Original Ottoman Turkish Text

Metre: Fâ’ilâtün Fâ’ilâtün Fâ’ilâtün Fâ’ilün

Stanza I

Kullanur her demde âh özge hevâ bu rûzgâr
Kim yiler her şerre turmaz yil gibi ol zûrgâr
Peykidür her şerr işün hep şerre yiltenmekdedür
Anun-içün idinüpdür kendüye ol zûrı kâr
Rûzgâr-ı zûrkârun hâlidür her demde âh
Nerd-i gamda halkı itmek zûr u âzâr-ıla zâr
Gülşen-i şâdîde gül gibi gülerken çokları
Hâr-ı gamda agladupdur sonra bülbül-veş hezâr
Rûzgâr olur muvâfık niçe demler çoklara
Sonra döner ‘aksine âh anda yokdur bir karâr
Rûzgârun şol muvâfık olmasına niçe dem
‘Âkıbet dönüp muhâlif olıcak ne i‘tibâr
Kanı ol şehzâde Sultân Mustafâ âh u dirîg
Kim ana irgürdi âhir rûzgâr özge hasâr
Rûzgârun oldı pür-zûr ana bir âzârı kim
‘Âleme ol bir ‘acebter ‘ibrete oldı medâr
Nâgehân oldı hemân-dem cân gibi gözden nihân
Gelmedüge döndi hergiz ‘âleme ol şehr-yâr
Gördi derdâ rûzgârı-ı pür-cefâdan bir cefâ
‘Âlemün mahbûbı vü matlûbı Sultân Mustafâ

Stanza II

Kanı âh ol şehr-yâr-ı kâmkâr u kâm-rân
Kanı ol asnâf-ı eltâfıyla olan dâstân
Var-ıdı insâf şol asnâf-ı eltâf anda âh
Şöyle kim olmışdı ol mahbûb u matlûb-ı cihân
Saltanat gülzârınun serv-i ser-efrâz idügin
Hükm iderdi her gören bâdî nazar anı revân
Siyyemâ şol hüsn-i sîmâ birle ol zât-ı şerîf
Hazret-i Sultân Süleymân kendü idi san hemân
Cümleten râzî idi andan re’âyâ vü sipâh
Mülk-i ‘Osmânda ‘Ömer ‘adlin iderdi ol ‘ayân
Bir melek-haslet melik dervîş-şân bir şâh-idi
Şâhidi olmışdı yekser ‘âlemün ol hûb-şâh
Her cihâtı zât-ı ferhunde-sıfâtı gibi hûb
Bir güzel şâh-iken ana kıydı çarh-ı bî-âmân
Çarh-ı gaddâr ana bir gadr-ile âh itdi sitem
‘Âkıbet irgürdi bir özge halel birle ziyân
Gül gibi özge letâfet bulmış-iken ol şehün
Nev-bahâr-ı gülşen-i ‘ömrine âh irdi hazân
Gitdi Sultân Mustafa dâr-ı bekâya tutdı râh
İtdi ‘azm-ı dergeh-i Hak ide rahmetler İlâh

Stanza III

Şeh Süleymân gibi ol bir pür-salâbet hân-ıdı
Bir kerîmü’ş-şân şâh u bir güzel sultân-ıdı
Ana cism olmışdı ‘âlem ‘âlemün cânı-y-ıdı ol
Şöyle mahbûbü’l-kulûb olmış güzel cânân-ıdı
Bir perî-mânendi âh ol oldı gözlerden nihân
Cümleten halk-ı cihâna sevgülü bir cân-ıdı
Eyle gözler nûrı gönüller sürûrı serveri
Görmemişdi çarh-ı sergerdân niçe devrân-ıdı
Mâyil idi ‘adle gâyet hayra idi niyyeti
Mülk-perver bir melik misli melek bir şân-ıdı
Mihr ü meh-veş iki gözi olmış-ıdı ‘âlemün
Tab‘ı insâniyyet üzre bir güzel insân-ıdı
Hak rızâsı gibi gözlerdi rızâ-yı vâlidi
Vâlidine ol cihetle bende-i fermân-ıdı
‘Âkıbet vâlid rızâsı üzre kurbân itdi cân
Vâlidine vakı’â ol cân-ıla kurbân-idi
Ol sa‘âdet birle ol buldı şehâdet menzilin
Ana ihsân itdi Hak hem lâyık-ı ihsân-idi
‘İzz-ile ol olmagın hâl-i hayâtında sa‘îd
Âhirü’l-emr oldı pes vakt-i memâtında şehîd

Stanza IV

Rıhlet idüp itdi ol şeh mülk-i fânîden güzer
Eyledi rûhına rahmet dâr-ı bâkîye sefer
Cümleten cân u cânâna rıhleti derdi anun
Şöyle açık kodı kim ol tâ dem-i haşre sürer
Ana olan hâdise bir ‘ibret oldı halka kim
Mekr-i dünyâdan anunla geldi her kalbe hazer
Virdi mecmû’-ı kulûba mâ-hasal ol hâdise
Bir keder kim tâ kıyâmet ol degül herkes gider
Anun içün aglayup yas eyledi mecmû‘-ı nâs
Tag u taşdan kopdı anun-çün figânlar ser-be-ser
Kef geçüp deryâlar anun-çün firâvân açdı
Dögünüp taşlarla yekser agladı ırmaglar
Ra‘d anun-çün nâle idüp eyledi bâd âh-ı serd
Ebr anun-çün girye idüp yaşını itdi matar
Böyle olınca o Sultân Mustafâ mânend-i zât
Bir kişi pes devlet-i dehre heves idüp nider
Gâfil olmaz ‘âkil olan mekr-i dünyâdan ebed
Dâr-ı dünyâ cây-ı şûr u şer-durur bir pür-hatar
Yâd-ı hayrı-ıla du’âlar idelüm ol şâh içün
Hayra idi niyyeti çünkim anun Allâh içün

Stanza V

Rahmet idüp ana rahmân ide ihsânı tamâm
Nazmiyâ budur du‘âmuz ana her dem subh u şâm
Zî-sa‘âdet kim şehâdet birle oldı rıhleti
Ol sa’âdet birle dâ‘îdür ana cümle enâm
Görmedi Hak ana lâyık dehr-i fânî şehligin
Âhiret sultânı oldı buldı bâkî ‘izz-i tâm
Lutf-ı Hak birle olup cennet kusûrında mukîm
Ola murg-ı rûhına cennet gülistânı makâm
Cennet-i firdevsi me’vâ eyleyüp Mevlâ ana
Hûr u gılmân-ıla anda seyr idüp ide hırâm
Rahmet-i Rahmân-ıla oldukça ol âsûde-hâl
Şâh-ı ‘âlem ‘izz ü devlet birle ola müstedâm
Burc-ı şâhînün kemâhî mihr ü mâhı oluban
Ola dâyim dâyir ü sâyir cihânı şâd-kâm
Ana Hak bagışlayup hem ol iki şehzâdesin
Anlarunla bula ‘âlem hoş nizâm u intizâm
Devlet ü ikbâl-ile Şeh Bâyezîd ü Hân Selîm
Süreler ‘ömr-i tavîl ü olalar sag u selâm
Yâ İlâhî ola dâyim ‘izz-ile sultânumuz
Şeh Süleymân ol Süleymân satvet olan hânumuz

In English

Stanza I

1. Alas, this time blows every moment from a different quarter; that tyrant runs like the wind to every evil and never stops ("rûzgâr" means both time and wind).

2. It is the courier of every evil deed and is always blowing towards evil; for this reason it has made that tyranny its business.

3. Alas, the way of tyrannous time is every moment to make the people moan with force and torment on the backgammon board of grief.

4. While many were laughing like roses in the rose garden of joy, it has made them weep a thousand times like the nightingale on the thorn of grief ("hezâr" means both nightingale and a thousand).

5. For many a moment time goes favourably for many; then it turns the other way, and alas, there is no constancy in it.

6. What trust can be placed in time's going favourably for a while; in the end it will turn and become hostile.

7. Alas and pity, where is that prince Sultan Mustafa; in the end time brought upon him a harm of another kind.

8. Time dealt him such tyrannous torment that it became the strangest lesson to the world.

9. Suddenly at that moment he vanished from sight like the soul; that sovereign went as if he would never come to the world again.

10. The beloved and the desired of the world, Sultan Mustafa, alas, suffered one cruelty of cruel time.

Stanza II

11. Alas, where is that sovereign who had attained his desire, that fortunate one; where is he whose many kindnesses were the stuff of legend.

12. Alas, with those many kindnesses there was justice in him too; so that he had become the beloved and the desired of the world.

13. Everyone who saw him judged at first glance that he was the lofty cypress of the rose garden of sovereignty.

14. Above all, with that fair face, that noble person was as if Sultan Süleyman himself.

15. The subjects and the soldiers were all content with him; in the realm of Osman he showed openly the justice of Omar.

16. He was a king with the nature of an angel, a shah with the manner of a dervish; the whole world had become witness to that fair shah.

17. Every side of him was fair like his person of blessed qualities; though he was a fair shah, the merciless heaven slew him.

18. Alas, the treacherous heaven oppressed him with a betrayal; in the end it brought upon him a rout and harm of another kind.

19. While that shah had attained a rare grace like the rose, alas, autumn came upon the spring of the rose garden of his life.

20. Sultan Mustafa went to the abode of permanence, set out on the road; he turned towards the court of God, may God have mercy on him.

Stanza III

21. He was a khan of firmness like Shah Süleyman; a shah of generosity and a fair sultan.

22. The world had become his body and he was the soul of the world; he was such a fair beloved, the beloved of hearts.

23. Alas, he was like a fairy, he has vanished from sight; he was a beloved soul to all the people of the world.

24. The turning heaven had not seen in many ages such a leader, light of the eyes and joy of the hearts.

25. He was much inclined to justice, his intention was good; he was a king who cared for his realm, glorious like an angel.

26. Like the sun and the moon he had become the two eyes of the world; he was a fine human being whose nature was founded on humanity.

27. He watched over his father's consent as he would over God's; for that reason he was a servant bound to his father's command.

28. In the end he sacrificed his life for his father's consent; truly he was a sacrifice to his father with his life.

29. With that happiness he reached the station of martyrdom; God granted it to him, and he was worthy of that grace.

30. Because in his life he was happy in honour, in the end, at the hour of his death, he became a martyr.

Stanza IV

31. That shah departed and passed out of the transient realm; mercy on his soul, he journeyed to the abode of permanence.

32. He left the pain of his departure as so open a wound in all souls and all beloveds that it will last until the Last Day.

33. What befell him became such a lesson to the people that through it wariness of the world's deceit came into every heart.

34. That event gave all hearts such sorrow that while everyone passes away, that sorrow will not pass until the Last Day.

35. For this reason all mankind wept and mourned; laments arose for him from mountain and stone from end to end.

36. The seas foamed and surged abundantly for him; the rivers beat themselves on the stones and all wept together.

37. The thunder moaned for him and the wind heaved a cold sigh; the cloud wept for him and turned its tears to rain.

38. When such a person as Sultan Mustafa has come to this, why should anyone covet the fortune of the world?

39. The wise are never heedless of the world's deceit; the abode of the world is a place of turmoil and evil, full of danger.

40. Let us remember that shah with goodwill and pray for him, since his intention was good, for the sake of God.

Stanza V

41. May the Merciful have mercy on him and make His grace complete; O Nazmî, this is our prayer for him every moment, morning and evening.

42. Happy is he whose departure was through martyrdom; with that happiness all mankind prays for him.

43. God did not deem the kingship of the transient world worthy of him; he became sultan of the hereafter and found permanent and perfect honour.

44. By God's grace may he dwell in the mansions of paradise; may the rose garden of paradise be the station of the bird of his soul.

45. May the Lord make the paradise of Firdevs his dwelling, and may he stroll there gracefully with houris and youths of paradise.

46. As long as he rests in the mercy of the Merciful, may the king of the world (the sultan) endure in honour and fortune.

47. (May the princes), being in the fullest sense the sun and moon of the shah's constellation, ever turn and circle, gladdening the world (the subject of the couplet is the two princes named in the next couplet).

48. May God spare him those two princes of his as well; may the world find good order and harmony through them.

49. May Shah Bayezid and Khan Selim live long lives in fortune and prosperity, and may they be safe and sound.

50. O God, may our sultan, our khan of the majesty of Solomon, Shah Süleyman, endure in honour.

Literary and Historical Commentary

Structure of the Poem

The poem is a terkib-i bend of five stanzas in the metre "fâ’ilâtün fâ’ilâtün fâ’ilâtün fâ’ilün". Each stanza consists of a section (hane) of nine couplets and a separately rhymed linking couplet (vasıta beyti); the poem thus has fifty couplets. In the sections all the second lines end with the same rhyme: the sound "-âr" runs through the first stanza, "-ân" the second, "-ân-ıdı" the third, "-er" the fourth and "-âm" the fifth. The pen name (mahlas) appears in the first couplet of the last stanza in the phrase "Nazmiyâ budur du‘âmuz". The text is found in manuscript T920 of Nazmî's divan in the Rare Works Library of Istanbul University and in the edition of the divan published by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism; it is given here as quoted in Recep Hasar's thesis. In the sixth couplet of the second stanza the second line ("Şâhidi olmışdı yekser ‘âlemün ol hûb-şâh") does not fit the rhyme; the text has been left as it stands in the source.

Meaning and Figures of Speech

The first stanza is a long reproach built on the two meanings of the word "rûzgâr", time and wind. Time is a tyrant that blows every moment from a different quarter and runs like the wind to every evil; there is an echo of sound between "rûzgâr" and "zûrgâr" (tyrant). In the phrase "bülbül-veş hezâr" in the fourth couplet, the word "hezâr" is used in both its meanings, nightingale and a thousand. In the last couplets of the stanza the prince's name is mentioned for the first time and he is introduced as the beloved of the world. The second and third stanzas are praise: the prince is the cypress of the garden of sovereignty, his father's very image in his face, a shah with the manner of a dervish who showed the justice of Omar. In the third stanza the redif (refrain word) "ân-ıdı" (he was) carries the sadness of the past.

The last couplets of the third stanza carry the main idea of the poem: the prince watched over his father's consent as over God's and sacrificed his life as a servant bound to his command. This is the common defence of the elegies, stressing that the prince did not rebel, but in Nazmî it contains no reproach at all. The fourth stanza brings the mourning of the universe and the counsel against the world's deceit, and the fifth stanza the prayer. The prayer section is the most striking part of the poem. The poet first asks paradise for the prince, then asks that the sultan endure in honour and that his "two princes", Bayezid and Selim, live long lives. Recep Hasar finds this prayer stanza striking because in an elegy written for Mustafa long life is wished for the sons of Hürrem Sultan.

Historical Context

According to Hasar, Nazmî's divan contains two qasidas and a petition (arz-ı hâl) written to Prince Mustafa; in the petition the poet says that he had earlier been in the prince's service and asks to be accepted again. Ziya Avşar thinks that this service most probably took place in the sanjak of Manisa. Nazmî's patron, the Nakşibendî sheikh Baba Efendi, was also the spiritual guide of Rüstem Pasha, and the poet's close relationship with the pasha can be seen from his own poems. Fuad Köprülü finds it remarkable that he nevertheless wrote an elegy for the prince; Mehmet Fatih Köksal, for his part, notes that the elegy contains no direct or indirect accusation against Rüstem Pasha. The careful tone of the poem and the prayers addressed to the sultan and to Hürrem Sultan's sons gain their meaning within these relationships. The poet's life is described in the biographical article in this category, and the other elegies in our article Elegies for Prince Mustafa.

Bibliography

Academic studies

  • Recep Hasar, Türk Edebiyatı'nda Padişah ve Şehzade Mersiyeleri, MA thesis, Fatih Sultan Mehmet Vakıf Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü, 2018, pp. 117-121, 454-458. https://hdl.handle.net/11352/2746
  • Ziya Avşar, 16. yy Divan Edebiyatında Edirneli Nazmî ve Türkî-i Basit, PhD thesis, Gazi Üniversitesi, Ankara, 1998, p. 21 (as quoted in Hasar).

Books

Online sources