BİRİNCİ FEN · ÜÇÜNCÜ BÂB · BEŞİNCİ FASIL · Altıncı Madde
The Sixth Item
Describes the benefits of ships traveling to and from shores.
Esteemed one! It is known that philosophers have said: By the grace of Allah, one benefit of the seas is that ships upon them, with the suitable wind of every direction, swiftly sail towards the desired side, enabling them to carry heavy loads which thousands of porters and donkeys, with great toil and hardship, would take days or even months to deliver to their homelands. They can accomplish this quickly.
Muslim captains traveling by ship in the Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea have determined and distributed thirty-two varieties of winds during voyages [76/b], explaining them all under ten names. They called the wind blowing from the north "Star," the southern wind "Qibla," the east wind "Sunrise," and the west wind "West Wind." Between the north and east, they named it “Poyraz”; between the east and south, "Keshishleme"; between the south and west, "Lodos"; and between the west and north, "Karayel.”
Then, for each of these eight directions, they determined a middle point between two, and a quarter-point between the middle and a direction. That is to say, (besides those mentioned), they named the winds based on their proximity to the nearest of the listed winds. For example, they gave the name "Star's Poyraz Quarter" to a wind. Thus, they knew thirty-two winds, found them all with the compass, and attained their true nature. With each of these winds, they were successful in traveling to a separate region.
However, Chinese, Machinli (a people from Persia), Indian, Sindhi, Arab, and Persian sailors who travel in the Indian Ocean have named the aforementioned thirty-two winds approximately with seventeen names: fifteen birth places and two polar regions. They called the places where they set as "batma yeri" (setting place) corresponding to their birth places. And these seventeen names are the names of seventeen fixed stars (sâbite), which they termed and used for traveling to the birth and setting places, and to the poles. They determined these directions by starting from the north point and proceeding eastward, taking into account the southern point in order. The first is a polar star, which appears high above that polar region and like a pavilion from the west. Astronomers call it "Cedy" with the diminutive suffix. (And those sailors) have taken this wind as their primary reference. Following this, they listed fifteen birth places from the east direction towards the south, whose names are: the birthplace of Farkadân, the birthplace of Na’sh, the birthplace of Nâkan, the birthplace of the great Ayyûk, the birthplace of Nesr-i Waki’, the birthplace of Simâk-i Ramih, the birthplace of Süreyyân, and the birthplace of Nesr-i Tâir. This last one is located exactly at the eastern point, so it is also called the true birth place. Following this are the birth places of Cevzâ, Tîr-i Yemâni, İklil, Kalb-i Akreb, Fâriseyy, Süheyl, Silbar.
The southern pole, which they also call the Süheyl pole. The wind from that region is also primary. The western hemisphere is named after the setting points of the aforementioned stars. Following the Süheyl (southern) pole are the setting places of Silbar, Süheyl, Fâriseyy, Akreb, İklil, Tîr, Cevzân, Tâir – this being the true setting place – Süreyyân, Simâk, Waki’, Ayyûk, Nâkan, Na’sh, and Farkadân. Thus, they have determined the thirty-two winds with a compass, traveling and sailing in the direction corresponding to each one.
The compass is a round, rotating piece of cardboard upon which the names of the thirty-two winds are written and placed within a box. At one place on this division, a black mark is placed at the north point, and that spot is called the "needle house" (beyt-i ibre). The tip of the needle is coated with a magnet. A spindle located in the center of the box has the center of the needle attached to it, and the top of the box is covered with glass so that wind does not enter the box and obstruct the movement of the needle. Thus, if the north point of the compass box is placed corresponding to the north point of a map, and the needle stops eleven degrees west of the north point, and the north point of the map is found eleven degrees east of the needle, sailors look at this and find all directions, knowing all winds and clearly understanding where they come from and where they go. For the compass needle is always found eleven degrees west of the north point.
Sailors often cannot see the peaks of mountains (due to being far from shore) during nights and days. Therefore, to them, the sun and stars seem to rise from the sea and set in the sea horizon.
“We glorify Allah who has subjugated the seas to our command; He is free from all imperfection.” [540]
Verse
1-The ship that travels, you recognize it when it hastens; with its wings of sails, you think it’s a duckling.
2-Let fear go away; look at the pleasure and joy. Don't you fly as if to be satiated by the sea?
3-Lean on your wing, like a sail into wings. Look at the silver mirrors of the sea.
4-Be a piece of wind in weight, travel across coastlines.
5-Be tranquil from the breeze’s embrace, traverse the world without the burden of footsteps.
Here's a translation of the provided text, aiming for faithfulness and preserving meaning within a classical/Sufi context:
"You are joyous, free above all else; you do not utter ‘strength in the base,’ but wander as your heart dictates."
**Notes on Translation Choices:**
* **"Mutlusun, hürsün"**: I've rendered this as "You are joyous, free". *Mutlu* signifies joy or happiness, and *hür* denotes freedom. The directness of the phrasing is characteristic of certain Sufi expressions.
* **“Tabana kuvvet”**: This is a Turkish idiom meaning “strength in the base,” implying rigidity or adherence to strict rules/tradition. I've translated it as "strength in the base" to retain its original form and convey the intended contrast with freedom. The phrase is used ironically here, suggesting someone who doesn’t need to be bound by convention.
* **“Gezersin gönlünce”**: This means “you wander as your heart dictates.” I've aimed for a slightly more poetic phrasing ("wander as your heart dictates") to reflect the lyrical quality of the original.