Muzdah Baad Aye Aasion [Sharh and Translation]

Translation and Explanation by Abu Hasan [sunniport.com]

1. Glad tidings be to you O sinners; your intercessor is the prince of righteous
2. Congratulations! the Lord Almighty is Al-Ghaffār, the Forgiver.

muzhdah: glad tidings.
áāşī: sinner
bār: righteous, pious, and its plural is abrār. shah-e-abrār is prince of the righteous.
tahniyat: congratulations

The Imām raĥimahullāh contrasts it thus: Sinners should be glad with the hope of intercession by the Prince of Righteous and in the presence of the Oft-Forgiving.

—
3. The earth under his feet is like the Exalted Throne; and the sole of his foot is above the Throne
4. By Allāh! what a graceful walk thou possess!

The first line is an allusion to the Ascension when RasūlAllāh şallAllāhu álayhi wa sallam went past the Throne and hence, the earth under his feet is as precious as the Throne.

And the second line should actually be: ‘kyā nirālī tarz ki – Allāh! – raftār hai’ But Alahazrat has modified it to fit the meter by replacing the name itself with a pointer instead: ‘nām-e-khudā’ as an interjection.

—
5. the moon was split; trees spoke and animals prostrate
6. Allāh’s Blessings upon him; he is the refuge, a sanctuary for the world.

marjiý: a place of safety, a haven, a sanctuary, refuge;

The first line mentions miracles of the Prophet şallAllāhu álayhi wa sallam which are used to draw the conclusion in the next line: ‘He is the refuge towards whom the world turns.’ Naturally, this is granted by Allāh táālā to His beloved Prophet.

marjiý also means ‘authority’ or ‘source.’ marjiý al-úlamā: an authority acknowledged by scholars as a reference and a source as we describe Alahazrat.

A similar verse in the burdah:

jā’at li dáwatihi’l ashjāru sājidatan
tamshī ilayhi álā sāqin bilā qadamī
Trees came to him prostrate, upon his beckoning
Walking towards him on shins, not feet.

And verses by Ibn Abidin:

wa muújizātin tawālat qabla mabáthihi
fa kāna yubşiruhā bil áyni kulla ámī

fađ đabbu kallamahū, wa’l jadh’ú ĥanna lahū
wal badru shaqqa lahū min bahīri’l ĥukami

wa’sh shamsu qad waqafat min baádi mā gharabat
was saĥbu qad wakafat lammā da’áā bi famī

His miracles manifest, long ere he was sent
So obvious they were, to blind they were cogent.

A lizard spake to him, for him the wood hath wept;
The moon hath split in two – on his command accept.

The sun had set, but yet: the day he did restore
A pray’r from his lips, and clouds began to pour.

—
7. He spread them towards the heavens and filled the earth with rain
8. O beloved! We too need the alms given from those blessed hands.

In ĥadīth, there is a story about a companion who complained to RasūlAllāh şallAllāhu álayhi wa sallam about famine and he şallAllāhu álayhi wa sallam was sitting on the pulpit. He raised his hands and prayed for rain and before his raised hands came down, the skies began to pour. It poured so much that after a while people complained of flood.

Alahazrat says, when RasūlAllāh şallAllāhu álayhi wa sallam raises his hands towards the heavens, we are flooded with blessings. We are in dire need for you to raise those beautiful hands and give us alms.

—
9. Your lips have been raised by the pure spring of ‘kun’
10. My beloved! It is not difficult for you to raise the dead.

zulāl: pure water
chashma-e-kun: ‘the spring of kun.’ Allāh táālā created the world with the word kun or ‘Be.’ That is His awesome Power. Alahazrat says that the lips of RasūlAllāh şallAllāhu álayhi wa sallam were granted a ray, a reflection from the Awesome Power of the Word ‘kun’; and therefore, it is not difficult for you to breathe life in the dead [like sayyidunā Ýīsā álayhi’s salām would say: ‘I give life by Allāh’s leave’].

I have used ‘raise’ in the first line to mean ‘knead’, because that is how the Imām described it. ‘When you were created’ is described as an urdu/arabic idiom: ‘when you were kneaded from clay and then raised.’

‘I was a Prophet when Adam was still as kneaded clay.’ [see Maqāşid al-Ĥasanah, no.837]

—
11. Let those fair and radiant feet shine upon us, for the sake of Allāh
12. O beloved, Show us a ray of light; the grave is pitch-dark.

The first line mentions his fair and pure white feet and contrasts with the pitch-black darkness mentioned in the next line. And, gorey meaning ‘white’ is used with gor meaning grave for alliteration.

—
13. Every sinner looks upon you for deliverance
14. The burden of both worlds rests upon a single sinless life!

In Urdu/Persian dāman or ‘mantle’ is idiomatically used to indicate ‘a place of refuge.’ Like a loving mother hides her scared child in her mantle. He is sinless – jaan-e-beykhaţā; and sinners look beseechingly upon him for intercession. Verily, the burden of both worlds rest on his lone sinless shoulders – because even prophets have turned us away to find another intercessor and none has accepted except him.

—
15. The storm rages, the sea is in tumult as it swells and the wind is not helpful;
16. Yet, we shall survive if the Master of Nuĥ has mercy

Nuĥ álayhi’s salām was delivered along with his followers from a raging storm and flood; and RasūlAllāh şallAllāhu álayhi wa sallam is the master of Nuĥ álā nabiyyinā wa álayhi’s şalātu wa’s salām and surely, his followers will be delivered from any storm!

josh e ţūfān: the rage of the storm
baĥr e bey pāyāN : unfathomable sea
hawā nā sāzgār: unhelpful winds

—
17. O, the Mercy for the universe, help! I am crushed [under the weight]
18. My Lord! A huge load of sins rests upon my head like none other

RasūlAllāh şallAllāhu álayhi wa sallam is the Mercy for the universe. And Allāh táālā asks us not to despair of His Mercy. He tells us to come to this Mercy to gain mercy – and so we come to him with this plea.

—
19. Those who behold the attributes of this flower are awestruck, perplexed;
20. The silence of his nightingale is also an eloquent expression.

The nightingale is speechless with wonder to sing his praise; because even those who are more worthy and described his attributes are at a loss of words to describe him.

āyīnah dār: one who describes attributes;
wafūr: in plenty
waşf-e-gul: the attributes of The Flower.

Thus, it means: ‘those who describe the attributes of The Flower in plenty’ or ‘those who describe the many attributes of The Flower’

This is an indication towards the famous ĥadīth of Sayyiduna Álī rađiyAllāhu ánhu describing the attributes [shamayil] of RasūlAllāh şallAllāhu álayhi wa sallam and he said: ‘Whoever chanced to look upon him suddenly was awestruck..’ [Tirmidhi 3638, Shamayil,7.] And the general tone of description in that ĥadīth, where an eloquent man as Mawlā Álī rađiyAllāhu ánhu says “..neither this, nor that..” as if he is searching for apt words to describe him; as if he is not satisfied with the words he is using.

ĥayrāN huN merey shāh maiN kyā kyā kahūN tujhe?
I am perplexed my Lord! What all shall I call you?

—
21. The melodies of Raza echo resoundingly in the gardens
22. And why not? Does he not sing the praises of the majestic flower?

mid’ĥat: praise
minqār: beak, wā: open; thus, wā minqār means: [the nightingale] parts its beak in his praise; in other words, ‘sings his praise’.

The last verse is a question for emphasis and the Imām says, ‘After all, whose praise does the nightingale sing? It is the most precious flower and naturally, such praise will echo in gardens.’

This is like the beautiful arabic verse:

mā in mada’ĥtu muĥammadan bi maqālatī
[wa] lākin mada’ĥtu maqālatī bi muĥammadī
I have not praised Muĥammad şallAllāhu álayhi wa sallam in my verse;
Rather, my verse has become praiseworthy because of Muĥammad’s mention.

şallAllāhu álayhi wa sallam