Original Ottoman Turkish Text

Envarını hüda aksi ukuru beşer eyler
Ol nur ile efkarı beşer kesbi fer eyler.
Efkarından azaya sirayet eder ol nur
Ef'alı beşer namına arzı suver eyler.
İnsanda ne mümki buluna kudreti icad
İnsanda eserdir nice halkı eser eyler.
Bir sun'ını bir sun'ı ile tenvir ede allah
Zerratı tutar cem ile şemsi kamer eyler.
Mezc eyler iki zehri yapar mai lezizi
Sam yelleri hurmaları şehdü şeker eyler.
Hak nimeti, hak sanatı tadada gelür mü
CUDİ ne bilirsün yedi kudret neler eyler.

In English

1. Human minds reflect the lights of God; through that light human thoughts gain their radiance.

2. That light passes from the thoughts into the limbs; it shows forms under the name of human deeds.

3. How could the power of creation be found in man? Though man makes many works, he himself is a work.

4. God illumines one of His works with another; He gathers the motes together and makes sun and moon.

5. He mixes two poisons and makes sweet water; He makes the simoom winds turn dates to honey and sugar.

6. Can God's blessing, God's art be counted? Cûdî, what do you know of all that the hand of Power does!

Literary and Historical Commentary

Human reason and labour are a reflection of God's light; the ghazal works out this idea couplet by couplet. The first two couplets follow the journey of the light: God's lights are reflected in human minds, pass from the mind into thoughts, from thoughts into the limbs, and at last appear as human deeds. The third couplet draws a limit from this: however many works man makes, the power of creation is not in him; he himself is a work. This is a plain summary in poetry of the theological debate on the creation of human acts.

The fifth couplet shows again the side of the divan that takes an interest in science: God mixes two poisons and makes sweet water. The knowledge that two gases, each of which could be counted burning and dangerous on its own, combine to form water may lie behind this image of the poet; the same couplet says that the scorching simoom winds of the desert ripen the dates and turn them into honey and sugar. So it is shown that the sweetest blessings are born of the things that seem most harmful. Wonder has the last word: God's blessing and art cannot be counted.

Bibliography

  • Havva Tok Yıldız, Merzifonlu İbrâhîm Cûdî Dîvânı (İnceleme-Metin-Sözlük) [1b-43a], Master's thesis, Ondokuz Mayıs University, Samsun 2017, pp. 180, 188-189 (Appendix, poem no. 12). http://libra.omu.edu.tr/tezler/116853.pdf

Online sources