Original Ottoman Turkish Text

Metre: Fâilâtün Fâilâtün Fâilâtün Fâilün

Ey melek sîmâ olup her rûz u şeb âbım saña
Bâreka’llâh ol Ḫudâ vermiş güzel aḥkâm saña
İns ü cinn’e ma‘nevî ḥükm-i ṣahîhiñ var bugün
İttibâ‘ etmiş ḳamu erbâb-ı istiḥkâm saña
Var seniñ ẕâtıñda ḥakkân-i kemâl-i Iṭtılâ‘
Ümmetiñ ḥâli olupdur ṭıfl iken ilhâm saña
Şol ḳadar lüṭf eylemişdir ẕâtıña ol “lem yezel”
Ni‘met-i dünyâya ‘uḳbâyı edip ikrâm saña
Hiç ne noḳṣañdır saña bilmezse ḳadriñ ol ‘adüv
Ehline ma‘lûm Ḫudâ’nıñ vîrdigi in‘am saña
Ey nebî ‘âlî neseb ṣâhib-şeref ḫûrşîd-cemâl
Etmeyen îmân olur kâfir bütün ‘âlem saña
Öyle bir ẕât iltifât etmiş saña Mir’ât-nümâ
Hiç ne ġam vardır senin-çün günde biñ bayram saña

In English

1. O angel-faced one, night and day my honour is devoted to you; how blessed are the fine laws God has given you.

2. Today you hold a spiritual and rightful rule over men and jinn; all who have a rightful claim have followed you.

3. In your essence lies a perfect knowledge granted by God; even as a child the state of your community was revealed to you.

4. That Eternal One has been so gracious to your essence that in return for the blessings of this world He has bestowed the hereafter upon you.

5. What loss is it to you if that enemy does not know your worth? The gift God has given you is known to those worthy of it.

6. O prophet of noble lineage, full of honour, beautiful as the sun; the whole world that does not believe in you becomes unbelieving.

7. Mir'ât-nümâ, such a being has looked kindly upon you that no sorrow remains; for you there are a thousand festivals a day.

Literary and Historical Commentary

A Na't with the Refrain “Saña”

Something rough shows at once in the rhyme: in the sequence “âbım, aḥkâm, istiḥkâm, ilhâm, ikrâm, in‘âm, ‘âlem, bayram”, “âbım” and “‘âlem” are not true rhymes, and, as Şensöz also notes, in this work the poet keeps exactness of rhyme and metre behind his counsel. The book's third na't, these seven couplets use the remel, four feet to the line, each ending in the refrain “saña”, to you.

The “âb” of the first couplet means both water and “the water of the face”, that is, honour and standing; the poet says that night and day all his honour belongs to the Prophet. The third couplet takes up the belief that the Prophet was informed of the state of his community while still a child. In the fifth and sixth couplets the tone hardens: the “‘adüv”, the enemy who does not know the Prophet's worth, can take nothing away from him, and the whole world that does not believe in him falls into unbelief. This harshness will become even more marked in the sections of the book that touch on the disputes in Amasya.

The na't closes in joy. The poet addresses himself and says that one who has received the Prophet's favour has no sorrow left; for him every day will be a thousand festivals. This ending, which turns from praise to glad tidings, departs from the tone of supplication that prevails in the book.

Bibliography

Online sources