Inshad sufi

Sufi performance

• Sufi dhikr with inshad. Recorded during the 1932 Arabic music conference by the celebrated Laythi

order (Egyptian), led by Shaykh Basatini. The dhikr consists of chanting the Names of God (here, “Allah”); inshad (singing of religious poetry) is often superimposed, either solo or group. Early recordings such as these are not field recordings, but took place in studio-like conditions, and under limitations of length (due to the length of a phonograph disc).

• Sufi dhikr with inshad. Field recording made in 1998 of a contemporary Egyptian Sufi order, the

Hamidiyya Shadhiliyya. The group chants “Allah” while a soloist and chorus performs inshad. Note how emotional power is generated by inshad, and how it is timed to move with dhikr. The Sufi orders tend not to use instruments.

• Ad‘iyya (prayers of request) following Ramadan tarawih prayers. Performed by Shaykh Muhammad Jabril. During Ramadan

lengthy ad‘iyya are performed at the conclusion of the late-night tarawih prayers. These are particularly important during the last 10 nights, since one of these is the “laylat al-qadr” or “night of power”, during which channels between heaven and earth are open. Shaykh Muhammad Jabril has become the most famous reciter of this type. The style is similar to that of the morning prayer, but with much greater emotional intensity and buildup, partly due to the size of the congregation (exceeding 50,000). This is a recent phenomenon due to the rise of interest in religion, together with technical innovations such as the amplifier, allowing the voice to be projected over an expansive area.

• Orchestral inshad (religious song). Performed by Shaykh Sayyid al-Naqshabandi with chorus and

orchestra. Here is an example of transformation of the older ibtihalat and tawashih traditions. Shaykh Naqshabandi became famous through media appearances. Formerly he performed in the traditional vocal style, which was later augmented with orchestra and fixed arrangements. Note the focus on nay (reed flute), whose sound is a symbol of Islamic mysticism and contemplation, as well as the duff (frame drum), which is specially sanctioned by Prophetic traditions in Islamic music.

• Aghani diniyya (religious songs performed by ordinary singers=mutribin). Performed by ‘Abd al-Halim

Hafez. ‘Abd al-Halim was Egypt’s Elvis, an extremely popular singer of romantic songs; he did not train in the religious tradition and has no status as “shaykh”. However during religious holidays he might sing religious material; this tape is an example. It cannot be considered pure inshad dini, since the context, style, and performer do not certify the performance as a true devotional act. The nay is used to mark the performance as religious, and the mood is subdued, with little meter; but vocal style is similar to ‘Abd al- Halim’s standard popular fare.

• Sufi inshad in the public hadra. Performed by Shaykh Yasin al-Tuhami, from Assiut, in Upper Egypt; live performance

from Mahalla, in the Egyptian Delta. Over the last 20 years Sufi munshidin have started to emerge as major singing stars, recorded on commercial tapes and singing professionally in a wide variety of social settings. The most famous of these is Shaykh Yasin al-Tuhami. He typically performs with a small takht (here including violin, kawala (another reed flute), and percussion), draws heavily on secular music (especially Umm Kulthum) for melodic material, instrumentation, and style, while performing classical Sufi poetry in a Sufi setting. Performance includes development of maqamat, taqasim, vocal improvisation, lawazim (melodic fills), qafla and many other features of the tarab style. As for Shaykh Muhammad Jabril, the advent of the PA system was important to the development of this genre of performance. Melodic material is improvised, but draws on standard phrases. His performances are generally attended by hundreds or even thousands (especially in the larger saint festivals, called mawlids); some listen, while others form lines in order to perform the dhikr while listening to his performance (you can hear the chantin this recording), and generate a powerful ecstatic mood. Here he sings a poem of the great 13th c mystical poet Ibn al-Farid, in his 18th commercial tape, of which there are approximately 30 total, nearly all recorded in the field. Video example