Original Ottoman Turkish Text
Metre: Fā‘ilātün fā‘ilātün fā‘ilātün fā‘ilün
Levḥa-i endīşeden nefy-i sivā ḳıl lā gibi
Bir mehüñ ‘aşḳıyla çāk it sīneñi illā gibi
In English
1. From the tablet of thought wipe away all that is other than God, like "lâ" (no); for love of a moon, tear open your breast like "illâ" (but).
Literary and Historical Commentary
The two parts of the profession of faith turn, in this couplet found only in T. 738, into counsel on love. In the sentence "lâ ilâhe illallah" (there is no god but God), "lâ" is the negation and removes everything other than God, while "illâ" is the particle of exception and singles Him out and affirms Him. In the books of theology and Sufism these two parts are called "nefy" (negation) and "isbât" (affirmation). The poet counsels wiping from the tablet of thought, like "lâ", the "mâsivâ", everything other than God.
In the second line the same formula turns into a written shape. In Arabic script the joining of lâm and elif in the word "illâ" resembles a breast with two arms thrown open; in the second couplet of Sâhib's ghazal 115 this shape was likewise likened to the "sîne-çâk" (torn-breasted) lover. Here the lover must tear open his breast like "illâ" for love of a moon-faced one. The negation of the creed describes turning away from the world, its affirmation turning towards a single love; the couplet brings the language of Sufism and the language of love together in the same two words.
Bibliography
- Meral Topal, Pîrî-zâde Mehmed Sâhib Hayatı, Edebî Kişiliği, Eserleri ve Divanı'nın Tenkitli Metni, MA thesis, Fırat Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü, Elazığ 2004, p. 225, matla 7 (Istanbul University Library T. 738, fol. 3b). https://openaccess.firat.edu.tr/handle/11508/16014
Online sources
