Original Ottoman Turkish Text

Rāḥat-ı rūḥum dilde fütūḥum
Oġlum Nūḥum baʿde selāmı
Ḳurret-i ʿaynı diñle kelāmı
ʿİlme ḥarīṣ ol şuġle enīs ol
Ehle celīs ol görme melāmı
Ṣormaġa ey yār eylemegil ʿār
Añla ne kim var ʿilmi temāmı
Fārsīyi bil ehlin ara bul
Efżal-i nās ol ʿArab u ʿAcemī
Vaḳt-i namāz it Ḥaḳḳa niyāz it
Hāliḳi yād it gözle imāmı
Ḥāṣ ile yār ol eyüye çār ol
Dünye var ol bul eyü nāmı

In English

1. Ease of my soul, opening of my heart, my son Nûh; after greetings,

2. light of my eyes, listen to my words: be eager for learning, be a friend to your studies,

3. sit with competent men; do nothing that deserves reproach. Do not be ashamed, my friend, to ask;

4. understand whatever there is, learn knowledge in full. Know Persian, seek out and find those who know it;

5. be the best of men among Arabs and Persians. Perform your prayer at its time, pray humbly to God;

6. remember the Creator, follow the imam. Be a friend to the elect, be close to the good;

7. live in the world and win a good name.

Literary and Historical Commentary

Structure of the Poem

The poem is a letter of advice that Âşık Çelebi calls a "manzum mektup", a letter in verse, and gives under the heading "Nazm". In the edition it is set out as thirteen short lines, arranged in six pairs and a single final line; the original text is given here in that arrangement. The internal structure of the lines, however, shows an order different from this layout. Each line divides into two halves, and most of the halves rhyme among themselves: "rūḥum, fütūḥum, Nūḥum", "ḥarīṣ ol, enīs ol, celīs ol", "yār, ʿār, var", "niyāz it, yād it". At regular intervals come halves ending in "-āmı": "selāmı, kelāmı, melāmı, temāmı, imāmı, nāmı". This structure resembles a musammat, in which three segments rhyme among themselves and the fourth is tied by the same sound throughout the poem. On this view the real units of the poem consist of four segments each, such as "Rāḥat-ı rūḥum / dilde fütūḥum / oġlum Nūḥum / baʿde selāmı". This analysis is ours. The segment "Efżal-i nās ol ʿArab u ʿAcemī" does not fit this order; the expected "-āmı" sound is missing here, and the text may have changed in transmission. The edition does not indicate the metre.

Meaning and Figures of Speech

The letter lists, in short and memorable phrasing, the advice of a father to his son studying at a madrasa. The opening "rāḥat-ı rūḥum", "dilde fütūḥum" and "ḳurret-i ʿaynı" are terms of endearment; the last, "light of the eye", is an established phrase addressed to a loved one in Arabic and Persian letters. "Baʿde selāmı", after greetings, is the formula of the letter-writing tradition taken into the poem, and shows plainly that the poem is a letter. The advice extends over three areas. The first is learning: to be eager for knowledge, to be a friend to study, not to be ashamed to ask, and to learn whatever there is to learn. The second is language and company: to learn Persian, to find those who know it, to sit with competent men and to keep away from blameworthy deeds. The third is religion: to pray at the proper time, to turn to God and to follow the imam. The final lines tie all this to one goal: to leave a good name in the world. The succession of the imperatives "ol" (be) and "it" (do) makes the advice as memorable as a rhyme.

Historical Context

According to Âşık Çelebi, Seyfî's son Nûh was in Istanbul at his "şuġl", that is, his madrasa studies, when his father wrote and sent him this letter in verse. The separate advice to learn Persian shows how important this language was considered in the learned and scribal professions of the time. The manuscript situation of the letter is confused. According to the notes of the editor Filiz Kılıç, the heading appears as "ḳıṭʿa" in manuscripts A, P and S and as "beyt" in manuscript B; the whole section from "Ḳurret-i ʿaynı" to "eyü nāmı" is missing from manuscripts B, A, P and S and is found only in manuscript F. In manuscript S there are four crossed-out couplets after the first two lines. Accordingly, in most manuscripts only the first two lines of the letter remain; the whole poem rests on a single manuscript.

Bibliography

Online sources