Original Ottoman Turkish Text

Metre: Fâ‘ilâtün Fâ‘ilâtün Fâ‘ilün

Gamzen oynar imdi kıykac el-gıyâs
Remy eyler tîr-târâc el-gıyâs
Çeşm-i şûrun ey gözüm eyler hisâb
Dem-be-dem bin cânı bir bâc el-gıyâs
Der kemend-i kâkülündür fevc fevc
Zümre-i sultân-ı zi't-tâc el-gıyâs
İştiyâkın kâ‘besinde sûz-nâk
Söyler ey meh şâh-ı bî-tâc el-gıyâs
Ni‘met-i dîdârdan ister nevâ
‘Âşık u müştâk-ı muhtâc el-gıyâs
Veh ne istignâdır imdâd itmedin
Pârelendi cism-i Hallâc el-gıyâs
El-meded ey sârbân ey reh-nümûn
El-meded ey merd-i minhâc el-gıyâs
Garka-i deryâ-yı isyânam henûz
El-gıyâs ey mîr-i mi‘râc el-gıyâs
El-meded Seyyid Nigârîdir zebûn
Yâ Alî yâ şîr-i kallâc el-gıyâs

In English

1. Your glance is playing sideways now, help; it shoots a plundering arrow, help.

2. O my eye, (the beloved's) bewitching eye is reckoning; every moment it counts a thousand souls as one tribute, help.

3. In the lasso of your forelock are troop upon troop of crowned sultans, help.

4. O moon, in the Kaaba of longing for you, a crownless king, burning, cries "help".

5. The needy, longing lover asks a share of the blessing of seeing your face, help.

6. Alas, what indifference; you gave no aid, Hallâj's body was torn to pieces, help.

7. Come to aid, O caravan leader, O guide; come to aid, O man of the path, help.

8. I am still sunk in the sea of rebellion; help, O lord of the Ascension, help.

9. Come to aid, Seyyid Nigârî has fallen helpless; O Ali, O lion, help. (The second word of the phrase "şîr-i kallâc" in the line is not clearly understood.)

Literary and Historical Commentary

"El-gıyâs" is the Arabic cry for help, rescue, and it closes every couplet of the ghazal. The cry also recalls one of the names of God, "Gıyâsü'l-müstegîsîn", the helper of those who seek help. The ghazal begins this cry with a playful scene: the beloved's glance plays sideways and shoots plundering arrows, her eye counts a thousand souls every moment as tribute. Troops of sultans are captive in the lasso of her forelock. The "el-gıyâs" of the first couplets is a half-joking cry before the beloved's beauty.

After the sixth couplet the tone grows heavier. Hallâj's body has been torn to pieces and no one came to help; this Sufi who died for his love is named several times in the divan. In the seventh couplet the cry for help turns to the "sârbân", who leads the caravan, and to the "merd-i minhâc", the man of the path; these are names for the spiritual guide. In the eighth help is asked of the "mîr-i mi‘râc", the lord of the Ascension, the Prophet: the poet sees himself sunk in "the sea of rebellion". In the last couplet the cry turns to Ali: "Yâ Alî yâ şîr-i kallâc." Şîr, lion, recalls Ali's epithet "Şîr-i Hudâ", the Lion of God; the meaning of the second word is not certain, and it may call to mind the hand that tore the gate of Khaybar from its place.

The ghazal thus builds a sequence of tevessül, seeking help through intercessors, reaching from the beloved to the guide, from the guide to the Prophet and his family. The same refrain "el-gıyâs" is used in one of the alphabetical syllabic poems at the end of the divan, the fourth, which Pervane Bayram also quotes: "Şâm u seher gerek şevk-ıla sâlik / Söyleye ey pîr-i medâr el-gıyâs." Over nine couplets the "-âc" sound runs from kıykac to kallâc: kıykac, târâc, bâc, tâc, muhtâc, Hallâc, minhâc, mi‘râc, kallâc.

Bibliography

Online sources