(Muhyiddin Abdal was a Bektashi Sufi poet from the Balkans under Ottoman (Turkish) rule. He is said to have lived a long life and traveled extensively.)
They’re always talking about human, human —
What a human being is, now I know.
They are always discussing heart, the heart —
What the heart is, now I know.
Within the heart of the believer it was found —
it wasn’t found anywhere outside.
We found it in our own vast selves.
What faith is, now I know.
This is how they pick the wheat from the chaff,
and where your words and deeds must speak for you.
This is where the wise ones guide the Path —
What the essence of this Sufi way is, now I know.
What the pious fearful carry like baggage,
why they shoot their arrows at the faithful,
What they hide and trumped in nice language —
What doubt is, now I know.
Given all these attributes, I became a person.
Through God’s vastness I was forgiven everything.
I found absolute oneness with Reality.
What the guest is, now I know.
I said to my inner self Be humble,
and the Glorious One showered me in blessings;
There was a sign that seared me in the heart.
What the proof is, now I know.
Muhittin proclaims the Truth is a spectator.
God is everywhere if you are willing to see.
What is the hidden, what is the apparent —
What a human being is, now I know.
English version by Jennifer Ferraro & Latif Bolat
Music video of this poem in Turkish.
