Salaamun - Shaykh Hamza Yusuf Hanson

Qasidah Al Burdah

Chapter 2: Warnings about the Caprices of the Ego

Chapter 4: On The Prophet's Birth

Chapter 3: Praise of the Prophet ﷺ

"Qad Kafani `Ilmu Rabbi" (My Lord's Knowledge Suffices Me) is a powerful statement of reliance and trust on Allah, authored by Imam Abdullah b. Alawi al-Haddad (1634 CE [1044 Hijri] - 1720 CE [1132 Hijri]), the great Islamic scholar and spiritual guide from Hadhramawt, Yemen. Imam al-Haddad was a distinguished poet, and this particular qasida (devotional song) is one of his most-recited poems. A brief bio of the Imam may be found here: http://www.alhaddad.org/blog/?p=382.

(Accompanying picture of the Imam's mosque in Yemen is taken from http://thedowra.com.)

This particular rendition of the qasida is something I'd first heard performed at the Seekers Retreat in Melbourne (April 2011), by "The Singaporean Haqqani Ensemble" - Sidi Abdul Shakor Hadi leading the vocals, along with drumming and choral support from Sidi Muhammad Nassir, and the rest of the ensemble.

I was fortunate enough to recite this rendition of the qasida to Habib Umar bin Hafidh, at a private gathering in Melbourne Australia, in May 2011, before returning to Canada.  Many thanks to Sidi Usama Canon for facilitating this auditioning.


TECHNICAL NOTES:
I've recorded it here in Apple's GarageBand, using a Blue Yeti USB microphone (reviewed here at wired.com: http://www.wired.com/reviews/2009/11/pr_yeti/), a recent gift from a good friend that I'm putting to good use.

[NOTE: Booking requests are not processed through this website.  To book Nader Khan, please contact "bookings@naderkhan.com"]

ENGLISH TRANSLATION:
(the lyrics in Arabic, along with the translation, may be downloaded from: http://www.halaqa.org/Media/Docs/Qad%20kafani%20english.pdf)

My Lord’s knowledge has sufficed me
 from asking or choosing
For my du’a and my agonising supplication
 is a witness to my poverty.
For this secret (reason) I make supplication 
in times of ease and times of difficulty
I am a slave whose pride 
is in his poverty and obligation
----------
O my Lord and my King
 You know my state
And what has settled in my heart 
of agonies and preoccupations
Save me with a gentleness 
from You, O Lord of Lords
Oh save me, Most Generous 
before I run out of patience (with myself)
----------
O One who is swift in sending aid
 I ask for aid that will arrive to me swiftly
It will defeat all difficulty 
and it will bring all that I hope for
O Near One Who answers 
and All-Knowing and All-Hearing
I have attained realisation through my incapacity, 
my submission and my brokenness
----------
I am still standing by the door, so please my Lord
 have mercy on my standing
And in the valley of generosity, I am in i’tikaf (solitary retreat)  
So, Allah, make my retreat here permanent
And I’m abiding by good opinion (of You) 
 For it is my friend and ally
And it is the one that sits by me and keeps me company  
All day and night
----------
There is a need in my soul, O Allah 
so please fulfill it, O Best of Fulfillers
And comfort my secret and my heart
 from its burning and its shrapnel
In pleasure and in happiness  and 
as long as You are pleased with me
For joy and expansion is my state  
and my motto and my cover
----------

Chapter 3: Praise of the Prophet ﷺ

Mesut Kurtis

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