Original Ottoman Turkish Text

Metre: Mef’ûlü Mefâ’îlü Mefâ’îlü Fe’ûlün

Ey hâlik-i kevneyn ü ey mübdi’-i eşyâ
V’ey gün gibi her zerrede âsâr(ı) hüveydâ
Deryâ-yı ulûhiyyetine nisbeten ey şâh
Gûyâ ki iki katre durur dünye vü ‘ukbâ
Mûsâ ile ger lutfun eli olmasa hem-dest
Göstermege kâdir mi olurdı yed-i beyzâ
‘Îsâya nesîm-i keremün olmasa hem-dem
Mevtâyı cihânda idebilür midi ihyâ
Sunmasan eger kudret elin fahr-i cihâna
Engüşt ile şakk-ı kamer eyler midi şâhâ
Dîdârunı göstermez isen ger yarın anda
Dûzah görine gözlerüme cennet-i me’vâ
Nâmıyla n’ola Şâhî isem lîk kapunda
Bir bende-i horem ki bulınmaz bana hem-tâ

In English

1. O creator of the two worlds, O originator of all things; O you whose works are manifest in every atom like the sun.

2. O king, compared with the sea of your divinity, this world and the hereafter are as two drops of water.

3. Had the hand of your grace not joined Moses' hand, would he have been able to show the "yed-i beyzâ" (the shining white hand)?

4. Had the breeze of your generosity not been the companion of Jesus, could he have raised the dead in this world?

5. O king, had you not extended the hand of your power to the pride of the world (the Prophet Muhammad), could he have split the moon with his finger?

6. If tomorrow, there (in the hereafter), you do not show your face, let the Garden of Me'vâ seem hell to my eyes.

7. What if my name is Şâhî (the kingly one); at your door I am a worthless slave than whom none lower can be found.

Literary and Historical Commentary

Structure of the Poem

The poem is a ghazal (gazel) of seven couplets, written in the "mef'ûlü mefâ'îlü mefâ'îlü fe'ûlün" pattern of aruz (quantitative metre). There is no redif (refrain word); the rhyme rests on the long "-â" sound in the words "eşyâ, hüveydâ, 'ukbâ, beyzâ, ihyâ, şâhâ, me'vâ, hem-tâ". The pen name (mahlas) appears in the last couplet. In the single manuscript (Millet Library, Ali Emîrî Efendi, Manzum Eserler 225) the ghazal stands on folios 1b-2a, and in Filiz Kılıç's edition it opens the divan. Kılıç notes that the first ghazal of the divan is a tevhid (a poem on the oneness of God), in which the poet speaks of God's greatness and the proofs of His existence. The vowel in brackets at the end of "âsâr(ı)" in the first couplet is one of the sounds Kılıç added for the sense, although they are absent from the manuscript.

Meaning and Figures of Speech

The backbone of the ghazal is formed by allusions to three prophetic miracles. The third couplet recalls the hand of Moses that shone white when drawn from his bosom (yed-i beyzâ), the fourth Jesus raising the dead, and the fifth the Prophet splitting the moon in two with his finger (şakk-ı kamer). All three couplets are built on the same question: what works the miracle is the divine grace that empowers its bearer, and the bearer himself only through it. This repetition forms a series that reinforces the idea of divine unity through examples. The gathering of all the miracles around the "hand" (the hand of grace, the hand of power, the finger) creates a congruence of images (tenasüp) between the couplets; this observation is our own.

In the second couplet this world and the hereafter are reckoned as two drops before the sea of divinity, a familiar use of the image of sea and drop in divan poetry. The sixth couplet expresses the longing to see God's face in the hereafter (rüyet): if that face is not seen, even paradise will seem like hell. The contrast between paradise and hell here turns into a declaration of love.

In the last couplet a contrast is set up between the poet's pen name and his servitude. According to Kılıç's explanation, the poet opens his divan by stressing that, although his name is "Şâhî", he is a worthless slave of God than whom none smaller exists. When the two addresses to God as "king" (couplets 2 and 5) are read together with this last couplet, the idea that the true king is God and the poet a king only in name becomes clear; this connection is our own reading.

Bibliography

  • Filiz Kılıç (ed.), Şâhî Dîvânı (Şehzâde Bâyezîd), Ankara: T.C. Kültür ve Turizm Bakanlığı Kütüphaneler ve Yayımlar Genel Müdürlüğü, 2018, e-book p. 47, ghazal no. 1 (Millet Library, Ali Emîrî Efendi, Manzum Eserler 225, fol. 1b-2a); also p. 29 (metres), p. 30 (the first ghazal of the divan as a tevhid) and p. 43 (principles of the edition), https://ekitap.ktb.gov.tr/Eklenti/59394,sahi-divanipdf.pdf.

Online sources