Qasida Burda-The Poem of the Cloak

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.).

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 paralyzed 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.

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.

I like it in Junaid Jamshed's voice the best. To Listen, click here.
Wear your headphones(full volume),sit back, relax, close your eyes, and listen to it. It's immensely soothing.