Shaykh Muhammad Al-Ya'qoubi blesses us with his voice as he sings some lines from The Burda of Al-Busiri (The Poem of the Cloak). Translation of the lines sung:
Muhammad, lord of both worlds, lord of both species,
Lord of both assemblages - Arabs and all others.
Our Prophet, commander of right, forbidder of wrong-
No soul kept his word more justly, whether "Yes" or "No."
He is the beloved whose intercession is hoped for
As arms against a host of relentless calamities.
He called on God. Whoever clings to him
Clings to a rope that will never unravel nor break.
His form and character surpassed even the previous prophets,
And none have approached him in knowledge or nobility.
They all seek from the Messenger of God
Cupfuls from his ocean or sips from his unceasing rain.
They all stand before him according to their limits,
As if dots on his knowledge or diacritical marks on his wisdom.
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 honor,
Attribute to his exalted status what you will of his greatness!
Truly, the Messenger of God's bounty
Cannot be overstated by two lips and a tongue.
If a miracle could equal his stature in magnitude,
The mere mention of his name would revive decaying bones.
Concerned for our welfare, he did not confuse us with matters
We could not fathom, so we neither wandered nor wavered.
Human beings cannot grasp his meaning-
Even those at his side could not keep up with him.
He is like the sun, small to the eye when seen from afar,
But when glimpsed close up, it dazzles and overwhelms.
How can slumberous souls in this world grasp his reality
Distracted as they are by the strength of their dreams?
The extent of what we know of him is this: He is a man,
And yet, without exception, he is the best of God's creation.
Chapter 3 of the Burda of Imam al-Busiri (On The Praise Of The Prophet) lines 11-46
Translation by Shaykh Hamza Yusuf
10 апр 2010
