Brief
Biography of Hazrat Imam Sharfuddin Busiri (RA)
Dargah
Shareef / Masjid Name : Hazrat Imam Sharaf al-Din al-Busiri
(RA) Populary Known as Hazrat Imam Busiri (RA)
Outer View of Masjid Hazrat Imam Busri (RA)-Alexandria-Egypt
( The Author of World Famous Qaseedah Burdah Shareef )
Place
: Anfushi District of Alexadria
Country
: Egypt.
HAZRAT
IMAM SHARAF AL-DIN ABI ABDULLAH AL-BUSIRI (RA)
Hazrat Sharaf
al-Din al-Busiri (R.A) was born in Egypt to a family of
Berber origin. He studied in Cairo, where he specialised in
hadith and
Arabic literature, two disciplines that helped to make him the
foremost exponent of Muslim religious poetry. Much of his professional
life was spent in the three holy cities, where he became a famous
teacher of the Qur'an. After his return to Egypt, where he managed
a
Qur'anic school, he passed on to his Lord. The exact year of
his death
is not known, but 1296 is the most commonly given date.
Inside
Masjid Hazrat Imam Busri (RA)-Alexandria-Egypt
Almost all
of Busiri's written work takes the form of poetry,
including a long and extraordinary poetic commentary on Christianity
and Judaism, based on his study of the Bible. He also wrote
a Diwan,
an anthology of poems on a wide range of subjects. His best-known
work, however, is the Burdah ('Poem of the Cloak'), which rapidly
became the most popular religious poem in the Islamic world,
a
position which it retains to this day.
Arabic
Poetry on Walls of Masjid-e-Hazrat Imam Bursi (RA)
The Burda,
or the Prophet's Mantle or Cloak, is a qasida (poem)
composed by Imam Sharafuddin Muhammad Al-Busiri, may Allah have
mercy
on him. Imam Busiri was born in Egypt in 608 A.H. and died in
695 A.H.
(corresponding to 1212 C.E to 1296 C.E.).
Mazar-e-shareef Hazrat Imam Sharfuddin Busiri(RA)
Imam
Busiri composed the qasida after suffering from a stroke which
left him partially paralysed. He prayed to Allah for a cure
then fell
asleep. In a dream, he saw himself reciting the qasida to the
Holy
Prophet Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings, who then
touched
the paralysed part of his body and threw his mantle or Burda
over him.
On awakening, he discovered he had been cured of his paralysis.
The verses
of The Burda have since been learned by heart and inscribed
on the walls of mosques and madrassas all over the Muslim world,
and
it is congregationally recited all over the world.
Inside Masjid Hazrat Imam Busri (RA)-Alexandria-Egypt
More than 90 commentaries have been written on this qasida,
and it has
been translated in Persian, Urdu, Turkish, Berber, Punjabi,
French,
and German, to name but a few languages.
The Burda
is in 10 parts and has 160 verses all of which end with the
Arabic letter Meem.
His tomb
and mosque in the Anfushi district of Alexandria have
recently been restored with the help of local benefactors, and
are
again playing an important part in the life of the city, attracting
visitors from around the world.
The present structure mainly dates from the year 1863, when
Muhammed
Said Pasha, the son of the well-known Egyptian/Albanian governor
Muhammad Ali Pasha, sponsored a complete reconstruction of a
much
older and more modest structure. The architecture is of Ottoman
inspiration, with three large domes and a courtyard with
ablutions-fountain (sadrvan). Further remodelling took place
in 1889
under the khedive Tawfiq, and again in the late 1990s.
The mosque is noted for its fine mural calligraphy, which includes
94
verses of al-Busiris famous poem al-Burda inscribed in
taliq script.
There are also several important Quranic inscriptions
by the
calligrapher Abd al-Ghaffar al-Duri, together with dedicatory
lines in
Arabic and Turkish.
The reason for writing Qaseedah Burdah Shareef :
The writer HAZRAT IMAAM SAALIH SHARA-FUD-DEEN ABU ABDULIAH MUHAMMAD
BIN HASAN AL-BUSAIRI R.A had become paralysed. His doctors and
physicians gave up all hope of his recovery. Eventually in this
state
of complete helplessness and despair he composed this poem expressing
the grandeur and excellence of Sayyidina Rasuluallah Sallallhu
Alayhi
Wasallam. Using this as his sole means of asking Allah Ta'alaa
to cure
him from his illness. He isolated himself in a quiet place one
Thursday night and with complete devotion, concentration and
sincerity/ began reciting this poem. While reciting it sleep
overcame
him. He had a vision of Sayyidina. Rasuluallah Sallallhu Alayhi
Wasallam. He told Sayyidina Rasuluallah Sallallhu Alayhi Wasallam
of
his illness whereupon Sayyidina Rasuluallah Sallallhu Alayhi
Wasallam
passed his blessed hand over Imam Busairi's body. Through the
barakat
and blessing of Sayyidina, Rasuluallah Sallallhu Alayhi Wasallam
Allah
Taalaa granted him complete cure from his paralysis. When
he awoke he
found a scarf or shawl on his body which he had seen Sayyidina
Rasuluallah Sallallhu Alayhi Wasallam place on his paralysed
limbs.
This resulted in the poem being named "Qasidah Burdah"
(The Poem of
the Scarf).
In the morning when due to some necessity. he went to the bazaar,
a
pious dervish greeted him with salaam and requested him to recite
the
qasidah which he had composed in praise of Sayyidina Rasuluallah
Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam The poet said that I have composed
many
poems in praise of Rasuluallah Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam, which
one
do you wish to hear? The dervish replied: 'The one which begins
with,
A-min Tazak-kurin (i.e. Qasidah Burdah)". Upon this request
the poet
became wonder struck and said, "I take an oath that no
one knows about
this poem. Tell me the truth, from whom did you hear about it?"
The
dervish replied, "I take an oath by Allah that I heard
it from you
last night when in a dream you had recited it to Sayyidina Rasulullah
Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam, whereupon Sayyidina Rasuluallah
Sallallahu
Alayhi Wasallam became attentive towards you and because of
its
blessings Allah Ta'alaa granted you complete cure from your
ailment".
When the poet gave this poem to the dervish his secret became
known to
all the people and its barakat and blessings too became general
for all.
When this poem reached Baha-ud-deen the governor of the country
named
Tahir, he so highly regarded and respected it that he would
stand
while listening to it.
It is also narrated that Sa'aadud-deen Farouqi, who was a viceroy
of
Baha-ud-deen, had became blind. In a dream he saw a pious person
who
told him to take the Qasidah Burdah from Baha-ud-deen and place
it on
his eyes. In the morning he told Baha-ud-deen about this dream.
The
Qasidah Burdah was brought and with full sincerity and conviction
Sa'aadud-deen placed it on his eyes. Through its barakat Allah
Ta'alaa
granted him complete cure and restored his eyesight.
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