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Qawwali Qawwali is the traditional form of Islamic song found in India and Pakistan the word qawwali is derived from the Arabic word Qaol which means “axiom” or “dictum”. A qawwal is one who sings qawwali, or the dictums of the prophets and praises of God. The qawwali is closely linked to the spiritual and artistic life of northern India and Pakistan.
Spiritual aspect of qawwali
The qawwali is inextricably linked to the sufi tradition; Sufism is a
mystical school of Islamic thought which strives to attain truth and
divine love by direct personal experience. In Arabic, this
mysticism is known as tasawwuf. The difference between Sufism and
mainstream islam is simple. All Muslims believe that man is on a path
to God (tariqah). However where the mainstream Muslim believes that it
is only possible to reach God during ones life. To this end there are a
number of different techniques and methods.
The Koran instructs man to remember God. This remembrance, known as dhikr, may be either silent of vocal. The qawwaliu may be viewed as an extension of the vocal form of this remembrance. The use of music as a spiritual force was discussed in great length by al-Gazali(1085-1111). By the end of the 11th century there arose the tradition of the sama. The sama was often a spiritual concert, wich included a vocalist, and instrumentalists. These samas took place under the direction a spiritually respected man (sheikh).
There is a very specific psychological process which a qawwali follows. One starts with the singing of the song. In this psychological state the song is received in a manner that is not unlike standard forms of musical expression. The words are sung, quite tepeatedly with variations intended to bring out deeper means of the lyrics. After awhile there is a repetition to the extent that the words cease to have a meaning; it is the ideal situation the participant is moved to a state of spiritual enlightenment (fana)
History of the qawwali
The origins of qawwali probably predate the birth of Muhammad. The
earliest Islamic scholars discussed the spiritual effects of music, but
it was only in the time of al-Gazali(1085-1111) that these principles
were refined and codified. These principles were then expanded by the
chisti school of Sufism. It is this order that has been responsible for
the propagation of the qawwali in India and Pakistan for then last few
centuries. The chisti school was established by khwaj moinuddin hasan
chisti (1143-1234). It is said that he was born in sijistan. At a young
age he was influenced by several saintly men, including ibrahim
qahandazi, and sheikh abdul qadir jilli. He immigrated to delhi and
became a very respected saint. He later grew tired of the life in delhi
and withdrew to the peace and quite of ajmer (rajasthan) where he lived
the remainder of his days.
One of the followers of the chisti school was a man by the name of sheikh nizanuddin auliya (1236-1325). He was born in budaun, but at the age of 20 he moved to ajodhan and became a disciple of fariduddin ganj-i-shakkar. It is said that it was here that he received the key to inner illumination. He was then sent to delhi to instruct the populous. Here he acquired a reputation for using music in his orthodox Islamic elements in delhi.
Nizamuddin auliya was, and still is, a source of inspiration for countless people. Even today there is an annual gathering at his tomb.One man who was inspired by the hazrat nizamuddin was amir khusru (1254-1324). He was born in mominpur (patiala). His father was originally from turkey, this gave the young boy a broader exposure to the rest of the Islamic world. His father died when he was eight years old, whereupon the job of raising him fell to his maternal grandfather. Amir khusru was the advisor to 11th rulers of delhi, particularly the rulers of the khilji dynasty (deva 1973:76). Amir khusru is so important to the development of qawwali that he is often (erroneously) said to be the inventor of it. It is said that he mixed the various musical elements from turkey, greater Persia and India together. Even today, we find te curious mixture of Persian moqquams with Indian rags.
The development of the qawwali up to the latter part of the mogul empire closely parallels the development of the hindu religious song known as bhajan. We find parallels in musician form and social settings. The degree of cross influence is so great that some musician / saints such as kabir (circa 1440-1518) are to this day revered by hindus and muslims alike. The tradition of qawwali has had numerous ups and downs. One particularly hard time was during the reign of aurangzeb. Aurangzeb is known for his Islamic fundamentalism. The liberal traditions of the Sufis were not well received by this emperor. He took the fundamentalist injunction against music very seriously.
Aurangzeb’s dislike of music is well illustrated in a common story. It appears that during his administration a group of musicians. Disheartened with their lack of patronage, took some musical instruments and wrapped them in the manner of a corpse and held a funeral procession in protest. Aurangzeb enquires about the procession and is told it is a burial to signify the death of music. Whereupon it is said that the emperor declares, “Good! Bury it so deep that never a sound should be heard again.” The collapse of the mogul empire and political fragmentation under the british was both good and bad for the qawwals. On one hand the political disarray meant.
Bigraphic data of Raziuddin, Farid Ayaz, qawwal al-Hussaini
Ghulam fariduddin ayaz al-hussaini belongs to the best known gharana of
qawwali, namely; “ qawwal bachon ka gharana “ of delhi. This gharana,
approzimately 705 years old, was stafted by saamat bin lbrahim, the
principal student of hazrat amir khusrau. The eminent Gahanna has
produced famous us tads like the late us tad tarns khan, court musician
and tutor in classical music it abrader shah afar the last mogul
emperor. In the present generation of this Gahanna are farad ayes
al-Hussein and party, nationally and internationally acclaimed as one
of the best gadwalls of the sub-continent.
Farad ayes started his training in classical music and await at a tender age under the rigorous and critical tutelage of his late father us tad raiding khan, who himself was an outstanding classical musician and away and a recipient of the president’s pride of performance medal and was bestowed by many other honors by the government of Pakistan. Farad ayes are an accomplished musician in the genre of classical music and wait in the traditional classical nag. He has been performing professionally for the last 30 years, and not only has performed extensively at the national and international level but has neon a cultural representative for Pakistan at numerous Pakistani missions abroad. Farid ayaz and party have performed in the united kingdom, USA, france, Germany, ITALY, Holland, Portugal, Austria, India, Kenya, Nepal, Zimbabwe, bangle desh, croatia, tukey morocco Greece, Egypt, Bulgaria, Tunisia, Belgium iran UAE Saudi Arabia Jordan and many others.
Farid ayaz has total mastery over various genres of classical music, such as, dhrupad, khayal, tarana, thumria and dadra which he blinds beautifully during his performances of qawwali. His mastery over classical music was acclaimed at the all Pakistan music conference annual festival (feb 2005 ), where he was invited to perform as a classical singer and not a qawwal.
Farid ayaz is well versed in
several languages and can ably perform in urdu, sindhi, Punjabi pushto,
hindi, poorbi, bangle marathi, Persian Arabic and Turkish, in addition
to Japanese. He and his party have performed in the presence of many
luminaries including the president of Pakistan and prince hasan bin
talal of Jordan.
Farid ayaz and party have performed at various national and international festivals:
Inauguration of expo 2005. Patiala music festival February 2005.
Zagreb music festival 2005. Bhagmi otsu festival, India, 2005.
Pak-arab emirates music festival, 2004. Morocco music festival, 2004.
Olympic festival Greece 2003. Kartau festival, 2002.
South asia music festival, iran, 2001. Unesco music festival, france, 2001.
This group is constantly working hard to promote the art of qawali and traditional Sufi music.
Related Links
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2768328468695678139&q=qawwali
http://www.iskon.hr/glazba/page/2005/04/26/0269006.html
http://www.monilazariston.gr/active~mode~en{929e54cf-d10f-4aa2-af02-9eeea6584c83}Print.html
http://www.terapija.net/najawa.asp?ID=998
http://www.raveindia.com/html/2006_05_the_grid_in_classical.htm
http://www.rfh.org.uk/main/events/134667.html