Original Ottoman Turkish Text

Metre: Mefâ’îlün Mefâ’îlün Mefâ’îlün Mefâ’îlün

Ḥabîb-i ẕât-ı Ḥaḳ nûr-ı Ḫudâsıñ yâ Resûla’llâh
Resûl sırr-ı ẕât-ı kibriyâsın yâ Resûla’llâh
Ẓuhûr-ı mebde-i ‘âlem olubeñ mazhar-ı ṣubḥân
Emîn-i mûnis-i Ḥaḳ Muṣṭafâsıñ yâ Resûla’llâh
Yedu’llâhdır yediñ ḥükmüñdedir zîr-i zemîn eflâk
Reîs-i nüh felek ‘arż-ı semâsıñ yâ Resûla’llâh
Olup ser-çeşme-i şâhi risâlet zât-ı pâkiñ kim
Haḳīḳatde imam-ı enbiyâsıñ yâ Resûla’llâh
Seniñ vasfıñdan ‘âcizdir ḳalem iẓhâr-ı şerm eyler
Kelâmu’llâh-ilen sen müctebâsıñ yâ Resûla’llâh
Sezâdır ẕâtıña “innâ fetaḥnâ” şânıña “levlâk”
Olup “ve’ş-şemsi” vechiñ mehliḳāsıñ yâ Resûla’llâh
Çerâġ-ı mâh-ı rûyuñ afitâb-ı ‘âlem olmuştur
Cemâlin ḫûrşîd âsâ pür żiyâsıñ yâ Resûla’llâh
Kemâl-i şefḳatiñ tekmîl çıkar maḥşerde meydâna
Cemî‘ ḫalḳ çaġrışurlar muḳtezâsıñ yâ Resûla’llâh
Şefâ‘at ḳıl şu gün Mir’ât-nümâ nâ-çâr olup bî-kes
Şefî‘-i ‘âṣiyân rûz-ı ḫabersiñ yâ Resûla’llâh

In English

1. O Messenger of God, you are the beloved of God's essence, the light of God; you are the messenger of the secret of the Majestic essence.

2. Being the manifestation of the world's beginning, you became the locus of the Glorious One; you are God's trusted friend, His chosen Mustafa.

3. Your hand is the hand of God; what lies under the earth and the spheres are under your rule; you are the chief of the nine heavens, the breadth of the sky.

4. Your pure essence has become the fountainhead of the kingship of prophethood; in reality you are the imam of the prophets.

5. The pen is unable to describe you and shows its shame; you were chosen by the word of God.

6. “İnnâ fetaḥnâ” (the chapter of Victory) befits your essence, and “Levlâk” (Were it not for you) your glory; “Ve'ş-şemsi” (By the sun) is your face, you are moon-faced.

7. The moonlight of your face has become the sun of the world; your beauty is full of light like the sun.

8. The perfection of your compassion appears fully on the Day of Gathering; all people cry out to you, you are the one they seek.

9. On that day intercede for Mir'ât-nümâ, left helpless and alone; you are the intercessor of sinners on the day of reckoning.

Literary and Historical Commentary

The Power of the Refrain

Repeated at the end of every couplet, the refrain “yâ Resûla’llâh”, O Messenger of God, turns these nine couplets into a litany. The refrain is long and Arabic; the rhyme is carried by words ending in “-â”, such as “Ḫudâsıñ, kibriyâsın, Muṣṭafâsıñ, semâsıñ, enbiyâsıñ”. In the four-foot hezec pattern “Mefâîlün” the long refrain almost entirely fills the last foot of the line. This arrangement suggests that the na't was suited to communal recitation, perhaps repeated in a gathering of remembrance.

Verses and Hadiths

The poet praises the Prophet in words drawn from the Qur'an and the hadith. The phrase “Yedu'llâh”, the hand of God, in the third couplet recalls the verse of the chapter of Victory said of the pledge at Hudaybiya, “the hand of God is above their hands”. The sixth couplet carries three references at once: the opening of the chapter of Victory, “İnnâ fetaḥnâ”, the “levlâk” hadith meaning “Were it not for you I would not have created the heavens”, and the oath “ve'ş-şemsi”, by the sun, of the chapter of the Sun. A footnote in the edition locates the levlâk saying in the hadith sources.

In the fifth couplet the shame of the pen again shows the scribe's sensibility seen throughout the book: the description of the Prophet exceeds the limits of writing. The last two couplets move to the scene of the Gathering; on the day when all people implore the Prophet, the poet calls himself “nâ-çâr” and “bî-kes”, helpless and without anyone, and asks for intercession.

Bibliography

Online sources