Qaseedah Burdah

 

A great Sufi, Hazrat Imam Sharfuddin Bosairi (may Allah be pleased with him) was the composer the Arabic Qaseedah (hymn). While in a pensive state of mind, without disclosing his deep attachment and revealing the name of his beloved, roams about the plains and valleys which is surrounded the Holy City of Madina, the ruins of Izam and the valley of Dhi-Salam. In the darkness of the night, a flash of lightening gives a glimpse of the habitat of his beloved, and he is overwhelmed with emotion. He then becomes conscious of his own unworthiness and embarks on a process of introspection. He directs his mind to purify itself by deeds, prayer and devotion, to be worthy of the love to which he is aspiring-that of the King of the Universe. He becomes mindful of the beloved Holy Prophets devotion, his nightlong vigil. Resulting in the swelling of his Holy feet, of his hunger and of stifling it by tying s stone around his stomach, and blames himself fore neglecting to follow the Sunna in poetic stanzas of rare beauty. Following it, overwhelmed by his deep feeling of attachment, in a mood of ecstasy he describes the personality of his beloved [the Holy Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace)], he extols the his noble and exalted character, and recites the story of Ascension (Meraj), and miracles in a language of the highest order.

The circumstance under which the Qaseeda was written acquires much publicity and significance. The author had become a disciple of a well-known Sufi, Imam Abul Abbas Ahmad al-Mursi (may Allah be pleased with him), and use to attend regularly to his sermons, and this Master was well-versed in knowledge of the Hadiths. His Master had a severe stroke of paralysis, which left half of his body inert and motionless. The best treatment was available was retorted to, but no apparent success. In an extreme mood of despondency, he decided to write some panegyric verses in praise of the Holy Prophet, and to beseech his salvation through it. His prayer was answered and when he reached the end of the Qaseedah, he slept and had a vision of the Prophet passing his holy hands over his body and covering him with his blanket. Instantaneously he was cured. When he awoke, he found that he could stand and move about. The next day when he came out of his house he came across a dervish who was an utter stranger and asked him to recite the Qaseedah. He asked him which one, and the dervish said he wanted to hear the Qaseedah, which began with ‘Amin Tazzakuri Jeeranin bi-Dhi Salame’. The Qaseedah was not known to anyone, but the dervish swore that he had seen the poet reciting the Qaseedah in the presence of the Holy Prophet the previous night. The Qaseedah Burdah is in 10 parts and has 160 verses all of which end in the Arabic letter ‘Meem’.

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