Peace, one and all…
I’ve recently worked out how to post videos and so without further ado, here’s the first of a new category – Sufi Music/Nasheeds/Dhikr.
Note: as Sidi Yursil will know, this is one of my all time favourite ilahis. Insha Allah, I’ll find a full version and then post the lyrics.
Ma’as salama,
Abdur Rahman
Abdur Rahman's Corner 
Assalamu alaikum akhi,
Please forgive my ignorance, but what is an ilahi? Turkish style dhikr?
Demedim mi – i think i heard these woprds before! What do they mean?
May Allah bless you all!
Wa alaikum salaam ukthi
There’s nothing to forgive 🙂
An Ilahi is a traditional Turkish nasheed/dhikr. Demedim mi is a traditional song and the title means something like ‘didn’t I tell you?’ If you bought Zain Bhika’s Our World CD, the track by Hasan Kilicatan is a version of this.
Yursil bhai will be able to tell you much more, insha Allah.
Ma’as salama,
Abdur Rahman
Salaam!
Tab3an! I have that CD! Mashallah! 🙂
Look forward to hearing more insha’Allah!
Salaams Safiyah
Here are the main lyrics (there is some variation between versions it seems). They were very kindly transcribed and translated by Hakkani (see the Fellow Travellers links)
Demedim mi
Guzel asik cehrimizi cekemezsin demedim mi
Bu bir riza lokmasidir yiyemezsin demedim mi
O beautiful lover, you can’t bear our countenance, didn’t I tell you?
This is a morsel of acceptance, you cannot swallow it, didn’t I tell you?
Demedim mi demedim mi, Gonul sana soylemedim mi
Bu bir riza lokmasidir yiyemezsin demedim mi
Didn’t I tell you, didn’t I tell you, O my heart didn’t I say to you?
This is a morsel of acceptance, you cannot swallow it, didn’t I tell you.
Yemeyenler kalir nacar gozlerinden kanlar sacar
Bu bir demdir gelir gecer duyamazsin demedim mi
Those who do not eat will remain out, blood pours out from their eyes
This is a moment, it comes and goes, you cannot hear it, didn’t I tell
you?
Demedim mi demedim mi, Gonul sana soylemedim mi
Bu bir riza lokmasidir yiyemezsin demedim mi
Didn’t I tell you, didn’t I tell you, O heart didn’t I say to you?
This is a morsel of acceptance, you cannot swallow it, didn’t I tell you.
Pir Sultan ALI Sahimiz HAKKA ulasir ahimiz
On iki imam katarimiz diyemezsin demedim mi
Pir Sultan Ali is our King, our sigh reaches to the Truth
The twelve Imams are our train, you can’t say, didn’t I tell you?
Demedim mi demedim mi, Gonul sana soylemedim mi
Bu bir riza lokmasidir yiyemezsin demedim mi
Didn’t I tell you, didn’t I tell you, O my heart didn’t I say to you?
This is a morsel of acceptance, you cannot swallow it, didn’t I tell you.
Ma’as salama,
Abdur Rahman
JazakALlahu for taking time t share the lyrics and translation!
I didnt really understand it… and who was Pir Sultan Ali…?
Hope u can explain, i dont always really understand sufi-ish poetry – including yours! but i appreciate them nonetheless 🙂
Peace!
Salaams Safiyah
I know what you mean!Thank you for your kind words. May Allah bless you always
As far as I know, Pir Sultan Ali is Ali ibn Abi Talib (may God ennoble his face). The next line would then refer to the 12 imams of the ithna ashari line. One of the academic areas I find really fascinating is the blurry dividing line between sunni/shii/sufi piety/belief, etc.
As for sufi poetry, I know what you mean! 🙂 In my own case, it’s probably unintelligible because it’s poor!! 😉
Or, perhaps, because for me it’s a matter of the heart, far more than it’s a matter of the mind. In my own poetry, I’m constantly groping for metaphors.
Ma’as salama,
Abdur Rahman
Salaam,
I guess we can only understand according to our capacity of understanding… hopefully that is ever increasing…
Some links you may like to see:
http://www.mysticmedicine.com/
http://www.ghazaliproject.com/
Have a wonderful day, please keep me in your du’as…
as-salamu’alaikum Sidi and others,
I just wanted to clarify some thoughts on the mention of the twelve imams.
Certainly the mentions of the twelve imams might sound confusing, but if one takes a look at who exactly the twelve imams of the Shia are we realize that simply by being known as ‘Shia-ism’ or twelver Shia does not necessarily mean that only they can lay ownership to loving those Imams.
Is loving Ali (R) and Hassan (R) and Hussein (R) out of our boundaries? Does the fact that the Shia believe Imam Mahdi (R) went into a cave so many years ago nullify any love and desire we can have for him and his arrival?
Is loving Jafar as-Sadiq (R), the one who the Shia say founded their legal school something worthless?
Well, what if we frame it in such a way by asking who was the teacher of Imam Abu Hanifa (R)? The one whose name is attached to the most widespread school of Sunni Islamic Law? It was Imam Jafar As-Sadiq (R) the one whose name is also attached to the largest school of Shia law.
All these are members of the ‘twelve Imams’..
So true Sunni’s are first and foremost to show our love for the Ahl ul Bayt, and to lay claim to them. We are aware of how we need to treat Ahl ul Bayt and how they were treated in Ottoman times is a clear indication of that. In Ottoman times, anyone who could identify themselves properly and strongly as Ahl ul Bayt was given special functions by the state, never allowed to languish or be in need.
The major difference is that we do not accept that the Ahl ul Bayt would want us cursing Abu Bakr as-Sadiq (R) or Hazrat Aishia (R) and Umar (R) and other Sahabis. We do not take verses of hypocrisy in the Quran and begin applying them to the various Sahabi (R), much less the great ones.
We take and love from all of them. Where they differed, we find it largely in politics. Where they came together, we find clear evidence to support our traditions and belief.. Where they made mistakes, we consider it a sign for ourselves and we learn.
And we are certainly aware of the injustices that occurred to the Ahl ul Bayt and we have no love for those that committed it.
I hope that helps give perspective…
Salaams Yursil bhai,
Sense, as ever. Al hamdu lillah.
I have no problem with referring to the 12 imams whatsoever. If being a Shia means loving the ahl al-bayt, then that’s what I am! As you said, does that mean I buy into the rest? With due respect, no.
Abdur Rahman
Salaams,
JazakumAllahu khayran fid-daarayn!
I understand what u mean and agree totally. Thank you for clarifying it though 🙂
salaam brother, you know who recorded this video?:). it’s me:)
i recorded in fort lauderdale, miami florida in january 2007
enjoy:)
best,
engin.
Salaams Engin
Really?!? Ma sha Allah. Demedim mi is one of my all time favourite nasheeds/Ilahis.
Turkish sufi music is a passion of mine. Insha Allah, perhaps we might share our interests somehow?
Ma’as salama,
Abdur Rahman
My dear friend you’ve mistaken it’s not PIR SULTAN ALI….
His name is PIR SULTAN ABDAL he is the one who wrote this poem and he says that his SAH is IMAM ALI (a.s.)….
And one last thing… refer to the the 12 Imam’S (a.s.) does not only mean loving them you also have to hate there enemies..
For example how you can love Omer (the one who burned Ali (a.s.) hous, slapped Fatima (a.s.), the only daughter of our PROHET (s.a.s), in the face and broke her rib…..
So pleace go on make your sufi music but don’t tell us you refer to the 12 Imams and at the same time you give love to Yezid, Muavie,Osman, Aicha….
PIR SULTAN ABDAL was not someone like you….. He was a real SHIA!!!!
Salaams Aly Haydar
Welcome to my online home. Thank you for your comments. I am not Turkish and so my only knowledge of this song came from some Turkish Sunni brothers (see Yursil’s comment above). I just pasted these lyrics as they came to me.
As you can see from my intro page, I am a Sunni Muslim. I do not consider myself to be Shi`a. I am indeed nothing like Pir Sultan Abdal. I am nothing and no one. I am just an unworthy lover of God.
Thank you again for your visit.
Abdur Rahman
Hey there,
I didn’t like Ali Haydar’s tone and simply wanted to apologise on behalf of him, in case he’s a Turk. Also, search for “Özer Özel-demedim mi on youtube to further enjoy this “Türkü”, I’d want to discuss further on the lyrics but don’t have much time right now, perhaps later.
Best regards.
Salaams Onur,
Welcome to my online home. Thank you for stoppin by. Allah bless you always. No need to apologise for the above commenter. Thank you for the information regarding this song – I really do love it very much
I would welcome your thoughts on the lyrics and I look forward to reading them, as God wills.
My best salaams to you and to yours…
Abdur Rahman
Selam,
Hey again, I hope you’re doing well and do hope that you checked Özer Özel, since that version fills my heart with peace and sorrow, I know, it’s hard to explain but I know you’ll understand 🙂
First, I’d like to correct some minor parts of the lyrics and their translation.
“Guzel asik cehrimizi cekemezsin demedim mi”
-It’s not “cehrimizi”, if it were it’d be spelled “çehremizi” anyway, but the word is “cevrimizi” which translates to “our suffering”
the word is “cevir” and it means, in this context, “a dervish´s forty-day period of retirement and fasting” or in general, “ordeal/trial/suffering”.
So the phrase is: “Güzel aşık cevrimizi çekemezsin demedim mi?”
->”O beautiful lover, you can’t bear our suffering/ordeal/trial, didn’t I tell you?
Continuing,
“Bu bir riza lokmasidir yiyemezsin demedim mi”
->”This is a morsel of -consent-, you cannot -eat- it, didn’t I tell you?”
-I believe “consent” would be more of an accurate word, also “yemek”(yiyemezsin) means “to eat” not “to swallow”, so it’d be more accurate to use that word.
“Yemeyenler kalır naçar gözlerinden kanlar saçar”
->”Those who do not eat remain helpless/hopeless, (they)cast blood out from their eyes.”
“Bu bir demdir gelir geçer duyamazsın demedim mi”
->”This is a breath/moment, it comes and goes, you cannot hear it, didn’t I tell you?”
These are the lyrics for the most common version of the ilahi, the poem, as it is written by Pir Sultan Abdal is actually longer, I can comment on-translate the whole poem later as well if you’d like. Only if you promise to check out Özer Özel though 😛 ok kidding, but please do :).
As for the meaning of the ilahi, it is said/sang for the lover, who should have entered the path, should have made a promise, but cannot bear the suffering, for the suffering of love is hard, and not for everyone. If truly he can’t hanle the trial/suffering, it is best for him to leave this path/house of heart.
It has a very deep meaning and teaches us a lesson I believe, for the better.
Hope this helped a bit.
Peace be with you.
Salaams Onur,
Jazak Allah for your help with translation. It has indeed helped, and I am very grateful. As I hope I said above, I am not Turkish and know almost nothing of the language. The translation was provided for me by another brother, at some speed I believe.
I would love to learn more of the poem itself, and of Pir Sultan Abdal too. As for the Ozer Ozel song, do you mean this one? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xr1N-GDpP5A If so, I’m listening to it right now, in accordance with your instructions! 😉
As for love and sorrow, Allah, I can understand that. Good music of any kind evokes a range of emotions and feelings. A good ilahi, nasheed or qawwal, evokes a similar range of emotions. Also, love can be sad and sadness can also be a joy! What a strange and beautiful world this is!
Allah!
It is good to meet you. I would be very much interested in talking with you about this poem further, and indeed about ilahis and other such things in general.
Allah bless you always.
Abdur Rahman
Greetings again,
Yes that’s the one, performed beautifully with so much love.
Hope to talk more later when I have more time,
Peace.
Salaams Onur,
I look forward to our future conversations, insha Allah. 🙂
how lovely that we muslims fight over who has “ownership” of the Imams and about which sect truly loves them more. even more lovely the fact that think the Ahl ul-Bayt take on our sectarian colors.
Their color is the color of God, and those who are of them take this color. Their sect is the sect of God, their party His party.
Words are cheaper than dirt, it is action which marks who truly is a lover of the Ahl al-Bayt. And surely, the one who is the loudest is usually the farthest.
I am surprised that those who supposedly walk the path of awakening are the first to puff up their egos and flaunt their “love” for the household. True lovers are recognized by their faces, and they know that in their love they have only purchased pain and suffering in this world. This is what loving the household is, this is what being of their shi’a is, and it is a love whose fragrance comes only in action, not in words.
So it is not us to lay claim to them. It is for us to live in such a way, so that like Salman the Pure, the Masumeen themselves will say, “This servant is of us, the People of the Household.”
May God grant those who are worthy this blessing, and save this umma from the closed mindedness of the insecure, those who in their ignorance split this community apart from its very center…
Salaams Naasir,
Welcome to my online home. Allah bless you always.
What you have said is true. Actions speak louder than words. As for me, I do not claim to be anything special – merely to be a faulty human being struggling to learn. The more I read of the thoughts and sayings of the Imams the more I come to know, respect and love them.
Abdur Rahman
Try this,
Selam, Kardes burada bir buyuuuk yanlis var, kusura bakma ama Pir Sultan ALi yazmissin ama kardes orada iki cumle var yani iki isim var, birincisi pir sultan, ki o bu siirin yazaridir, kendisi osmanli altinda zulume karsi gelmistir, ve ismi haydardir ama halk arasinda pir sultan abdal olarak bilinir abdal sozu turkcede haka ermis demektir, yani hakin sirini bilendir, ve kendisi alevi halkinin ezilmesine karsi bir insandi ve hz. ali nin yolundan gidiyordu, ve o yuzden siirde ALi diye devam ediyor. ayreten belirtmekte yarar varki burada ilahi diye gecen bu siir aslinda ilahi degildir fakat bir degistir, aleviligi sunnilestirmek cabasinin ta kendisidir bu, lutfen kulturumuzu calip kendi kulturunuz yapmayin. saygilarimla.
Hz. Ali Yardimciniz Hidir Yoldasiniz olsun, huu dost erenler askina.
Salams Emre,
Thank you. Insha Allah, I shall.
Salam Selma,
Unfortunately, I don’t speak Turkish at all. Sorry! 😦
It was really nice to see the translation of this poem. I am not Turkish, and not Sunni, 🙂 but I love Pir Sultan Abdal’s poetry and the folk music that has developed around it.
Pir Sultan Abdal was associated with the Kizilbas (who are now called Alevi) in Sivas– and yes, he was aligned with Shah Ismail, and both Alevi Kurds and Turks revere his legacy. He was rebellious in spirit and was hung by the Ottoman Vizir Hizir Pasha around 1550 because he refused to write a poem that did not have the name “Shah Ismail” in it. The Alevi’s were massacred by the Ottoman’s many times over, by Yavuz Sultan Selim in 1516, who killed 40 thousand men women and children, and later by Murad Pasha “The Well Digger” who killed around a hundred thousand. They were considered heretics by the Ottoman’s and Sunni’s, and up until the present time have been subject to massacres. The Turkish government is working very hard to assimilate the Alevi’s to make them “Muslim” in a way that is palatable– but Alevi’s do not read the Koran, go to Mosque, fast at Ramadan, pray five times a day, or go to Haj… they believe it’s the inner action that counts, not the outside rituals, but they have been under a lot of pressure to conform to Sunni behavior and norms– for instance, in school they are forced to take religious classes that are oriented towards the Sunni. If you’d like to see a short documentary about Kurdish Alevi’s here is a link, it’s my documentary: http://vimeo.com/stats/video/16189946