NasheedArabictraditional (attributed to 622 CE)
Tala' al-Badru 'Alayna
طلع البدر علينا
Tala' al-Badru 'Alayna, "The full moon has risen over us", is one of the oldest and best-loved songs in the Islamic world. Tradition holds that the people of Medina sang it to welcome the Prophet Muhammad, and it is still sung at celebrations, weddings and the Prophet's birthday.
- Written by
- Traditional
- Music
- Traditional
- In the video
- Mesut Kurtis
- Context
- Traditional welcome song of Medina, quoted in classical Islamic histories
- Year
- traditional (attributed to 622 CE)
- Language
- Arabic
Tala' al-Badru 'Alayna lyrics with English translation
The two couplets as quoted by Ibn Kathir (also quoted by Ibn al-Jawzi in Talbis Iblis). Additional verses heard in modern performances are later additions and are not reproduced here.
طلع البدر علينا من ثنيات الوداع
Ṭalaʿa l-badru ʿalaynā min thaniyyāti l-wadāʿ
The full moon has risen over us from the hill-pass of al-Wada'.
وجب الشكر علينا ما دعا لله داع
Wajaba sh-shukru ʿalaynā mā daʿā lillāhi dāʿ
Gratitude is our duty for as long as anyone calls to God.
Translation: Lyriccs (original translation). Transliteration: Lyriccs.
The story behind Tala' al-Badru 'Alayna
Classical Muslim historians record the verses as the song with which the women, children and young people of Medina greeted the Prophet. The fourteenth-century historian Ibn Kathir, in al-Bidaya wa'l-Nihaya, quotes the two couplets through a report from al-Bayhaqi.
The sources disagree about the occasion. The usual view links it to the Prophet's arrival from Mecca at the Hijra in 622, but al-Bayhaqi noted that Thaniyyat al-Wada', the pass named in the song, lies on the road from the north, so some scholars connect it with his return from the Tabuk expedition in 630. The report's chain of transmission is also considered weak, so the song is best described as traditional.
Sung versions usually add further verses, such as "Ayyuha l-mab'uthu fina" ("O you who were sent among us"). This page carries only the two couplets found in the classical source.
What Tala' al-Badru 'Alayna means
The "full moon" (al-badr) is a poetic image for the Prophet, whose arrival is compared to a moon rising over the hills and lighting the night. Thaniyyat al-Wada', "the hill-pass of farewells", was the place outside Medina where travellers were seen off and welcomed back.
The second couplet turns welcome into gratitude: thanks are due for as long as anyone calls on God. The song therefore joins joy at an arrival with a lasting sense of thankfulness.
Its short, easily repeated lines made it a natural song for crowds, and it has become a symbol of hospitality and of love for the Prophet across many cultures and languages.
Quick facts
- Tradition says the people of Medina sang it to welcome the Prophet Muhammad.
- Ibn Kathir quotes the two couplets in al-Bidaya wa'l-Nihaya via al-Bayhaqi.
- Thaniyyat al-Wada' was a hill-pass outside Medina where travellers were seen off and welcomed.
- Scholars differ on whether it greeted the Hijra in 622 or the return from Tabuk in 630.