More about Sufi music, and Islam on the Edges: the Caribbean

More on Sufi inshad

I'd like to follow up with more examples of Sufi inshad and madih, both within the tariqa liturgies, and more generally within the broader scope of informal Sufism, the mystical dimension of Islam, often focusing on devotion to the Prophet: madih, naʿt - central themes of inshad and qawwali. Such devotions are particularly intense on Muslim holidays, particularly Mawlid, Ramadan, and Israʾ wa Miʿraj

• Tawashih Diniyya and Ibtihalat: comparison
  • Compare the tawashih style, leader (shaykh, munshid) and responding group (bitāna), featuring Shaykh Taha al-Fashni (1900-1971), the greatest exponent of this style of inshad, as well as of ibtihālāt (a solo version). He was also a great Qur'an reciter (qāriʾ). Note the call/response along with tarab-like responses from listeners, is typical of this style.
  • Shaykh Naqshabandi performing ibtihalat, praising the Prophet, on the occasion of Israʾ wa Miʿraj.
• Mevlevi Ayin and Ottoman art music
• Ghanaian Akwashirawa and traditional drumming music of the Dagomba
• Inshad Sufi of Shaykh Yasin, and Egyptian tarab music
• Qawwali and Hindustani music of South Asia.

Islamic holiday last night/today: The Night Journey and Ascent: Isrāʾ wa Miʿrāj - 27 Rajab, 621

Overview

• Today marks the annual commemoration of Isrāʾ wa Miʿrāj: the Prophet's night journey to Jerusalem and ascension to heaven, on 27 Rajab, in 621 (the year before the Hijra)
  • Follows the Prophet's Year of Sorrow, 619 (in that year, both his wife Khadijah and his uncle Abu Talib both passed away), and immediately precedes the migration to Medina
  • This was a difficult period in the Prophet's life.
  • The miraculuous journey, Isrāʾ wa Miʿrāj, alluded to in the Qur'an (17:1) is more fully described in the Hadith, as well as in Sira (Prophet's lifestory, e.g. of Ibn Hisham and others), tafir (Qur'anic interpretation), and in poetry.
    • Sahih Muslim
    • Sahih Bukhari
  • Was it a spiritual journey or a bodily journey? This has been a continual issue for debate among Muslim scholars and even the Prophet's own companions.
  • Regardless, Miʿrāj is the Archetypal mystical journey back to the Source, to God... the journey of "closer than your jugular vein" (Qur'an 50:16), returning to the mystical proximity of the Revelation itself, following periods of meditation in the cave Ghār Hirāʾ on the Mountain of Light (Jabal Nūr) near Mecca, when the Prophet was "two bows' lengths or closer" ([https://quran.com/53/9 Qur'an 53:9) from the angel Gabriel, who delivered the Revelation.
  • This ultimate spiritual immediacy is a paragon for the Sufi spiritual journey, e.g. the ascent through the maqāmāt (spiritual stations)
  • We see similar journeys outlined in all the Sufi orders, as well as in poetic works, e.g. in Attar's Mantiq al-Tayr
  • As always there is a "language performance" component as a means of celebrating, commemorating, and honoring this story about the Prophet
  • As Sufism is typically centered on love and respect for the Prophet and his family, Ahl al-Bayt (especially Ali and the line of Imams in Shia Islam), as well as saints (awliyāʾ), and because the journey is archetypal for Sufis, celebrating this occasion is special for those of Sufi orientation, including the Sufi orders (turuq) in particular, but also "informal Sufism", the more mystical/devotional aspect of Islam generally. Language performance plays a key role throughout, in lessons, sermons, prayers, and inshad.

Examples

• Last night's webinar from "Celebrate Mercy", including lessons from a variety of speakers, as well as salawat and inshad -- all forms of language performance, with a Sufi orientation, expressed as love and praise for the Prophet. Here is an excerpt, starting with salawat from Dr. Shadee Elmasry, followed by inshad (from the previous year) performed by Sidi Mouaz Al Nass
• Chapter 7 of the Qasidat al-Burda, or "Mantle Ode" written in praise of the Prophet by the Egyptian Sufi al-Busiri (1213-1294), a follower of the great Shaykh Abu al-Hasan al-Shadhili. While madīh (praise for the Prophet), is a common genre of Islamic literature around the world, the Burda is the most famous instance. Each of the 10 chapters recounts an aspect of the Prophet's life; the 7th concerns the Isrāʾ wa Miʿrāj. al-Busiri is buried in Alexandria near al-Shadhili's other great disciple, Abu al-Abbas al-Mursi. Sufis often recite Busiri's poem near his shrine (maqām). [Each of the 10 chapters recounts an aspect of the Prophet's life; the 7th concerns the Isrāʾ wa Miʿrāj I visited last summer, took some pictures and made a recording.]) Listen while following along in the text. The recitation style is typical of Sufi poetry, repeating a simple melody for every line, with a different melody used for the refrain (which is not part of the poem).
• The famous Egyptian mubtahil (performer of ibtihalat), munshid and muqri' (Qur'an reciter/teacher), Shaykh Nasr al-Din Tubar (1920-1986). Note the tarab-like responses, similar to those of Qur'anic recitation.
• Traditional style of inshad, probably from a Sufi order (tariqa), from a mosque in Hamah, Syria
• The nightly journey, sung by children in Zanzibar, Tanzania, in a more traditional choral arrangement
• Isra wal Mi'raj Nasheed. Story., contemporary Arabic nasheed style, similar to popular music but a religious texts, performed a cappella
• The Seerah Song: The Story of Al-Isra and Mi'raj, in a contemporary English language nasheed style
• When the year of sorrow came to be | English Nasheed on Mi'raj an-Nabi
• Arabic madih produced in North America
• Solo madih