Original Persian Text

Metre: Mefâ’îlün Mefâ’îlün Fe’ûlün

Zi-isyân âdemî hâlî ne-bâşed
Tu sultânî zi-tu gufrân şâyed

In English

1. Mankind is never free of rebellion (sin); you are the sultan, and pardon befits you.

Literary and Historical Commentary

Structure of the Poem

The third Persian single couplet is written in the "mefâ'îlün mefâ'îlün fe'ûlün" pattern. In the edition the folio mark [96b] stands beside the number. The same mark is found on the preceding page beside the number of the third Persian nazm; that nazm too is a poem asking for pardon. The two lines end with the words "ne-bâşed" and "şâyed". The rhyme rests on the final syllable "-ed", and the consonants before it (ş and y) differ; it is therefore a weak rhyme. This assessment is our own.

Meaning and Figures of Speech

The couplet opens with a judgement and closes with a wish. The first line is a general statement on human nature: the son of Adam is never free of sin. The word "âdemî" means "human being", but it carries within it the name of Adam; the first man's breaking of the prohibition in paradise and his later repentance are felt in this word as an implicit telmih (allusion). The second line names God as "sultan" and says that forgiveness befits him. "Şâyed" means "befits, is fitting" in Persian. In his footnote Kılıç renders the couplet as "Mankind is not free of rebellion for a single moment. You are the sultan; forgiveness is expected of you"; the words "for a single moment" are not in the text but were added to clarify the sense. The logic of the couplet lies in presenting the servant's sin as a necessity and God's pardon as an attribute: man cannot be sinless, and the sultan cannot be a sultan without forgiving. This works like a hüsn-i talil (poetic aetiology); the ground for pardon is the thought of man's weakness together with the sultan's generosity. There is a tezat (antithesis) between "isyân" (rebellion) and "gufrân" (forgiveness); the two words are also tied to each other by the same "-ân" sound.

Historical Context

Naming God as "sultan" is common in Islamic literature. Nevertheless, from the pen of a prince who addresses his father as "Ey ser-â-ser 'âleme sultân Süleymânum baba" (O my Süleyman, sultan of the whole world, my father), the juxtaposition of the words "sultan" and "pardon" may lead the reader to recall the afnâme (versed letter of pardon). Kılıç holds that this afnâme was written from Iran to ask for pardon. The couplet itself is clearly addressed to God and contains no reference to the father; this association is our reading alone.

Bibliography

  • Filiz Kılıç (ed.), Şâhî Dîvânı (Şehzâde Bâyezîd), Ankara: T.C. Kültür ve Turizm Bakanlığı Kütüphaneler ve Yayımlar Genel Müdürlüğü, 2018, e-book p. 164, Persian single couplet no. 3 (Millet Library, Ali Emîrî Efendi, Manzum Eserler 225, fol. 96b), note 231 (Turkish meaning of the couplet); also p. 37 (the afnâme), p. 164 (Persian nazm no. 3, notes 226-227), https://ekitap.ktb.gov.tr/Eklenti/59394,sahi-divanipdf.pdf.

Online sources