Original Ottoman Turkish Text

Metre: Mef‘ûlü Mefâ‘îlü Mefâ‘îlü Fe‘ûlün

Cânânımı vir ya al cânımı yâ Rab
Öldür beni ya lutf eyle dermânı yâ Rab
Koyma beni bu hıdmet ü lezzetde kerem kıl
Âzâd eyle vir destime fermânımı yâ Rab
İrsâl eyledim Ka‘be-i ‘aşkına revânım
Luft-âne kabûl eyle bu kurbânımı yâ Rab
Hicrân odı yandurdı beni âh ki tebdîl
Kıl vuslata bu âteş-i hicrânımı yâ Rab
Sûzâne-i hırmân eyleme râh-ı talebde
Dîdâr ile teskîn eyle sûzânımı yâ Rab
Gül-geşt-i revânımdan ırağ itme şarâbı
Şâd-âb eyle sahrâ-yı gülistânımı yâ Rab
Nev-reste bu güldestemi her yerde ‘azîz it
Şâyeste-i dergâh eyle dîvânımı yâ Rab
Erzâkımı ihsân eyle bî-minnet-i mahlûk
Feyzâne kerem eyle ‘azîz nânımı yâ Rab
Sâbit-kadem it kûh-ı tevellâda revânım
Hıfz eyle benim hûrşîd-i îmânımı yâ Rab
Maksûdına yol virmegil agyârı zebûn it
‘Afv it beni mağmûm eyle şeytânımı yâ Rab
Magfûr eyle bu Mîr Nigârî kulunı hem
Gör lutfunı görme benim ‘isyânımı yâ Rab

In English

1. O Lord, either give me my beloved or take my soul; O Lord, either kill me or grant me a cure.

2. O Lord, do not leave me in this service and pleasure, be generous; set me free, put my decree of freedom into my hand.

3. O Lord, I have sent my soul to the Kaaba of your love; accept this sacrifice of mine with your favour.

4. O Lord, the fire of separation has burned me; ah, turn this fire of separation into union.

5. O Lord, do not make me one who burns with deprivation on the path of seeking; soothe my burning by showing your face.

6. O Lord, do not keep the wine far from the rose-stroll of my soul; make green the desert that is my rose garden.

7. O Lord, make this freshly-bloomed nosegay of mine honoured everywhere; make my divan worthy of your court.

8. O Lord, grant my sustenance without my being beholden to creatures; by your bounty make my bread honoured.

9. O Lord, make my soul steadfast on the mountain of devotion; guard the sun of my faith.

10. O Lord, do not let the strangers reach their aim, bring them low; forgive me, and make my devil grieve.

11. O Lord, pardon this servant of yours, Mîr Nigârî; look at your favour, do not look at my rebellion.

Literary and Historical Commentary

In the seventh couplet the poet prays for his divan: "Nev-reste bu güldestemi her yerde ‘azîz it / Şâyeste-i dergâh eyle dîvânımı yâ Rab." Güldeste means a nosegay of roses and is a name often given to anthologies of poetry; "nev-reste" means newly grown, freshly bloomed. The poet offers his poems to God's court as a fresh nosegay and asks that they be valued everywhere. This wish was in a sense answered when the divan was printed in the poet's lifetime: according to the note at the head of the edition, the work was printed through the efforts of Hâce Puslu Mahmud Efendi of Erzurum, one of the sheikh's deputies. Since the date of the ghazal is unknown, this link is only a coincidence.

The ghazal is a münacat throughout, and the refrain "yâ Rab", O Lord, renews the prayer over eleven couplets. The wishes begin with the beloved and with love, descend to daily life, then turn to faith and forgiveness. The first couplet asks for a clear choice: either the beloved or death. In the second the lover sees himself as a slave and asks for his decree of freedom; service and pleasure alike are chains that bind him. In the third the soul is a sacrifice sent to the Kaaba of love. The eighth couplet is unexpectedly worldly: the poet asks that his sustenance be given without his being beholden to people and that his bread be honoured. In the mouth of a sheikh this prayer can also be read as a wish not to depend on the help of disciples and patrons.

The last three couplets are prayers for the protection of faith and for forgiveness. "Kûh-ı tevellâ", the mountain of devotion, is the symbol of steadfastness; "hûrşîd-i îmân", the sun of faith, is what is to be guarded. In the tenth couplet the poet asks that his devil be made "mağmûm", grieved: the devil is the enemy who grieves at the servant's repentance and pardon. In the closing couplet the prayer is tied to a single request: let God look not at the servant's rebellion but at his own favour. The münacat's "-ân" rhyme begins with cân and closes with ‘isyân, passing through dermân, fermân, kurbân, hicrân, sûzân, gülistân, dîvân, nân, îmân and şeytân. The pattern is "mef‘ûlü mefâ‘îlü mefâ‘îlü fe‘ûlün".

Bibliography

Online sources