Original Ottoman Turkish Text

Meyhâne-i vahdetde bir kâr iledir herkes
Ne geşt ü güzâr eyler ne seyr ü sefer ister

In English

1. In the tavern of unity everyone is busy with a task of his own; he neither strolls about nor seeks travel and journeying.

Literary and Historical Commentary

Structure of the Poem

It is quoted as a single couplet; Çınar cites it as "Divan G169/2", the second couplet of the 169th ghazal. The second line ends with "ister" ("seeks"); it may be thought that the refrain of the ghazal is "ister". The source does not state the metre; the lines appear to fit the hezec pattern "mef‘ûlü mefâ‘îlün mef‘ûlü mefâ‘îlün" of aruz. This identification is ours.

The text is taken from Fatih Çınar's 2019 article introducing a treatise written at Nigârî's request; Çınar quotes the poems from A. Azmi Bilgin's edition of the divan.

Meaning and Figures of Speech

In divan poetry the tavern is very often the symbol of a Sufi gathering, the place where the intoxication of divine love is experienced. The phrase "meyhâne-i vahdet" (the tavern of unity) names this symbol openly. The couplet says that everyone in the tavern of unity is busy with "bir kâr", a task of his own; these people do not stroll about and do not seek "seyr ü sefer".

"Seyr ü sefer" (travel and journeying) is also the name in Sufism for the spiritual journey, the seyr-i sülûk. The second line can therefore be understood in two ways: those who have reached the tavern of unity are no longer on the road, because they have reached the destination; or, instead of wandering outwardly, they are occupied with their own inner work. Çınar writes that the couplet describes those who have attained the delight of unity as being in a state of seyr ü sefer; the wording of the couplet, however, says that they "neither stroll about nor seek travel and journeying". Here the wording of the couplet has been followed, and Çınar's interpretation is noted separately. There is a congruence of images (tenasüp) around the Sufi path among the words "meyhâne" (tavern), "kâr" (task) and "seyr ü sefer", and a repetition built by setting side by side two pairs close in meaning, "geşt ü güzâr" (strolling about) and "seyr ü sefer".

Historical Context

Çınar quotes the couplet in the section where he explains that Nigârî regarded the state of unity as the most important opportunity granted to the Sufi, and that everyone in the ocean of unity is busy with a task. For the poet's literary personality see Nigârî: Poet and Works.

Bibliography

  • Fatih Çınar, "Nakşî-Hâlidî Şeyhi Hamza Nigarî'nin İsteğiyle Yazılan Bir Ehl-i Beyti Müdafaa Risalesi: Risâle fî Ta'n li-men Hâlefe Ali Radıyallahu Teâlâ Anh", Tokat Gaziosmanpaşa Üniversitesi İlahiyat Fakültesi Dergisi, VII/1, 2019, pp. 125-150; the poem on p. 131. https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/download/article-file/803338

Online sources