Original Ottoman Turkish Text

Metre: fā‘ilātün fā‘ilātün fā‘ilātün fā‘ilün

Ḫaṭṭ-ı dil-ber kim yazulmış la‘l-i sīr-āb üstine
Gūyiyā taḥrīr olupdur siḥr ile āb üstine
Ḫaṭṭuñuñ devrinde ḳaşuñ üzre ay alnuñ ki var
Ṣanki nūr indi şeb-i ḳadr içre miḥrāb üstine
Nāle-i dil-sūzumuñ āhengini dem-sāz idüp
Ḳanlu yaş ile gözüm iş aṣdı dolāb üstine
Ārzū-yı la‘l-i nābuñla göñül ṭurdı ölür
Ḫastedür bes cān virür bir iki ‘unnāb üstine
Ġam sipāhın her gice ḫayl-i ḫayālüñ cem‘ idüp
Niçe bir ider şebīḫūn leşker-i ḫᵛāb üstine
Ḫār u ḥāşāk içre aḥvālüm ne bilsün kim nedür
Şol ki ḳor pehlū ḥarīr-i ḫāṣ u sincāb üstine
‘Ārıżuñda görüben zülfeynüñi didi Münīr
Sāye ṣalmış şeh-per-i Cibrīl meh-tāb üstine

In English

1. The down (the line) of the beloved, written upon the well-watered (fresh, gleaming) ruby lip, seems to have been written upon water by magic.

2. In the age of the down, your moon-like forehead above your brows is like light descending upon the prayer niche on the Night of Power.

3. My eye, keeping time with the strains of my heart-burning lament, has laid a task with bloody tears upon the water wheel (it has joined the water wheel in groaning and pouring water). The exact sense of the idiom is uncertain.

4. Longing for your pure ruby lip, the heart lies at the point of death; it is sick, and so it gives its life for one or two jujubes.

5. How long will the horsemen of your image gather the army of grief every night and make a night raid upon the host of sleep?

6. How should one who lies on his side upon fine silk and squirrel fur know what my state is among thorns and straw?

7. Seeing your two locks upon your cheek, Münîr said: "The great feather of Gabriel's wing has cast its shadow upon the moonlight."

Literary and Historical Commentary

Structure of the Poem

This is a seven-couplet Turkish ghazal, the two hundred and forty-third of the Turkish ghazals in the edition (tg 243). The metre is "fā‘ilātün fā‘ilātün fā‘ilātün fā‘ilün". The redif (refrain word) is "üstine" (upon); Ersoy too gives the redif of this ghazal as "üstine" in the redif list of his introduction. The rhyme rests on "-āb": sīr-āb, āb, miḥrāb, dolāb, ‘unnāb, ḫᵛāb, sincāb and meh-tāb. The ghazal is found in all three divan manuscripts (VT 155b, VY 134b, Ü 51b); the edition shows no variant readings. It is not known for whom or when it was written.

Meaning and Figures of Speech

The first two couplets of the ghazal are built on the two senses of the word "ḫaṭ". The Kubbealtı Lugatı explains "hat" as line and writing; in the same entry it also records the older sense of the beard and moustache newly appearing on the faces of the young. The down on the cheek is this second sense. In the opening couplet the down above the lip is writing written upon water. Since nothing can be written on water, this is possible only by magic; the rhymes "sīr-āb" (well-watered) and "āb" (water) reinforce this thought.

In the second couplet the face is thought of as a place of worship. In its entry "mihrap" the Kubbealtı records that in literature this word was used for the beloved's arched brows and the space between them. The dark down is like night, and the moon-like forehead like light; this brightness above the prayer niche of the brows is likened to the light that descends on the Night of Power. The first verse of the sura al-Qadr, which tells that the Qur'an was sent down on the Night of Power, lies behind the couplet. The link between the verb "indi" (descended) and the sending down of the Qur'an strengthens this tie (our observation).

In the third couplet the eye is likened to a water wheel. In its entry "dolap" the Kubbealtı describes the device that draws water from a garden well and quotes a couplet of Zâtî in which the water wheel groans and sheds tears at the hand of fortune. Münîrî's couplet rests on the same image: the lamenting heart and the weeping eye vie with the wheel that groans as it pours water. We have not found the exact meaning of the idiom "iş aṣmak" in the sources; in the translation we have given both possibilities together.

In the fourth couplet the lip is likened to the jujube. The Kubbealtı describes the red, fleshy fruit of the jujube and also records properties of this fruit such as being emollient and mildly laxative. The sick heart's giving its life for one or two jujubes allows the fruit to be tied to the lip by its colour and to medicine as something given to the sick (our observation).

The fifth couplet draws a picture of war. The Kubbealtı explains "şebhun" as a night raid and quotes a line of Nâilî in which the army of grief makes a night raid on the realm of the heart. In Münîrî the horsemen of the image gather the army of grief and raid the host of sleep every night. The words "sipāh" (army), "ḫayl" (horsemen), "şebīḫūn" (night raid) and "leşker" (host) form a congruence of images (tenasüp).

In the sixth couplet the man at his ease is compared with the lover among thorns. As the second sense of "sincap" (squirrel) the Kubbealtı gives the fur obtained from this animal's pelt. There is a contrast (tezat) between silk and fur on the one hand and thorns and straw on the other. In the couplet bearing the pen name (mahlas) the locks are likened to Gabriel's wing. The Kubbealtı explains "şehper" as the longest feather of a bird's wing. The cheek is moonlight, and the locks are the shadow of the wing falling upon this light.

Bibliography

Primary sources

Books

  • Kubbealtı Lugatı (Misalli Büyük Türkçe Sözlük), entries "hat", "mihrap – mihrab", "dolap", "hünnap – hünnab – ünnap – unnap", "şebhun", "sincap" and "şehper – şahper". https://lugatim.com/s/dolap

Other sources

Online sources