Original Ottoman Turkish Text

Metre: Fâilâtün Fâilâtün Fâilün

Bil velîyu’llâh için yoḳdur memât
Ölmeden öldü bulup sırr-i ḥayât
Bildigiñ ölmek ölümden ḫâricât
En ḳatî ölmek ki tâ ḳable’l-memât
Ḥay ṣıfâtından tecellî ḳılsa Ḥaḳ
‘Abd olur ḥayy-ı beḳāya müsteḥâḳ
Ol tecellîde dese mevtâya ḳalḳ
Ḥayy olur mevtâ o an ḳalḳar ayaḳ
Bu tecellî ḥâlde fenâ fî’ṣ-ṣıfât
Hep fenâ fi’ẕ-ẕâtda buldular necât
Tâ olur ṣoñra beḳā bi’llâh o ẕât
Her maḳāmâtdan beḳādır ‘âlîyât
Çün velâyetden eden çok ‘avdeti
Bir tenezzül-ilen bulan var şehveti
Lîk olup başḳa beḳā keyfiyyeti
Yoḳ beḳādan soñra ‘avdet ḥâleti
Ger fenâ fî’ẕ-ẕât olup sâlik eger
Hîç elinde yoḳ giru ‘avdet sefer
Bu fenâ fî’ẕ-ẕâtdır ancaḳ mu‘teber
Ḳalmadı dünya vü ‘uḳbâdan ḫaber
Çün beḳā bi’llâh nihâyetde maḳām
Yoḳ daḫi bundan ilerde iḳtidâm
Bu idi sâlik için maḳṣûd merâm
Bunda ḥâṣıldır murâdı ve’s-selâm
Çün velî erdikde bî-ḫûdiyyete
Düşti bî-ġāyet ki maḥzûniyyete
Terk edip cümle kemâlin vaḥdete
Ṣoyunup vardı ḥużûr-ı ‘izzete
Ḳalmadı ol ‘aşḳ u şevḳden bir nişân
Geçdi tâ keşf u kerâmetden o ân
Bildi kim Ḥaḳḳ’ıñ imiş hep bî-gümân
Eyledi ‘acziyetin iḳrâr hemân
Çünkü terk etdi o ẕevk-i aḳdemi
Oldu bu ḥalde Ḫudâ’nıñ maḥremi
Ḥaḳ anıñ ḥükmünde ḳıldı ‘âlemi
Tâ ede irşâd bu nâs-ı Âdem’i
Tâ teraḳḳīden velî bu ‘avdete
Etmese yol yoḳdu maḥsûbiyyete
Râżı olduḳda ki bu faḳriyyete
Pes ḳadem baṣdı ki maḥbûbiyyete
Çün ḳabûl etdik de bu ‘acziyyeti
Buldu ol taḥḳīḳ-i kemâl ni‘meti
Bu teraḳḳīden tenezzül ḥâleti
Eyledi taḥṣîl çû maḥbûbiyeti
Ger bu ḥalde görse ‘âlem ekmeli
Ẓann eder bu ‘âlemiñ eñ echeli
Görse evsaṭ ḥâlde şevḳli kâmili
Eyler iḳrâr eylemez ol kümmeli
Ṣûret-i ḫalḳ içre sîret Ḥaḳḳ-ilen
Fehm olunmaz kim bu ḥâl idrâk-ilen
Ṭâhiren görseñ eger bir ẕevḳ-ilen
Yoḳ anıñ-çün ẕevḳ u ġam Allâh-ilen
Bir mürîd ister aña ġāyet daḳīḳ
Her ne iş işlerse lâzım müttefiḳ
Hiç ḫilâfında reviş olmaz ṭarîḳ
Öl dese ölmek gerekdir ey refîḳ

In English

1. Know that for the saint of God there is no death; he died before dying and found the secret of life.

2. The dying you know is outside death; the surest dying is that before death.

3. If God manifests Himself through His attribute of the Living, the servant becomes worthy of the life of abiding.

4. In that manifestation, were he to say to the dead “Rise”, the dead would come to life at once and stand.

5. In this state of manifestation there is annihilation in the attributes; in annihilation in the essence they found salvation entirely.

6. Then that man reaches abiding in God; abiding is loftier than every station.

7. There are many who turn back from sainthood; there are some who, descending, find lust again.

8. But the nature of abiding is different; after abiding there is no state of return.

9. If the traveller has been annihilated in the essence, he has in hand no journey of return at all.

10. Only this annihilation in the essence is of account; no news remained of this world or the next.

11. For abiding in God is the final station; there is no stepping beyond it.

12. This was the aim and wish of the traveller; in this his wish is attained, and that is all.

13. When the saint reached selflessness he fell into a boundless sorrow.

14. Leaving all his perfection for oneness, he stripped himself and came into the presence of the Mighty.

15. No trace remained of that love and longing; at that moment he passed even beyond unveilings and miracles.

16. He knew without doubt that all belonged to God; at once he confessed his helplessness.

17. Because he gave up that former delight, in this state he became God's intimate.

18. God placed the world under his rule, so that he might guide these children of Adam.

19. Had the saint not made this return from the ascent, there would have been no road to his being counted.

20. When he consented to this poverty, he set foot in belovedness.

21. When he accepted this helplessness, he found the blessing of the realisation of perfection.

22. This state of descent from the ascent won him belovedness.

23. Were the world to see the most perfect in this state, it would think him the most ignorant of this world.

24. Were it to see a perfect one full of longing in a middle state, it would acknowledge him, but not the perfect of the perfect.

25. His form is among the people, his nature with God; this state is not understood by comprehension.

26. Even if you see him outwardly with some delight, for him there is neither delight nor sorrow, for he is with God.

27. He needs a very attentive disciple; whatever he does, one must follow.

28. There is no going against him on the path; friend, if he says “Die”, one must die.

Literary and Historical Commentary

Dying Before Death

For the saint there is no death, for he has died before dying and found the secret of life: this thought in the opening couplets is where Şensöz turns to illustrate the notion of death in the work. The heading over couplets 636-663 of the edition describes how the people of God become the locus of the secret “Mûtû ḳable en temûtû”, die before you die, and their descent together with their ascent from the “end of ends”.

The first half of the section summarises the stages of annihilation and abiding: annihilation in the attributes, annihilation in the essence and finally abiding in God. The poet says that there are those who turn back from sainthood and fall into lust again in their descent, but that after abiding there is no return. Then comes the real subject of the section: the passage from “teraḳḳī”, ascent, to “tenezzül”, descent. The saint who has reached perfection leaves all his perfection, his love and longing, his unveilings and miracles, confesses his helplessness and returns among the people to guide them.

The conclusion the poet draws from this idea is striking: when the most perfect saint is seen in this state of descent, the people think him the most ignorant of the world, whereas they readily acknowledge a perfect man full of longing in a middle state. That the poet, who elsewhere in the book complains that the people of Amasya thought the sheikh mad or ordinary, here explains this misunderstanding as a sign of sainthood, sheds light on his own situation as well. The last counsel is for the disciple: he must surrender to such a sheikh so completely that he would die if told “Die”.

Bibliography

Online sources