Özgün Metin

Vezin: Fâ‘ilâtün Fâ‘ilâtün Fâ‘ilâtün Fâ‘ilün

Ḳıl naṣîḥat dostum çeşmüñe Allâh ‘aşḳına
Bî-güneh ḳan itmesün hey hey di billâh ‘aşḳına
Ol cefâ-ḫû yârüme yâ Rabb sen inṣâf vir
‘Āşıḳ u ṣâdıḳ-ḳademler itdügi âh ‘aşḳına
Mıṣr-ı ḥüsnüñ Yûsufı dil-teşnedür bir cur‘a ṣun
La‘lüñ âbından zenaḫdânuñdaki çâh ‘aşḳına
Ḳalmışam hecrüñ muġaylânında yol vir ‘âşıḳa
Ka‘be-i vaṣluña varan dostum râh ‘aşḳına
Dilberâ çün her gedâya âsitânuñdur sened
Sürme ḳapuñdan beni bu ‘âlî dergâh ‘aşḳına
Mihrî'yi cevrüñle cânâ âḫir öldürseñ gerek
Bâri tîz öldür cefâdan ḳurtar Allâh ‘aşḳına

In English

1. My friend, for God's sake, give counsel to your eye, that it not shed the blood of the innocent; say to it "stop, stop," for God's sake. (The beloved's eye is likened to a bloodshedder who kills lovers with her glance. Manuscript F reads "çeşmine" in place of "çeşmüñe.")

2. O Lord, for the sake of the sighs of lovers and of the steadfast, grant justice to my cruel-natured beloved. (Ṣâdıḳ-ḳadem is one who is constant in devotion and does not go back on his word.)

3. O Joseph of the Egypt of beauty, the heart is thirsty; for the sake of the well in your chin, offer a sip from the water of your lip. (The Prophet Joseph is known for his beauty; he was thrown into a well by his brothers and later ruled over Egypt. The dimple of the chin is likened to the well, the lip to the water that gives life.)

4. I have been left among the thorns of your separation; for the sake of the road that leads to the Kaaba of union with you, my friend, let the lover pass. (Muġaylân is the thorny tree and scrub of the desert, known as an obstacle that makes the pilgrim's road hard. Reaching the beloved is likened to reaching the Kaaba.)

5. Beloved, since your threshold is the deed of title for every beggar, for the sake of this lofty court, do not drive me from your door. (Âsitân is the threshold; sened is a support and a guarantee. The beloved's door is thought of as a dervish lodge, a place of refuge.)

6. My soul, you will in the end have to kill Mihrî with your cruelty; at least kill her quickly, and for God's sake spare her the torment.

Literary and Historical Commentary

Structure of the Poem

The one hundred and sixty-third ghazal of the divan has six couplets (beyit) and is written in the ramal metre of aruz (quantitative metre), in the pattern "Fâ‘ilâtün Fâ‘ilâtün Fâ‘ilâtün Fâ‘ilün". The redif (refrain word) is "‘aşḳına" (for the sake of), and the rhyme is the sound "-âh" in the words "Allâh, billâh, âh, çâh, râh, dergâh, Allâh". The rhyme word "Allâh" in the first line of the opening couplet (matla) is repeated in the last couplet; the ghazal thus opens with the same oath and closes with the same oath. The pen name (mahlas) is in the last couplet. The ghazal is found in all four manuscripts (F, M, S, Ü). According to Sıtkı Nazik's table, the refrain "‘aşḳına" is used in the divan only in this ghazal. There is no record of whom it was written for.

Meaning and Figures of Speech

All the couplets of the ghazal are built on an entreaty. "For God's sake" is a formula of pleading that is also used in everyday speech; the poet makes this formula the refrain and in each couplet makes a plea "for the sake of" something different: the sighs of lovers, the well in the chin, the road to the Kaaba, the beloved's court and finally God again. That the word "aşk" is both part of the oath formula and the subject of the poem gives the refrain a double sense.

In the first couplet the beloved's eye is imagined as a tyrant who sheds the blood of the innocent, and the lover asks a friend to give it counsel. In the second couplet the address turns to God. Gülşen Kaya uses this couplet to illustrate that the lover, when he can no longer bear the torment, takes refuge in prayer and asks for justice for the beloved for the sake of the lovers' sighs.

The third couplet is built from images taken from the story of Joseph. The link among Egypt, Joseph and the well (çâh) forms an allusion (telmih) and a congruence of images (tenasüp). Kaya shows with this couplet that in the divan the beloved is addressed with the compound "Mısr-ı hüsn," that is, "Joseph of the land of beauty"; she also gives the same couplet as an example of Egypt being used among the place names mentioned in the divan because of Joseph. Joseph's being thrown into the well and the likening of the beloved's chin dimple to a well overlap in the couplet. The thirsty heart's asking for a sip from the water of the lip is consistent with the words "well" and "water."

The fourth couplet is built on the pilgrimage journey. With this couplet Kaya explains that separation is expressed as muġaylân, that is, camel thorn, which holds the lover back from the Kaaba of union and bars his way. In the fifth couplet the beloved's threshold is thought of as a court on which every beggar relies. Kaya counts this couplet among the examples showing that the threshold of the beloved, imagined as a sultan, is the court where the lover rubs his face and is his deed of title. When the words Kaaba, court and threshold come together, devotion to the beloved is expressed in the language of worship.

The last couplet carries the harshest expression of the ghazal. The lover accepts that the beloved's cruelty will in the end kill him and asks that at least it be quick. Kaya cites this couplet when explaining that the beloved, who is at once physician and executioner, is the only person who can end this state. The eye that in the first couplet was to be counselled not to shed the blood of the innocent has become in the last couplet a tyrant who is asked to kill as soon as possible.

Bibliography

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