Original Ottoman Turkish Text

Metre: Fâilâtün Fâilâtün Fâilün

Sen murâḳıb ol aḥadiyetde bil
Feyż-i Rabbânî eder iḥyâ-yı dil
Gel nefyü is̱bât bunuñla bir degil
Bunda efzûndur aḫî feyż-i celîl
Eyleyim ta‘rîf saña bu derse baḳ
Hep leṭâ’if üzre nâzil feyż-i Ḥaḳ
Bir tefekkürden ‘ibâret zât-ı Ḥaḳ
Bilme Ḥaḳ’dan ġayrı yoḳ elden bıraḳ
Bir olan Ḥaḳ’dan leṭâ’if ḳalbe cân
Feyż-i Rabbânî vürûdın bil hemân
Bir tefekkür üzre olmaḳ sâlikân
Böylece meşrûṭa ḳıldı mürşidân
Râbıṭa yoḳ bunda şeyḫe bilmiş ol
Ḥaḳ dâ’im bil seniñle ṭoġrı yol
Ẕikirden evvelce ‘âdet oldu şol
Râbıṭa eyle müyesser feyże ol
Var ma‘iyyetde velâyetden ümîd
İstiḳāmet etse olmazsa ba‘îd
Bunda da‘vet ceẕb-i Mevlâ’dan keşîd
Bu maḳāmâtda tecellî var şedîd
Evvelâ bâb-ı velâyetdir bu bâb
Erdi ġāyetle tecellî gitdi ḫâ˘b
Ẕevḳ-i vicdân buldu oldu kâm-yâb
Ḳalmadı göñlünde Ḥaḳ’dan ġayri nâb
Oldu sâlik bunda ġāyet neş’e-yâb
Diñle var keşf u keramet bî-ḥisâb
Ġam yemez bir şey için ol cevâb
Olsa bu ‘âlem ḫarâb ender ḫarâb
Aḳrabiyyetde olur kübrâ ‘ayân
Ḥaḳ ḳalır göñlünde bâḳi hep yalan
Bu velâyet enbiyâdır bil hemân
İttibâ‘ı sünnetle ḥâṣıl bî-gümân
Hiç fütûr etmez anın göñlünde kes
Lî me‘allâh oldu gitdi ḫâr u ḫes
Ġaflet etmez Ḥaḳ-ilen her bir nefes
Bildi ol Allâh bes ü bâḳī heves
Ḳalmadı âyine-i dilde ġubâr
‘Âlemiñ yoḳ vârlıġı-çün iftiḫâr
Hem tecellîyyât edip perver-digâr
Gitdi yâr u aġyâr ḳaldı Kirdgâr
Bu velâyet evvelâ olmaz ḳıyâs
Bunda evvelden ziyâde ḥaḳ-şinâs
Erdi mürşid-ilen kemâle iş bu nâs
Bî-delîl olmaz kemâlât in‘ikâs
Bunda ‘aşḳu’llâh ki oldan füzûn
Ba‘żılar ẓan eyledi olmuş cünûn
Çünkü ‘aşḳu’llâh-ilen yandı derûn
Çün bu ḥâli bilmedi ehl-i birûn
Var bu kübrâda kemâlât-ı Ḫudâ
Keşf olur ḥâlât-ı sırr-ı Enbiyâ
Ḳalb-i mir’ât oldu anda aṣiyâ
Ẓâhir oldu Kâ’inât-ı Kibriyâ
Şimdi ‘ulyâdan beyân edem saña
Oldu tâ fevḳ’at-tecellî bil aña
Diñle ta‘rîf eyleyem bir bir saña
Hep melâ’ikler ḳıyâm etdi aña
Bu velâyet ġāyet oldu ‘âlîyât
Ḥaḳḳ-ile ḥaḳ oldu buldu feyż-i ẕât
Hem aña âyine oldu kâ’inât
Ḥaḳ göründü ḳalmadı bir müşkilât
Var bunuñ fevḳinde Ḥaḳḳ’ıñ ni‘meti
Hem fenâ fi’llâh beḳādır ‘izzeti
Vehbidir kesben muḥâl bu devleti
Her velî bulmaz bu feyż-i nisbeti
Hem fenâ fi’llâh beḳānıñ evveli
Buldu bu ḥâli bu ümmet ekmeli
Sa‘y-ilen olmaz velî var medḫali
Mevhibe bulmaḳ muhâl her bir velî
Gel bu ġavs̱iñ ḥallerinden al ḫaber
Kim buña vâṣıl olur ḳalmaz sefer
Hep anıñ emrinde ‘âlem bahr u ber
Onsekiz biñ ‘âleme imdâd eder
Fehm olunmaz bunlarıñ aḥvâlleri
Ḥâle taḥvîl oldu gitdi ḳālleri
Gizlenip ḫalḳdan bütün aḳvâlleri
Derk-i idrâkdan müberrâ hâlleri
Evveli seyr-i ila’llâhdır maḳām
Seyr-i fî’llâh oldu bundan ne muntaẓam
Oldu hem seyri ‘ani’llâhda ḳıyâm
Seyri fi’l-eşyâda hem ġavs̱ü’l ‘ıẓâm
‘Afv olup ‘isyân-ı sâbıḳ seyyi’ât
Ḳalmadı göñlünde Ḥaḳ’dan ġayri ẕât
Keşf olup bir an içinde mümkinât
Oldu rûḥânî Ḫudâ’dan iltifât

In English

1. Become one who contemplates in oneness, know it; divine grace brings the heart to life.

2. Come, negation and affirmation are not the same as this; here, brother, the glorious grace is greater.

3. Let me describe it to you, attend to this lesson: the grace of God descends always upon the subtle centres.

4. The essence of God consists in a single contemplation; know nothing but God, let all else go.

5. Know at once that divine grace comes from the One God to the subtle centres, the heart and the soul.

6. The masters thus made it a condition that travellers be in a single contemplation.

7. Know that here there is no rabıta to the sheikh; know that God is always with you, this is the straight road.

8. Before remembrance this became the custom: make rabıta so that grace becomes easy.

9. In withness there is hope of sainthood; if one keeps upright, one is not far.

10. Here the call is being drawn by the Lord's attraction; in these stations there is intense manifestation.

11. This door is first the door of sainthood; he reached manifestation to the utmost, sleep departed.

12. He found the delight of conscience and attained his wish; nothing pure remained in his heart but God.

13. Here the traveller became exceedingly joyful; listen, there are unveilings and miracles beyond count.

14. Even if this world were ruin upon ruin, the answer is: he grieves over nothing.

15. In nearness the greater sainthood becomes manifest; God remains in his heart, all the rest is falsehood.

16. Know that this sainthood is that of the prophets; without doubt it is attained by following the custom.

17. No one grows faint in his heart; “Lî me‘allâh” came, the thorns and rubbish were gone.

18. He is not heedless of God for a single breath; he knew God, that is enough, the rest is desire.

19. No dust remained on the mirror of the heart; there is no pride in the world's existence.

20. The Lord manifested Himself; friend and stranger departed, the Creator remained.

21. This sainthood cannot be compared with the first; here one knows God more than before.

22. These people reached perfection in this work through the master; perfections are not reflected without a guide.

23. Here the love of God is greater than before; some thought it had become madness,

24. because his inward burned with the love of God, and those outside did not know this state.

25. In this great sainthood are the perfections of God; the states of the secret of the prophets are unveiled.

26. There the heart became the purest mirror; the universe of the Majestic appeared.

27. Now let me tell you of the highest sainthood; know that it was above manifestation.

28. Listen, let me describe it to you one by one: all the angels stood up for it.

29. This sainthood became very lofty; with God it became true, it found the grace of the essence.

30. The universe too became a mirror to it; God appeared, no difficulty remained.

31. Above this there is a blessing of God: annihilation in God, the glory of abiding.

32. This fortune is a gift, impossible to earn; not every saint finds this bond of grace.

33. Annihilation in God is the beginning of abiding; the most perfect of this community found this state.

34. It does not come by effort, yet there is an entry to it; for every saint it is impossible to find this gift.

35. Come, take news of the states of this help; whoever reaches it has no journey left.

36. The world, sea and land, is all under his command; he helps the eighteen thousand worlds.

37. Their states cannot be understood; their words turned into state and were gone.

38. All their sayings are hidden from the people; their states are beyond the grasp of understanding.

39. The first station is the journey to God; from this came the journey in God, how well ordered.

40. There was standing too in the journey from God; and in the journey through things, the great help.

41. His former rebellion and evil deeds were forgiven; no being remained in his heart but God.

42. Contingent beings were unveiled in a single instant; a spiritual favour came from God.

Literary and Historical Commentary

Contemplations and the Stages of Sainthood

Oneness, withness, nearness and love are the names of the contemplations performed in sequence on the Naqshbandi-Mujaddidi path: reflecting on God's oneness, His being with one, His nearness and His love. The book's longest and most theoretical mesnevî section, forty-two couplets (594-635 in the edition), describes according to its heading the inner states and divine manifestations that appear in the “contemplation of oneness, withness, nearness and love”. The prose section on contemplations in the book's final part also explains them in prose.

The poet ties each contemplation to a degree of sainthood. In the contemplation of oneness there is no rabıta; the traveller reflects only that God is with him; withness is “the door of sainthood”; in nearness the “greater sainthood”, the sainthood of the prophets, becomes manifest; then comes the “highest sainthood”, before which the angels stand. At the top are annihilation in God and abiding in God, and the poet says that this is a “vehbî” fortune, attained only as a gift and impossible to earn by effort. This sequence is a verse summary of the Mujaddidi stages of sainthood systematised by İmâm-ı Rabbânî.

The last couplets of the section count the four journeys: to God, in God, from God and through things. In the twenty-sixth couplet the heart becomes “the purest mirror” and the universe appears in it; in the thirtieth the universe too becomes a mirror to the saint. The mirror image settles once more, at these lofty stages, into the poet's pen name.

Bibliography

Online sources