"Mustapha" was released as a single in Germany, Spain, Yugoslavia and Bolivia in 1979. The B side of the single was "Dead On Time" for German and Spanish releases and "In Only Seven Days" for Yugoslavian and Bolivian releases. Also, all four versions had different covers.^[3]

The composition's lyrics are mainly in English and Arabic, repeating the word Allah, the Arabic word for God used by Muslims. It also uses a sentence in Persian-emulating gibberish, reflecting Mercury's Parsi background. The lyrics repeat the names Mustapha and Ibrahim. The lyrics also repeat the phrase "Allah will pray for you." Parts of the lyrics like "Achtar es na sholei" meaning "His star, not his flame" have clear ties to the Persian language.

In live performances, Mercury would often sing the opening vocals of "Mustapha" in place of the complex introduction to "Bohemian Rhapsody", going from "Allah we'll pray for you" to "Mama, just killed a man...". However, from the 1979 Saarbrücken Festival to the South American Game Tour, the band performed an almost full version of the song, with Mercury at the piano, where they dropped the second verse and went from the first chorus to the third. He also sang the intro before launching the band into "Hammer to Fall", as seen on We Are the Champions: Final Live in Japan.

• Freddie Mercury - lead and backing vocals, piano
• Brian May - electric guitar
• Roger Taylor - drums, hawk bells
• John Deacon - bass guitar

• Lyrics at Queen official website