THE MUSIC OF ISLAM
Dome of the Rock (link)
Links
| Arab Popular Music Site | Arabic Modes | Berber Music |
| History of Music in Islam | Jewish and Muslim Musicians of the Mediterranean | Melody and Rhythm in Arab Music |
Music Examples
| Listening (MP3) | Lyrics (Texts) |
| Adhan | Adhan (Call to Prayer) |
| Baqara Surah (Chanting of Koran : Surah 11:1-5) | |
| Dastgah Mahour: Ensemble Music from Iran | |
| Mawal | Mawal |
| The Light of God is the Embodiment of the Prophet | The Light of God is the Embodiment of the Prophet |
| There Was No One, There Will Be No One | There Was No One, There Will Be No One |
| Ya Sin (Quranic chant) |
If one were to speak about
music topics related to Islamic belief and practice , one would first have to
ask two questions.
First, what kind of music does Islam allow ?, and second. "Which area
(geographical) of Islam do you refer?". Historically,
Islam spread westward across parts of Eastern Europe, all of northern Africa,
and into Spain. Islam also moved eastward
from Saudi Arabia into Central and Southeast Asia. As you look at these images
of mosques from around the world, keep
in mind the wonderful diversity at work within Islamic tradition.
Niu Jie Mosque, Beijing, China Mosque at Seville Banda Aceh's Grand Mosque, Indonesia
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Mosques of the World |
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Mosque, Fatehpur Sikri, India Mosque at Cordoba, Spain
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Basic Tenets of Islam As a religion, Islam
embraces the individual artistic and cultural practices of many nations,
blending local and regional indigenous traditions with central features of
Islamic belief and musical performance practice. All Muslims,
regardless of where they live, believe and practice the Five Pillars
of Islam, and it is these five duties that every Muslim is obliged to
perform.
"I
witness that there is no god but Allah, and that Muhammad is the prophet of
Allah" According
to tradition, Muslims speak or chant this phrase when they wake up in the
morning, and just before they go to sleep at night. Salat:
A prayer ritual (spoken and/or chanted) performed 5 times a day by all
Muslims over the age of 10. Salat is very different from praying on the
inspiration of the moment. A precise ritual is followed at 5 separate times
of day which are set aside for devotion: Between first light and
sunrise After the sun has passed the middle of the sky. Between
mid-afternoon and sunset. Between sunset and the last light of the day
between darkness and dawn While an individual can pray on their own,
Muslims prefer to perform Salat with others, as this demonstrates the unity
of all Muslims. Having specific times each day to be close to Allah helps
Muslims remain aware of the importance of their faith, and the role it plays
in every part of life. Mecca and the Ka'aba
Images of the Ka'aba and The Holy Mosque of The Prophet, Al-Madinah (Medina) |
| The
Ambiguous Role of Music in Islam
In the Islamic Middle East, music and musicians have always been regarded somewhat paradoxically. This paradox arises from the discrepancy between theory - the unfavorable attitude of Islam toward music-and practice-the existence of music as an almost indispensable part of Islamic social life. Likewise, it is nearly impossible to understand Islam without understanding "Islamic law". Islam is not just a religion, it is a way of life. Islamic law, the Shari-at, specifies not only religious duties regarding worship and ritual, it also establishes some political and legal rules which regulate the lives of Muslims in all aspects. Thus, in theory, the State is the political expression of the religion of Islam. In practice, however, there has never been a permanent fusion of political power and sacred law. Through this distance, Islamic law gained stability and strength. To understand the role of music in Islam, one must come to an understanding of the role of music in the life of believers. (It is important to note that Muslims use music for entertainment at informal, but private gatherings in the home. ) Sama Sama means both "hearing music" and "the music that is heard",, a process and an object or thing by itself. The term 'Sama' (within Islam) also deals with the admissibility of music from a legal, theological and mystical point of view, and is, therefore, concerned with sacred and religious music. Sufi Muslims interpret the term 'Sama' somewhat differently than orthodox Muslims. To the Sufi, Sama means "free or soundless" and is , therefore, linked with music. To the Sufi, the divine emanates from everything, is in everything, and conveyed by everything. Those who attain this degree speak to God even when they converse with other humans: they listen to God because He is active in everything they hear. "Spiritual audition" consists of hearing with a spiritual ear how all things sing the Glory of God, seize and enjoy the significance of this cosmic song. This kind of "sama' helps one to contemplate the universe as if it were an open book. This natural 'Sama' concerns that which is actually practiced by the mystics. Nevertheless, 'Sama' implies that there are two types of listeners: Those who listen with the soul (hearing actual sounds as "natural audition") Those who listen with the mind, hearing the glory of God in everything ('divine audition") Since music cannot act according to it's own fundamentals, the Quran is the ultimate source for guidance. Nevertheless, the Qu'ran does not support/or refute the legitimacy of music in Islamic practice. When music is considered a spell inspired by the Devil, it calls into question the basic concept of a transcendental divinity with absolute rule over the world and the deeds of man. Acting as a irresistible force, music an be identified with magical powers that oppose religious elements which presumably have an independent capacity to guide man's destiny. These arguments would imply a rejection of all music. In fact, the total prohibition involves only art music, which displays man's vanity and primarily furthers interests in mundane, worldly concerns. Muslims, like Christians and Jews, consider themselves people of the Book. While Christian belief stresses the importance of the Bible, Jews acknowledge the importance of the Torah, and Muslims, the Qu'ran. Islam, the religion of all practicing Muslims, is a religion based on the ontology of the divine Word. The words of Allah (God) are preserved in written form, yet the Word lives as a verbal message from God (Allah) to human beings, emphasizing the importance of aural transmission. The appropriately sounded word (s) is, therefore, central to Islamic ritual observance; hence, an exclusive and exquisite melodic-rhythmic system has been developed to sound the divine Word and articulate its distinct uniqueness, different from any other words or music. This distinct musical form of religious recitation stands in conceptual opposition to all non-religious musical sounds, both vocal, and especially instrumental. In Muslim countries of the Middle East, music is simultaneously feared and loved, it is enjoyed, but also viewed with suspicion. Perhaps the word "ambivalence" best described the attitudes of Muslims to musical practices, and yet, it is this ambivalence which contributes to the very nature and character of music in this region of the world. According to the Shari'a (Islamic Law), there is no real distinction between the sacred and the secular, the spiritual and the material, or the personal and communal. Allah's purpose is all-embracing, and humanity is to take part in the realization of Allah's creative will as his representatives. Thus, the musical practices of Muslims in the Middle East is strictly divided into what is admissible and what is not on moral grounds. Muslims, like Christians, believe in the Devil or Satan. Satan has the power to amuse or entertain people as well as trick humans into doing his biding. Thus, music's ambiguous role in Islam leads to a questioning of the role of music in the life of Muslims. It is not uncommon to hear a devout Muslim say, "Who can know how music pleases people. This is the work of Satan, who is hoodwinking people, because he has always amused them. You should know that the people who respect themselves, the sages, do not concern themselves with those things." For example, some "operatic-like" sacred compositions in the West would be considered unacceptable to orthodox Muslims. The Qu'ran, the holy book of Islam, does not forbid music specifically, although the Qu'ran cautions believers to avoid the kinds of music that lead to frivolous and lewd behavior. Nevertheless, Muslim orthodoxy's rather ambiguous, sometimes hostile, attitude toward music is based on seeing music as a sensuous art form which must be kept under some control, as Muslim women have been historically. . Likewise, Muslim orthodoxy looks upon the highly sensuous styles of the Whirling Dervishes and Sufi Muslim musical traditions as
Whirling Dervishes
objectionable. In one sense, music is far from the center of Islam, yet music is an avid pastime of Muslim and non-Muslim believers in the Middle East. Although the recitation of the Qur'an must be clearly separated from any connotation with secular singing, Qur'anic recitation is based on maqam scale patterns which are the foundation of secular music in the region. Professional reciters receive their religious and musical training in Qur'an schools. Reciting the Qur'an in public calls for mastery of technique, a good voice and artistic integrity in the service of the holy text which must not be obscured by subjective individualized expression. |
The Status of Music in the Islamic World (Middle East)
Classification (Hierarchy) of Musical/Non-musical Genres
To understand the role of
music within Islamic cultures, one must first begin to understand the
similarities and differences
between "musical" and quasi-musical" categories (shown below).
| non-musiqi | Qur'anic chant (Qira'ah) | legitimate |
| (not music) | Call to Prayer (Adhan) | |
| Pilgrimmage chants (Tahlii) | ||
| Eulogy chants (Madih, Na't, Tahmid) | ||
| Chanted poetry with noble themes (Shur) | ||
| music | Family and celebration music (weddings, lullabies) | legitimate |
| Work/Occupational songs | ||
| Military band music Tabl Khanah) | ||
| music | Vocal/instrumental improvisation (Taqasim, Awaz) | legitimacy in question |
| Serious metered song (Tasnif, Dawr, Batayhh) | ||
| Music of non-Islamic origin | ||
| music | Sensuous Music | illegitimate |
Traditional Egyptian Music Ensemble
| Madih
- Hymns of Praise of the Prophet
The first Madih, a musico-poetic genre, was composed by the first Scribe of Mohammad, Hassan Ibn Thabir. Much later, a Sufi poet named al-Busiri wrote a long poem (182 verses) praising the clothing of the Prophet Mohammad. This poem became the model for all subsequent Madihs to the present day. This performance involves a solo singer, male chorus, and drum accompaniment. The Madih calls for an improvised (based on maqam melodic practice) musical dialogue between the soloist and chorus. |
| Sufi
Music ands Ritual in Turkey Sufism is the mystical branch of Islam, and as such, is somewhat suspect in the eyes of many Muslims. Nevertheless, music is vitally important to Sufi belief and practice, as you will soon see. It is difficult to appreciate and understand Sufism fully without an informed exposure to the expressive cultural forms that help define and enhance it. It is this dimension of Islamic mysticism that transports the seeker on the path of spiritual attainment into higher states of consciousness that promise spiritual intoxication (wajd) and a unique and intimate union, even annihilation (fanâ'), in the supreme being. This emotional expression of faith is intensified and externalized in elaborate forms of meditation and esoteric techniques that are part of ritual ceremonies. Through ritual, many Sufi orders and Sufi-related sects throughout the world of Islam have been able to articulate doctrines and beliefs through artistic traditions such as sung poetry, instrumental music and dance-like movements (samâ' or spiritual concerts) and have utilized meditation patterns that combine corporeal techniques and controlled breathing (dhikr; Turkish, zikr) to induce or conduct trance and ecstatic states. In Turkey, the Sunni brotherhoods (tarikat) such as the Halveti (Khalwatiyya), Rifai (Rifâ'iyya) and Kadiri (Qâdiriyya) engage in the collective musical dhikr that was the principal Ottoman dervish ceremony. In the true spirit of dhikr (recollection of God), divine names and expression of tawhîd (Turkish, tevhid) (oneness of God with all existence) are repeated to rhythmic patterns often including rhythmic breathing, body postures with a variety of motions and hymns (ilâhî), songs of mystical love (gazel) and mersiye (sung poems commemorating the martyrdom of the imam Husayn at Karbala'). This form of worship meditation in line or circular formation is incomplete without recitation of passages from the Koran. Segments of the Kadiri dhikr ritual were recorded in two Istanbul dervish lodges (1980 and 1988) by Kudsi Erguner, a Paris-based musician and Sufi, and issued on CD by the Geneva Ethnographic Museums's Archives of Popular Music. The ceremony begins with litanies (awrâd) that include verses from the Koran and praises to the Prophet Muhammad. This is followed by a poem of praise sung by singers called zakir (Arabic, dhakir) supported by rhythmic accompaniment supplied by disciples to the syllables of the profession of the faith (tahlîl formula). After a gazel (ghazal) is sung, the dhikr proper begins (Zikr-i Hay), which is chanted by the dervishes and forms an accompaniment for the zakir, who performs a poem of praise to the Prophet and then two ilahi-s (hymns sung to precomposed melodies that were the principal artistic forms produced by Sunni tarikat-s in Turkey). A taksim (solo instrumental improvisation in free rhythm) concludes the this section. Next follows a mersiye and a gazel, and finally an ilâhî punctuated by repetition of the syllable Hû (Him). The ceremony ends with the first and then the last three sura-s of the Koran. The Whirling Dervishes or Mevlevi order of Dervishes in Turkey incorporate elaborate choreographies (sema) accompanied by sung poetry from the Mathnawi of the founder of the order, Jalal al-Din Rumi (Mevlana), that is set to compositions in the tradition of Ottoman secular art music (based on the makam/mode system) into their devotional ceremonies. The musicians who performed this music were trained professionals and sometimes composers affiliated with the order who did not seek to enter into a state of trance. Although there are elements of audition (such as that of prayers and invocations), the central core of the ceremony is the âyîn that focuses on the integration of music, poetry and dance and culminates in dhikr triggered by set forms of movement that increase in speed and intensity. The introductory segment of the ritual includes a poem in praise of the prophet known as naat and composed by Itri (1640-1712) that is sung unaccompanied, a taksim generally performed on the important end-blown flute (ney), and a perev (prelude or composed piece for instrumental ensemble in fixed meter that uses a specific melodic mode (makam) and a metric mode (usûl) comprising a “great” cycle of 28 primary beats that are repeated twice. It is at this point that the dervishes walk in procession around the ceremonial space and engage in ritual bowing. The âyîn proper begins with the sema (whirling dance) performed to music (played on classical Turkish instruments and sung by a chamber chorus) in four sections known as (selâm- s). During the third selâm there is an increase in tempo (where a waltz rhythm is used) and a slowing down during the fourth where an air of restraint is once again maintained by the dervishes as they end the dance. The instrumentalists then perform a concluding prelude (son perev) and a concluding composition (yürük semai) followed by an instrumental taksim and recitations from the Koran. Instruments heard in a recent recording of a complete Mevlevi ceremony (âyîn in the makam/mode of Ferahnâk Airan) by the Mevlevi Ensemble of Turkey (1995) are ney (end- blown flute), kanun (trapezoidal, plucked zither), kemençe (bowed, pear-shaped lute held vertically on the knees), tanbur (long-necked, plucked lute with frets), ûd (short-necked, fretless, plucked lute) and kudüm (a pair of small kettledrums). The esoteric ceremonies of the rural and more recently urban-based heterodox Alevis (and related village Bektais and Tahtacis) reveal shamanistic survivals of a Central Asian Turkic past, Shi’i tendencies where the imam ’Ali is almost deified and a filiation with the Bektai order of dervishes. Formerly known as Kizilba, the Alevis were viewed with suspicion and mistrust because of their so-called clandestine activities and inclinations to revolt against the authority of Ottoman Sunni authority. They were stalwart in their support of Shah Ismail of Safavid Persia whose poetry (written under the pen-name Hata’i) they revered in the past and continue to revere today. Alevi religious musical services are referred to collectively as cem or âyîn. Their purpose is not only to focus on spiritual exercises that include elements of zikr (without controlled breathing but with some elements of body posturing) and ritual dance (sema) accompanied by sung mystical poetry in the vernacular and the sacred ritual instrument known as balama or saz (plucked folk lute with frets). They also serve to reinforce social solidarity and correctness of behaviour through inculcating the beliefs and doctrines of the sect and saintly figures as well. Music is performed by individuals recruited from Alevi communities and descended from holy lineages of religious leaders known as dede. These specialists are viewed with respect and known as zâkir, aik, sazende or güvende, depending on regional usage. Many are also known to be poet/minstrels (aik, ozan) who perpetuate the tradition of dervish-lodge (tekke) poets such as the much loved and admired Yunus Emre (13th century), Nesîmî (14th century), Pir Sultan Abdal, Hata'î and Genç Abdal (16th century) and Kul Himmet and Kul Hüseyn (17th century). The poetry was composed in the Turkish vernacular and follows the principles of folk prosody known as hece vezne in which the focus is the number of syllables. The specialized sacred musical repertoire of Alevi musicians includes deyi (songs of mystical love), nefes (hymns concerning the mystical experience), düvaz or düvâzdeh imâm (hymns in honor of the 12 Alid imams), mersiye (laments concerning the martyrdom of the imam Huseyn at Kerbela), miraclama (songs about the ascent of the prophet Muhamad to heaven) and sema (ritual dance that is accompanied by folk lutes and sung poetry). The dances are performed with dignity by couples, and choreographies employ circle and line formations as well as arrangements where couples face one another, thus synchronizing their movements more closely. As the tempo of the music increases, the figures become more complex and intense. There are many regional variants of sema, but the most widespread and important are the Dance of the Forty (Krklar Semah) and the Dance of the Cranes (Turnalar Semah) where the movements of the dance illustrate links to a shamanistic legacy and the transformation of shamans into birds who take flight. The gathering of the forty saints refers to the moment, after the Prophet’s ascension to heaven, when he beheld the manifestation of Divine Reality in Ali. The Alevis believe that this gathering can be viewed as the prototype for their central rite (âyîn-i-cem, görgü cemi), the Rite of Integration. This is a complex ritual occasion in which a variety of tasks are allotted to incumbents bound together by extrafamilial brotherhood (musahiplik) who undertake a dramatization of unity and integration under the direction of the spiritual leader (dede). The dede interacts formally with his 12 assistants and the body of worshippers as he applies Alevi religious idioms that reinforce links to Sunni Islam, the Bektai order of Dervishes and Shii Islam as well. The âyîn-i-cem can be heard on the JVC CD Turkey. An Esoteric Sufi Ceremony. Unfortunately for non-specialists, the notes are very vague and give no indication of location, performers, musical genres or poetic forms. The recording was made in Istanbul in 1993, and the ceremony includes in an order typical of a cem: a deyi that reiterates the line of descent of the sect in a historical framework, two düvaz (one based on the poetry of Hatayi, and the other on the poetry of Kul Himmet), prayer formulas, the illâllâh genre that incorporates the tahlîl formula into the poem to create an atmosphere of zikr while sect members create rhythmic intensity by hitting their knees in time to the music and sway their bodies slightly, the Dance of the Forty (Krklar Semah), the Dance of the Cranes (Turnalar Semah) and prayer formulas. |
