Original Ottoman Turkish Text

Metre: Fâilâtün Fâilâtün Fâilün

Çün varıp bir pîre olduñ bende yâr
Sen anıñ emrinde her dem ḳıl ḳarâr
Ṭut rıżâsın her ne derse ol nigâr
Tâ tecellî eylesin ol Kirdgâr
Şarṭ-ı a‘ẓamdır ṭarîḳatde edeb
Hem edebdir vuṣlata muṭlaḳ sebeb
Âteş-i ‘aşḳ içre yan her rûz u şeb
Ġıll u ġışdan ṣâf olup mis̱l-i ẕeheb
Ḥürmeti ẓâhir u bâṭın ‘âdet et
Çokca ta‘ẓîm eyle ḳalben râḥat et
Her ne fermân etse lüṭf et himmet et
Ṭur ḥużûr üzre kelâm-ı ḳıllet et
Sen anı bilmezsiñ amma ol bilir
Ḥaḳ anıñladır müdâim bildirir
Bunlarıñ her işleri nefs öldürür
Ger murâd etse seni senden bilir
Kendi açmazdan sen açma bir suḫan
Ṭur sükût üzre ‘azîz açma dehân
Sen müeddeb ol ḥużûrda bî-zebân
İstifâże ḳıl o meclisde hemân
Bir ḫaṭâ etse eger andan ẓuhûr
Kendi ‘isyânıñdır ancaḳ ol ḳuṣûr
Ba‘żı işte imtiḥân var ṭoġru ṭur
Nefsiñi ḳahr et ‘azîz ol bi-ḫuṭûr
Sen aña bir iş buyurma ‘âḳil ol
Ol ne nuṭḳ etse aña sen ḳā’il ol
Bil ‘azîziñ pâdişâh sen sâ’il ol
Böyledir feyżin ẓuhûr-ı nâ’il ol
Ol ne verse bil saña ni‘metdir ol
Şer görünse ṣûreti himmetdir ol
Her ne söylerse ‘aẓîm raḥmetdir ol
Ṣabr ḳıl pes bil ne keyfiyetdir ol
Bil ‘azîziñ cümleden ‘azm-i azîz
Hep anıñladır kerem ekrem ‘azîz
Şeyḫ-i Ekber’den gerek aḳdem azîz
Ḥaḳḳ-ıla bilmek anı maḥrem azîz
Şeyḫ ḥużûrunda nevâfil eyleme
Farż namazdan ġayri tesbiḥ eyleme
Tesbiḥ alma her kelâmı söyleme
Gözleriñ yum ġayre ülfet eyleme
Mâl u emlâkiñ fedâ ḳıl yok seniñ.
Bende ḳıl evlâd u ‘iyâliñ ḥaḳ seniñ
Emr-i mürşid üzre ol olmaḳ seniñ
İş budur âdâb-ı ‘aziz ṭurmaḳ seniñ
Ḥıżr-ile olsa eger şeyḫiñ refîḳ
Öyle bil ister ‘azîziñden ṭarîḳ
Ol bu iḫlâṣ ile gel olma ḥarîḳ
Böyledir âdâb ‘azîzim ol daḳīḳ
İstifâża eyle olma bî-hużûr
Bir gedâ bil kendiñi ol bî-ḫuṭûr
Bir günah-kâr ṭut özüñ bil pür-ḳuṣûr
Geç bu ‘âlemden ḥużûru’llâh’da ṭur

In English

1. When you have gone to a master and become his devoted friend, stay at every moment under his command.

2. Whatever that beautiful one says, seek his pleasure, so that the Creator may manifest Himself to you.

3. The greatest condition on the path is good conduct; good conduct is the sure cause of union.

4. Burn in the fire of love night and day; cleansed of rancour and deceit, become pure like gold.

5. Make reverence for him your habit outwardly and inwardly; honour him greatly and give him ease of heart.

6. Whatever he commands, be gracious and make the effort; stand in his presence and speak little.

7. You do not know him, but he knows; God makes things known to you through him continually.

8. Every act of these men kills the self; if he wishes, he knows you better than you know yourself.

9. Do not open a subject before he opens it; stay silent, my dear, do not open your mouth.

10. In his presence be well-mannered and tongueless; seek at once to receive grace in that assembly.

11. If an error appears from him, that fault is only your own rebellion.

12. In some matters there is a test; stand straight, my dear, subdue your self, be free of anxiety.

13. Be wise, give him no orders; whatever he utters, accept it.

14. Know that your master is the king and you the beggar; this is how grace appears, receive it.

15. Whatever he gives, know that it is a blessing to you; even if its form looks evil, it is his care.

16. Whatever he says is a great mercy; be patient, then you will know what state it is.

17. Know that the resolve of your master is dearer than all; all generosity and bounty are with him.

18. Your master must come before even the Greatest Sheikh (Ibn Arabî); one must know him through God and be his intimate.

19. In the sheikh's presence do not perform supererogatory prayers; besides the obligatory prayer do not tell your beads.

20. Do not take up your rosary, do not say every word; close your eyes, do not become familiar with others.

21. Sacrifice your wealth and property, they are not yours; bind your wife and children to him, this is your due.

22. Your task is to be under the master's command; the task is to stand by the rules of your master.

23. Even if your sheikh were the companion of Hızır, know that he seeks the path from his own master.

24. Come, be thus sincere, do not burn yourself up; this, my dear, is the rule, be attentive.

25. Seek to receive grace, do not be restless; know yourself a beggar, be free of anxiety.

26. Hold yourself a sinner full of faults; pass beyond this world and stand in the presence of God.

Literary and Historical Commentary

Conduct in the Master's Presence

“Şarṭ-ı a‘ẓamdır ṭarîḳatde edeb”, the greatest condition on the path is good conduct: the third couplet states plainly the real subject of the book, “edeb”. That is why this section, “Ri‘âyet-i Âdâb-ı Mürşid”, observing the rules of conduct towards the master (couplets 127-152), is one of the parts that best explain the title Âdâbü'l-müeddeb. The couplets that follow list point by point how one should sit in the sheikh's presence, when one may speak and what is not to be done.

The rules are detailed: no subject is opened before the sheikh opens it, supererogatory prayers are not performed in his presence, beads are not told, the eyes are kept closed, and one does not become familiar with others. The eleventh couplet expresses one of the harshest principles of Sufi training: if an error is seen in the sheikh, it is a reflection of the disciple's own fault. In the fifteenth couplet everything the sheikh gives is said to be his care, even if it looks like evil. The couplet the thesis quotes to illustrate the rules of the order comes from here: “Şeyḫ ḥużûrunda nevâfil eyleme”.

The eighteenth couplet is remarkable: the disciple is told to put his own sheikh before even the “Şeyh-i Ekber”, the Greatest Sheikh, Ibn Arabî. This is counsel less about the sheikh's greatness than about the disciple's devotion being directed to a single centre; the comparison with Hızır in the twenty-third couplet works the same idea. The last counsel to the disciple is to see himself as a faulty sinner and a beggar.

Bibliography

Online sources