Maqām: Bayātī Commentary: “Ṣalla l-Lāhu ‘alā Ṭāhā” was written by the Sudanese/Egyptian Shaykh Salih al-Ja’fari (d. 1979) who taught and lived at the famous al-Azhar University in Cairo and was also the Imam of the al-Azhar mosque. He was a Sufi shaykh in the lineage of Ahmad ibn Idris of Fez (d. 1837) and a prolific author of works on the Qur’an, Hadith, Islamic law and Sufism. He also wrote a celebrated collection of poetry, from which this song is taken. The end section incorporates the blessed names of the Prophet (pbuh) taken from the Diwan of the famous Moroccan Sufi saint Imam Mohammed Al-Jazuli’s (d. 1465), Dala’il al-Khayrat. *The Sidra is a reference to the “Lote tree of the furthest boundary” (sidrat al-muntahā) mentioned in the Qur’an (53:14) and described by the Prophet on his night journey to heaven (mi’rāj). The sidra marks the outer boundaries that separate the created world (‘ālam al-khalq) from the spiritual world of the divine command (‘ālam al-amr). **The end section is an original composition with words provided by Mohammed Ali El Oumari and Abdel Ilah Ikhal. The inspiration behind the melody comes from an old Kurdish folk song heard by Sami Yusuf when he was a child. CREDITS Words by Shaykh Salih al-Ja'fari Music: Traditional Islamic (unknown provenance) Performed and arranged by Sami Yusuf Listen/Watch: https://ANDNT.CO/Taha-YT