Thread by @DarthAshari

𝐐𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐡 𝐚𝐥-𝐁𝐮𝐫𝐝𝐚𝐡 - 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐧𝐧𝐢 𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰 🧵

Imam Al-Zarkashi (d. 794/1392) who was a Shafi’i scholar of fiqh and Tafsir who studied with Imad al-Din Ibn Kathir and lived two generations after Imam Al-Busiri said in praise of the Burdah in the introduction to his commentary Sharḥ al-Burdah:

"Reciting [the Burdah] can prevent disasters, if people only knew about value of the poem, then they would write it on their pupils of their eyes with gold ink."

He also said:

2When I saw the eloquence of the Burdah, I wanted to explain it with a commentary that would open people’s eyes. This commentary includes [references] to many [Islamic] sciences; and through this commentary, as a sinful servant of God,

I seek intercession from the Prophet, al mamdūḥ [the praised one], the most noble of creation…to wipe away my sins."

Imam Ibn Hajar al-Haytami in his commentary on the Hamziyya [also by al-Busiri] quotes Shaykh Badr al-Zarkashi saying about Imam al-Busiri:

"He was one of the marvels of his age in composing poetry and prose. If there was nothing [from him] other than his ode widely known as the Burdah, whose acclaim increased to such an extent that people began to study it with one another in homes and mosques,

it would suffice him as an honour and [as an establishment of his] pre-eminence."

Muḥammad b. Muṣtafā Muḥyī al-Dīn b. Muṣliḥ al-Dīn al-Qawjawī al-Ḥanafī al-Rūmi, better known as Shaykh Zadah (d. 951) said in his commentary Rāḥat alarwāḥ, 383:

"The pen cannot even record its wonders, and its benefits make the tongue aware of its affairs…with this commentary, one can only attempt to uncover its issues and to clarify its enigmas…with an interpretation, one can uncover its secrets and raise the veils off it

I saw that there were pure souls who wanted to understand its [the Burdah] benefits, so I found some wonderful opinions that helped explain its usage. And I saw the most amazing thing that one could desire, and I ascended to it…

so I commenced to compose a commentary that would simplify [the Burdah], solve its enigmas, and analyze its meanings."

Imam Muhammad al-Tahir Ibn `Ashur al-Maliki in his commentary Shifāʾ al-qalb al-jarīh bi sharḥ Burdat al-madiḥ quotes another commentator, al-Anṭākī in praise of the Burdah:

"I saw amazing things from its blessings, but all of this is miniscule compared to the object of its praise (mamdūḥ-ha) [the Prophet].

Of course this is so because he is the greatest intercessor, the protector…he can implore for him [the Prophet] to intercede for him to God to help him acquire his heart’s desire."

Imam Ibn ‘Ashur also says:

"Some of the shaykhs used to advise their students to recite the Burdah. It was said that it was the greatest way to connect with God, that it helps people succeed in their lives, its recitation calms someone who is frightened, gets rid of anxiety

and brings joy to people’s hearts. The place in which the poem is recited becomes full of mercy and blessings."

فَإِنَّ مِنْ جُوْدِكَ الدُّنْيَا وَضَرَّتَهَا

Verily, your generosity encompasses this world and its counterpart.

Imam Zakariyya al-Ansari, in his commentary on the Burdah entitled Mashariq al-anwar al-mudiyyah said:

"(… your generosity) which Allah generously gave you (encompasses this world and its counterpart), which is the Afterlife, meaning the last of the two [lives].

From his generosity in this world is his guiding mankind; and from his generosity in the Afterlife is his intercession on their behalf."

Mulla ‘Ali al-Qari states in his commentary on the Burdah entitled al-Zubdah fi sharh al-Burdah:

"The meaning is your status shall not diminish on account of your generosity to anyone of your nation, because from your generosity and kindness to all of creation is the best

in this world by guiding, and the best in the Afterlife by intercession. It has been said: The meaning of the two worlds being from his generosity is that he is the channel for the pouring of existence upon the essences and the flow of generosity upon everything that exists,

and there is in it an allusion to the hadith, ‘Were it not for you, I would not have created the orbits"

وَمِنْ عُلُوْمِكَ عِلْمُ اللَّوْحِ وَالْقَلَمِ

“and part of your knowledge is the knowledge of al-Lawh al-Mahfooz and the Pen“

Mullah Ali Al-Qari says al-Zubda fi Sharh al-Burda:

“Min is tab`idiyya […]. The commentators have said conflicting things on the second hemistich of the verse. It was said that ‘al-`ilm’ is a substantive which is in construct with its subject (masdar mudaf ila fa`ilihi),

that is: the Tablet and the Pen’s knowledge of things, but then we need to say that they possess perception and feelings toward what was attributed to them. It was also said that ‘al-`ilm’ is in construct with its object, that is: the people’s knowledge of the Tablet and the Pen

but then we need to say that there are different positions here. It was also said that Allah Most High showed him, upon him blessings and peace, what the Pen had written in the Preserved Tablet, which is the knowledge of the first and the last,

and this is the preponderant explanation (wa-huwa al-az.har). To clarify further, what is meant by the knowledge of the Tablet is what was entered into it among other transcendent writs and shrouded images (al-nuqush al-qudsiyya wal-suwar al-ghaybiyya).

What is meant by the knowledge of the Pen is what was entered with it into the Tablet as Allah Most High wished, so the construct implies the nearest connection (al-idafatu li-adna mulabasa).

The fact that the knowledge of the Tablet and the Pen is part of his sciences consists in that his sciences are multifarious, including universals and particulars, hidden matters and minutiae, subtle wisdoms and arcane sciences pertaining to the Essence and the Attributes,

whereas the science of the Tablet and the Pen are only a few lines (sut.ur) among the lines of his knowledge and a mere river from the seas of his knowledge. Then, in addition to this, it is from the blessing of his existence according to the report that

was said to be transmitted: ‘The first thing Allah created is my light,’ that is, He looked at it with a gaze of majesty, so it cleaved in two, and from its two halves were created the two worlds. This [light] is what is meant by the Pen, hence the transmitted report:

‘The first thing Allah created is the Pen,’ so there is no contradiction. The upshot is: this world and the next are aftereffects (aathaar) of your existence and generosity, and whatever

appeared out of the Pen and onto the Tablet is from the secrets of your wisdoms and the lights of your sciences.”

يَـا أَكْرَمَ الْخَلْقِ مَا لِي مَنْ أَلُوْذُ بِه
سِـوَاكَ عِنْـدَ حُلُوْلِ الْحَادِثِ الْعَمَمِ

O most generous of creation, who but you can I turn to
When the Universal Cataclysm occurs?

Shaykh Khalid al-Azhari (d. 905) says in his commentary on this ode:

"Aludh’ means ‘I take refuge’. ‘Siwaka’ means ‘other than you’. ‘Hulul al-haadith al-‘amam [the befalling of the universal cataclysm] is the terror on the Day of Resurrection that encompasses all of creation.

Its meaning is: O noblest of all creation, I do not have anyone other than you, i.e. from amongst creation, to take refuge in on the Day of Resurrection from its all-encompassing terror,

when mankind shall look in anticipation to your elevated rank; and your status will not decrease on my account when the matter intensifies and patience is exhausted, for you are the greatest creation to Allah, and the who is relied on for intercession."

Imam Ibrahim al-Bajuri (d. 1277) states in Sharh al-Bajuri ‘ala al-Burdah: 153:

"His (the poet’s) statement: Who but you can I turn to, meaning there is none to seek refuge with except you. And his (the poet’s) saying ‘when the universal cataclysm occurs’

meaning the event is universal i.e. the whole of creation is included, and what is intended is the Day of Resurrection when all the messengers will say ‘Myself, Myself’ but our Prophet (sallalahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) will say ‘my nation, my nation."