Original Persian Text

Metre: mef’ūlü mefā’īlü mefā’īlü fe’ūlün

Yā Rab çi buved bāz be-kūrī-i münāfıḳ
İmşeb ḳadem-i rence ḳoned yār-ı muvāfıḳ
Der-bezm-i ezel sābıḳa’ī būd ki imrūz
Ez-ṣoḥbet-i vaṣl-ı to resed devlet-i sābıḳ
Behr-i dil-i men na‘l ber-āteş me-neh ey dost
Maḳṣūd-ı to ebrūy-ı to-rā būd muṭābıḳ
Ez-kes̱ret-i ‘ışḳ-ı to resed devlet-i vaḥdet
Kes-rā ki buved ez-dil ü cān terk-i ‘alāyıḳ
Çün ṣubḥ dil-i rūşen ez-ān yāft Münīrī
Şod der-reh-i mihr-i meh-i ruḫsār-ı to ṣādıḳ

In English

1. O Lord, what would it be if, to spite the hypocrite, the agreeable beloved should take the trouble to set foot here again tonight. ("Be-kūrī-i münāfıḳ", to the blindness of the hypocrite, means to spite him. Ersoy understands the couplet as "what would it be if he set out, if he came by us, to the blindness of the hypocrites".)

2. In the gathering of pre-eternity there was a share written beforehand, so that today that old happiness reaches us from the converse of union with you. (The gathering of pre-eternity is the gathering of Elest, in which souls said "yes" to God before creation; Ersoy too understands it as "in the gathering of Elest".)

3. O friend, do not put the horseshoe in the fire for my heart; your purpose was in accord with your eyebrow. ("Putting the horseshoe in the fire" means leaving someone restless and helpless; Ersoy too explains it in parentheses as "do not make me exhausted and unsettled". The eyebrow is likened by its shape to a horseshoe.)

4. To one who has abandoned all his ties with heart and soul, the happiness of unity comes from the abundance of your love.

5. Because Münîrî was faithful on the road of love for your moon-like cheek, he gained a heart bright as the morning. ("Mihr", in its dictionary sense, means both sun and love.)

Literary and Historical Commentary

Structure of the Poem

The poem is a five-couplet ghazal (gazel) written in Persian; in the edition it is the ninetieth of the Persian ghazals (fg 90). The metre is "mef‘ûlü mefâ‘îlü mefâ‘îlü fe‘ûlün". The ghazal has no refrain (redif) and does not appear in Ersoy's list of refrains. The rhyme is the sound "-ıḳ": münāfıḳ, muvāfıḳ, sābıḳ, muṭābıḳ, ‘alāyıḳ, ṣādıḳ. The poem is found in the Vatican (VT 83a) and Vienna (VY 66b) manuscripts. To whom and when it was written is not known.

Meaning and Figures of Speech

All the rhyme words are of Arabic origin, and some of them are linked to one another by sound or root. In the opening couplet "münāfıḳ" and "muvāfıḳ" differ by a single letter; since one means the hypocrite and the other the agreeable friend, both a likeness of sound and a contrast of meaning are set up. In the second couplet "sābıḳa" (what was written beforehand) and "sābıḳ" (former, old) come from the same root. The prayer in the opening couplet is a sentence of wishing: the lover wishes that the beloved would visit tonight to spite the enemy.

The second couplet ties love to pre-eternity (ezel). In the gathering of Elest, that is, the gathering in which souls assembled before they were created, the bond between lover and beloved was written beforehand; the happiness of today's union is the outcome of that old destiny. There is a contrast of time between "ezel" (pre-eternity) and "imrūz" (today). The third couplet rests on an idiom. "Putting the horseshoe in the fire" is used in the sense of leaving someone unsettled and helpless; the beloved's horseshoe-shaped eyebrow joins this idiom. That the beloved's purpose is "in accord" with his eyebrow may be understood as the anger visible in the knitting of the brow also betraying his intention.

The fourth couplet is built with Sufi concepts. The contrast of "kes̱ret" (multiplicity) and "vaḥdet" (unity) expresses how one who cuts all his ties reaches unity through the abundance of love. "Terk-i ‘alāyıḳ", leaving worldly ties, is a well-known principle of Sufism. Ersoy says that although Münîrî was not a Sufi poet he used Sufi symbols, and that this must stem from the influence of Hâfız; this couplet is a fitting example of that observation.

In the pen-name couplet (mahlas) the words "ṣubḥ" (morning) and "ṣādıḳ" (faithful) in the rhyme meet in the same couplet. "Ṣubḥ-ı ṣādıḳ" is the true dawn, when the horizon really brightens; using his faithfulness in a way that recalls this phrase, the poet ties his bright heart to the morning. The word "mihr", in its senses of both sun and love, builds a picture of light together with "meh" (moon) and "ruḫsār" (cheek). Here the poet uses his pen name in the form "Münīrī"; the word's sense of "illuminating" also agrees with the bright heart.

Bibliography

Online sources