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Additional Mevlevi Hymn

Segâh Neyâz Ilâhi¹
[Mevlevi Composer: Sa`duddîn Heper, 1899-1980]

a Turkish song (in 14/8 time):

Like a moth, I threw my body into the (radiant) candle of his face.
I threw the pages of my heart into the burning flame.
(And) I threw myself, while I was a single drop, into the Ocean.²
[I can't explain my inward pain: I have (such) grief.]³
If you love the Lord (God), don't make me speak. I have (such longing) sorrow.

Sem'-i ruhuna cismimi pervane düSürdüm
evrak-i dili âteS-i sûzâna düSürdüm
bir katre iken kendimi ummane düSürdüm
[takrir edemem derd-i derûnum elemim var]
mevlâyI seversen beni söyletme gamIm var

(meter: XXoo XXoo XXoo XX)


a Turkish song (in 6/8 time):

Listen to my words, (for) I will speak to you in an unusual
manner:
To be a dervish, (what's needed is love for God.
Whatever the lover has is a sacrifice to the Beloved.
The mystical concert⁴ is purification and joy, healing for the
soul,⁵ and food for the spirit.

Come with love! Let's rejoice and be happy.
Let's raise our shouts (of joy) to the heavens.
Let's be drunk. Let's make the harp and reed-flute play (music).
The mystical concert is purification and joy, healing for the soul,
and food for the spirit.

O sufi,⁶ our conversation⁷ is joy for the soul.⁸
Drink a gulp of our "wine"⁹ (and) see how it is a remedy for
suffering
It is faithfulness to the promise we made with God in eternity.¹⁰
The mystical concert is purification and joy, healing for the soul,
and food for the spirit.

Come with love: Let's search for a (true) seeker.
Let's continue on with joy and delight. Let's be (truly) alive.
Come to Hazrat-i Mevlana! Let's be his servants.
The mystical concert is purification and joy, healing for the soul,
and food for the spirit.

--translated from Turkish by Ibrahim Gamard (with gratitude to
Professors Alan Godlas, Walter Andrews, Robert Dankoff, and
Hasan Javadi for translation corrections and suggestions for the
Ottoman Turkish texts).
©Ibrahim Gamard (translation, footnotes, & transliteration)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

dinle sözümü sana derim özge edâdIr
derviS olana lâzIm olan aSk-I hudâdIr
âSIkIn nesi var ise maSûka fedâdIr
semâ' safâ câna Sifa rûha gIdâdIr

aSk ile gelin eyleyelim zevk ü safayI
göklere deGin ergürelim huy ile hayI
mestane olup depredelim çeng Ile nayI
semâ' safâ câna Sifa rûha gIdâdIr

ey sofu bizim sohbetimiz câna sefâdIr
bir cur'amIzI nûS ede gör derde devâdIr
hak ile ezel etdiGimiz 'ahde vefâdIr
semâ' safâ câna Sifa rûha gIdâdIr

aSk ile gelin talib-i cûyende olalIm
Sevk ile safalar sürelim zinda olalIm
Hazret-i Mevlânâ'ya gelin bende olalIm
semâ' safâ câna Sifa rûha gIdâdIr

(meter: XXoX XXoX XXoX X)

Notes

1. translation: Three-Time Hymn of Needfulness (toward God).

2. the Ocean: literally, the Sea of Oman-- a idiom meaning "sea"
or "ocean."

3. I have such grief: this line is not in the Ottoman Turkish text,
but is an added variant.

4. the mystical concert: the samaa`, or Sema, which involves
spiritual listening, movement, dancing, whirling to mystical poetry
and music.

5. healing for the soul: this is "faithful devotion for the soul"
[cana vefa] in the earliest text of the poem. The composer adopted
the present variant of "healing for the soul."

6. Sufi: this well-known Arabic word is pronounced "sofu" in
accordance with the rules of Turkish vowel harmony. However, a
more educated person will know that the learned pronunciation in
Turkish is "soofee." Although the pronunciation as "sofu" came to
mean, in Turkish, someone who is excessively devout (for
example, someone too strict toward others regarding religious rules
but indulgent toward himself), since this poem was composed in
the 14th century, we should assume that it has the original meaning
of a "soofee" dervish who follows the Islamic way of mysticism.

7. conversation [sohbet]: means spiritual companionship and
conversation.

8. joy for the soul: also means tranquility for the soul.

9. our "wine": means "our conversation which causes a state of
spiritual drunkenness and ecstasy."

10. the promise we made with God in eternity: means that "the
mystical wine of our conversation" is true to the ancient promise
made with God. This refers to the "Day of Alast," when a
primordial covenant was made (in "pre-eternity," prior to the
creation) between God and the souls of mankind (mentioned in the
Qur'an 7:172). The word "eternity" [ezel] is not in the earliest text
(which has "bizim," meaning "our").