Original Ottoman Turkish Text

Metre: Müfte‘ilün Fâ‘ilün Müfte‘ilün Fâ‘ilün

Çehre-i cânânı gör keyfiyet-i âna bah
Eyledigi cilve[y]e itdügi cevlâna bah
Mey-kede-i mihre var bâde-i gülgûn ‘ızâr
Gör ki ne hâlet virür şûriş-i rindâna bah
‘Âlem-i esrâr imiş cilve-geh-i yâr imiş
Mug-beçe-i mey-furûş sâkî-yi devrâna bah
Külbe-i ahzânıma rahm eyle bir sâye sal
Seyr eyle sûzânıma âteş-i hicrâna bah
Dâg-ı derûnum benim şi‘r-i şerer-bâriden
Zâhir olur tab‘ımın yazduğı dîvâna bah
Ey dil-i mücrim elem çekme kerem-kâra var
Mevce-i gufrânı gör lücce-i ihsâna bah
Mîr Nigârî nazar eyleme bed-kârıma
Âyet-i lâ taknetû müjde-i Kur’âna bah
Gark-ı günâham diyü eylemegil serzeniş
Gör ne ider magfiret rahmet-i Rahmân'a bah

In English

1. See the beloved's face, look at the state of her "ân" (her indefinable charm); look at the coquetry she shows, at the way she prances.

2. Go to the tavern of love; the cheek is rose-coloured wine; see what state it brings on, look at the frenzy of the rinds.

3. (This) was the world of secrets, the place where the beloved displays herself; look at the Magian boy who sells wine, the cupbearer of the age.

4. Have pity on my hut of sorrows, cast a shadow; watch my burning, look at the fire of separation.

5. The wound within me shows in my spark-raining poetry; look at the divan my nature has written.

6. O guilty heart, do not suffer grief, go to the Generous One; see the wave of forgiveness, look at the deep sea of bounty.

7. Mîr Nigârî (says): do not look at my evil deeds; look at the verse "Do not despair", the good tidings of the Quran.

8. Do not reproach me, saying "he is drowned in sin"; see what forgiveness does, look at the mercy of the Merciful.

Literary and Historical Commentary

The ghazal begins with the beloved's face and ends with the mercy of the Merciful, and between these two ends it slowly changes direction. The first three couplets are a tavern scene: the beloved's coquetry, the frenzy of the rinds, the Magian boy selling wine. In the fourth couplet the lover's "külbe-i ahzân", hut of sorrows, appears; in divan poetry the phrase is known as the name of the hut where Jacob wept for years after losing Joseph. After the sixth couplet the speech passes into the language of repentance: the guilty heart is told to go to the Generous One and look at the wave of forgiveness and the sea of bounty.

The "lâ taknetû" of the seventh couplet is taken from verse 53 of the sura al-Zumar: "Say: O My servants who have transgressed against yourselves, do not despair of the mercy of God; God forgives all sins." The poet names the verse "müjde-i Kur'ân", the good tidings of the Quran. Whom the couplet addresses is not clear; since the pen name and "bed-kârım", my evil deeds, stand side by side, it can be read as the poet's plea to God: do not look at my evil deeds, look at Your verse. The pen name, too, stands in the seventh couplet rather than the last, outside the usual order; the eighth couplet carries the plea on like an appendix.

The fifth couplet is one of the places where Nigârî speaks of his own divan. The wound within him can be seen in his spark-raining poetry, and the reader is told to look at the divan his nature has written. The refrain is once more "bah", the Azerbaijani form of the verb "bak", look; its final "hı" (خ) brings the ghazal into this section. The run of rhyme words begins with "ân" and ends with "Kur'ân" and "Rahmân"; the road from tavern to mercy can be traced in the rhyme as well.

Bibliography

Online sources