Uyan Ey Gözlerim is a Turkish poem attributed to Murad III, the twelfth Sultan of the Ottoman Empire. (Some attribute it instead to Murad IV.) According to tradition, Sultan Murad overslept one morning and missed the dawn (fajr) prayer; he penned this poem as an expression of his great remorse. It was set to music by the 17th-century Polish Ottoman composer Ali Ufki Bey and included in his Mecmûa-i Sâz ü Söz (“Anthology of Instrumental and Choral Music”). Uyan Ey Gözlerim is still sung throughout Turkey today as a well-known and much-loved religious folk song (ilahi). The poem has been translated into English rhyme by Shaykh Abdal Hakim Murad, a shortened version of which features in Sami Yusuf’s 2016 album Barakah.
Lyrics
Turkish
1. Uyan ey gözlerim gafletten uyan!
Uyan uykusu çok gözlerim uyan!
Azrail’in kastı canadır inan.
Uyan ey gözlerim gafletten uyan!
Uyan uykusu çok gözlerim uyan!
2. Semavatın kapıların açarlar,
Alemlere rahmet suyun saçarlar,
Seherde kalkana hülle biçerler.
Uyan ey gözlerim gafletten uyan!
Uyan uykusu çok gözlerim uyan!
3. Seherde uyanırlar cümle kuşlar,
Dillu dillerince tesbihe başlar,
Tevhid eyler dağlar, taşlar, ağaçlar.
Uyan ey gözlerim gafletten uyan!
Uyan uykusu çok gözlerim uyan!
4. Bu dünya fanidir sakın aldanma,
Mağrur olup tacu tahta dayanma,
Yedi iklim benim diye güvenme.
Uyan ey gözlerim gafletten uyan!
Uyan uykusu çok gözlerim uyan!
5. Benim, Murad kulun, suçumu affet,
Suçum bağışlayıp günahım ref‘et,
Rasûl’ün sancağı dibinde haşret.
Uyan ey gözlerim gafletten uyan!
Uyan uykusu çok gözlerim uyan!
English Rendition (A.H. Murad)
1. Wake from your heedlessness, O my eyes, awake!
Long you have slumbered so now, my eyes, awake!
Azrail’s intention is your soul to take.
Wake from your heedlessness, O my eyes, awake!
Long you have slumbered so now, my eyes, awake!
2. Dawn hears the birds when early they stir and wake,
Hear from their tongues all the sweet praises they make,
Mountains and trees and the stones their worship make,
Wake from your heedlessness, O my eyes, awake!
Long you have slumbered so now, my eyes, awake!
3. See how they open God’s heaven’s gates so wide,
Raining his mercy as the faithful abide;
Robing with high honour those who sleep denied.
Wake from your heedlessness, O my eyes, awake!
Long you have slumbered so now, my eyes, awake!
4. This world is not your home, soon it melts away.
Even were all seven climes under your sway,
Throne and dominion and glory pass away.
Wake from your heedlessness, O my eyes, awake!
Long you have slumbered so now, my eyes, awake!
5. Here is Murad your slave, all his sins erase!
Forgive my errors and all my burden raise,
Raise me in the shade of Ahmad’s flag of praise.
Wake from your heedlessness, O my eyes, awake!
Long you have slumbered so now, my eyes, awake!
Show Both
– 1 –
Uyan ey gözlerim gafletten uyan!
Uyan uykusu çok gözlerim uyan!
Azrail’in kastı canadır inan.
Uyan ey gözlerim gafletten uyan!
Uyan uykusu çok gözlerim uyan!
Wake from your heedlessness, O my eyes, awake!
Long you have slumbered so now, my eyes, awake!
Azrail’s intention is your soul to take.
Wake from your heedlessness, O my eyes, awake!
Long you have slumbered so now, my eyes, awake!
– 2 –
Semavatın kapıların açarlar,
Alemlere rahmet suyun saçarlar,
Seherde kalkana hülle biçerler.
Uyan ey gözlerim gafletten uyan!
Uyan uykusu çok gözlerim uyan!
Dawn hears the birds when early they stir and wake,
Hear from their tongues all the sweet praises they make,
Mountains and trees and the stones their worship make,
Wake from your heedlessness, O my eyes, awake!
Long you have slumbered so now, my eyes, awake!
– 3 –
Seherde uyanırlar cümle kuşlar,
Dillu dillerince tesbihe başlar,
Tevhid eyler dağlar, taşlar, ağaçlar.
Uyan ey gözlerim gafletten uyan!
Uyan uykusu çok gözlerim uyan!
See how they open God’s heaven’s gates so wide,
Raining his mercy as the faithful abide;
Robing with high honour those who sleep denied.
Wake from your heedlessness, O my eyes, awake!
Long you have slumbered so now, my eyes, awake!
– 4 –
Bu dünya fanidir sakın aldanma,
Mağrur olup tacu tahta dayanma,
Yedi iklim benim diye güvenme.
Uyan ey gözlerim gafletten uyan!
Uyan uykusu çok gözlerim uyan!
This world is not your home, soon it melts away.
Even were all seven climes under your sway,
Throne and dominion and glory pass away.
Wake from your heedlessness, O my eyes, awake!
Long you have slumbered so now, my eyes, awake!
– 5 –
Benim, Murad kulun, suçumu affet,
Suçum bağışlayıp günahım ref‘et,
Rasûl’ün sancağı dibinde haşret.
Uyan ey gözlerim gafletten uyan!
Uyan uykusu çok gözlerim uyan!
Here is Murad your slave, all his sins erase!
Forgive my errors and all my burden raise,
Raise me in the shade of Ahmad’s flag of praise.
Wake from your heedlessness, O my eyes, awake!
Long you have slumbered so now, my eyes, awake!
Audio Samples
Mehmet Demir (Turkish) 🎶
Mustafa Ceceli (Turkish) 🎶
Diyanet TV (Turkish) 🎶
Ömer Faruk Güney (Turkish) 🎶
Abdal Hakim Murad (English)
Sami Yusuf (English) 🎶
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