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The Burda of al Busiri
(excerpt from the
Introduction by Shaykh Hamza Yusuf) I felt compelled to translate the
Burda after a trip to Mauritania having realized it was everywhere, on
everyone's tongue, always ready to alter the ambience, enhance the
state, bring the presence of the beloved into the gathering. Once,
sitting with one of my teachers, Abd Allah Ould Ahmadna, I heard for
the first time a line from Imam al-Busiri's other great poem, the
Hamziyya: "If God places a people in the service of the blissful, then
they too become blissful." Those words penetrated my heart because they
emanated from the poet's heart and "what comes from one's heart pierces
another's." That is the quintessence of poetry: penetrating human
insight that only a poet can justly put into words powerful enough to
reach another's heart enabling the listener to realize the same
insight. Sometimes the poetry acts as a catalyst for insights even the
poet did not intend or see. Poetry is a breeze from one heart blown
into another by the force of its meanings. In the middle of the Sahara,
the Burda blew cool breezes into our heart-gatherings, meanings that
added insight to our lives, reminding us of our beloved, more
importantly why we loved him. I wanted to share that with others.Poetry
has always been enhanced by music. Homer recited with lyre
accompaniment. No doubt the relationship between the two is of shared
womb, sisters competing in beauty. I was first introduced to the Burda
as song in Morocco and have since heard it sung in many places. In Fez
a group of us were transported to another world, a perfect world, free
of sin, free of vice, free of temptation, and upon leaving the
gathering, felt as if, once again, we were exiled from the Garden. I
have seen Yemenis filled with the same joyful spirit, singing the Burda
in their own unique way, like innocent children freed from fear while
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Publisher: Alhambra
Author: The fez Singers
Medium: CD
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