Qasida
The sung poem: the classical Arabic poetic form, raised to song in the path for the praise of God and the Prophet.
Qasida denotes the classical form of Arabic poetry: a long monorhyme composed under strict rules, whose oldest use was praise. In the Sufi paths the qasida became the major genre of praise of God and the Prophet (madih), raised to song in the sessions. Its archetype is al-Busiri’s Burda (13th century), recited throughout the Muslim world.
In the Qadiriya Boutchichiya path, singing qasidas is not a folkloric appendix: it is part of the teaching. Sidi Hamza himself composed a great many, which fix the path’s doctrine in verse and which the disciples sing in session; listening to these poems is a form of sama’. The verse opens the heart where discourse does not reach.
Some sessions in France include a hearing of qasidas; see the calendar and the dhikr session page.