The Hamziyyah of Imam al-Busiri

Description

Great poetry has moved hearts from premodern times until today. Imam al-Busiri excelled at praise poetry, and his verses attained a global reach because he praised the best of creation. His two most sublime poems, the Burdah and the Hamziyyah, have over the centuries occasioned countless commentaries explicating their eloquence and linguistic subtleties. Shaykh Hamza Yusuf had the distinction of translating the Burdah in 2001 and now offers the Hamziyyah for the English reader more than two decades later.

This volume is exquisitely produced with the entire poem of 456 lines in Arabic, calligraphed by the world-renowned Sabah Arbilli, alongside the English translation.

Original ornamentation was also commissioned to give the book its beautiful exterior. It also includes additional poems by the translator, ‘Spring’s Gift’ and ‘Be Like Ahmad’ and a lengthy introduction setting the context for this monumental poem and its place in the world today.

Shaykh Muhammad al-Yaquobi kindly wrote a Foreword endorsing the translation and also affording an ijaza (chain of transmission) connecting us back to the author of this sacred tradition.

Born and raised in Egypt in the thirteenth century, Imam al- Busiri has been aptly described as ‘the scholar of the poets, the most poetic among the scholars, the most eloquent among the orators, and the most erudite among the sages’. He studied prophetic biography and comparative religion, both of which inform the Hamziyyah. His epithet, reflecting a life of service to Islam, is Sharaf al-Din (Faith’s Honour).

Substantial parts of the Hamziyyah cover the Prophet’s life, his historical period, and the miracles that attended him. The poem also details miracles of the Qur’an and provides a vivid account of the medieval voyage from Cairo to Mecca and Medina, a critique of misguided beliefs and deeds found among some adherents of the other Abrahamic traditions, and an introspective look at the poet’s own past deeds and misdeeds.

Recording of the Hamziyyah
For the Hamziyyah recording of all 456 verses of the poem, the best and most euphonic sounds come from the Fes Singers, expertly led by Sidi Muhammad Bennis, one of Morocco’s greatest living masters of the Andalusian and Moroccan a cappella tradition. Accompanied by the renowned singers-Sidi Tawfiq al-Noury, Sidi Abdellah El-Idrissi Filali, and Sidi Driss Eddaoudi-Sidi Muhammad recorded the Hamziyyah in multiple sittings over several days in 2014 in the blessed city of Fes, the Guarded, at Al-Jazuli Studios.

The final two-hour recording, skillfully mastered by Alex Greaves at Nave Studios in Leeds in the UK, delivers a landmark performance of immense spiritual intensity, displaying their rarefied mastery of the various melodies in this distinct orally transmitted musical tradition. Also featured in the recording is the world-renowned singing virtuoso Sidi Abdelfettah Bennis, who contributes several captivating solo performances.

This recording preserves for posterity the remarkable tradition of Morocco’s great devotional singers, who not only memorize by rote all their contributions but who spiritually embody the poet’s sentiments with their deep love of the Prophet.
Such commitment to the art requires many years of apprenticeship with masters in a living tradition, and success comes when one perseveres with steadfast devotion—indeed, art for God’s sake