Original Ottoman Turkish Text

Ey Mu‘âvîler ümmeti v’ey düşmen-i Muhammedî
Siz küfrânî biz şükrânî siz bir taraf biz bir taraf
Sizler tuğyânî milleti bizler Muhammed ümmeti
Siz Mervânî biz Kur’ânî siz bir taraf biz bir taraf
Siz Mervânî cehennemî biz Muhammedî cennetî
Siz şeytânî biz Rahmânî siz bir taraf biz bir taraf
Siz Mu‘âvîler askeri biz Hayderîler leşkeri
Siz kahrânî biz lutfânî siz bir taraf biz bir taraf
Siz Yezîdî siz pelîdî biz Hüseynî biz şehîdî
Siz butlânî biz hakkânî siz bir taraf biz bir taraf
Sizler düşmen-i Mustafâ biz bende-i âl-i ‘abâ
Siz hasmânî biz rahmânî siz bir taraf biz bir taraf
Siz kâtil-i âl-i Zehrâ biz mâtem-dâr-ı Mustafâ
Siz Şimrânî biz hüznânî siz bir taraf biz bir taraf
Siz Haccâcî siz leccâcî biz Kanberî Peygamberî
Siz nefsânî biz rûhânî siz bir taraf biz bir taraf
Siz şeytânî biz rahmânî zıd-ender-zıddız el-hâsıl
Siz zulmânî biz nûrânî siz bir taraf biz bir taraf

In English

1. O community of the partisans of Muâviye, O enemy of Muhammad; you are the ungrateful, we the thankful; you on one side, we on the other.

2. You are the nation of rebellion, we the community of Muhammad; you are of Mervân, we of the Qur'an; you on one side, we on the other.

3. You of Mervân's way are bound for hell, we of Muhammad's way for paradise; you are of Satan, we of the Merciful; you on one side, we on the other.

4. You are the soldiers of the partisans of Muâviye, we the army of the partisans of Haydar (Ali); you are the side of wrath, we the side of grace; you on one side, we on the other.

5. You are of Yezîd's way, you are unclean; we are of Hüseyin's way, on the side of the martyrs; you are falsehood, we are truth; you on one side, we on the other.

6. You are the enemies of Mustafa, we the servants of the Âl-i Abâ (the Prophet's family); you are the side of the adversary, we the side of mercy; you on one side, we on the other.

7. You are the killers of the descendants of Zehrâ (Fatima), we the mourners of Mustafa; you are of Şimr's way, we the people of grief; you on one side, we on the other.

8. You are of Haccâc's way, you are obstinate; we are of the way of Kanber and of the Prophet; you are of the carnal self, we of the spirit; you on one side, we on the other.

9. You are of Satan, we of the Merciful; in short, we are each the exact opposite of the other; you are darkness, we are light; you on one side, we on the other.

Literary and Historical Commentary

Structure of the Poem

It is a poem Çınar quotes as nine couplets. The second line of every couplet ends with the refrain "siz bir taraf biz bir taraf" ("you on one side, we on the other"), and before this refrain stand two words rhyming in "-ânî": küfrânî-şükrânî, Mervânî-Kur'ânî, şeytânî-Rahmânî, kahrânî-lutfânî, butlânî-hakkânî, hasmânî-rahmânî, Şimrânî-hüznânî, nefsânî-rûhânî, zulmânî-nûrânî. The first lines, for their part, are built internally on the opposition of "siz" (you) and "biz" (we). How many couplets the full text in the divan has, and its verse form, are not stated in the article.

The text is taken from Fatih Çınar's 2019 article introducing a treatise written at Nigârî's request; Çınar quotes the poems from A. Azmi Bilgin's edition of the divan. Çınar cites the piece from page 437 of the divan.

Meaning and Figures of Speech

From beginning to end the poem is an enumeration setting two sides against each other. The side called "you" is that of Muâviye (Mu'awiya), who fought against Ali, of the Umayyad dynasty and of their followers; "we" is the side of Ali and the Prophet's household. Each name in the poem points to a figure in this conflict of Islamic history: Muâviye and Mervân (Marwan) were Umayyad caliphs, Yezîd (Yazid) the caliph held responsible for Karbala, Şimr the man who martyred Hüseyin (Husayn) at Karbala, and Haccâc (al-Hajjaj) the harsh governor of the Umayyads. On the other side are named Haydar (Ali), Hüseyin, Zehrâ (Fatima), the Âl-i Abâ (the family the Prophet took under his cloak) and Kanber, the freed slave of Ali.

The poem's force comes from repetition: in every line "you" and "we" alternate, every couplet closes with the same refrain, and the pairs of words rhyming in "-ânî" name the two sides as opposites. This structure is an example of the figure of contrast (tezat) spread over the whole poem. The language is harsh and accusatory; heavy epithets such as "küfrânî" (ungrateful, unbelieving), "cehennemî" (hell-bound) and "pelîd" (unclean) are used for the other side. Çınar writes that Nigârî used the power of poetry to voice the wrongs done to the Prophet's household at the highest pitch, but that he used expressions amounting to insult towards many names, Muâviye and Yezîd above all, and acted with an outlook that placed them outside the faith. In this respect the poem is a direct record of the dispute Nigârî had both among his own followers and with the scholars of Amasya.

Historical Context

According to Hüsameddin, during Nigârî's years in Amasya, especially after 1871-1872, his open cursing of Muâviye and his partisans led to a great dispute with the town's scholars, known as the "Ali-Muâviye question"; the scholars defended the Sunni creed, both sides went to extremes, and a division arose among the people. Hüsameddin writes both that this reaction, recalling the wrongs done to the Prophet's household, should be met with understanding, and that reviling and cursing are bad in religion and in ethics. When Nigârî was asked in 1884-1885, before the şeyhülislam in Istanbul, the reason for this attitude, he said that hating and cursing those who had risen against his ancestor was a duty that belonged to him, and that it was not right for the people to follow him in this. After this answer he was exiled to Harput. When the poem was written is not known. For the poet's literary personality see Nigârî: Poet and Works.

Bibliography

Online sources