Hughes's News: Sufi Music November 2010

Sufism - Islamic mysticism

Classical Sufi scholars have defined Sufism as a science that aims to focus the heart solely on God, to purify and beautify one’s inner self and to travel into the presence of God.

Some Muslims consider Sufism outside of Islam, but mainstream scholars of Islam argue that Sufism is Islamic Mysticism, in which Muslims seek direct personal experience of God (c.f. Christian Gnostics).

The esoteric teachings of Sufism have been passed on from teacher to student through the centuries - some summarized in texts, but most not. A Sufi Master diagnoses what is preventing a particular seeker from knowing and serving God, and prescribes an appropriate course of treatment. The seeker cannot diagnose themselves. A Sufi (or Dervish) is simply someone who practices this tradition¹.

Some shared foundations

The diverse approaches of Sufi masters, combined with the diverse characters of Sufi seekers have created a wide diversity of Sufi devotional practices.

However, they share some foundations. The Qur'an commands all Muslims to remember God through a specific devotional act ('dhikr' [pr. 'zikr']), such as repeating the names of god and excerpts from religious literature.

Love - not fear - of god is at the heart of Sufism and music and poetry are ways to achieve ecstasy by drawing closer to god.

Contemporary Sufi dhikr ceremonies include recitation, meditation & instrumental music; as well as trance-inducing singing

(e.g. the Qawwali music of the Indian sub-continent) and trance-inducing dance (e.g. the whirling of the Mevlevi Sufi order).

Sufism and geopolitics

Over a millennium, Sufism contributed to the spread of Islam across several continents and cultures - especially in Africa and Asia. At first its teachings were solely in Arabic, but then they were translated into more than a dozen other languages, including Persian and Turkish.

Between the 13th and 16th centuries, Sufism was a major influence on the Ottoman² world and was part of a 'Golden Age' of Islam - a flourishing intellectual culture. More recently, Sufism was part of the resistance to European imperialism in North Africa and South Asia.

¹ The word Sufi is said to derive from 'suf' ('wool'), referring either to the simple cloaks of the early Muslim ascetics; or possibly to 'purity'.

2 The Ottoman empire (1300 to 1922) was at its height in the 16th and 17th centuries. Its capital was Constantinople (modern Istanbul).

SUFI MUSIC playlist

'TRADITIONAL' SUFI MUSIC

1. (Pakistan) Sain Zahoor (No title) From Sufi Soul: The Mystic Music of Islam DVD (World Music Network 2008) (6.19)

Sain Zahoor is a Sufi minstrel who sings in praise of god at Sufi shrines in Pakistan.

2. (Turkey) Mevlana Kultur Ve Sanat Vakfy Sanatcy Lary (2000) "Ferahfeza Peprev" from Gel/Come (CD). On The Rough Guide to Sufi Music CD (WMN 2001) (3.14)

A Takht Sharqi (traditional oriental ensemble) consists of a qânun (zither), an Ud (oriental lute), a Nay (reed flute) and a riqq (small tambourine with little cymbals).

3. (Pakistan) Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan (1990) "Mustt Mustt" from Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan CD (Real World Records)

A leading exponent of qawwali - a style of singing and a type of Sufi devotional song. "Mustt Mustt' is about a 13^th century Sufi 'saint' - Lal Shahbaaz Qalandar.¹

4. (Pakistan) Abida Paveen (n.d.) "Tere Ishq Nachaaya" from Songs of the Mystics CD. On The Rough Guide to Sufi Music CD (World Music Network 2001) (5.21)

Abida Paveen sings ghazals (Urdu love songs) and kafis (songs by Sufi poets).

5. (Senegal) Boubacar Diagne (n.d.) "Dembe" from Tabla Wolof: Sufi Drumming of Senegal CD. On The Rough Guide to Sufi Music CD (WMN 2001) (3.41)

The qadiriyyah tabla is a Sufi ceremonial drum played by the Wolof people of West Africa; and Dembe is Hausa ceremonial boxing accompanied by drumming.

6. (Syria) The Al Kindi Ensemble (n.d.) Untitled. Uploaded 2007. (3.15)

www.youtube.com/watch?v=YSrdFo-vNDY

7. (India) OSHO International Foundation. (Pune) (n.d.) "Sufi Whirling". Uploaded 2007 (2.35) www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jeca3isOoW4&feature=related

The 'multiversity' is the former ashram of Osho Rajneesh (aka Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh), an influence on the 'New Age'.

8. (Syria) Sheikh Hamza Shakkûr and the Al Kindi Ensemble. The Whirling Dervishes of Damascus. Performance in Amsterdam in 1999. Uploaded 2007 (5.12)

www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFIQMM8bZQk&feature=related

CONTEMPORARY SUFI MUSIC

9. (Pakistan) Junoon (1997) "Sayoni" from Azadi CD. Uploaded 2007 (4.59)

www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQQLeB7efog

Junoon are leading exponents of 'Sufi Rock' (see also the Mekaal Hasan Band and Laal) and critics of traditional Pakistani society. www.junoon.com/

10. (Pakistan) Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan (1990) "Mustt Mustt (Massive Attack remix)" from Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan CD (Real World Records)

A club hit in the UK and the first song in Urdu to reach the British charts. Later, Coca Cola used it in an advert in India.

SUFI INFLUENCES IN WESTERN POP

11. Madonna (1994) "Bedtime Story" From Bedtime Stories (CD) (4.52)

The topic is achieving unconsciousness; the video features Arabic calligraphy and whirling dervishes.

(Loreena McKennitt [1994] "The Mystic's Dream" from The Mask and Mirror CD was influenced by Sufi music and poetry. Peter Gabriel and Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan are on the soundtrack of Natural Born Killers [dir. Oliver Stone].)

¹ See live performances at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bjROlQF-wpc (2.05)

www.youtube.com/watch?v=QLW1U0HGp7E&feature=related (7.51)