Original Ottoman Turkish Text

Metre: Fâ‘ilâtün Fâ‘ilâtün Fâ‘ilün

Vahy-i İlâhîdir ehl-i Hak bilür
‘Atâ-yı tab‘ımı sünûhâtımı
Table-i müşg teki erbâb-ı safâ
Gezdürür başında hayâlâtımı

In English

1. The people of Truth know that the gifts of my nature, the inspirations that come to my heart, are divine revelation.

2. The people of purity carry my imaginings about on their heads like a casket of musk.

Literary and Historical Commentary

Structure of the Poem

It is a kıt‘a of two couplets; the second and fourth lines rhyme on "sünûhâtımı / hayâlâtımı", the refrain being "-ımı" and the rhyme the sound "-âtım". Hüsameddin gives the metre below the text as "Fâ‘ilâtün / Fâ‘ilâtün / Fâ‘ilün"; this is a short pattern of the remel metre of aruz. The word "teki" ("like") in the piece is peculiar to Azerbaijani Turkish.

Meaning and Figures of Speech

The kıt‘a expresses the poet's view of his own poetry. He calls his poems "‘atâ-yı tab‘", a gift of his innate nature, and "sünûhât", inspirations that come to the heart, and says that the people of Truth know these to be "vahy-i İlâhî", divine revelation. Seen from outside this is a very bold claim; in Sufi language, however, the word "vahiy" is sometimes used, as distinct from the revelation sent to prophets, in the sense of inspiration arising in the hearts of saints. Which meaning Nigârî intended is not clear; Hüsameddin gives the kıt‘a as an example of the poet himself voicing his followers' regard for the divan as being as sacred as the Qur'an.

In the second couplet the poetry is likened to a "table-i müşg", a casket of musk; because a musk casket is precious it is carried on the head and fills its surroundings with its fragrance. The idiom "başında gezdirmek" (to carry on one's head) expresses both showing reverence and always carrying something with one. The likening matches exactly Hüsameddin's sentence describing how the followers carried the divan on their heads. There is a congruence of images (tenasüp) around fragrance and delight of heart among the words "müşg" (musk), "safâ" (purity, delight) and "hayâlât" (imaginings).

Historical Context

According to Hüsameddin, Nigârî's divan was regarded by his followers as a book as sacred as the Qur'an and was carried about on their heads; his poems written "by finger-counting", that is, in syllabic metre, were recited to special melodies and chanted in ecstasy and fervour. Hüsameddin gives the kıt‘a immediately after these remarks, saying "His Excellency expresses this as follows". The TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi likewise records that Nigârî's ghazals, koşmas and kasides are still sung collectively today, keeping time, at various gatherings. For the poet's literary personality see Nigârî: Poet and Works.

Bibliography

Online sources