Original Ottoman Turkish Text

Metre: Fâilâtün fâilâtün fâilâtün fâilün

Şem‘a-yı nûr-ı hidâyet dâ’imâ par par yanar
Şemşir-i şân-ı şeri‘at dâ’imâ par par yanar

In English

1. The candle of the light of guidance always burns, flickering bright; the sword of the glory of the sharia always burns (gleams), flickering bright.

Literary and Historical Commentary

Structure of the Poem

The poem is recorded in the cönk as a ghazal (gazel). The ghazal is the aruz verse form whose opening couplet (matla) rhymes within itself and whose other couplets are tied to that rhyme; folk poets also used this form. Because Hakverdioğlu's article publishes only the first verse unit of each poem in the cönk, we know only the opening couplet of this poem. The refrain is "dâ'imâ par par yanar"; the rhyme is the "-et / -at" sound in "hidâyet / şerî'at". The identification of the metre is ours; as is usual in the aruz poems of folk poets, some syllables may not fit the pattern exactly. To whom and on what occasion the poem was composed is not known.

Meaning and Figures of Speech

The couplet sets two images of light side by side: the candle of the light of guidance and the sword of the sharia. The candle is the symbol of knowledge and faith that show the way in darkness; the sword expresses the rule and power of religion. Both "par par yanar": the candle burns with a trembling flame, the sword gleams. The doubled word "par par" is an onomatopoeic expression in Turkish meaning both to burn flickering and to shine brightly; with this double sense the poet binds the candle and the sword to the same verb. Like Nazîf's other ghazals, the couplet has the air of a religious admonition.

Historical Context

The poem is recorded under the pen name "Nazîf" in the Merzifon Cönkü introduced by Metin Hakverdioğlu in 2019. The cönk contains ten of Nazîf's poems, one in syllabic metre and nine in aruz; the aruz poems are all ghazals, and most carry religious and moral admonition. The article gives no information about the poet; the poet's identity and the century in which he lived have not been determined. Since the cönk is thought to have been compiled in Merzifon within the literary circle of Eyüb Sabrî, the poet may have been one read or living in that circle. For details, see the page on Nazîf. The poem is on page 70 of the cönk and page 550 of the article; its full text is in the cönk itself and has not been published to date.

Bibliography

Online sources