Original Ottoman Turkish Text

Metre: Fâilâtün Fâilâtün Fâilâtün Fâilün

Her belâ vü ibtilâya ṣâbirândır ‘aşıḳān
Ḳurb-i envâr-ı Ḫudâ’ya vâṣılândır ‘âşıkân
‘Âşıkân bir ‘âşıkândır ḫalḳ anı Mecnûn ṣanur
‘Aḳl u idrâkde mükemmel ‘âḳılândır ‘âşıḳān
Ẕikr u fikri ẕât-ı Ḥaḳ bulmuş ḥużur-i dâ’imî
Maẓhar-ı sırrı müsemmâ kâmilândır ‘âşıḳān
Raġbet etmez mâl ü mülke azz u câh devlete
Şükr eder Allâh’a dâim şâkirândır ‘âşıḳān
Sâlik bi’llâh gerek ‘âşık olan Mir’ât-nümâ
Bâb-ı ‘izzetde muḳayyed ‘âşıḳāndır ‘âşıḳān

In English

1. Lovers are those who endure every affliction and trial; lovers are those who reach nearness to the lights of God.

2. Lovers are such lovers that the people think them Mecnun; lovers are men of reason perfect in mind and understanding.

3. Their remembrance and thought being the essence of God, lovers have found lasting presence; lovers are the perfect ones, locus of the secret, true to their name.

4. Lovers do not desire wealth, property, honour, rank or fortune; lovers are the grateful who always give thanks to God.

5. Mir'ât-nümâ, the lover must be a traveller with God; lovers are lovers bound to the door of glory.

Literary and Historical Commentary

The Refrain “Âşıḳān”

The second line of every couplet defines lovers by a plural adjective: ṣâbirân, vâṣılân, ‘âḳılân, kâmilân, şâkirân, the patient, those who arrive, the wise, the perfect, the grateful. These adjectives are carried by the refrain “-ândır ‘âşıḳān”, lovers are, and the five couplets use the remel pattern the book's ghazals turn to most. Couplets two to five are among Şensöz's examples of refrain and rhyme. The length and repetition of the refrain give the poem, coming right after the eulogy of Mevlânâ Hâlid, the air of a description of a community.

The most interesting couplet of the ghazal is the second: “‘Âşıkân bir ‘âşıkândır ḫalḳ anı Mecnûn ṣanur / ‘Aḳl u idrâkde mükemmel ‘âḳılândır ‘âşıḳān”, lovers are such that the people think them Mecnun; lovers are men of reason perfect in mind and understanding. The people think lovers mad, but they are the most mature in reason and understanding. The theme “count me wise or mad”, seen in many places in the book, is here tied to a clear verdict. Mecnun is used here not as Leylâ's lover but as the name of one who seems mad in the people's eyes but is in truth wise.

The fourth couplet sums up the lover's attitude to the world: he wants no wealth, property, honour, rank or fortune, and always gives thanks. Where the pen name appears, the lover is asked to be “sâlik bi'llâh”, one who travels with God, and love is thereby bound to the journey of the path.

Bibliography

Online sources