Other editions of book The Kasidah of Haji Abdu El-Yezdi

This was written by Sir Richard Burton under the pseudonym of Hâjî Abdû El-Yezdî after his return from Mecca in 1854. It contains references to 19th Century scientific and philosophical concepts. Nonetheless, it is a Sufi text to the core, and one of the few instances of Burton writing in the first person about his belief system, even if it is under the cloak of a different name. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, a Kasidah is a classical Arabic or Persian panegyric, which must begin with a reference to a forsaken campground, followed by a lament, and a prayer to ones comrades to halt while the memory of the departed dwellers is invoked. The same rhyme has to run through the entire composition, no matter how long the poem is.