Fuzuli – Life, Love for Karbala and Works

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Who was Fuzuli? (1494 – 1556)

Not much information or source material can be found about Fuzuli’s life. Where and in which year he was born is not known for certain. While some authors give his year of birth as 1504, others write that he was born in Baghdad in 1490. His real name was Mehmet and his father’s name was Süleyman. He is said to have been known as “Muhammad bin Süleyman”. Many authors add the epithet Bağdadi (the Baghdadi) to his name, which indicates that he was born in Baghdad.

The pen name (mahlas) “Fuzuli”, which he gave himself in his poems, means “a weak, insignificant, helpless servant”. When Shah Ismail took Baghdad from the Akkoyunlu in 1510, Fuzuli wrote poems in praise of Shah Ismail and, between 1510 and 1514, his mesnevi (narrative poem) “Bengü Bade”, which he presented to Shah Ismail. The poems he wrote in Arabic, Persian and Turkish prove that he had received a very good education. Human beings live under the pressure of laws, customs and beliefs! They are compelled to live under the influence of love, respect, honour, the desire to be admired and many other such ties. A person’s feelings and thoughts do not always run their natural course.

Origins and Education

The tezkire (biographical dictionary of poets) of Sadıki, which records that his father Süleyman was the mufti of the district of Hille (Hilla), states that Fuzuli belonged to the “Bayat” tribe. The Bayat are an old and large Oghuz tribe. Some orientalists, taking into account that there is also a Bayat tribe among the Kurds, have claimed that he was a Turkish poet of Kurdish origin. However, in the preface to his work “Hadikat-üs Süeda”, described as Fuzuli’s Persian divan, he writes that he was of Turkish descent and “Türk-zeban” (a native speaker of Turkish). He says: “At times I let the horse of my nature gallop in the field of Turkish. I nourished the Turkish men of refinement with the beauties of Turkish. Nor was this at all difficult for me, for Turkish suited my nature.”

Fuzuli learns the Arabic sciences from Rahmetullah, a scholar of his time. He learns the literary sciences from the poet Habibi. Meanwhile he falls in love with Rahmetullah’s daughter and marries her. It is even said that he wrote the poem “Gözüm canım efendim, sevdiğim devletli sultanım” (My eye, my soul, my lord, my beloved, my blessed sultana) for his beloved. The high level of his education enabled him to write books in all three languages. In the preface to his Turkish divan he writes “that poetry without knowledge resembles a wall without foundations”, pointing out that a wall without solid foundations has no value. Fuzuli shows that he once “studied geometry, physics, the natural sciences and hadith and Quranic exegesis (tefsir). In this context he relates that he wrote verse and prose in three languages. In his Persian divan he relates “that he strove to become a person who had gathered all the sciences and arts within himself.

“My Soil Is the Soil of Karbala”

In his Turkish divan Fuzuli says: “My birthplace is Arab Iraq, and in all my life I have not travelled to other lands. My soil is the soil of Karbala. Wherever my poems go, they must be shown respect. Not gold, not silver, not pearls, and certainly not rubies and jewels – the poetry of this servant is soil. But it is a soil of a special kind: it is the soil of Karbala, kneaded with the blood of Imam Husayn.”

Throughout his life Fuzuli served for a long time as a custodian at the shrine of Imam Ali in Najaf. Some time later he served at the shrine of Imam Husayn in Karbala. During the Safavid period he always made his living from a monthly allowance called “ratibe”. When Suleiman the Magnificent (Kanuni Sultan Süleyman), the son of Yavuz Sultan Selim, captured Baghdad in 1534, the salary paid to Fuzuli was cut off. Fuzuli, a lover of Imam Husayn, served at Imam Husayn’s shrine all his life without expecting anything in return.

With his love and devotion for the Ehl-i Beyt (Ahl al-Bayt, the family of the Prophet), Fuzuli reached the summit of the art of poetry. The great poet, who believed in poetry as a sacred feeling, describes his understanding of poetry as follows: “Poetry is an art whose source lies with God. Without divine help, no flawless poem can be uttered. The poet enters the paradise of poetry by leave of the talents given to him by nature. The more the love of God surges in his heart, the more the pearls of poetry are strung, one by one, from his tongue.”

Fuzuli does not survive a plague epidemic in Iraq and, in 1556, “walks to God” (Hakk’a yürümek, the Alevi expression for passing away) in Karbala. In accordance with his will, he is buried between the shrine of Imam Husayn and the “Haymagâh” (the place where the tents stood). Fuzuli expressed his humility and his sincere and fervent feelings in his poems in a style all his own.

Fuzuli lived in an Arab country. At that time and in his surroundings, Arabic was a sacred language and Persian was regarded as the language of literature and fine poetry. Turkish was not a spoken language there. In such an environment Fuzuli wrote fine works on the events of Karbala in Arabic and Persian, and Arabs and Persians benefited from these works. For the Turks, a large community in the world, there was no work in Turkish from which they could benefit. It was for this reason that the enlightened and far-sighted poet Fuzuli wrote “Hadikat üs-Süeda”, a counterpart to the Arabic and Persian works, in Turkish. By doing so Fuzuli proved that he loved his mother tongue consciously and sincerely.

Fuzuli’s Works

1. Persian Divan: Its preface is very important because it explains his understanding of poetry and provides information about his life. The divan is written in Persian and consists of gazels, kasides, kıtas (quatrains) and rubais on Karbala.
2. Turkish Divan: It consists of gazels, kasides, mersiyes (elegies) and rubais on the Prophet Muhammad, the Ehl-i Beyt and Karbala. The most important parts of the divan are the “Su Kasidesi” (Ode to Water), which expresses his love and devotion for the Prophet Muhammad, and the “Karbala Mersiye”, which reveals his deep love for the Ehl-i Beyt in the form of a lament. In other words it is called the “Mersiye-i Ali Aba”.
3. Arabic Divan: Although the existence of the Arabic divan is known, no copy is available. The Asian Museum in Leningrad is said to hold 465 Arabic kasides in which he praises the Prophet Muhammad and Imam Ali.
4. Bengü Bâde: In 540 couplets (beyit) it describes the battle between opium and wine.
5. Heft Cam (Seven Cups): A mesnevi of mystical (tasavvufi) character in 318 couplets, which begins: “Give me the wine that gives order to the sharia, not the wine that is forbidden in the sharia”.
6. Hadikatü-s-Süeda (The Garden of the Blessed): The first chapters of the book are devoted to the Prophet Muhammad, Imam Ali, Fatima (Fadime), Imam Hasan and Imam Husayn. Its main subject, however, is the atrocity of Karbala, the massacre of the Ehl-i Beyt. The elegies and odes it contains lay bare the injustice done to the descendants of the Prophet Muhammad.
7. Rind ü Zâhid: A work written in Persian in satirical form (taşlama), with kasides, couplets and rubais, depicting a Sufi and a bigot (yobaz).
8. Hüsnü Aşk: This work is also known as “Sıhhat ü Maraz” (Health and Illness). It is a treatise that gives an idea of Fuzuli’s knowledge of medicine.
9. Şikâyetname (Letter of Complaint): After the Ottomans occupied Iraq, they cut off the salary Fuzuli received for his service as shrine custodian. Although he was no longer paid, Fuzuli continued his service. A few years later he received a document from the Sultan stating that he was to receive 9 akçe a day. Yet, for whatever reason, he was never able to obtain the money that had been ordered for his livelihood. Thereupon he wrote a letter in Turkish to the Nişancı (head of the chancery) Celal-Zade Mustafa Çelebi: “Selam verdüm rüşvet deyüldür deyu almadılar. Hükm gösterdim faidesüzdür deyü mültefit olmadılar.” (“I offered my greeting – they did not accept it, saying it was no bribe. I showed the decree – they paid no heed, saying it was of no use.”)
10. Matlaul-İtikad: This book is a treatise within Fuzuli’s collected works held in the Leningrad museum. It expresses his devotion to the line of the Twelve Imams.
11. Enisü’l-Kalb: A kaside of 134 couplets written in Persian that expresses Fuzuli’s feelings and thoughts; it was translated into Turkish and published by the Edirne library in 1944.

Historians write in various contexts that, besides the works listed here, Fuzuli wrote many other works. For example! There are works entitled “Şah ü Geda” and “Sohbetü’l-Esmar” (The Conversation of the Fruits), as well as kasides in Turkish and Persian verse. The only reason why so many of Fuzuli’s Turkish works are not widely known in Turkey is that they contain Persian words and are written in old Turkish, so that today they are not in a language everyone can understand.

From Fuzuli’s Poems

For this reason I shall not reproduce much of Fuzuli’s poetry. Because for many people of this age these poems, though meaningful, are tiresome since they are not understood, I shall quote only a few of them. I ask for the indulgence of those friends among the people of mysticism (tasavvuf) who understand them.

Perişan halün oldum sormadun hali perişanım
Gamından derde düştüm kılmadun tebdili dermanım
Ne dersen rüzügarum böyle mi geçsün güzel hanum
Gözüm canum efendim sevdüğüm devletli sultanım

For your sake I was ruined, yet you never asked about my ruined state
Out of grief for you I fell into pain, yet you offered me no cure
What do you say – shall my life pass like this, my lovely lady?
My eye, my soul, my lord, my beloved, my blessed sultana

Dost bi pervâ Felek bi-rahim devran bi-sükün
Derd çok hem-derd yok düşman kavi tali zebun
Çehre-i zerdin Fuzuli’nin tutubdur eşk-i al
Gör ana ne rengler çekmiş sipihr-i Nilgün

The friend is heedless, fate merciless, time without rest
The pain is great, there is no fellow sufferer, the enemy is strong, fortune weak
Blood-red tears have covered Fuzuli’s pale yellow face
See what colours the indigo sky has painted on him

Yevmül süâl Hazrete arzeyleyem eğer
Eltaf’ü merhametle kulundan cevap ala
Dünya evinde konduk oturduk bir iki gün
Lâyık mudur Kerim’e, konuktan hesap ala

If on the Day of Questioning I may present this to the Exalted One:
May He receive His servant’s answer with kindness and mercy
In the house of this world we lodged and stayed a day or two
Is it fitting for the All-Generous to call a guest to account?

Gönül tâ elünde câm-i mey tesbihe el urma
Namaz ehline uyma anlarunla durma oturma
Eğilüb secdeye salma ferâgat tacını başdan
Vuzüdan su sepüb rahat yukusun gözden uçurma

O heart, as long as the cup of wine is in your hand, do not reach for the prayer beads
Do not follow the people of ritual prayer, do not stand or sit with them
Do not bow down in prostration and cast the crown of renunciation from your head
Do not sprinkle the water of ablution and drive sweet sleep from your eyes

Sakın paymal olursun bi-riya tek mescide girme
Ve ger nâçar girersen anda minber kimi çok durma
Müezzin nâlesin alma kulağa düşme teşvişe
Cehennem kapusun açdurma vaizden haber sorma

Beware, you will be trampled – do not enter the mosque as one free of hypocrisy
And if you must enter, do not stay there long like the pulpit
Do not let the muezzin’s wail into your ear, do not fall into confusion
Do not have the gate of hell opened, do not ask the preacher for news

Cemaat izdihamı mescide almış küdüretler
Küdüret üzre lutf it bir küdüret sen hem arturma
Hatibün sanma sadık vaizün kavliyle fi’il itme
İmamın dutma âkil ihtiyarun ana tabşurma

The throng of the congregation has brought gloom into the mosque
Be kind and do not add yet another gloom to the gloom
Do not take the pulpit orator for sincere, do not act on the preacher’s words
Do not take the imam for wise, do not hand over your free will to him

Fuzuli behre virmez taat-i nâkıs nedür cehdün
Kerem kıl zerki tâat suretinde hadden aşırma
Necefde bağlanmayan Hakk hizmetine kemer
Gidüb Frenk diyarında bağlasın zünnar

Fuzuli, deficient worship brings no gain – what is your striving for?
Be generous and do not carry hypocrisy in the guise of obedience beyond all bounds
Whoever does not gird himself in Najaf for the service of God (Hakk),
let him go to the land of the Franks and tie on the zunnar (the girdle of non-Muslims) there

Hiç kim cürmile dergâhundan olmaz nâümid
Senden ister kâm eğer rüsvâ ger halvetnişin

No one loses hope of Your threshold (dergâh) because of his sin
Of You he asks his desire, whether he is disgraced or lives in seclusion

The Turkish translation of these last two lines: “No one gives up hope because he is guilty. Everyone, whether well known or withdrawn into a corner, expects what he wishes from You.”

I hope that one of our people (can) who has studied Arabic and Persian will come forward, translate these meaningful couplets, kasides and elegies into present-day Turkish and offer this hidden treasure to future generations. Whoever does this will have performed a sacred service.

Source: Seyit Derviş Tur, Erkânname – Aleviliğin İslam Yorumu ve Alevi Erkânları (Erkânname – The Alevi Interpretation of Islam and the Alevi Rites), expanded 3rd edition (ISBN 975-6791-52-7).

Translated from the Turkish original by Seyit Derviş Tur.