Original Ottoman Turkish Text

Metre: Fâilâtün Fâilâtün Fâilâtün Fâilün

Nuṭḳ-i pâk-i ḥażretim ‘âlemden aḳdemdir baña
Öyle bir ḥüccet benim destimde muḥkemdir baña
Levḥa-i sinemde yâriñ tîr-i zaḥmı tîġ-ı dost
Böyle mecrûḥ etmeden öldürse in‘âmdır baña
Ben ne mûcib bî-ḫaber zühhâda esrârım diyem
Ol bilir derd-i derûnum ol ki maḥremdir baña
Neyleyim şimden geru Mekke Medîne ‘azm edem
Merḳad-i pâk-i nigârım beyt-i a‘ẓamdır baña
Bende-i dergâh-ı şâh-ı ‘İṣmetim Mir’ât-nümâ
Çün göñül taḥtında ol şâh-ı mu‘aẓẓamdır baña

In English

1. The pure word of my master is to me before the world; it is in my hand so firm a proof to me.

2. The arrow wound of the beloved on the tablet of my breast is the friend's sword; if he killed me without wounding me thus, it would be a favour to me.

3. Why should I tell my secrets to the heedless ascetics? He knows the pain within me, he is intimate to me.

4. What shall I do, from now on should I set out for Mecca and Medina? The pure tomb of my beloved is to me the greatest House.

5. Mir'ât-nümâ, I am a servant at the threshold of my King İsmet; for on the throne of the heart he is to me a mighty king.

Literary and Historical Commentary

A Tomb That Is a Kaaba

A personal poem, it seems to have been written after the death of the poet's master. In the pen-name couplet the poet calls himself a servant at the threshold of “Şâh-ı ‘İṣmet”; the “Ḥażretim”, my master, of the first couplet points to the same sheikh. For the poet the sheikh's word comes before the world and is a firm “ḥüccet”, proof, in his hand. Four remel feet make up each line, and the refrain is “-dır baña”, is to me.

The most striking couplet of the ghazal is the fourth: “Neyleyim şimden geru Mekke Medîne ‘azm edem / Merḳad-i pâk-i nigârım beyt-i a‘ẓamdır baña”, what shall I do, should I now set out for Mecca and Medina? The pure tomb of my beloved is to me the greatest House. The poet says that the pure tomb of the beloved, that is, his sheikh, is for him the “beyt-i a‘ẓam”, the greatest house. The word “beyt” evokes both house and the Kaaba. This expression comes from the hyperbolic love language of divan poetry; its aim is to express the greatness of the disciple's devotion to his master rather than to belittle the pilgrimage. Still, it is surprising to find it from the pen of a sheikh so attached to the law.

Since Mustafa İsmet Efendi is known to have been buried in his lodge at Çarşamba in Istanbul, the “merḳad”, tomb, the couplet points to is that one; looking from Amasya, the poet compares his longing for this tomb with the longing felt for Mecca and Medina. The third couplet repeats the decision not to reveal his secret to ascetics.

Bibliography

Online sources