Original Ottoman Turkish Text

Metre: Fâ‘ilâtün Fâ‘ilâtün Fâ‘ilâtün Fâ‘ilün

Cânib-i Hak'dan müsellemdir dilâ hizmet sana
‘Âlem-i dâreynde yetmez mi bu ni‘met sana
Odlara düşdün dem-â-dem âh bir âh itmedin
Âşikârâdur ki irmiş bir nefes himmet sana
Mugların öpdün ayağın secde kıldın bütlere
Ser-firâz oldun kılur her bâde-keş hurmet sana
Çeng çaldın câm çekdin bâde içdin her ne var
Kıldın Allâh ‘aşkına olsun helâl ‘işret sana
Kahrdandır sanma eltâf-ı Hudâdır şükr kıl
Her zamân bir meh-likãya ibtilâ kısmet sana
Terk-i seyr it gayrdan kes ihtilâtı ey mürg-i dil
Bes degül mi fikr-i gül-ruhsârıla sohbet sana
N’ola Eflâtun Aristo senden ister bir kemâl
Ögredüpdür gamze-i dildâr kim hikmet sana
Terk-i tecrîd eyleyüp kıldın fenâ mülkin vatan
Besdir ey Mîr Nigârî bâkî bu devlet sana

In English

1. O heart, service has been granted to you by God; in the two worlds is this blessing not enough for you?

2. Every moment you fell into fires and never once said "ah"; it is plain that a breath of spiritual aid (himmet) has reached you.

3. You kissed the feet of the Magians, you bowed down to idols; your head was raised high, and every wine-drinker honours you.

4. You played the harp, drew the cup, drank whatever there was; you did it for the love of God, so may that revelry be lawful for you.

5. Give thanks, do not think it wrath; these are God's favours: it is your lot always to be smitten with one whose face is like the moon.

6. O bird of the heart, stop gazing at others, cut off your dealings (with them); is conversing with the thought of the rose-cheeked one not enough for you?

7. What wonder if Plato and Aristotle ask some perfection of you; the beloved's sidelong glance has taught you wisdom.

8. O Mîr Nigârî, entering the path of renunciation and detachment you made the land of annihilation (fenâ) your home; this lasting fortune is enough for you. (The phrase given as "Terk-i tecrîd" in the edition has been understood as "terk ü tecrîd", renunciation of the world and stripping oneself of it, a pair often named together in Sufism.)

Literary and Historical Commentary

In this ghazal the poet speaks with his own heart, and the refrain "sana" (to you) renews the conversation in every couplet. The deeds attributed to the heart suit at first sight not a dervish but a rind who stays up till dawn in the tavern: kissing the feet of the Magians, bowing to idols, playing the harp, drawing the cup. The Magian (mug) of divan poetry is the Zoroastrian who keeps the tavern; the idol is a name for the beautiful beloved. Nigârî chooses this language knowingly and in the fourth couplet ties his words to a legal ruling: if all this was done for the love of God, the revelry is lawful. This stance of defending conduct that looks blameworthy is a familiar voice of the melâmet tradition.

The words of the second couplet, by contrast, come straight from the language of the Sufi order. "Nefes" (breath) and "himmet" (spiritual aid) are the terms used for the spiritual support a guide gives to his disciple; falling into fire without once saying "ah" is the sign of such support. It can be read as a reference to the training the poet received from his own sheikh, İsmâil Şirvânî, but the ghazal names no one. The fifth couplet says the same thing in reverse: to be smitten with a beauty is not a punishment but God's favour, calling for gratitude, not complaint.

The seventh couplet settles the old dispute between reason and love with a short hyperbole. It would be no wonder if the two great names of philosophy, Plato and Aristotle, came to learn perfection from the heart, for the heart's teacher is the beloved's sidelong glance. Where the poet names himself, "fenâ" (annihilation) and "bâkî" (lasting) are set face to face: the poet has made the land of annihilation his home and in return has attained a lasting fortune. In Sufism subsistence (bekâ) comes after annihilation; the couplet makes these two concepts concrete through the words land and fortune. Although its nine rhyme words (hizmet, ni‘met, himmet, hurmet, ‘işret, kısmet, sohbet, hikmet, devlet) end in "-et", the ghazal stands in the elif section, not under "te"; what decides its place is the last letter of the refrain "sana".

Bibliography

Online sources