Hear the driving rhythms and vocal gymnastics of qawwali, Sufi music from South Asia, performed by an ensemble based in Ajmer Sharif, one of India’s most sacred Sufi shrines. Present throughout much of the Islamic world, Sufis seek to personally experience the divine through music, poetry, self-discipline, and contemplation. The Chishty order of Sufis was founded in India in the thirteenth century.
This recording was made live in concert at the Meyer Auditorium on April 30, 2011.
Amjad Hussain: solo vocals (tracks 1ā3)
Dhruv Bilal Sangari Chishty: lead vocals, harmonium (tracks 4ā6)
Aslam Hussain: main vocals, harmonium
Akhtar Hussain: chorus, clapping
Ashraf Hussain: dholak (percussion)
Sabir: tabla (percussion)
with selected lyrics and translations
1. Allahu (God Is)
Solo vocalist: Amjad Hussain (8:20)
Allahu is one of the most popular songs in the South Asian Sufi repertoire, performed and recorded in a variety of versions by qawwali ensembles throughout the region.
2. Na't
Solo vocalist: Amjad Hussain (11:16)
Na't is a form of poetry in praise of the Prophet Muhammad. The lyrics to this na't are in Persian.
3. Qaul: Man Kunto Maula
Solo vocalist: Amjad Hussain (5:00)
Refrain
At some Sufi shrines, all qawwali events begin with this famous composition; at others it serves as the finale. The lyrics express a basic Sufi tenet: that the Prophet himself instituted the spiritual succession in Sufism. According to Indian Sufis, it was first set to music by the thirteenth-century poet and musician Amir Khusraw Dihlavi (see also track 6), who elaborated upon the two lines with phrases in Persian, which today are only partly intelligible. He is also credited with creating the entire genre of qawwali that is a hallmark of South Asian Sufi ritual.
The music for this lyric, according to modern qawwali singers, is based on an archaic version of a north Indian classical music raga, Shudh-kalyan. Sufi tradition says that the raga has since evolved in the classical tradition while remaining preserved in its original form in qawwali.
The full song consists of six lines of text, but since the entire meaning is contained in the first two lines, the others are usually repeated only cursorily. The core opening statement is elaborated upon through a virtuosic range of musical variation, some of it original and some drawn from an established body of alternative tunes for the text. Some singers specialize in rhythmic variety, others in melodic improvisation.
Qawwali singers further expand on this text by inserting additional short lyrics, often many of them, given the deep significance this particular song has for Sufis.
4. Qaul: Haq Ali Maula
Solo vocalist: Dhruv Bilal Sangari Chishty (20:24)
Like track 3, this song is a qaul, a genre of song lyric devoted to sayings, especially those of the Prophet Muhammad. The lyrics are devoted to Imam Ali (Ali ibn Abi Talib, ca. 600ā61 CE), the cousin and son-in-law of the Prophet Muhammad and the fourth Caliph. Most Sufi orders trace their lineage to Muhammad through Ali, whom they believe inherited from Muhammad the saintly power for one's spiritual journey to God. Ali's many appellations include "Lion of God" for his religious devotion and success on the battlefield. The third and fourth verses refer to the battle of Khaybar, where Ali is reputed to have removed the fort's heavy door and used it as his shield in his defeat of Marhab.
The transliterated text on the left allows the listener to follow the singer's melodic elaborations on particular words and phrases.
5. Manqabat: Khwajae Kwajgan
(O Master of Masters)
A manqabat is a song-form devoted to Sufi saints and other great religious personages. This song is in praise of the founder of the Chishty Sufi order, Mu'inuddin Chishty (1141ā1230), popularly known as Gharib Nawaz, "Benefactor of the Poor."
Solo vocalist: Dhruv Bilal Sangari Chishty (16:45)
O Master of Masters
Thou art the honor and pride of the World
Let the softness of thine eyes alight upon me
Thou, Saint of India and disciple of the Prophet
I am a beggar; I beg thee charity
6. Zihale Miskin Makun Tagaful
Persian ghazal by Amir Khusraw Dihlavi
Solo vocalist: Dhruv Bilal Sangari Chishty (9:50)
Amir Khusraw Dihlavi (1254?ā1325?) was a distinguished Indo-Persian poet and musician. He served a series of royal courts, for which he wrote eloquent histories and tributes, but he is best-known today for his poetry and music. A pioneering musician, he moved audiences to ecstasy through his devotional music; he is credited with creating the entire genre of qawwali music heard on this recording. Amir Khusraw is considered a saint by modern Sufis, and his lyrics are often performed at Sufi shrines and festivities, one of which is the anniversary of his death ('urs).
Do not overlook my misery by blandishing your eyes and weaving tales;
My patience has over-brimmed, O sweetheart, why do you not take me to your bosom?
Long like curls in the night of separation, short like life on the day of our union;
My dear, how will I pass the dark dungeon night without your face before [me]?
Suddenly, using a thousand tricks, the enchanting eyes robbed me of my tranquil mind;
Who would care to go and report this matter to my darling?
Tossed and bewildered, like a flickering candle, I roam about in the fire of love;
Sleepless eyes, restless body, neither comes she, nor any message.
In honor of the day I met my beloved who has lured me so long, O Khusrau;
I shall keep my heart suppressed, if ever I get a chance to learn her trick.
Kidwai, S., "Khusraw, Amir," in M. Eliade, ed., The Encyclopedia of Religion, 16 vols. (New York: Macmillan, 1987)
Matringe, Denis, translation of Khwajae Kwajgan (track 5), from Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan: En Concert Ć Paris, 5 vols. (Ocora Radio France, 1989)
Nasr, Seyyed Hossein, "Ali," Britannica Academic Edition (britannica.com), accessed 5-31-11
Qureshi, Regula Burckhardt, Sufi Music of India and Pakistan (University of Chicago Press, 1995)
Schimmel, Annemarie, "Islam in India and Pakistan," Iconography of Religions XXII 9 (Leiden: Brill, 1982)
Schimmel, Annemarie, Mystical Dimensions of Islam (Chapel Hill: University of North Caroline Press, 1975)
Translation and transliteration of Haq Ali Maula (track 4) from underboss.wordpress.com/2008/07/10/haq-ali-ali-ali-maula-ali-ali, accessed 5-31-11
Translation of Amir Khusraw's Zihale Miskin Makun Tagaful (track 6) from humayunn.wordpress.com/2010/08/05/kalam-e-ameer-khusrau-zihale-miskin-makun-taghaful-by-humayun-peerzada, accessed 5-31-11
Podcast, notes, and slideshow coordinated by Michael Wilpers, manager of public programs. Web design by Liz Cheng, audio engineering by Andy Finch, photography by Neil Greentree, curatorial review by Debra Diamond, and editing by Joelle Seligson.
This performance was recorded in concert at the Freer Gallery on April 30, 2011, in conjunction with the conference Piety, Poetry, and Politics: Sufi Muslims in South Asia, presented by the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies, the Library of Congress, and the Freer and Sackler Galleries.
The 2011 visit to the United States by the Chishty Sufi Sama Ensemble was made possible through the assistance of the Embassy of India, Washington, DC; the Indian Council of Cultural Relations; the Chishty Foundation, Ajmer, Rajasthan, India; Kenneth X. Robbins; and Walter Anderson.
