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A Breeze of Musk (An-Nafhatu Misk)
A Sudanese Madih (Prophetic Eulogy) by Muhammad Majdhub^[1]

Translation and commentary by Albrecht Hofheinz

Was it a breeze of musk or the fragrance of [the Prophet’s] Garden

or was it Layla’s smile that sent her perfume to us?

Was it a flash of lightning^[2] or the brightness of her forehead

that released the light when she showed her affection

They both have added joy to my happiness

and swept away my troubles; so my fear has vanished.

The breath of the Living One moves my heart when it comes

to Wadi Al-`Aqiq^[3], and tears cry out.

How often we spent there, in favor,

in junction (wasl) and intimacy—but time changes

And after junction I am now far from them

and news from them diminish and dwindle away.

Incessantly I think of them—tell me, messenger,

do you not have good news from them that may comfort me?

Thrilled has my heart he whose tomb is in Tayba^[4]

by the beauty it encompasses, beyond description.

Passionately loved I him before I knew of worldly love—

ask me not [how much I love him] now that I know it!

I go to sleep in his love and wake up in it

my heart knows him, my mind (lubb) and my eye.

The beloved—all hearts he captivated, so they grew,

O young man, truly longing for his sight!

He is wrapped in the mantle of beauty, covered;^[5]

vestments of beauty are spread over him.

A prophet who led us in guidance on the way

and who let down a curtain indescribable

Upon the faults of those of us who are at fault, out of mercy.

He shows compassion for the disobedient among us, and clemency.^[6]

No other apostle resembles him in character and physiognomy;^[7]

this is a special grant of favor from his Lord.

If Abraham is distinguished by friendship

as [God’s] friend, [Muhammad] is characterized by love and closeness.

Moses was spoken to on Mount Sinai; Ahmed^[8]

on the Throne—above the veils he receives this gift.

The dead spoke to Jesus, Mary’s son;

but Yasin^[9]—the pebbles on his right found words.

Supreme is his rank among angels and apostles

and yet he is the most submissive of men to his Lord, the most fearful.

True! All the prophets on [the Day of] Congregation

pass responsibility for intercession to him; he takes it upon himself.

They all say, “Myself!” to mankind;

he calls out, “My community—men and jinn!

Come unto me, all you who are congregated!

The banner of praise flutters with me!”

and he is given what he wishes—so the fearful can feel safe!

God’s peace upon him—God elevated him to a rank

that cannot be surpassed and not described—

From the weak slave Majdhub who

through your rank with God becomes acquainted with you.

God’s blessings upon you, and his peace

Verily, O Apostle of God, I am full of fear!

In the manner of the classical Arabic ode, the poem opens with the nasib, the rhapsody about the beloved woman. Many classical Arabic poets shielded their personal feelings behind a reference to an ideal beloved woman of tradition, most frequently to Layla, the beloved of Majnun. Together with the nasib, “Layla” made her way into mystical poetry as a symbol of the Beloved, often the Divine. In mingling allusions to earthly and spiritual love, Majdhub thus stands firmly within the mystical tradition. From the context of his poem, however, there can be no doubt that the spiritually beloved refers exclusively to the Prophet, not to God, and after the first three lines, the metaphorical “Layla” gives way entirely to more direct references to the Prophet.

In line with the requirements of the nasib, Majdhub alludes to the abode of the beloved, which for him is Madinah, where the Prophet is buried. The yearning for Madinah has been a feature in Prophetic eulogies from the late 13th century onwards. Majdhub fills the traditional form with personal feelings of loss after he had to leave Madinah, the place where he spent the best part of his adult life, and where he left his friends and companions behind.

From mourning the separation, Majdhub then turns to his central theme: the description of the supreme status and qualities of the Prophet. This is done in total agreement with a centuries-old tradition cultivated all over the Islamic world, and for each verse, countless comparable examples could be found in other collections of poetry. Ever recurring themes are Muhammad is the best of God’s creatures; not only is he an ideal model in his beautiful appearance as well as his excellent character, but he is also raised to cosmic heights. On the Day of Judgment, he surpasses all the other prophets, and even those Muslims who have committed grave sins are assured of his intercession.

Muhammad’s intercession constitutes the climax of many of Majdhub’s poems and thus has a great emotional significance. It plays an important role in other Islamic traditions as well: For example, it is “one of the main doctrines of Swahili Islam,” “an essential condition for every Muslim to enter Paradise ... The petty egotism of the other prophets … will make it virtually impossible for Jews and Christians to find their way to Paradise,” Muslims, on the other hand, “simply follow their Prophet, who has the right knowledge of the straight path.”

The promise of forgiveness for those who love the Prophet accompanies the admonition to closely observe the Islamic moral code. Both are inseparable elements of Majdhub’s worldview.

The ode translated above gives a particularly good example of how Majdhub, in his madih poetry, follows the paradigm of the classical qasida. Not all his poems match this paradigm so closely, but in general, most of his Prophetic eulogies, even those composed in a more popular style, are modeled on the same pattern: An amatory prelude (which usually takes up about a third of the poem) expresses the author’s sentiments of longing and love. This is followed by the eulogy proper. At the end, the poet identifies himself and expresses his hope for gratification, which in this context means a request for Prophetic intercession on the Day of Judgment as well as the wish to see him in this world and to be joined with him in the next.

The poems of Group I what is Group I this is the first mention of it. also contain a refrain in the form of a tasliya.^[10] The central section is the most standardized, while the introductory nasib gives Majdhub an opportunity to refer to his own personal experiences in Madinah. This relative freedom the author has in the introduction, which must capture the listener’s attention, as against the repetition of conventional themes in the madih proper, is itself part of the tradition of the genre.

* Albrecht Hofheinz is a professor…... The above is an excerpt of his dissertation Internalising Islam.

1. A-nafhatu miskin (Diwan, 127-8), recorded three times by Albrecht Hofheinz between  February 6, 1987, and September 25, 1987. 

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