Islamic music
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Islamic music is Muslim religious music, as sung or played in public services or private devotions. The classic heartland of Islam is Arabia and the Middle East, North Africa and Egypt, Iran, Central Asia, India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan. Because Islam is a multicultural religion, the musical expression of its adherents is diverse. The indigenous musical styles of these areas have shaped the devotional music enjoyed by contemporary Muslims:
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[edit] Secular and folk musical styles
[edit] Middle East
The Seljuk Turks, a nomadic tribe that converted to Islam, conquered Anatolia (now Turkey), and held the Caliphate as the Ottoman Empire, also had a strong influence on Islamic music. See:
All these regions were connected by trade long before the Islamic conquests of the 600s and later, and it is likely that musical styles traveled the same routes as trade goods. However, lacking recordings, we can only speculate as to the pre-Islamic music of these areas. Islam must have had a great influence on music, as it united vast areas under the first caliphs, and facilitated trade between distant lands. Certainly the Sufis, brotherhoods of Muslim mystics, spread their music far and wide.
[edit] South Asia
The music of the Muslim populations of South Asia (Afghanistan, Pakistan, India and Bangladesh, with Nepal and Sri Lanka) had merged the Middle Eastern genres along with indigenous classical musical modes, and is generally distinct in style and orchestration, yet due to the strong links encountered between the Middle-East, Central Asia and South Asia, they are closer to Middle-Eastern styles than those of the peripheric outreaches of the Islamic world, which tend to be purely indigenous.
[edit] The Peripheral Islamic world: Sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia/Oceania
Sub-Saharan Africa, the Caucasus, Indonesia, Malaysia, and the southern Philippines also have large Muslim populations, but these areas have incorporated less influences from the heartland than other areas, although in the case of West Africa, a shared trade route between the Berbers and Arabs of North Africa had given a sharing of styles present especially in the Sahelian region, between the Savanna and the Sahara. Of these areas, the music of Mali, the Wolof of Senegal, the Fula, Songhai and Hausa groups had experienced international recognition in the contemporary world.
Many music genres of these areas generally predate the coming of Islam or have very little influence from the Islamic heartland, the exceptions being Taarab music of the Swahili people of East Africa, and the Malay Zapin genres, of which both had taken a lot of influence from the Middle East after Islamization.
See West African music, Gamelan and Kulintang for further information on the separate musical genres, traditions and ensembles predominant among Muslims in these areas.
[edit] Types of Muslim devotional recitation and music
[edit] Nasheed
Some groups of contemporary Muslim musicians perform devotional songs they call nasheed. Most nasheed groups perform using only voice and percussion instruments. This music is considered halal, permissible, by many strict Muslims. Some nasheed groups add other instruments.
[edit] Sufi music
Sufi worship services are often called dhikr or zikr. See that article for further elaboration.
The dhikr of South Asian Muslims is "quietist". The Sufi services best known in the West are the chanting and rhythmic dancing of the whirling dervishes or Mevlevi Sufis of Turkey. Some Mevlevi music can be heard on the Sufi Music CD recommended below.
However, Sufis may also perform devotional songs in public, for the enjoyment and edification of listeners. The mood is religious, but the gathering is not a worship service.
In Turkey, once the seat of the Ottoman Empire and the Caliphate, concerts of sacred song are called "Mehfil-e-Sama' " (or "gathering of Sama'"). Song forms include ilahi and nefe.
Qasidah is a form of poetry. In this form of poetry the praise is presented. Qasidah is four types, 1. Hamd (Hymn) 2. Naat (A poem in praise of Prophet Muhammad 3. Manqabat (A poem in praise of Saints) 4. Madah (A poem in praise of honourables)
In India and Pakistan, these concerts, and the associated style of music, are called qawwali. A traditional qawwali programme would include:
- A hamd -- a song in praise of Allah
- A naat -- a song in praise of the Prophet Muhammad
- Manqabats -- songs in praise of the illustrious teachers of the Sufi brotherhood to which the musicians belong
- Ghazals -- songs of intoxication and yearning, which use the language of romantic love to express the soul's longing for union with the divine.
Shi'a concerts follow the naat with a song in praise of Ali (also manqabat) and a marsiya, a lamentation over the death of much of Ali's family at the Battle of Karbala.
See Poetry in Islam for a discussion of the lyrics.
Qawwali is increasingly popular as a musical genre and performances may attract those who want to hear virtuoso singing rather than contemplate the divine. Some artists may skip the long sequence of praise songs and go straight from the introductory hamd to the popular romantic songs, or even dispense with the devotional content completely. This is cause for much consternation for traditional enthusiasts/devotees of the form. The most well known qawwali singer is Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. The dimension and style of music he brought about no one else is able to produce till this day.
As Sufi music has developed so have the generations. A Pakistani rock band, Junoon, was formed in the 1990s to bring a modern twist to suit the new younger generations. The band was a huge world wide hit that created a lot of popularity for not only Pakistan.
[edit] Music for public religious celebrations
- Mawlid music -- performed for the birthday of Muhammad, in various regional styles.
- Ta'zieh music -- Ta'zieh is a passion play, part musical drama, part religious drama, rarely performed outside Iran. It depicts the martyrdom of Imam Hussein, venerated by Shia Muslims.
- Ashurah music -- performed during the Moharram mourning period, commemorating the deaths of Imam Hussein and his followers.
- Sikiri (from the Arabic word "Dhikr" which means remembrance of God -- performed by the Qadiriyya Sufi orders of waYao or Yao people in East and Southern Africa (Tanzania, Mozambique, Malawi, Zimbabwe, and South Africa).
- Manzuma -- moral songs performed in Ethiopia.
- Madih nabawi -- Arabic hymns praising the prophet Muhammad.
[edit] Modes
[edit] Instruments
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Some Muslims believe that only vocal music is permissible (halal) and that instruments are forbidden (haram). Hence there is a strong tradition of a cappella devotional singing.
Other Muslims will accept drums, but no other instruments.
Yet other Muslims believe that any instrument is lawful as long as it is used for the permissible kinds of music. Hence there is a long tradition of instrumental accompaniment to devotional songs. A wide variety of instruments may be used, depending on local musical traditions.
Traditional:
- Drums (daf, bendir, zarb, rebana, Tombak...)
- gongs
- Stringed instruments
- Wind instruments (ney...)
- Reed instruments (shehnai...)
Recent introductions:
- Harmonium (popular in Pakistan and India)
[edit] Lyrics
When lyrics are not simply repeated and elaborated invocations (Yah Nabi and the like) they are usually poems in forms and meters common in the local literature.[citation needed]
[edit] Permissibility of music
Most Muslim scholars traditionally have held that music is forbidden both by the Qur'an and by the hadith, as well as by tradition and believe that Muhammad stated that musical instruments are sinful when he said: "There will be among my Ummah people who will regard as permissible adultery, silk, alcohol and musical instruments,"[1]; many of the greatest Islamic scholars of the past, including the four imams, agreed upon this.[2]
However, many modern Muslim interpretations allow music and singing under certain conditions, mainly if they do not encourage committing sinful acts.[3] [4][5]
[edit] Contemporary Muslim music
There is a growing number of contemporary Muslim musicians. One of the most notable movements has been in Sufi Rock, Muslim hip hop, Muslim R&B, or Muslim rap.[citation needed]
Some notable Muslim nasheed artists include:
- Aa'shiq al Rasul
- Yusuf Islam (formerly Cat Stevens)
- Dawud Wharnsby Ali
- Shaam
- Zain Bhikha
- Sami Yusuf
Noted Sufi singers:
- Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan (1948 - 1997)
- Abida Parveen
- Sabri Brothers
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Muhammed, as narrated by Sahih al-Bukhari, 5590.
- ^ Ruling on so-called “Islamic” songs with musical instruments. - Islam Question & Answer
- ^ Music and Singing are NOT forbidden in Islam (Submission), The true Islam-music-instruments-midi-audio-video-tapes-TV-radio-television-programs-play-theater-entertainment-cinemas-art-activity-history-books-book-distribution-publisher-musical-agent-ti...
- ^ Is music prohibited in Islam?
- ^ What Does Islam Say on Music? - IslamonLine.net - Ask The Scholar
[edit] External links
[edit] Islamic views on the allowance of musical instruments and singing
- Themodernreligion.com
- Islamonline.net On Hadith
- Understanding-Islam.com
- Islamic Awareness
- Islamonline.net On Choir music
[edit] Islamic views on the prohibition of musical instruments and singing
[edit] Further reading
- Jenkins, Jean and Olsen, Poul Rovsing (1976). Music and Musical Instruments in the World of Islam. World of Islam Festival. ISBN 0-905035-11-9.
- Habib Hassan Touma (1996). The Music of the Arabs, trans. Laurie Schwartz. Portland, Oregon: Amadeus Press. ISBN 0-931340-88-8.
- Shiloah, Amnon (1995). "Music in the World of Islam: A Socio-cultural study." Wayne State University Press. Detroit. ISBN 0-8143-2589-0
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