Original Ottoman Turkish Text

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

Ḳılmaġa her dem tecellī pertev-i envār-ı ẕāt
Oldı her yüzden muḳābil şöyle mir’āt-ı ṣıfāt
Varlıġından geçmeyince kişi ‘ālemde göñül
Bulmaz ol dünyā-yı dūn içre ḥavādis̱den necāt
Kūşe-i çeşm-i ‘ināyet birle olmaz bir naẓar
Ḳılmayınca yārdan gayriye ḳaṭ‘-ı iltifāt
Secde-gāhum Ka‘be-i ‘ulyā ḳapuñ idi yine
Olmadan bünyād beytullāh u resm-i Sūmnāt
Dün ġamuña cānum al ḳurtar beni didüm didi
İvme vaḳti var iñende bāḳiyātü’ṣ-ṣāliḥāt
‘Āciz ü der-mānde ḳaldı bāb-ı ‘ışḳ içre Münīr
Dāne-i ḫardalca sırr-ı ḳudretinde kāyināt

In English

1. So that the radiance of the lights of the Essence may manifest itself at every moment, the mirror of the attributes has thus set itself before it on every side (in every face).

2. O heart, unless a man passes away from his own being in this world, he will find no deliverance from the events of that base world.

3. Unless one cuts off one's regard for all but the beloved, no glance will come from the corner of (his) eye of grace.

4. Even before the House of God (the Kaaba) and the rite of Somnath were founded, my place of prostration was your lofty Kaaba-like door.

5. Yesterday I said to your sorrow, "Take my life, set me free"; it said: "Do not hurry, there is time; before you lie the lasting good deeds (bāḳiyātü's-ṣāliḥāt)."

6. Münîr has remained helpless and at a loss at the gate of love; within the mystery of (God's) power the universe is the size of a mustard seed.

Literary and Historical Commentary

Structure of the Poem

The poem is a six-couplet Turkish ghazal (gazel) and is the twenty-fifth of the Turkish ghazals in the edition (tg 25). The metre is "fâ‘ilâtün fâ‘ilâtün fâ‘ilâtün fâ‘ilün". The ghazal has no refrain (redif); the rhyme is the sound "-āt": ẕāt, ṣıfāt, necāt, iltifāt, Sūmnāt, ṣāliḥāt, kāyināt. The poem is found in the Vatican (VT 104a) and Vienna (VY 84b) manuscripts; according to the apparatus the fourth couplet is missing in the Vienna manuscript. To whom and when it was written is not known.

Meaning and Figures of Speech

The ghazal is a poem that speaks of love in Sufi concepts, and it recalls the mode of expression of tg 1. In the opening couplet (matla) the words "ẕāt" (essence) and "ṣıfāt" (attributes), in their dictionary senses, are terms that in Sufism describe God's being and His coming into manifestation. The attributes are likened to a mirror that reflects the light of the Essence. The phrase "her yüzden" can be understood in two ways: "from every side" and "in every beautiful face". The same phrase also occurs in the opening couplet of tg 1; this similarity is our own observation.

The second and third couplets give two basic counsels of Sufism. Unless a man passes away from his being, that is, abandons his self, he cannot be delivered from the events of the world. And unless he cuts off his regard for everything but the beloved, he cannot attain his glance of grace. "Dünyā-yı dūn" in its dictionary sense means the low, worthless world. In the third couplet a correspondence is set up between "ḳaṭ‘-ı iltifāt" (cutting off regard) and "kūşe-i çeşm-i ‘ināyet" (the corner of the eye of grace): the one who turns his eyes from others becomes worthy of a glance from the corner of the beloved's eye.

The fourth couplet speaks of a love from pre-eternity. The lover's place of prostration was the beloved's door even before the Kaaba and Somnath were founded. Somnath in its dictionary sense is a famous idol temple in India; its being named together with the Kaaba sets up a contrast. This prostration, reaching back before both places of worship, says that love existed before the founding of religions. The couplet is not found in the Vienna manuscript.

The fifth couplet is a scene of dialogue. The lover tells sorrow to take his life and set him free; sorrow advises him not to hurry. The phrase "bāḳiyātü's-ṣāliḥāt" occurs in the Qur'an (al-Kahf 18:46) and means lasting good deeds; this link is our own observation. The meaning of the word "iñende" in the middle of the line is not entirely clear to us; in the rendering we have given it approximately as "before you".

In the pen-name couplet the lover has remained helpless at the gate of love. By saying that the universe is the size of a mustard seed within God's power, the smallness and helplessness of man are expressed. "Dāne-i ḫardal" (mustard seed) in its dictionary sense is used as the measure of something very small.

Bibliography

Online sources