❖ The Truth About Imam al-Busiri and Qasīdat al-Burdah in Light of Qur’an and Sunnah ❖
Source: Fatāwā ʿIlmiyyah, Volume 1, Kitāb al-ʿAqāʾid, Page 103
✿ Two Well-Known Figures Known as al-Būsīrī:
➊ Al-Ḥāfiẓ Shihāb al-Dīn Abū al-ʿAbbās Aḥmad ibn Abī Bakr ibn Ismāʿīl al-Būsīrī al-Qāhirī
- Born in 762 AH and passed away in 840 AH at the age of 78.
- He was a student of eminent scholars such as al-Ḥāfiẓ al-Balqīnī, al-Ḥāfiẓ al-ʿIrāqī, al-Ḥāfiẓ al-Hāshimī, and al-Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Ḥajar رحمهم الله.
- His notable works include:
◄ Zawāʾid Sunan Ibn Mājah
◄ Itḥāf al-Khayrah al-Mahrah fī Zawāʾid al-Masānīd al-ʿAsharah - Al-Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Ḥajar رحمه الله praised him in Inbāʾ al-Ghumr (8/431).
- His biography can also be found in:
◈ Inbāʾ al-Ghumr
◈ al-Ḍawʾ al-Lāmiʿ by al-Sakhāwī (1/251)
◈ Ḥusn al-Muḥāḍarah by al-Suyūṭī (1/363)
◈ Shadharāt al-Dhahab (7/233)
◈ al-Nujūm al-Zāhirah (15/209)
◈ Dhail Ṭabaqāt al-Ḥuffāẓ (p. 379) - He was a Muḥaddith, a learned man, and a righteous individual. However, he was known to have a stern temperament, and some of his works contained textual errors and distortions in names and narrations. Raḥimahullāh
➋ Muḥammad ibn Saʿīd ibn Ḥammād ibn Ḥasan al-Būsīrī al-Walāṣī
- Born in 608 AH and passed away in 695 AH.
- He lived before the time of al-Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Ḥajar and al-Ḥāfiẓ al-Dhahabī.
- However, no reliable Muḥaddith has documented him, nor is he recognized as thiqah, ṣadūq, or reliable.
- It appears he was an unknown-status poet (majhūl al-ḥāl).
✦ Exaggeration and Deviant Beliefs in Qasīdat al-Burdah:
One of the most problematic lines appears in:
“Chapter Ten: In Supplication and Presenting One’s Needs”
“يَا أَكْرَمَ الْخَلْقِ مَا لِي مَنْ أَلُوذُ بِهِ
سِوَاكَ عِنْدَ حُلُولِ الْحَادِثِ الْعَمَمِ”
“O most noble of creation! I have no one to seek refuge in during a great calamity except you.”
(ʿIṭr al-Wardah fī Sharḥ al-Burdah, trans. by Dhul-Fiqār ʿAlī Dīobandī, p. 85)
➡️ This belief contradicts the Qur’an and Sunnah. Allah ﷻ clearly states:
﴿وَمَا النَّصْرُ إِلَّا مِنْ عِندِ اللَّهِ الْعَزِيزِ الْحَكِيمِ﴾
“And there is no help except from Allah, the All-Mighty, the All-Wise.”
(Āl ʿImrān: 126)
❗ Calling Upon Other Than Allah for Supernatural Aid Is Not Permissible
According to the Qur’an, unseen and supernatural help is a sole attribute of Allah ﷻ.
To address the Prophet ﷺ directly for such assistance is not legislated in Sharīʿah.
The Prophet ﷺ himself said regarding someone who calls out,
“O Messenger of Allah! Help me!”:
“لَا أَمْلِكُ لَكَ شَيْئًا”
“I do not possess anything for you.”
(Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: 3073, Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 1831)
This is confirmed by Surah al-Aʿrāf, verse 188, which clearly shows that such matters were not within the Prophet’s control.
✧ Authentic Hadith Is Always a Binding Proof
An authentic ḥadīth is a valid proof in itself —
✔ Whether the matter relates to beliefs, rulings, or virtues and merits.
✔ Even if the content is not explicitly found in the Qur’an, a ṣaḥīḥ ḥadīth is binding evidence.
Al-ḥamdu lillāh.
◈ Another Line from Qasīdat al-Burdah:
“فَمَبْلَغُ الْعِلْمِ فِيهِ أَنَّهُ بَشَرٌ
وَأَنَّهُ خَيْرُ خَلْقِ اللَّهِ كُلِّهِمِ”
“The extent of our knowledge about him is that he is a human,
And that he is the best of all Allah’s creation.”
(Qasīdat al-Burdah with Urdu translation by Malik Muḥammad Ashraf Naqshbandī, p. 32)
In translation, it is often rendered with the word “and the most complete.” Wallāhu aʿlam.
✔ Important Point:
Al-Būsīrī affirms that the Prophet ﷺ is both a human (bashar) and the best of all creation.
Some individuals object to the use of the word bashar, even though the Prophet ﷺ is indeed a human being and also superior to all creation — as established by Qur’an and Sunnah.
✅ Conclusion:
◄ Al-Ḥāfiẓ Shihāb al-Dīn al-Būsīrī was a Muḥaddith and a learned, righteous individual.
◄ Muḥammad ibn Saʿīd al-Būsīrī was an unknown-status poet not acknowledged by any reputable ḥadīth scholar.
◄ Qasīdat al-Burdah contains several lines that contradict the concept of Tawḥīd.
◄ Seeking supernatural aid from anyone other than Allah ﷻ is impermissible in Islam.
◄ Even the Prophet ﷺ does not possess authority over the unseen or supernatural aid — as proven by authentic narrations.
هٰذَا مَا عِندِي، وَاللّٰهُ أَعْلَمُ بِالصَّوَابِ
