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Sufi music

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Sufi music refers to the devotional music of the Sufis, inspired by the works of Sufi poets like Rumi, Hafiz, Bulleh Shah, Amir Khusrow, and Khwaja Ghulam Farid.

Qawwali is the best-known form of Sufi music and is most commonly found in the Sufi culture in South Asia. However, music is also central to the Sema ceremony of the whirling dervishes, which is set to a form of music called Ayin, a vocal and instrumental piece featuring Turkish classical instruments such as the ney (a reed flute). The West African gnawa is another form, and Sufis from Indonesia to Afghanistan to Morocco have made music central to their practices. Some of the Sufi orders have taken an approach more akin to puritan forms of Islam, declaring music to be unhelpful to the Sufi way.

Sufi love songs are often performed as ghazals and Kafi, a solo genre accompanied by percussion and harmonium, using a repertoire of songs by Sufi poets.

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Rumi

Rumi

Jalāl al-Dīn Muḥammad Rūmī, also known as Jalāl al-Dīn Muḥammad Balkhī, Mevlânâ/Mawlānā and Mevlevî/Mawlawī, but more popularly known simply as Rumi, was a 13th-century Persian poet, Hanafi faqih, Islamic scholar, Maturidi theologian and Sufi mystic originally from Greater Khorasan in Greater Iran. Rumi's influence transcends national borders and ethnic divisions: Iranians, Kurds, Tajiks, Turks, Greeks, Pashtuns, other Central Asian Muslims, as well as Muslims of the Indian subcontinent have greatly appreciated his spiritual legacy for the past seven centuries. His poems have been widely translated into many of the world's languages and transposed into various formats. Rumi has been described as the "most popular poet" and the "best selling poet" in the United States.

Bulleh Shah

Bulleh Shah

Syed Abdullah Shah Qadri, known popularly as Baba Bulleh Shah and Bulleya, was a Punjabi philosopher, reformer and Sufi poet during 17th-century Punjab. His ancestors had migrated from Bukhara some three hundred years earlier. His first spiritual teacher was Shah Inayat Qadiri, a Sufi murshid of Lahore. He was a mystic poet and is universally regarded as "The Father of Punjabi Enlightenment". He was a "revolutionary" poet who spoke against powerful religious, political and social institutions and, thus, his influence can be seen on many noted socialists and rights activists. During his lifetime, he was outcasted as kafir (non-Muslim) by some Muslim clerics. He lived and was buried in Kasur in present day Pakistan.

Khwaja Ghulam Farid

Khwaja Ghulam Farid

Khwaja Ghulam Farid or Khwaja Fareed (1845–1901) was a 19th-century Sufi poet from Punjab. He was a member of the Chishti Nizami Sufi order. He wrote poetry in several languages, and his literary heritage has been claimed by both the Punjabi and the Saraiki language movements.

Qawwali

Qawwali

Qawwali is a form of Sufi Islamic devotional singing, originating in South Asia.

Ney

Ney

The ney, is an end-blown flute that figures prominently in Persian music and Arabic music. In some of these musical traditions, it is the only wind instrument used. The ney has been played continually for 4,500–5,000 years in ancient Egypt, making it one of the oldest musical instruments still in use.

Gnawa

Gnawa

The Gnawa are an ethnic group inhabiting Morocco.

Indonesia

Indonesia

Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guinea. Indonesia is the world's largest archipelagic state and the 14th-largest country by area, at 1,904,569 square kilometres. With over 275 million people, Indonesia is the world's fourth-most populous country and the most populous Muslim-majority country. Java, the world's most populous island, is home to more than half of the country's population.

Afghanistan

Afghanistan

Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordered by Pakistan to the east and south, Iran to the west, Turkmenistan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, Tajikistan to the northeast, and China to the northeast and east. Occupying 652,864 square kilometres (252,072 sq mi) of land, the country is predominantly mountainous with plains in the north and the southwest, which are separated by the Hindu Kush mountain range. Kabul is the country's largest city and serves as its capital. As of 2021, Afghanistan's population is 40.2 million, composed of ethnic Pashtuns, Tajiks, Hazaras, Uzbeks, Turkmens, Qizilbash, Aimak, Pashayi, Baloch, Pamiris, Nuristanis, and others.

Morocco

Morocco

Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to the east, and the disputed territory of Western Sahara to the south. Mauritania lies to the south of Western Sahara. Morocco also claims the Spanish exclaves of Ceuta, Melilla and Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera, and several small Spanish-controlled islands off its coast. It spans an area of 446,300 km2 (172,300 sq mi) or 710,850 km2 (274,460 sq mi), with a population of roughly 37 million. Its official and predominant religion is Islam, and the official languages are Arabic and Berber; the Moroccan dialect of Arabic and French are also widely spoken. Moroccan identity and culture is a mix of Arab, Berber, and European cultures. Its capital is Rabat, while its largest city is Casablanca.

Islam

Islam

Islam is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centered around the Quran and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam, called Muslims, number approximately 1.9 billion globally and are the world's second-largest religious population after Christians.

Ghazal

Ghazal

The ghazal is a form of amatory poem or ode, originating in Arabic poetry. Ghazals often deal with topics of spiritual and romantic love and may be understood as a poetic expression of both the pain of loss or separation from the beloved and the beauty of love in spite of that pain.

Kafi

Kafi

Kafi is a classical form of Sufi music mostly in the Siraiki, Punjabi and Sindhi languages and originating from the Punjab, and Sindh regions in the Indian subcontinent. Some well-known Kafi poets are Baba Farid, Bulleh Shah, Shah Hussain, Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai, Sachal Sarmast and Khwaja Ghulam Farid. This poetry style has also lent itself to the Kafi genre of singing, popular throughout South Asia, especially Pakistan, Bangladesh and India. Over the years, both Kafi poetry and its rendition have experienced rapid growth phases as various poets and vocalists added their own influences to the form, creating a rich and varied poetic form, yet through it all it remained centered on the dialogue between the Soul and the Creator, symbolized by the murid (disciple) and his Murshid (Master), and often by lover and his Beloved.

Musicians

Abida Parveen, a Pakistani Sufi singer is one of the foremost exponents of Sufi music, considered the finest Sufi vocalists of the modern era. Sanam Marvi, another Pakistani singer has recently gained recognition for her Sufi vocal performances. Asrar Shah a Lahore based Sufi singer who gained popularity in Coke Studio Pakistan and now is owner of his music producing company Soul Speaks.

A. R. Rahman, the Oscar-winning Indian musician, has several compositions which draw inspiration from the Sufi genre; examples are the filmi qawwalis Piya Haji Ali in the film Fiza, Khwaja Mere Khwaja in the film Jodhaa Akbar, Arziyan in the film Delhi 6 , Kun Faya Kun in the film Rockstar and Maula Wa Salim in the film O Kadhal Kanmani. He has performed many Sufi concerts in The Sufi Rout at Delhi. He performed Light Upon Light in Dubai with Sami Yusuf.

Bengali singer Lalan Fakir and Bangladesh's national poet Kazi Nazrul Islam scored several Sufi songs.

Junoon, a band from Pakistan, created the genre of Sufi rock/Sufi Folk Rock by combining elements of modern hard rock and traditional folk music with Sufi poetry.

In 2005, Rabbi Shergill released a Sufi rock song called "Bulla Ki Jaana," which became a chart-topper in India and Pakistan.[1][2]

Madonna, on her 1994 record Bedtime Stories, sings a song called "Bedtime Story" that discusses achieving a high unconsciousness level. The video for the song shows an ecstatic Sufi ritual with many dervishes dancing, Arabic calligraphy and some other Sufi elements. In her 1998 song "Bittersweet", she recites Rumi's poem by the same name. In her 2001 Drowned World Tour, Madonna sang the song "Secret" showing rituals from many religions, including a Sufi dance.

Singer/songwriter Loreena McKennitt's record The Mask and Mirror (1994) has a song called "The Mystic's Dream" that is influenced by Sufi music and poetry. The band mewithoutYou has made references to Sufi parables, including the name of their album It's All Crazy! It's All False! It's All a Dream! It's Alright (2009). Tori Amos makes a reference to Sufis in her song "Cruel".

Mercan Dede is a Turkish composer who incorporates Sufism into his music and performances.

Shohreh Moavenian is an Iranian singer who sings Rumi's poems. She has produced two albums by the title "Molana & Shora 1 and 2" in which she incorporates elements of pop and traditional Persian music.

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List of Sufi singers

List of Sufi singers

The following is a categorically arranged list of notable singers of Sufi music.

Abida Parveen

Abida Parveen

Abida Parveen is a Pakistani singer, composer and musician of Sufi music. She is also a painter and entrepreneur. Parveen is one of the highest paid singers in Pakistan. Her singing and music has earned her many accolades, and she has been dubbed as the 'Queen of Sufi music'.

Asrar (musician)

Asrar (musician)

Syed Asrar Shah is a Pakistani singer-songwriter, musician, composer and writer based in Lahore. Officially managed by Majid Raza (

Lahore

Lahore

Lahore is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city. Lahore is one of Pakistan's major industrial and economic hubs, with an estimated GDP (PPP) of $84 billion as of 2019. It is the largest city as well as the historic capital and cultural centre of the wider Punjab region, and is one of Pakistan's most socially liberal, progressive, and cosmopolitan cities. It is situated in the northeast of the country, close to the international border with India.

A. R. Rahman

A. R. Rahman

Allah Rakha Rahman is an Indian music composer, record producer, singer and songwriter, popular for his works in Indian cinema; predominantly in Tamil and Hindi films, with occasional forays in international cinema, as well as an arrangement of the 20th Century Studios fanfare for Star Studios. He is a winner of six National Film Awards, two Academy Awards, two Grammy Awards, a BAFTA Award, a Golden Globe Award, fifteen Filmfare Awards and seventeen Filmfare Awards South. In 2010, the Indian government conferred him with the Padma Bhushan, the nation's third-highest civilian award.

Filmi qawwali

Filmi qawwali

Filmi qawwali is a form of qawwali music found in the Lollywood, Dhallywood, Tollywood, and Bollywood film industries.

Fiza

Fiza

Fiza, also known as Fiza: In Search Of Her Brother, is a 2000 Indian Hindi-language crime thriller film written and directed by Khalid Mohammed. It stars Karisma Kapoor as the eponymous lead, along with Hrithik Roshan as her terrorist brother and Jaya Bachchan as their mother. The film was produced by Pradeep Guha on a budget of ₹55 million and had a theatrical release worldwide on 8 September 2000.

Jodhaa Akbar

Jodhaa Akbar

Jodhaa Akbar is a 2008 Indian Hindi-language epic historical romantic drama film directed by Ashutosh Gowariker. It stars Hrithik Roshan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan in the titular roles. Set in the 16th century, the film shows the life and romance between the Muslim Emperor Akbar of Mughal Empire and a Hindu Princess Jodhaa Bai of Amber, who married him on a political marriage. A. R. Rahman composed the musical score which proved to be critically and commercially successful.

Delhi

Delhi

Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders with the state of Uttar Pradesh in the east and with the state of Haryana in the remaining directions. The NCT covers an area of 1,484 square kilometres (573 sq mi). According to the 2011 census, Delhi's city proper population was over 11 million, while the NCT's population was about 16.8 million. Delhi's urban agglomeration, which includes the satellite cities Ghaziabad, Faridabad, Gurgaon and Noida in an area known as the National Capital Region (NCR), has an estimated population of over 28 million, making it the largest metropolitan area in India and the second-largest in the world.

Dubai

Dubai

Dubai is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates. Established in the 18th century as a small fishing village, the city grew rapidly in the early 21st century with a focus on tourism and luxury, having the second most five-star hotels in the world, and the tallest building in the world, the Burj Khalifa, which is 828 metres (2,717 ft) tall.

Kazi Nazrul Islam

Kazi Nazrul Islam

Kazi Nazrul Islam was a Bengali poet, writer, musician, and is the national poet of Bangladesh. Nazrul is regarded as one of the greatest poets in Bengali literature. Popularly known as Nazrul, he produced a large body of poetry, music, messages, novels, stories, etc. with themes that included equality, justice, anti-imperialism, humanity, rebellion against oppression and religious devotion. Nazrul's activism for political and social justice as well as writing a poem titled as "Bidrohī", meaning "the rebel" in Bengali, earned him the title of "Bidrohī Kôbi". His compositions form the avant-garde music genre of Nazrul Gīti.

Junoon (band)

Junoon (band)

Junoon is a Pakistani sufi rock band from Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan, and Tappan, New York, formed in 1990. The band is directed by founder, lead guitarist and songwriter, Salman Ahmad, who was soon joined by keyboardist Nusrat Hussain, bass guitarist Brian O’Connell and vocalist Ali Azmat. Junoon is Pakistan's and one of South Asia's most successful bands. Since their inception, the group has released a total of nineteen albums: seven studio albums; one soundtrack; two live albums; four video albums; and five compilations. They have sold over 30 million records worldwide.

Source: "Sufi music", Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, (2023, March 16th), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sufi_music.

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See also
References
  1. ^ Zeeshan Jawed (4 June 2005). "Soundscape for the soul". The Telegraph. Calcutta. Archived from the original on July 5, 2005. Retrieved 2008-04-23.
  2. ^ Bageshree S. (26 March 2005). "Urban balladeer". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 5 November 2012. Retrieved 2008-04-23.
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