Original Ottoman Turkish Text

Metre: Fâilâtün Fâilâtün Fâilün

Ḫâliṣâne gelse bir ṭâlib saña
Evvelâ ver istiḫâre sen aña
Olmasa maḳbûl-i şâyân iş bu yâ
Ḳıl yedi kez istiḫâre et du‘a
Olsa maḳbûl ol mürîd ḥaḳḳı ṭaleb
Ḳalbi ta‘lîm ile ver ism-i çalab
Böyle bir müddet çalışsın rûz u şeb
Soñra ta‘lîm et leṭâ’if etme hep
Gel leṭâif ḫamse olduḳda tamâm
Ver nefîy is̱bât aña sen ḳıl ḳıyâm
İstiḳāmet üzre lâzımdır devâm
Çokça sa‘y etmek gerek bulsañ ḥitâm

In English

1. If a seeker comes to you sincerely, first give him the istihare (the prayer for guidance through a dream).

2. If the matter does not prove worthy of acceptance, have him perform the istihare seven times and pray.

3. If he is accepted, give that disciple who seeks God the name of God through instruction of the heart.

4. Let him work thus for a while, night and day; then teach him the subtle centres (letâif), do not give them all at once.

5. When the five subtle centres are complete, give him negation and affirmation (the remembrance “Lâ ilâhe illallah”) and set him on his feet.

6. Perseverance in uprightness is necessary; if you want to reach the end, much effort is needed.

Literary and Historical Commentary

The Steps of Initiation

How a seeker is admitted to the Naqshbandi-Khalidi path, and in what order remembrance is taught to him, is one of the book's most concrete teachings, fitted into just six couplets (121-126). The heading is “Âdâb-ı İstiḫâre ve Ta‘lîm-i Aḫâvât”, the rules of seeking guidance and the instruction of the brethren. The address is to the sheikh; the poet tells the one who will receive the seeker what to do step by step.

The order is clear. First the istihare is performed; as Şensöz explains, if acceptance does not come, it is repeated seven times. To the accepted disciple the “ism-i celâl”, the remembrance of the word Allah, is given first, in the heart; after working at this remembrance night and day for a while, the letâif are taught. The “letâif-i ḫamse” of the fifth couplet are the five spiritual centres counted in the Naqshbandi-Mujaddidi tradition as heart, spirit, secret, hidden and most hidden. When these are complete, “nefy ü is̱bât” is given, the remembrance that negates with “Lâ ilâhe” and affirms with “illallah”. A later prose section of the book describes these centres and the contemplations in more detail.

The warning “etme hep”, do not give them all at once, in the fourth couplet shows the pedagogical side of the teaching. The counsel of uprightness and perseverance rounds off the section; these two notions are also the subject of the book's later section on “istikamet”.

Bibliography

Online sources