A Muslim Convert Once Before

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Imam Abu ‘Abdullah Muhammad ibn Sa’id al-Buswiri ash-Shadzili ( q.s. ) wrote, in his Qaswidah al-Burdah , “It is from remembering past neighbours at Dzu Salam, that you mingle with blood tears shed from your eyes?”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ The following is an extract of Qaswidah Hamziyyah of Imam Abu ‘Abdullah Muhammad ibn Sa’id al-Buswiri ash-Shadzili ( q.s. ).   Among the couplets of this poem are the following lines, referencing the tragic fate of the Ahl al-Bayt , at Karbala’:   “And the two sons whose perfumed scent is from you, Who the extremely pure one had borne. You used to give them shelter in yourself, just as, The ya’ gave shelter to the writing of its two dots. Two martyrs, neither at-Taf makes me forget, Their affliction, nor Karbala’. The ruled did not take care of your rights in regard to them, And the rulers as well betrayed your pact. They replaced the love and care to your relatives; And the fogs of hypocrisy rose from its people. Hardened became their hearts towards those, For whose loss, the earth and heaven had wept. So, weep for them as much as you are able, surely the very least. In the midst of such a great affliction,...

‎ ‎ بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Imam Abu ‘Abdullah Muhammad ibn Sa’id al-Buswiri ash-Shadzili ( q.s. ) wrote, about the Prophet ( s.a.w. ), in his Qaswidah al-Burdah :   “No perfume is as sweet as the ground that holds his bones, What Paradise awaits the one who breathes its scent, Or brushes lips against its soil!”

‎ ‎ بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Imam Abu ‘Abdullah Muhammad ibn Sa’id al-Buswiri ash-Shadzili ( q.s. ) wrote, in his Qaswidah al-Burdah :   “He is the one whose meaning and form were Perfected, And then the Originator of souls Chose him as the Beloved. Incomparable, his beauty has no peer - The essence of beauty itself is in his nature. Leave aside what the Christians have claimed for their prophet – Then praise him as you like, but do so wisely. Ascribe to his essence what you wish of honour, Attribute to his exalted status what you will of greatness!”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Imam Abu ‘Abdullah Muhammad ibn Sa’id al-Buswiri ash-Shadzili ( q.s. ) said, “What ails your eyes, that when you bid them cease they weep still more?  What ails your heart, that when you bid it wake it wanders?”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ In his introduction to Imam ‘Abd ar-Razzaq ibn Hammam asw-Swan’ani’s ( r.a. ) Raf` al-Asthar , the Wahhabi heretic, Muhammad Naswir ad-Din al-Albani, expressed hatred for those who read Imam Abu ‘Abdullah Muhammad ibn Sa’id al-Buswiri ash-Shadzili’s ( q.s. ) masterpiece, Qaswidah al-Burdah , and called them “ mahabil ”, “cretins”.  This would encompass millions of Muslims past and present, including the likes of Imam Shihab ad-Din Abu al-Fadhl Ahmad ibn ‘Ali ibn Hajr al-‘Asqalani ( r.a. ), Imam Shams ad-Din Muhammad ibn ‘Abd ar-Rahman as-Sakhawi ( r.a. ), and Imam Abu al-Fadhl ‘Abd ar-Rahman ibn Abu Bakr ibn Muhammad Jalal ad-Din as-Suyuthi ( q.s. ), who all included it as required reading in the Islamic curriculum.

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Imam Abu ‘Abdullah Muhammad ibn Sa‘id al-Buswiri ash-Shadzili ( q.s. ) wrote, in Qaswidah al-Burdah , on the status of the Prophet ( s.a.w. ):   “He surpassed all prophets in his physical creation and in his character. And they could not match him in his knowledge nor his generosity. Indeed, every miracle that the Prophets displayed. Was borrowed by them from his light. It is impossible for him to have a partner in his qualities. Indeed, the essence of his beauty is undividable.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Imam Abu ‘Abdullah Muhammad ibn Sa‘id al-Buswiri ash-Shadzili ( q.s. ) was a wali who had reached the maqam of Ghawtsiyyah al-Kubra’ .  When he walked down the street, the young and old would come out to greet him, and kiss his hand.  His body was said to have emitted a sweet scent, and he wore fine clothes, had a head of snow-white hair, a humble smile, was an ascetic, and had a respectable and virtuous character.  This was in contrast to his earlier life.  The maqam and qubur is located in Alexandria.  Imam al-Buswiri ( q.s. ) passed away in 1294 CE / 693 AH.   The people of piety, the Sufis, have traditionally venerated the verses of Qaswidah al-Burdah .  The poem is memorised and recited in majalis adz-dzikr , and Milad an-Nabi .  Its verses decorate the walls of public buildings and mosques.  This poem decorated Masjid an-Nabawi, in Madina, for centuries until the accursed Wahhabis erased all ...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Qaswidah al-Burdah , the “Poem of the Mantle or the Cloak” is an ode of praise to the Prophet Muhammad ( s.a.w. ).   The qaswidah was composed by Imam Abu ‘Abdallah Muhammad ibn Sa’id ibn Hammad ibn Muhsin ibn Abu Surur ibn Hibban ibn ‘Abdullah ibn Mallak as-Sanhaji al-Buswiri ash-Shadzili ( q.s. ).   The actual title of the poem is Kawakib ad-Durriyah fi Madh Khayr al-Bariyyah , “Celestial Lights in Praise of the Best of Creation”.   Imam al-Buswiri ( q.s. ) was a Sufi in the Shadziliyyah Order.   He lived in Egypt, where he wrote under the patronage of ibn Hinna, the vizier.   Imam al-Buswiri ( q.s. ) was from the Sanhaja, a Berber tribe from North Africa.   Shaykh Taqi’ ad-Din Abu al-‘Abbas Ahmad ibn ‘Ali al-Maqrizi ( r.a. ) claimed that Imam al-Buswiri’s ( q.s. ) family was from the Hammad Citadel, in Morocco, and was a part of the Banu Habnun tribe.   Little is known of his childhood, although it is most...