Description
Maqām: Sīkāh-‘Ajam (with allusions to Rāst)
Commentary: The lyrics of this song come from portions of the thousand-verse Hamziyya (poem rhyming in hamza) of the renowned Palestinian scholar Yusuf Nabahani (d. 1932). It describes the Prophet’s life and character and is frequently recited during Mawlid celebrations to commemorate the Prophet’s (pbuh) birthday. The melody sung here is inspired by group chants of the Shadhili-Darqawi-‘Alawi Sufi Order in Mostaghanem, Algeria. The melody has been slightly modified to fit the English lyrics (which are a translation of the original Arabic). English lyrics and translation provided by Dr. Tim Winter.
Words by Yusuf Nabahani Ṣalli yā Rabbi thumma sallim ‘alā man Huwa li-l-khalqi raḥmatun wa-shifā’un Wa-‘ala l-āli wa-ṣ-ṣaḥābati jam‘an Ma tazayyanat bi-n-nujūmi s-samā’u So pray my Lord and bestow blessings upon him So also on his fair Companions and kinsmen Accept and pity them as my intercessor And in this gloomy age keep me and my people For in these times the faith is once more a stranger So catch us lest we fall in the pit of peril
Music: Traditional Algerian
Performed and arranged by Sami Yusuf
Recorded at Andante Studios[English Translation & Turkish] Hamziyya Lyrics
So pray my Lord and bestow blessings upon him
Who is for all mankind, a grace and a healing
So also on his fair Companions and kinsmen
With blessings that abide like the sky’s lofty ceiling.
Who is for all mankind, a grace and a healing
With blessings that abide like the sky’s lofty ceiling.
Upon the day when all need an intercessor.
For in our day our power has grown faint and feeble.
Thus did you once foretell, the decent in danger.
For on this day we tire, after blunder and quarrel.
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