Original Ottoman Turkish Text

Metre: Fe‘ilâtün Fe‘ilâtün Fe‘ilâtün Fe‘ilün

Ey şeh-i ‘âlem-i nûr ey meh-i hûrşîd-sıfât
Sen gibi ‘âlem-i dâreynde yokdur bir zât
Sana mânend bulunmaz sana yokdur hem-tâ
Sana benzer kim olur yok sana benzer heyhât
Başka meddâha ne hâcet sıfat-ı zâtına kim
Vâsıfın Mushaf u İncîl u Zebûr u Tevrât
Özge i‘câz ne lâzım sanemâ te’yîd içün
Yeter ikrârına Kur’ân-ı hüveydâ isbât
İhtifâ eylemek olmaz ki hüveydâdır bu
Hûrşîd-i âlemsin gayr-ı vücûdun zerrât
Berk-efşânlık ider her tarafın şu‘le virür
Bir çerâğın ki alur feyz-i ziyâsın cehât
Kãmetin serv-i dil-ârâ vü yedin berg-i semen
Çeşmin âhû-yı Hoten kâkülün ey gül-nefehât
Ne kadar var dü âlem ü ne kadar var felek
Gül-i ruhsârına her lahza virürem salavât
Ne gam eyler sanemâ var penâhı sen tek
Nâil-i rütbe olur sâye-i lutfunda ‘usât
Mahzen-i dilde bulunmazdı bu nazmıla güher
Virmeseydi nazarın ger ana feyz-i berekât
Kılmagil Mîr Nigârîyi keremden mahrûm
Ey vücûdı heme rahmet heme güftârı berât

In English

1. O king of the world of light, O moon with the attributes of the sun; in the two worlds there is no being like you.

2. None resembling you is found, you have no peer; who could be like you, alas, there is none like you.

3. What need is there of another praiser for the attributes of your being; those who describe you are the Quran, the Gospel, the Psalms and the Torah.

4. O beauty, what need is there of another miracle to confirm (your prophethood); the proof of the manifest Quran suffices for your acknowledgement.

5. There is no hiding it, for this is manifest; you are the sun of the world, all besides your being are motes.

6. Every side of you scatters lightning and gives flame; you are such a lamp that all directions take the bounty of their light from you.

7. O rose-scented one, your stature is a heart-adorning cypress, your hand a jasmine petal, your eye a gazelle of Khotan, your forelock (the scent of the rose).

8. As much as the two worlds hold, as much as the sphere holds, so many blessings do I send every moment upon your rose cheek.

9. O beauty, what grief can one have who has a refuge like you; sinners attain rank in the shade of your favour.

10. Had your glance not given it the bounty of blessing, the jewel of this verse would not be found in the treasury of the heart.

11. O you whose being is all mercy and whose every word is a decree of acquittal (berât), do not deprive Mîr Nigârî of your generosity.

Literary and Historical Commentary

The te section opens with a naat, and at the centre of the naat stand the holy books. In the third couplet the poet says there is no need of another praiser to praise the Prophet, for those who describe him are the Quran, the Gospel, the Psalms and the Torah. Islamic tradition holds that the earlier scriptures foretold the Prophet's coming; the sura al-A‘râf of the Quran says that he is found written in the Torah and the Gospel. The fourth couplet continues the thought: no other miracle is needed to prove his prophethood, the manifest Quran suffices. The naat leaves the proof of prophethood to the language of the books.

In the fifth and sixth couplets the image of light dominates. The Prophet is the sun of the world, and every other being is a mote; the mote is the speck of dust that becomes visible in sunlight and owes its existence to the sun. In the sixth couplet he is a lamp from which all directions take their light. The Sufi idea of the "nûr-ı Muhammedî", the light of Muhammad, holds that creation began from the Prophet's light; the couplets accord with this idea but do not use the term.

In the tenth couplet the poet turns to his own poetry: had the Prophet's glance not given its blessing, "bu nazmıla güher", the jewel of this verse, would not be found in the treasury of the heart. The naat itself is counted the gift of this glance. The phrase "heme güftârı berât" in the last couplet is striking: all the Prophet's speech is a berât. A berât is a decree or charter of privilege issued by the sultan; it is also the name of the Night of Berât, as the good news of release from sins. The eleven-couplet naat is written in "fe‘ilâtün fe‘ilâtün fe‘ilâtün fe‘ilün", and all twelve rhyme words, from sıfât to berât, end in "-ât": sıfât, zât, heyhât, Tevrât, isbât, zerrât, cehât, nefehât, salavât, ‘usât, berekât, berât.

Bibliography

Online sources