He emigrated to Cairo when young and memorised the Qur’an and learned the elementary sciences of the Sharīʿah and the Arabic language.

He was of Berber lineage, but was born in Dallas, Egypt the year 608 AH. It has been translated into a number of languages. Other spellings include Burdah, Qasidah Burdah, Qaseeda Burdah and it is also known as the Burda Shareef. His poem was therefore known as the Burda.

When he finished reciting it, The Prophet ﷺ threw his mantle (burda) to Ka'b. He later accepted Islam, and recited a poem to The Prophet ﷺ and other companions that he composed to express his remorse over his past actions. Before accepting Islam, Ka'b used his poetry to slander the Muslims. He was cured as from his illness when he woke up.Īl Busiri's Burda is the most famous poem known as the Burda, but the poem originally known by that name was composed by the poet Ka'b ibn Zuhayr, one of the companions of The Prophet ﷺ. After composing Burda he saw a dream, where The Prophet ﷺ covered the Al Busiri with his ﷺ mantle (burda). He decided to write the Burda as a means of seeking Allah's forgiveness and The Prophet's ﷺ intercession. Chapter 10: Intimate Discourse and the Petition of NeedsĪl Busiri was affected by a debilitating sickness.Chapter 9: Seeking Intercession through the Prophet ﷺ.

Chapter 7: The Prophet’s Miraculous Night Journey and Celestial Ascension.

Chapter 6: The Nobility of the Qur’an and its Merit.

Chapter 2: Warnings about the Caprices of the Ego.

Chapter 1: Nostalgic Rhapsody and Love Complaint.

The final chapters of the Burda are Al Busiri's plea for The Prophet's ﷺ intercession and Allah's mercy.

The middle chapters celebrate the life of The Prophet ﷺ - his birth, his miracles, the Qur'an, his night journey and martial struggles. Al Busiri starts by expressing his own love for The Prophet ﷺ and then mentions his regret for past errors. It is most widely known by the refrain, often sung between verses: The actual title of the poem is The Celestial Lights in Praise of the Best of Creation (الكواكب الدرية في مدح خير البرية). It was composed by Al Busiri in the 7th century Hijri and is one of the most widely recited and memorised poems in the world. The Qasida Al-Burda (The Poem of the Mantle), known as The Burda, is a poem in praise of The Prophet ﷺ.

Bacaan qasidah burdah