Original Ottoman Turkish Text

Metre: Fâilâtün Fâilâtün Fâilün

Evvelâ ḫalḳ oldu nûr-ı Muṣṭafâ
Soñra nurundan bu eşyâ enbiyâ
Geldi Âdem ḳavmine ḳıldı nidâ
Söyledi vardır Ḥabîb-i Kibriyâ
Bak Ḫudâ’nıñ ḳudreti taḥrîrine
Hep nebiyu’llâh gelip tebşîrine
Dört kitap gökden inipdir şânına
Cümlesi vaḥy oldu istiḳbâline
Ol olupdur Enbiyâ’nıñ serveri
Ol olupdur Enbiyâ’nıñ mefḫari
Ol olupdur evliyâ’nıñ enveri
Ol olup âḫir zamân peyġamberi
Ḥaḳ anı irsâl edip dîn fetḥine
“Sûre-i İnnâ fetaḥnâ” medḥine
“‘Urvetü’l vüs̱ḳā” buyurdu şânına
Geldi Cebrâ’îl hem istibşârına
“Aḥsen-i taḳvîme” maẓhar müctebâ
Hem anıñ şânında geldi “ve’ż-żuḥâ”
Aḥmed-i Maḥmûd Muḥammed Musṭafâ
Ol olup maḥbûb-ı ẕât-ı kibriyâ
Hep ḥurûfât-ı kelâmu’llâh ‘ayân
Tâ anıñ medḥin beyân eyler hemân
Hem anıñ vaṣfından ‘âcizdir zebân
Yok anıñ vaṣfında lâyıḳ bir dehân
Ol olup cümle haḳāyıḳ mebde’î
Ol olup feyż-i hidâyet menşe’î
Oldur ancaḳ kâ’inâtıñ eşvaḳı
Menbau‘ṣ-ṣıdḳı Ḫudâ’nıñ ṣıddıḳı
Ol olup ḥubb-i Ḫudâ’nın maḫzeni
Ol olup cümle meḥâsin aḥseni
Ol olup aḥsenleriñ müstaḥseni
Ol olup sırr-ı ḥaḳīḳat ma‘deni
Tâ seni bilmekden ‘âcizdir ‘uḳūl
Ḥaḳ bilir ancaḳ seni tâ pür uṣūl
Sen olup ṣâḥib-i şefâ‘at yâ Resûl
Maẓhar-ı sırr-ı şefâ‘at ḳıl ḳabûl
Yâ Nebî ‘afv et bu mir’ât-ı kemteri
Fısḳ-ı iṣyândan ṭolupdur defteri
Defter-i ‘amelimiñ her evraḳı
Hep günâhımdan siyâhdır masṭarı
Hep ḫaṭâ iṣyân olupdur her demim
Bâ-ḫaṭâ cürm üzre her bir enfüsüm
Melce’im yoḳ ġayri senden bî-kesim
Sen beni maḥşerde etme münhezim

In English

1. First the light of Mustafa was created; then from his light these things and the prophets.

2. Adam came, called out to his people and said that God had a beloved.

3. Look at what God's power has written: all the prophets of God came to announce him.

4. Four books came down from heaven for his glory; all of them were revealed to herald his coming.

5. He became the leader of the prophets; he became the pride of the prophets.

6. He became the most luminous of the saints; he became the prophet of the last age.

7. God sent him to win the religion; the chapter “İnnâ fetaḥnâ” is there to praise him.

8. Of his glory He said “el-‘Urvetü'l-vüs̱ḳā” (the firmest handhold); Gabriel too came to give him tidings.

9. The chosen one is the locus of “the finest form” (chapter of the Fig); “Ve'ż-żuḥâ” (chapter of the Morning) came down concerning him.

10. Ahmed, Mahmûd, Muhammed, Mustafa: he became the beloved of the Majestic essence.

11. All the letters of the word of God plainly tell his praise.

12. The tongue is unable to describe him; there is no mouth worthy of describing him.

13. He became the beginning of all realities; he became the source of the grace of guidance.

14. He alone is what the universe longs for most; the spring of truthfulness, God's truthful servant, is he.

15. He became the treasury of the love of God; he became the finest of all fine qualities.

16. He became the one admired by the fair; he became the mine of the secret of reality.

17. Minds are unable to know you; God alone knows you with all your foundations.

18. O Messenger, you are the master of intercession; as the locus of the secret of intercession, accept us.

19. O Prophet, forgive this worthless mirror; his register is filled with sin and rebellion.

20. Every page of the register of my deeds is black in its lines with my sins.

21. Every moment of mine has been error and rebellion; every breath I take is in fault and crime.

22. I have no refuge but you, I am without anyone; do not let me be routed on the Day of Gathering.

Literary and Historical Commentary

From Light to the Gathering

An arc from the first creation of the light of Muhammad to his intercession at the Gathering gives this section, “The Creation of Muhammad” (couplets 83-104), its frame. The first couplets repeat the idea of the previous section, then say that the prophets and the four revealed books announced him. From the fifth to the sixteenth couplet the formulas “Ol olup …” and “Ol olupdur …”, he became, follow one another like a litany; in this sequence the Prophet is named first leader of the prophets, then most luminous of the saints, then the beginning of realities and the treasury of love.

The seventh, eighth and ninth couplets are full of Qur'anic references. “İnnâ fetaḥnâ” points to the chapter of Victory, “‘Urvetü'l-vüs̱ḳā” to the chapter of the Cow, “aḥsen-i taḳvîm” to the chapter of the Fig and “ve'ż-żuḥâ” to the chapter of the Morning; each is traced in the footnotes of the thesis. In the tenth couplet the Prophet's four names are lined up in a single line.

“This Worthless Mirror”

The last four couplets of the section pass from praise to confession. In the nineteenth couplet the poet calls himself “mir'ât-ı kemter”, a worthless mirror; here the pen name ceases to be a name and becomes a self-deprecating description. The register of deeds darkened by sin, with its lines, is again an image built through a scribe's eye. Left without anyone, the poet asks not to be routed on the Day of Gathering.

Bibliography

Online sources