Core ritual sounds: Adhān, Qurʾān, Duʿāʾ

Tuesday (2a)

Due today

Report including the following four works - address each in 1-2 paragraphs, and submit online.

• al-Said, Labib. The Recited Koran, pp. 11-27, 53-76
• Frishkopf, Michael. Mediated Qur'anic Recitation and the Contestation of Islam in Contemporary Egypt , pp. 75-84 top part , and pp. 111 (Conclusions) to 114 (& read more if you’d like). Listen to the audio examples: ex 3.1, Mustafa Ismail - Mujawwad style, ex 3.2, Mustafa Ismail - Murattal style, ex. 3.3, Ahmad al-Ajmi - Saudi style,
• Nelson, Kristina. The Art of Reciting the Qur'an (also online); browse this important book. Read selectively according to your interests, and get a sense of its overall scope and limits. (Note: You do not need to read the whole book! This is an opportunity to practice an important scholarly technique: selective skimming.)
• Koran by Heart, a beautiful documentary about a Qur'an competition. (Kristina Nelson served as consultant on this film.)

Also: memorize Surat Ikhlas (chapter 112 of the Qur'an) -- containing just four short verses -- and try to perform along with the recording, using this website: http://quran.com/112. Note that you can turn transliteration on or off, and listen. The Qur'an contains 114 chapters or suras, arranged roughly from long to short. Surat al-Ikhlas (chapter of Sincerity), also known as Surat al-Tawhid (chapter of Unity) is said to contain the essence of the Qur'an as a whole.

Watch this video from The Guardian, in which a calligrapher speaks and demonstrates his art. Have a look at the calligraphic representation of the Qur'an.

For those who are interested, here are some links on Arabic script and calligraphy.

Class

Socratic dialogue

What is Islam? Music in Islam? Music and Islam?

Review

• Overview of Islam and Music & Islam

Discussions

• Discuss the dual oral-written nature of the Qur'an.
• Discuss film Koran by Heart. What did you learn about Muslim societies through this presentation of Qur'anic recitation and competition? Why is memorization important? What is the role of sound, melody? Aesthetics? Relation of sound to text? Issues: gender roles, Arabic language, ethnicity/culture, nationalism, Islamic fundamentalism, politics (Maldives, Egypt, Tajikistan), secular/religious educations. How do you think memorization differs between those who speak Arabic, and those who don't? (Meaning vs. Sound). What do you think of the idea of competition? How fair was it?
• From this film: What do you learn about Islam through its sonic dimension that you might not learn otherwise?
• What is the value in examining the "sounds of Islam"? "Music of Muslim societies" from an Islamic perspective? Course goals.

Qur'an

• Revelation: 610 - 632 CE. Mecca, Medina. (Hijrah in 622)
• Word of God - essentially oral, then written
• Seven ahruf (letters) - 10 qira'at (readings)
• Recensions: Abu Bakr, Uthman.
• The structure of the Qur'an. The word - written (mushaf), recited (tilawa). 114 Suras (each titled), 6,236 ayas. 30 Juz', 60 hizb, 240 rubʿ.
• Ordering in time (beginning with Surat al-Alaq), vs in text (beginning with al-Fatiha)
• Major themes of the Qur'an: Declarations of monotheism; prophecy and revelation; existence of good and evil - injunction to do good and avoid evil; justice - reward and punishment in the afterlife; regulating the Muslim community - rules for living in society
• Overview of Qur'anic recitation: tilawa (aka tajwid, qiraʾa). Styles: Mujawwad, murattal (see today's assignment). Contexts for recitation.
• Ahkam al-Tajwid - "Rules of the science of recitation". Tajwid: literally "improving", but also recitation. Manuals have long been composed, aiming to assist the reciter in correct recitation, meaning reproducing the way the Prophet Muhammad recited it - and as he heard it revealed. some online. Today there are multimedia online presentations. Tajwid comprises rules guiding: speed; how to start and stop, where pauses are allowed or forbidden; phonetics: pronunciation of letters individually and in combination; lengths of syllables. But paralinguistic aspects of recitation (including use of melody, timbre, improvisation) are omitted.
• Controversy over the "musical" aspect:
  • Modality (i.e. use of maqamat) and melody are not treated in writing but rather in oral teaching, as the "art of recitation". The great reciters often combined this art along with the science of tajwid
  • The great Egyptian reciters took this approach, serving as global models - most notably Mustafa Ismail
  • Some enterprising Muslims have esetablished training in maqamat; one well-known figure online is Idrees Ally
  • Another expert in combining recitation science and art, teaching online
  • a more conservative approach to recitation
• Learning Surat al-Ikhlas for kids, and people of all ages
• Comparing recitations: Surat al-Ikhlas comparisonsteaching Malaysian woman
• Surat Yusuf: multiple versions. How does recitation convey ideology without varying the text? [1]
• Learning Qur'an (kuttab) and its implication for musical training and discovery of talent. Memorization is central. The Hafiz (memorizer) has a special status.
• The recorded Qur'an. What are the implications of recording?
• Women reciters.
• Group recitation of the Qur'an
• Choral arrangements of the Qur'an
• See my article on localization of Qur'anic recitation in Africa and Indonesia
• Calligraphic Qur'an: Surat al-Ikhlas in a circular arrangement;calligraphy as process

Language Performance, including Adhān, Qurʾān, Duʿāʾ

Language Performance (LP) is a general etic term I invented to cover the wide scope of Islamic sounds - nearly all of which center on performed language (not necessarily texts per se), as a neutral(though unfamiliar) concept that can replace words like "song" or "music" for ritual sounds, including not just Qur'anic recitation and adhan, but also the duʿāʾ (supplication), inshād (hymns), even sermons and religious lessons, not to mention a wide range of Sufi devotions. All of these genres adapt through sonic localization.

If you are interested in this topic see my article "Paralinguistic Ramification of Language Performance in Islamic Ritual"; the article includes links to online examples.

Thursday (2b)

Due today

Report including the following works - address each in 1-2 paragraphs, and submit for 2b.

• Shiloah, Music in the World of Islam, pp. 1-26 (skim for gist - music follows trajectories of empire)
• Schimmel,Islam, pp. 29-50
• Watch selectively (or at high speed), for more background on Islam generally: Empire of Faith part 2
• Optionally, also watch The Message, a feature film about the coming of Islam, directed by Syrian-American Moustapha Akkad, the original producer of the Halloween films. Note how the Prophet is portrayed. The film (produced in an English and Arabic version with completely different casts) was banned in several Muslim countries for depicting the Prophet's companions.
• Become familiar with the text of the adhān and listen to some recitations; we will try reciting together.

Also: please click on the links in the "Qur'an" section above, first to review the material. Then, compare a couple of reciters - either reciting Surat al-Ikhlas (chapter 112) or any other short sura (chapter) or single aya (verse). You can find many sites allowing you to listen and compare reciters here. Bring your selections to class and be prepared to discuss the differences.

Class

Qur'an, concluded

(see assignments above)

Adhan

The call to prayer (adhān) performed by the muʾadhdhin (muezzin) {from the Arabic root ʾ-dh-n, relating to the ear and hearing, as well as permission), originally calling from the maʾdhana or manāra (lighthouse, minaret), with a subsequent shorter call (iqāma) performed from within the interior of the mosque. The adhān is closely connected to the structure of the mosque. Here are some images.

• The adhan centers on Islam's first rukn (pillar), the shahāda or Islamic Creed الشهادة  (kalimatu l'tawhid or kalimatayn), in two parts:

1. laa ilaaha illaallah لا اله الا الله
2. muhammadun rasulullah  محمد رسول الله

• The Shahada and its Aesthetic Expression
• Adhan as Shahada and Call combined
• Introduction to the Adhan
• Adhan soundscape in Egypt (fajr prayer, Aug 2, 2015)
• Map of adhans around the world. Note variation in performance style; consistency in text (mostly). Where does the text differ and why? How does Adhan convey ideology?
• Adhan and Maqamat (Idrees Ally)
• Shaykh Mohamed el-Helbawy's teaching
• Try performing by imitating the 2005 Helbawy recording, following the text here.
• Female muezzina, Summer Yahia.[2]. Veiling: The female voice and concept of "awrah".
• adhan and political controversy:
  • Facebook adhan: controversy from within. (ditto for the “salawat”)
  • Hamtranck and Switzerland (and video) - bans
  • Switzerland controversy. debate. Swiss artist Johanes Gees project creates installation for reflection - with Azan from Church tower
  • Creative work with Adhan (Harvard ppt)