Abstract:
This thesis explores interpretations of the poem of the Burdah composed by Imam al-Būṣīrī, a mystical panegyric poem that is associated with miracles and is believed by some to have healing and talismanic properties. By examining various writings by Sufi scholars on the Burdah, I have shed light on their interpretations of the poem and its mystical qualities in order to come to a deeper
understanding of the poem itself, its context, and the impact it has had on Islamicate literature and Sufi practices. Most importantly, I explore the theme of seeking intercession from the Prophet Muḥammad and the role that the Burdah plays in this process.
A number of commentators I discuss in this study identify their petition to the Prophet as a primary motive for producing their commentaries. I will argue that
there are three levels that play out in this process, namely 1. themes in the poem of the Burdah itself that deal with the topic, 2. the story of al-Būṣīrī's composition
of the Burdah as a means of seeking intercession from the Prophet and forgiveness from God, and 3. the composition of commentaries by Sufis who by clarifying and interpreting the Burdah, hoped for their sins to be forgiven and for
the Prophet to intercede for them as he did for al-Būṣīrī. While there are those who treat the poem merely as another literary text, those who believe in its spiritual efficacy use al-Būṣīrī's biography as a model that they aspire to in order
to purify themselves in the spiritual path.
