INTRODUCTION of imam busiri writer of qasidae burda

INTRODUCTION

A SHORT BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE POET

The poet, Sharfuddin Abi Abdullah Mohammed bin Sa'eed al-Misree, was well known by his surname Busaree from Bushire, to which one of his parents belonged. The other is being from
Dalas in Egypt. He also got a compound surname of Dalasaree. He was born in 608 and died in 695 A.H. 
He cultivated the art of penmanship with great pains, and followed it as his profession, earning great distinction as an excellent calligraphist. He also took a good deal of interest in the study of oriental languages and usages.

His fame, however, depends not so much on his proficiency in calligraphy as on the several eulogistic poems, which he wrote about the Prophet Mohammad, (Peace of God be on him) of which three are well known. Of these three the present one is the most popular. Next comes the poem known as Hamziah, a very long, sonorous and beautiful poetic production, which redounds much to the credit of its writer. The third is a poem, written in imitation of the well known poem of Ka'ab bin Zuhair Al-Muzani, who recited it before the Prophet and was rewarded with a scarf.

Most of these poems were written at the desire and suggestion of Zainuddin Ya'qoob bin Zubair. 

THE OCCASION

The Occasion that led to the writing of this poem was an event in the life of the poet which he describes as follows: The poet, according to his own account, happened to be affected seriously with paralysis which deprived one-half of his body of its vital powers and motions. He then thought of offering another tribute of devotion to the Prophet and wrote the present poem. Invoking the help of the Prophet and his intercession, he fervently prayed to God the Almighty, with tears repentance and sincerity of purpose, to grant him a speedy relief from the disease. He continued reciting the poem with ardent zeal again and again till he fell asleep. In his dream he saw the Prophet who passed his hand on the diseased part of the body and threw a 'Scarf' on him, which gave him instant relief. On waking, he felt himself able to move. He got up and went out of his house without informing any one of what had happened. He came across a pauper, who asked him for his poem composed in the praise of the Prophet during his illness. Reciting the first line exactly, the pauper said that he saw it in a dream recited before the Prophet, who continued moving to and fro like atenderplant, as a mark of his approbation, and them invested the reciter with a 'Scarf.' The poet gave him the poem, end the report of this incident spread out till it reached Bahauddin the Vazeer of King Tahir. He sent for the poet and, on obtaining the poem, took an oath to have it recited to him with bare head and naked feet. He and his people since then took great delight in its frequent recital.

It is said that Sa'duddin Fariqee, the seal-keeper of the minister, afterwards suffered severely from a serious opthalmia which threatened him with a total loss of sight. In a dream he saw some one bidding him go to the Vazeer and ask him to place the 'sacred Scarf' on his eyes for an immediate cure. The Vazeer, on being in formed of the matter, said that among the sacred relics of the Prophet in his possession, he had no such thing as a 'Scarf.' But then recollecting that it probably meant the poem of Busaree, he took it and placed it on the eyes of Sa'duddin which he instantly found permanently cured. Such are the circumstances related to have given birth to the poem, and to have given it the name of:

Allusions are often made to parallel Lines from it in the footnotes.