Preface to the Burda

Preface to Imam al-Būṣīrī's Qaṣīda al-Burda, by His Eminence Shaykh Sayyid Muḥammad Abul Hudā al-Yaqoubī al-Ḥasanī al-Idrīsī.

Praise unbound and unlimited is due only to Allāh, the Most Merciful and the Most Generous for all His Bounties upon us, the most important of which is the Best of Creation, the Master of the World, the Manifestation of Mercy, the Perfect Man, the Seal of Prophets and the Beloved of Allāh, namely no other than Muḥammad, fragrant prayers and countless salutations be sent upon him.

We express our wholehearted thanks and unconditional gratitude to Allāh Almighty for granting us the honour of being followers of this Messenger, for making him a perfect example for us to emulate, for allowing us to salute him from afar and chant his magnificent name, to see his stunningly beautiful face in our visions and for leaving amongst us his blessed Pure Family.

Allāh Almighty ordered us to unreservedly believe in this Messenger, to blindly follow him, to unconditionally obey him, to utterly love him, and to absolutely revere him. Our belief is based on him, the Holy Qur'ān is known only through him; punishment of the sinners is delayed because of him and our five daily prayers are not concluded without praying on him.

Mentioning his name is a source of bliss; remembering his look is a fount of joy; practicing his Sunna is a ladder to perfection. Moreover, there is hardly anything we do that does not require observing one of his sunna. So how, by Allāh who created him, would we not fall in love with him, yearn to him, and remember him in every moment of our life.

This poem of Imām al-Būṣīrī is a tribute to this Perfect Man; it comes in conformity with the Divine praise of him in the Noble Qur'ān and in line with the many Testimonials of his companions, especially the poets and on top of them is Ḥassān Bin Thābit.

The love and devotion Imām al-Būṣīrī showed in this splendid poem is unmatched. He is indeed as he said in his other poem "an embodiment of Ḥassān". No wonder this poem became the most celebrated poem, not only amongst Arabs but in the entire Muslim World. If you cannot speak any Urdu and you want to introduce yourself while in Pakistan, all you need is to say one line:

مَوْلَايَ صَلِّ وَسَلِّمْ دَائِمًا أَبَدًا
عَلَى حَبِيبِكَ خَيْرِ الْخَلْقِ كُلِّهِمِ

mawlā yā ṣalli wa sallim dāʾiman abadan
ʿalā ḥabībika khayri l-khalqi kullihimi

and see the amount of love and care you receive from people.

Singing this poem, studying it and memorising it has become a sign of belonging to the right way of Islam, the Sunni way, to main stream; and contrary to this, rejecting it, or objecting to any of its lines is a sign of deviation. When scholars of the calibre of Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Ḥajar al-ʿAsqalānī proudly studied this poem and related it, others have only to believe and respect.

I strongly encourage our communities to revive this poem and the tradition of singing it and reflect on its meanings to increase their love and yearning to the Beloved of Allāh; so that we may follow him, see him, and eventually meet him on the Final Day.