Calling it a “humble effort”, Pakistani singer Ali Zafar on Thursday released his rendition of Qaseeda Burda Shareef during the ongoing holy month of Ramadan.
Taking to his Instagram account, Zafar shared his video and wrote: “A humble effort, crafted with love and deep respect for our beloved Prophet (PBUH).”
His video garnered over 2,000 views on YouTube within one hour.
It is said that the Qaseeda was written by Imam al-Busiri in a state of a powerful tribulation, when he woke up one day to find himself partially paralysed and all experts failed to cure him.
Prior to this, he was a famous poet in Cairo, who was widely recognised by the rich and powerful of his society. However, due to his condition, the man whose erudition and art had elevated him to the status of the prince of poets — was reduced to an invalid.
During that time he wrote the Qaseeda in his ceaseless admiration for the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), with the belief that the humanity’s salvation lay in calling upon His magnanimity and compassion in front of Allah.
One night, in a state of intercession with the Creator while reciting this Qaseeda, weeping, praying and imploring for forgiveness, he dozed off and something miraculous happened.
The Imam was granted the audience of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), who approved of the Qaseeda and put His mantle (burda/chaddar) on the paralysed part of Imam’s body. The following morning, he found himself completely cured and as you can guess, the ode later became known as the Qaseeda Burda.
The legacy of Burdah Shareef 800 years later today, is still a shining example of how a prayer uttered with humility and remorse has the power to potentially change the most challenging of the situations in miraculous ways.