Original Ottoman Turkish Text

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

Mâ mazâdan geçmezem ey meh dime kim mâ mazâ
Dem-be-dem şehd-i lebin senden edâ benden kazâ
İsterem her lahza ey şems-i hüveydâ dem-be-dem
‘Âlem-i dâreynde senden ziyâ benden hevâ
N’eylerem zevk-ı cihânı isterem bir gûşede
Lahza lahza ey sanem senden cefâ benden safâ
Rûzgârım her zamân her lahza geçsün beyle kim
Artuk olsun gün-be-gün senden cefâ benden vefâ
Cânım ister dem-be-dem gönlüm diler ey nâzenîn
Katl-gâh-ı mihrine senden sadâ benden rızâ
Dem-be-dem dergâh-ı lutfundan temennâdır bana
Ey sanem variyyetim senden nidâ benden fedâ
Ârzû eyler Nigârî beyle kim kat‘ olmasun
‘Arsa-gâh-ı lutfda senden ‘atâ benden recâ

In English

1. O moon, do not say "what is past is past"; I do not give up the past; let the honey of your lips be, at every moment, performance on time (edâ) from you and late repayment (kazâ) from me.

2. O manifest sun, in the two worlds I ask at every moment for light from you and longing (hevâ, the ardour of a mote in the air) from me.

3. What should I do with the pleasures of the world; O idol, in a corner I ask at every moment for cruelty from you and joy from me.

4. Let my days pass at every hour in such a way that day by day cruelty from you and faithfulness from me may grow.

5. O my graceful one, my soul longs at every moment and my heart wishes that in the slaughter-ground of love there be a call from you and consent from me.

6. O idol, my wish at the door of your favour is this at every moment: for my being, a summons from you and sacrifice from me.

7. Nigârî longs that in the field of favour, bounty from you and hope from me may never be cut off.

Literary and Historical Commentary

The second line of every couplet of the ghazal ends in the same pattern: "senden X, benden Y", from you X, from me Y. Edâ and kazâ, ziyâ and hevâ, cefâ and safâ, cefâ and vefâ, sadâ and rızâ, nidâ and fedâ, ‘atâ and recâ. Each pair sets up an exchange between beloved and lover, and because both words end in the same long "â" an echo like a double rhyme arises at the end of the line. The echo falls on the last foot of the "fâ‘ilâtün fâ‘ilâtün fâ‘ilâtün fâ‘ilün" pattern. What falls to the beloved's share is mostly giving (light, cruelty, the call, bounty); what falls to the lover's share is response (longing, joy, consent, sacrifice, hope).

The opening couplet introduces this exchange in an unexpected language. "Mâ mazâ" is a shortening of the Arabic saying "what is past is past"; the lover refuses to leave the past behind. In the second line two terms come from Islamic law: "edâ" is the performance of a religious duty in its proper time, "kazâ" the later making-up of a duty whose time has passed. The honey of the beloved's lips is given by her on time, while the lover tries to repay it later, to settle his debt. This reading follows from the words of the couplet, but the poet offers no explanation; it has no certainty.

The pair "ziyâ" and "hevâ" in the second couplet recalls the divan image of the mote and the sun. The sun gives light, the mote floating in the air becomes visible in that light and circles round it; "hevâ" means both air and desire. In couplet five love is imagined as a "katl-gâh", a slaughter-ground: the beloved calls, the lover consents. The ghazal as a whole presents love as built like a contract, with obligations on both sides.

Bibliography

Online sources