Original Ottoman Turkish Text

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

Gãlib olmuş derd-i sevdâ muhtelif olmuş mizâc
Ey habîbim şerbet-i şehdâb-ı la‘lindir ‘ilâc
Nükte-i Kur’ânı idrâk eylemez bilmez fakîh
Zümre-i ‘uşşâk-ıla kılmaz anun-çün imtizâc
Bâr-ı hüccetden mu‘arrâdır kadeh-hârân-ı ‘aşk
Mezheb-i rindânîde burhâna yokdur ihtiyâc
Gayr güftâra ne hâcet kâfîdir harf-i sükût
Vâ‘izin iskânına çün nef‘ virmez ihticâc
Zülf tek pâ-mâl olaydım subh u şâm âyine tek
Bir göreydim cân vireydim ‘ârızın ey mâh-kâc
Zühre ey meh müşterîdir gevher-i eş‘ârıma
Mihr-i la‘linden bulup tâ zerre-i tab‘ım revâc
Sanma ey Seyyid Nigârî gördüğün gül-gûn külâh
Şu‘le-i âhımdır ol dilden çıkup başımda tâc

In English

1. The pain of passion (sevdâ) has prevailed and the temperament has been disordered; O my beloved, the cure is the honeyed sherbet of your ruby lips.

2. The jurist does not grasp or know the subtlety of the Quran; that is why he does not mingle with the company of lovers.

3. The cup-drinkers of love are exempt from the burden of proof; in the creed of the rinds there is no need of demonstration.

4. What need of other words, the letter of silence is enough; for arguing does no good in silencing the preacher.

5. Would that I lay trampled underfoot morning and evening like the curl, (stood before you) like a mirror; O crescent-browed moon, would that I saw your cheek once and gave up my soul. (The word "mâh-kâc" in the line is not clearly understood.)

6. O moon, Venus is a buyer of the pearls of my poems; for the mote of my nature has found its lustre from the sun of your ruby lips.

7. O Seyyid Nigârî, do not take the rose-red cap you see (for a cap); it is the flame of my sigh, risen from the heart and become a crown on my head.

Literary and Historical Commentary

The first couplet speaks the language of old medicine. According to the doctrine of the four humours, health depends on the balance of blood, phlegm, yellow bile and sevdâ, black bile; when sevdâ prevails, the temperament is disordered and a person falls into melancholy. The word sevdâ in the sense of love comes from this medical term. Nigârî joins the two senses: "derd-i sevdâ", the pain of passion, has prevailed and the temperament is disordered; but its cure is not the physician's syrup but the honeyed sherbet on the beloved's ruby lips.

The second, third and fourth couplets state the rind's stance against the learned in three steps. The jurist, the scholar of Islamic law, cannot grasp the "nükte", the subtle meaning, of the Quran and cannot mingle with lovers. In the creed of the rinds no "burhân", demonstration, is needed; the cup-drinkers of love are exempt from the burden of bringing proof. Arguing does no good in silencing the preacher either; "harf-i sükût", the letter of silence, is enough. The terms of logic and theology (hüccet, burhân, ihticâc) are set aside here one after another.

The sixth couplet plays a game with the stars. Zühre, Venus, is the musician of the sky in divan poetry; here she is the "müşteri", buyer, of the poet's pearls of verse. Müşteri means both buyer and the name of the planet Jupiter; one planet is named with the name of another. In the last couplet the rose-red cap on the poet's head is the flame of a sigh risen from the heart. Külâh and tâc, cap and crown, are also names given to dervish headgear; the crown on the poet's head is the fire of love. The "-âc" rhyme begins with mizâc and ‘ilâc, words of the old medicine, and ends with the crown of flame, tâc; imtizâc, ihtiyâc, ihticâc, mâh-kâc and revâc lie between.

Bibliography

Online sources