Original Ottoman Turkish Text

Metre: Fâilâtün Fâilâtün Fâilâtün Fâilün

Yâ ilâhi bâb-ı lüṭfuñdan ‘inâyet gözlerim
İltifât-ı ma‘nevî luṭf et beşâret gözlerim
Gözlerim gözler ‘azîz dergâh-ı bâbıñ lüṭfunu
Bunca müddetdir ḳabûl-i isticâbet gözlerim
Baḥr-i lüṭfuñ bî-nihâyet bende bî-ḥad iḥtiyâc
Sâ’ilim iḥsân buyur ver her ne ḥâcet gözlerim
Bir mu‘ciz ḳıṭmîrim bâbıñda yoḳ benden kilâb
Bir ża‘îf kelbem kapuñda istiḳāmet gözlerim
Seyyid-i Şâh İmâm-ı Enbiyâ ḥaḳḳı Ḫudâ
Ḳıl revâ her ḥâcetim bâb-ı icâbet gözlerim
Çâr-yâr hem şehîdân-ı imâmeyn ‘aşḳına
Maẓhar-ı feyż-i ṭarîḳatde tamâmet gözlerim
Ġavs̱-i a‘ẓam mürşidim ol Şâh-ı ‘İṣmet ḥaḳḳı-çün
Cümle pîrân ḥaḳḳı-çün terfî‘i ḥâlât gözlerim
‘Arżuḥâl etdi saña Mir’ât-nümâ yâ Rab meded
Ḳalmışım tîh-ı żalâletde hidâyet gözlerim

In English

1. My God, I look for grace from the door of Your kindness; grant a spiritual favour, I look for glad tidings.

2. My eyes watch for the kindness of the threshold of Your dear door; for so long now I have been looking for the acceptance of my prayer.

3. The sea of Your kindness is endless, my need is boundless; I am a beggar, be bountiful, give whatever need I am looking for.

4. At Your door I am a helpless Kıtmîr (the dog of the Seven Sleepers); the dogs are no lower than I; a feeble dog at Your door, I look for steadfastness.

5. My God, for the sake of the Lord Seyyid, imam of the prophets, fulfil my every need; I look for the door of answering.

6. For love of the four friends and the martyrs, the two imams, I look for completion in being the locus of the grace of the path.

7. For the sake of the great help, my master, that Shah İsmet, for the sake of all the masters, I look for the raising of my states.

8. O Lord, Mir'ât-nümâ has laid his petition before You; help; I am left in the desert of error, I look for guidance.

Literary and Historical Commentary

A Petition with the Refrain “Gözlerim”

The refrain “gözlerim” has two meanings: both “I look for, I await” and “my eyes”. This eight-couplet supplication, following the section on contentment and the four caliphs, is in the four-foot “Fâilâtün” pattern of the remel. The first line of the second couplet sets these two meanings side by side: “Gözlerim gözler ‘azîz dergâh-ı bâbıñ lüṭfunu”, my eyes watch for the kindness of Your dear threshold. The rhyme words “‘inâyet, beşâret, isticâbet, ḥâcet, istiḳāmet, icâbet, tamâmet, ḥâlât, hidâyet” follow one another like the items of a petition.

The fourth couplet is the most striking image of the supplication. The poet likens himself to Kıtmîr, the dog of the Seven Sleepers that waited at the mouth of the cave, and says that as a feeble dog at the door he looks for steadfastness. Kıtmîr is a familiar symbol of self-abasement and loyalty in the Ottoman tradition of prayer and poetry.

The fifth, sixth and seventh couplets build a chain of intercession: prayer is made for the sake of the Prophet, the four caliphs, the “şehîdân-ı imâmeyn”, the martyred two imams Hasan and Hüseyin, his master Mustafa İsmet Efendi and all the masters. It is the seventh couplet that Şensöz quotes to show the poet's devotion to his master. The naming of the four caliphs and the two imams together in the same couplet is the counterpart, in the language of prayer, of the Sunni love for the Prophet's household defended in the earlier sections.

Bibliography

Online sources