imams are a continuation of Ali's light and secret is widespread in Alevi-Bektashi belief; the deyiş makes it concrete with a redif that works like a refrain. In the first quatrain Ali is the cypress and the plane tree in Muhammad's garden and, from eternity, the vein in the soul within the poet's body.

The narratives attached to the imams are given in the lines through short allusions: Zeynelabidin thrown into the dungeon, the oppression done to Kâzım, Rıza being in Khorasan, Taki opening the eyes, Naki solving difficulties. The line "my Dede the Mahdi will come" names the awaited last imam as a dede, an elder of the path, and so draws close to him. In the last quatrain the poet addresses himself: he must entreat God and give his head to Ali whom he loves, for Ali has become light and shines in the world; he is the poet's sun and moon.

Bibliography

Online sources