what is Qasidat al-Burda

Qasidat al-Burda is an ode of praise for the Islamic prophet MuhammadThe knowledge of InterpretationThe knowledge of Interpretation composed by the eminent Sufi, Imam al-Busiri of Egypt. The poem, ("Celestial Lights in Praise of the Best of Creation"), is famous mainly in the Sunni Muslim world. It is entirely in praise of Muhammad sallallahu alaihi wasallam(, who cured the poet of paralysis by appearing to him in a dream and wrapping him in a mantle or scarf.

Composition

Al-Busiri narrated the miraculous circumstances of his inspiration to write the Burdah:

I had composed a number of praise poems for the Prophet, including one that was suggested to me by my friend Zayn al-Din Y?aqub b. al-Zubayr. Some time after that, I was stricken by falij (stroke), an illness that paralyzed half of my body. I thought that I would compose this poem, and so I made supplications to the Prophet Mu?ammad to intercede for me and (and ask God to) cure me. I repeatedly sang the poem, wept, prayed, and asked for intercession. Then I slept and in my dream, I saw the Prophet. He wiped my face with his blessed hands and covered me in his cloak (burdah). Then I woke up and found I was able to walk; so I got up and left my house. I had told no one about what had happened.

I encountered a Sufi (faqir) on my way and he said to me: “I want you to give me the poem in which you praise the Prophet.”

I said: “Which one?”

So he said: ”The one that you composed during your sickness.”

Then he recited the first verse and said: “I swear by God that I heard it in a dream last night being sung in the presence of the Prophet Mu?ammad. I saw the Prophet was pleased with it and covered the person who sang it with his cloak.”

So I recited the poem to him and he memorized it and related his vision to others.

The Burda is divided into 10 chapters and 160 verses. Interspersing the verses is the refrain, "My Master, descend peace and blessings continuously and eternally on Your Beloved, the Best of All Creation" . Each verse ends with the Arabic letter mim, a style called mimiya.

The 10 chapters of the Burda' '
comprise

On Lyrical Love Yearning
On Warnings about the Caprices of the Self
On the Praise of the Prophet
On his Birth
On his Miracles
On the Exalted Stature and Miraculous Merits of the Qur'an
On the Ascension of the Prophet
On the Chivalrous Struggle of Allah’s Messenger
On Seeking Intercession through the Prophet
On Intimate Discourse and the Petition of One’s State.

Download Qasidah Burdah from the following links