‘The Burda is the favourite poem of Muslims everywhere’
(Annemarie Schimmel)
‘Not one of you has faith until I am dearer to him than his father, his child, and all mankind’
(HADITH NARRATED BY BUKHARI)
About the Author
Būsīrī (Abū 'Abdallāh Muhammad ibn Sa'īd ul-Būsīrī) (1211–1294) was an Egyptian poet who wrote under the patronage of Ibn Hinna, the vizier. The most famous of his poems is the present work "Poem of the Mantle". It is entirely in praise of the Holy Prophet Muhammad, who cured the poet of paralysis by appearing to him in a dream and wrapping him in a mantle. The poem is considered sacred, even in the poet's lifetime. Up to the present time its verses are used as amulets; recited at births and other joyous occasions; it has been frequently edited and made the basis for other poems.
About the Translator
Abdal Hakim Murad was born in London in 1960. He is the author of several translations from Arabic, including volumes of the classic Revival of the Religious Sciences by Imam al-Ghazali.