The Burdah – the singable translation of Busiri’s classic poem

The Burdah – the singable translation of Busiri’s classic poem in praise of the prophet by Mostafa Azzam is ultimately about two things: love and redemption.

THE BURDAH – THE SINGABLE TRANSLATION OF BUSIRI’S CLASSIC POEM IN PRAISE OF THE PROPHET

The secret behind its privileged position among prophetic praise-poetry is the brokenness and sincerity of the author when he composed it. As a young man, Busiri moved to Cairo where he earned his living writing calligraphy upon tombstones.

He soon became famous in the region for his poetic prowess and lyrical skill and was hired by some of Egypt’s government officials as a municipal clerk and court poet. His job was to write poetry in praise of the Sultan. He alludes to his early career at the end of the Burdah:

the burdah

I’ve served him with eulogy by which I seek to erase The sins of life spent in the poem and in servility.

For they have led me to things of horrible aftermath; Akin to livestock decreed by them for the butchery.

Busiri eventually clashed with the civil servants around him and used his poetic gifts to lampoon them and expose their faults. That resulted in a backlash from the political elite whose patronage he had enjoyed.

 Tired of politics and on the receiving end of gossip and what we call today “drama,” Busiri opened a primary school for children so he could teach them the Quran and literacy and live a simpler life, removed from intrigue.

But the peace he was looking for continued to elude him, so he eventually left Cairo and traveled to Alexandria where he finally found the tranquility and guidance he was looking for.

There in Alexandria, Busiri found his spiritual teacher and guide, Shaykh Abu al-‘Abbas al-Mursi (Allah have mercy upon him), and repented from his career as a court poet.

Many commentaries on the Burdah note that while in Alexandria, Busiri was stricken with a debilitating sickness—a stroke—that caused one-half of his body to suffer paralysis.

One day some of his colleagues paid him a visit, and after hearing his complaint about his incapacitating illness, one of them said, “You are a scholar of Arabic and poetry; why don’t you compose an ode in praise of the Messenger of Allah

(Allah bless him and give him peace) as a means of intercession through his exalted person?” Busiri asked his colleague, “do you think it will help my illness?” His colleague replied, “No one who draws near the exalted Prophet and beloved intercessor (Allah bless him and give him peace) is ever disappointed, and no one seeks intercession through him except that he will attain what he sought after!” That very night Busiri composed his Burdah ode, and after he went to sleep he saw the Prophet Muhammad (Allah bless him and give him peace) in his dream. The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) came near him and covered him in his mantle—his Burdah, the poem’s namesake—and he was immediately cured of paralysis!

The Burdah of Busiri has gone on to become the quintessential praise-poem in the Islamic tradition. It has

been memorized, transmitted, and sung by countless lovers of the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) over the centuries; it has adorned the Prophet’s Mosque in Medina, has received numerous scholarly commentaries, and has been translated into nearly every major language, including English.

The earliest English translation appears to be one published in India in 1893 by Shaikh Faizullah-Bhái, entitled The Poem of the Scarf. recent translations include:

• Shaykh Hamza Yusuf ’s The Burda of Al-Busiri: The Poem of the Cloak (Hayward, California, Al-Hambra Produc- tions, 2002);
• Shaykh Abdal Hakim Murad’s The Mantle Adorned: Imam Bûsîrî’s Burda (London, Quilliam Press, 2009);
• Aziza Spiker’s The Burda (Guidance Media, 2012);
• The first ever complete translation of a commentary, by this needy servant, The Mainstay: Commentary on Qasida al-Burda (Keighley, Abu Zahra Foundation, 2015);
• And now this translation, set in rhyming English meter that fits the meter of the original Arabic Burdah.

what sets this translation apart from other translations is its rhyming meter and its utility. This translation is meant to be engaged with: to be experienced not only by the eyes that read it, but also by the voices that sing it and the ears that hear it.

Celebrating the Prophet Muhammad (Allah bless him and give him peace) is not a spectator sport or a performance to be watched and appreciated from afar. It is an expression of love or a conscious effort to open one’s self up to love and receive it.

The Prophet Muhammad (Allah bless him and give him peace) tells us, “Certainly to Allah belong fresh breezes (nafahat), so expose yourselves to them.”

The nafahat belong to Allah; therefore, the fresh breezes of love are—like everything else—bestowed by Allah and not attainable through our personal efforts, strategies, or overanalyzing.

Nevertheless, the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) instructs us to open ourselves up to those divine breezes: to seek out love and to be lovers, and have the capacity to feel passion and longing in the deepest depths of our hearts and to express it openly.

Ustadh Mostafa Azzam is to be congratulated for his wonderful service to the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) and to the Prophet’s Ummah.

May Allah make this translation the quintessential English Burdah whose couplets are sung passionately by lovers throughout mosques and homes.