''Qasīdat al-Burda'' ( ar, قصيدة البردة, "Ode of the Mantle"), or ''al-Burda'' for short, is a thirteenth-century ode of praise for the

Islamic prophet Prophets in Islam ( ar, الأنبياء في الإسلام, translit=al-ʾAnbiyāʾ fī al-ʾIslām) are individuals in Islam who are believed to spread God in Islam, God's message on Earth and to serve as models of ideal human behaviour. So ...

Muhammad composed by the eminent

Sufi Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, ...

mystic Imam al-Busiri of Egypt. The poem whose actual title is ''al-Kawākib ad-durriyya fī Madḥ Khayr al-Bariyya'' (, "The Celestial Lights in Praise of the Best of Creation"), is famous mainly in the Sunni Muslim world. It is entirely in praise of Muhammad, who is said to have been praised ceaselessly by the afflicted poet, to the point that Muhammad appeared in a dream and wrapped him in a

mantle A mantle is a piece of clothing, a type of cloak. Several other meanings are derived from that. Mantle may refer to: *Mantle (clothing), a cloak-like garment worn mainly by women as fashionable outerwear **Mantle (vesture), an Eastern Orthodox ve ...

or cloak; in the morning the poet discovers that God has cured him. ''Bānat Suʿād'', a poem composed by

Ka'b bin Zuhayr Kaʿb ibn Zuhayr ( ar, كعب بن زهير) was an Arabian poet of the 7th century, and a contemporary of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Ka'b ibn Zuhayr was the writer of ''Bānat Suʿād (Su'ād Has Departed)'', a qasida in praise of Muhammad. ...

was originally called as Al-Burdah. He recited this poem in front of Muhammad after embracing Islam. Muhammad was so moved that he removed his mantle and wrapped it over him. The original Burdah is not as famous as the one composed by Imam al-Busiri even though Muhammad had physically wrapped his mantle over Ka'b not in a dream like in the case of Imam al-Busiri.

Composition

The ''Burda'' is divided into 10 chapters and 160 verses all rhyming with each other. Interspersing the verses is the refrain, "My Patron, confer blessings and peace continuously and eternally on Your Beloved, the Best of All Creation" (Arabic: مولاي صل وسلم دائما أبدا على حبيبك خير الخلق كلهم). Each verse ends with the Arabic letter ''mīm'', a style called ''mīmiyya''. The 10 chapters of the ''Burda'' comprise: *On Lyrical love yearnly *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

Struggle Struggle may refer to: Film and TV * ''Struggle'' (2003 film), an Austrian film * Struggle (2013 film) * ''Struggle'' (TV series), 2007 Chinese TV series Music * ''Struggle'' (Nonpoint album), 1999 release * Struggle (Woody Guthrie album), 1 ...

of Allah's Messenger *On Seeking Intercession through the Prophet *On Intimate Discourse and the Petition of One's State.

Popularity

Sufi

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

s have traditionally venerated the poem. It is memorized and recited in congregations, and its verses decorate the walls of public buildings and mosques. This poem decorated Al-Masjid al-Nabawi (the mosque of Muhammad) in Medina for centuries but was erased but for two lines. Over 90 commentaries have been written on this poem and it has been translated into Hausa, Persian, Urdu,

Turkish Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities and mi ...

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Punjabi Punjabi, or Panjabi, most often refers to: * Something of, from, or related to Punjab, a region in India and Pakistan * Punjabi language * Punjabi people * Punjabi dialects and languages Punjabi may also refer to: * Punjabi (horse), a British Th ...

, English,

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

, Sindhi, Saraiki, Norwegian,

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(called Tianfangshijing), and other languages. It is known and recited by a large number of

Sunni Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word '' Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disagr ...

Muslims, ordinarily and on special occasions, such as

Mawlid Mawlid, Mawlid an-Nabi ash-Sharif or Eid Milad un Nabi ( ar, المولد النبوي, translit=mawlid an-nabawī, lit=Birth of the Prophet, sometimes simply called in colloquial Arabic , , among other vernacular pronunciations; sometimes , ) ...

, making it one of the most recited poems in the world.

Translations

The poem has seen several different translations, into a variety of languages. Arguably the most important translation of recent times is that by

Timothy Winter Abdal Hakim Murad (born: Timothy John Winter; 15 May 1960) is an English academic, theologian and Islamic scholar who is a proponent of Islamic neo-traditionalism. His work includes publications on Islamic theology, modernity, and Anglo-Muslim ...

into English. The book was also translated into four different languages: Persian, Urdu, Punjabi and English by

Dr. Muhammad Hamid Doctor is an academic title that originates from the Latin word of the same spelling and meaning. The word is originally an agentive noun of the Latin verb 'to teach'. It has been used as an academic title in Europe since the 13th century, w ...

Audio

The full rendition of this famous poem has been produced by The Adel Brothers. They have sung the full poem in over 20 different styles.

Legacy

The Burda was accepted within Sufi Islam and was the subject of numerous commentaries by mainstream

scholars such as Ibn Hajar al-Haytami, Nazifi and Qastallani It was also studied by the Shafi'i hadith master

Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani Ibn Ḥajar al-ʿAsqalānī or ''Ibn Ḥajar'' ( ar, ابن حجر العسقلاني, full name: ''Shihābud-Dīn Abul-Faḍl Aḥmad ibn Nūrud-Dīn ʿAlī ibn Muḥammad ibn Ḥajar al-ʿAsqalānī al-Kināni'') (18 February 1372 – 2 Febru ...

(d. 852 A.H.) both by reading the text out loud to his teacher and by receiving it in writing from a transmitter who heard it directly from Busiri himself. The founder of Wahhabism, Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab, considered the poem to be '' shirk'' (idolatory).

References

Bibliography

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External links

''Qasida Burda''
– ''Qasida Burda'' (the nasheed)
''Al-Burda'' on the BBCIqra.net: The Prophet's MantleMA Thesis: Understanding the Poem of the Burdah in Sufi Commentaries''The Mantle Adorned''
a translation by

'The Mantle of Praise' Full rendition of the Qasida Burda by The Adel Brothers