Al-Burda

Poem in praise of Muhammad

Qasīdat al Burda (قصيدة البردة, "Ode of the Mantle"), or al Burda for short, is a thirteenth century ode of praise for the Islamic prophet Muhammad composed by the eminent Sufi mystic Imam al Busiri of Egypt. The poem whose actual title is al Kawākib ad durriyya fī Madḥ Khayr al Bariyya (الكواكب الدرية في مدح خير البرية, "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 or cloak; in the morning the poet discovers that God has cured him. Bānat Suʿād, a poem composed by Ka'b bin Zuhayr 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 al Busiri even though Muhammad had physically wrapped his mantle over Ka'b not in a dream like in the case of al Busiri.

Sufi Muslims 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, Berber, Punjabi, English, French, German, Sindhi, Saraiki, Norwegian, Chinese (called Tianfangshijing), and other languages. It is known and recited by a large number of Sunni Muslims, ordinarily and on special occasions, such as Mawlid, making it one of the most recited poems in the world.

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

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.

The Burda was accepted within Sufi Islam and was the subject of numerous commentaries by mainstream Sufi scholars such as Ibn Hajar al Haytami, Nazifi It was also studied by the Shafi'i hadith master Ibn Hajar al Asqalani (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. Muhammad ibn Abd al Wahhab considered the poem to be shirk (idolatory).