Qawwali, a Classical Music Genre Of Subcontinent

Qawwali is at its core a celebration of love. The word "Qawwali" originated from the Arabic word "Qaul" which means "to speak" or "to narrate". What’s special about Qawwali is its linguistic mix of songs across Urdu, Punjabi, Persian, Saraiki, and other languages, encompassing poetry and verses that originate from various cultures, all coalescing under the banner of Sufi tradition. It is at its core, a blend of Indo-Pakistani Sufism with the early Sufism of the Middle East and Persia. Qawwali has historically played a big role in the spread of Islam in the Indian subcontinent, as the experience of Qawwali helps both the performer and the listener to come close to experiencing the ultimate union with the tawheed (divine) through the awareness and belief in the oneness of God.

According to ancient traditions, Sufis’ chronicles and historical books, Qawwali has been practiced in Sufi shrines in the region since ancient times. Although it is believed to have originated from Hazrat Amir Khosrow, a revered disciple of Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya, who was a well-known Sufi and poet of his time as well as an expert in the art of music, Samaa ceremonies were common even before that and it was customary for a section of religious scholars to consider music un-Islamic and oppose it. Mehfil e Sama is specially mentioned in the memoirs of the Chishti Mashaikhs of the subcontinent.

Bhattacharjee in his article “The Origin and Journey of Qawwali: From Sacred Ritual to Entertainment” wrote that Hazrat Khawaja Moinuddin Chishti himself was a good poet and Samaa was held in his monastery. His disciple and caliph Hazrat Qutbuddin Bakhtiar Kaki's monastery was in Delhi and he was so fond of Samaa which always put him in an intuitive state “Haal” and once he was in a state of “Haal” for many days and died in this state. Despite the objections by some religious scholars, the Chishti Mashaikhs persisted, and fortunately, they used it strategically in the propagation of Islam because the people here loved music and had lived here harmoniously for thousands of years.

The ancient religious scriptures also have music in the region. Music was used in “Bhajan” here. Tan Sen, one of Akbar's ratan with an astonishing reputation for music in Indian history, was brought up in the monastery of the famous Sufi Hazrat Muhammad Ghaus Gwalior  and was taught music by him. Tan Sen's tomb is still by his side today. Such events are enough to prove that the Sufis here had a special fondness for music and they have given a lot to the music of this country, one of which is Qawwali. Its invention and popularity are due to Sufis. Sufis from Central Asia are also particularly interested in music and even before their arrival in India, they had a passion for music. The practice of singing by playing the Daf was common in the time of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), as mentioned by the hadiths.

Qawwali is a devotional music which is meant to convey a strong message usually conveying a religious meaning through music and song based on Sufi masters' mystic poetry. The texts usually deal with  ishq (divine love), firaq (separation sorrow), and visal (union), with the music symbolically reinforcing and illustrating these concepts. Qawwali incorporates Iranian and Central Asian poetic, philosophical, and musical elements into a North Indian foundation, blending popular music with classical traditions. The texts cover Arabic and Persian in the same way, but the main text body is usually in a simple idiom form of an Indian language: Urdu, Hindi, Purbi, Panjabi and so on.

Though the roots of Qawwali got their place in the sub-continent, yet it has penetrated in other cultures of the West. The art of Qawwali is gaining popularity in India and Pakistan and many Qawwalis have become popular here. Attributed to Hazrat Amir Khosrow from "Chaap Tilak Sab Chhini Re" to "Aey Ri Sikhi Ri More Khawaja Ghar Aaye" and from it to "Bhardo Jholi Meri Ya Muhammad". . There are a large number of such Qawwalis whose popularity is beyond the confines of time and space. With the passage of time, Qawwali became so popular that it spread from shrines to the people and was sung in public gatherings. It was no longer restricted to festivals or melas and shrines, but had become popular among the general public gatherings.