Spiritual Commentary on the Burdah: Part 6 - Shaykh Mokhtar Maghraoui
Spiritual Commentary of the Burdah Series
The Burdah of al-Būṣīrī is from among the most famous poems composed in honor of the Prophet Muḥammad ﷺ. In this series of commentaries on selected couplets from the Burdah, Shaykh Mokhtar Maghraoui reflects on its spiritual lessons.
Couplet 16
مَنْ لِّيْ بِرَدِّ جِمَــاحٍ مِّنْ غَوَايتِهَــا
كَمَا يُرَدُّ جِماَحُ الْخَيْــلِ بِاللُّـجُمِ
"Who can hold back my headstrong soul from the error of its ways,
Just as wild horses are restrained with bridles and reins?"
Theme: The aspirant realizes that he cannot tame his nafs by himself. We must tame the horse of our nafs/self by holding onto its reins. We are meant to mount our nafs, and control it—and not succumb to being mounted upon and ridden by the passions and desires of our nafs.
Faith & Spirituality Related Articles
Hajj at Home: Kindling the Spirit of Arafah
Even if we are not on Hajj this year, our situation is no different. We navigate through the complexities of our daily life, immersed in the never-ending responsibilities of work and family, inundated with the intrusions of technology and social media into every minute of our lives, moving from place to place and idea to idea.
An Answer to ‘Should Muslims Support Black Lives Matter?’
Protests have swept across the streets of America regarding the need for new policing measures after the brutal murder of George Floyd by officers of the Minneapolis Police Department. Indeed, the cries of Americans of varying racial and ethnic backgrounds reside in the reality that Floyd is but one of countless Black people who have been killed while unarmed by law enforcement.