Voices of Islam (198 page)

The advent of Islam did not change the attraction exercised by vocal music, and song and poetry remained respected arts during the lifetime of the Prophet Muhammad as well as after it. It is told, for example, how Muhammad admitted the presence of singers among his wives or how, while traveling, he asked some of his companions to sing the
huda’,
poems that

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punctuated the march of the caravans.
28
When the chronicler Isfahani reports, in the 20 volumes of his
Book of Songs
(
Kitab al-aghani
) composed in the tenth century
CE
, the acts and gestures of the successive generations of musicians up to the Abbassid Caliphate, it is the cultural life of Arabia and the Near East, both before and after Islamization, that he brings before our eyes.

For the philosopher and musicologist Farabi, only the human voice was capable of attaining to perfect music, that is, to that which unites the three virtues of the art of music: the ability to bring pleasure and calm, the ability to provoke certain emotions and sentiments, and the ability to speak to the imagination and inspire ideas. ‘‘Instrumental music sometimes possesses certain of these qualities,’’ concludes Farabi, implying by this statement that instrumental music never possesses them all.
29
He thus expresses a consensus of opinion that has always prevailed in the world of Islam, that what makes the human voice the most appropriate instrument for perfect music is above all its aptitude to convey the Divine Word. When, in a rare exception, an instrument such as the
nay,
the reed flute of the Mevlevi dervishes, also attains to the perfect music, this is because the
nay
is itself a voice, the breath of the human soul that traverses the body, a microcosm purified

by love.

MUSICAL GENRES

In each of the great ethno-linguistic sectors of the Muslim world—the Arab, the Persian, the Turkish, and the South Asian (without mentioning here the Malays and Chinese who, because of their distance, have been less permeated by the classical artistic models of Islam except as it concerns the liturgical arts, the recitation of the Qur’an, and calligraphy)—three musical genres coexist:

1. Liturgical and devotional music:
   In addition to Qur’anic psalmody, whose exceptional importance has already been underlined, Islamic liturgical music includes the call to prayer, songs dedicated to the praise of the Prophet, and those that, among the Shiites, commemorate the martyred Imams, and the multiple forms of the spiritual concert (
   sama‘
   ), with or without dance, practiced by the Sufis.
   

2. Classical music of an intellectual nature:
   This is primarily the music of the cities, of princely courts, and of men of letters and dignitaries. Although this music is intended to give birth to diverse nuances of aesthetic emotion (
   tarab
   ), because it rests on the same technical base as liturgical music, it can show itself capable, if played with the desired intention and in the proper context, of opening the doors of mystical experience to the listeners.
   

3. Popular music:
   If in general this music only aims at marking the seasonal rhythms and at celebrating occasions for rejoicing or mourning, it nonetheless
   

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Voices of Art, Beauty, and Science

allows itself in many instances to be penetrated by Islam and thus opens to the common person exceptional possibilities for going beyond oneself.

Strictly speaking, only the first of these categories, liturgical music, relates directly to the sacred domain; thus, it is this music in particular that will be discussed in the following sections. Among the classical and popular musical styles of the Islamic world, only those that, adopted by the mystics, found their way into the
zawiyas, tekkes,
and
sama‘-khanehs
will be examined. By so doing, we will perhaps succeed in evoking the immense richness of the sonorous heritage of Islam and inspire the reader to seek out musical experiences that no description is capable of replacing.

The Call to Prayer (adhan)

Instituted by the Prophet Muhammad soon after the hijra from Mecca to Medina, the call to prayer has been, among the exterior signs of Islam, the most powerful symbol of the influence of the realm of the Divine upon the world of the human being. Chanted five times each day, every day of the year, the
adhan
marks time and fills it. Issued from the tops of minarets toward the four cardinal points, it traverses and fi ls space, thus affi ng the sacred character of these two dimensions in which human existence unfolds. By the proclamation of the
takbir,
the formula
Allahu akbar,
‘‘God is infinitely great,’’ and of the
Shahada,
the Islamic testimony of faith, it places the entire universe under the sign of transcendence. The words of the call to prayer also liken prayer to joy (
falah
), enjoining the faithful to interrupt their ordinary chores or pleasures for a moment of consecration, a veritable preparation and prelude to the beatitude that awaits the believers in the Hereafter.

Like psalmody, the
adhan
uses modes of cancellation that can vary according to region; however, in all of these variations, under a diversity of styles, the same homogeneous structure appears. The one who is charged with giving the call to prayer, the muezzin (
mu’adhdhin
), is chosen not only for his beautiful voice (the muezzin is invariably a man) but also for his human qualities and piety. Sometimes the muezzin also performs the functions of the Imam of a mosque, and many of them participate as singers (
munshid
) at religious festivals and spiritual gatherings.

Music in Praise of the Prophet (amdah nabawiyya)

The second great source of knowledge in Islam after the Qur’an is the Prophet Muhammad, whose teachings, transmitted in the collections of Hadith, and whose deeds, related in biographical accounts of his life (
Sira
), make up the prophetic example, the Sunna. If Qur’anic psalmody was able

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to give birth to different forms of modulated recitation, the love of the Prophet, for its part, has given rise to a great wealth of literary compositions and devotional songs.

The importance of these litanies is linked in Islamic mysticism to the doctrine of the Perfect Man (
al-insan al-kamil
). Although Muhammad was a man who lived and died like other men, he was certainly not an ordinary man. He was, according to the Sufi saying, ‘‘like a ruby among stones.’’ He is also called ‘‘The Best of God’s Creation’’ (
khayr khalq Allah
) and in the Qur’an, ‘‘a fine example’’ (
uswa hasana,
Qur’an 33:61) for the believers, meaning by this that he is the summation of the entire creation, a universal model. To offer prayers on behalf of the Prophet is thus to pray for the salvation of all believers. It is also to pray for the rediscovery of one’s own primordial nature and for one’s own deliverance. Mystical gatherings in the Islamic world almost always begin with praise of the Prophet. In the Syrian
zawiyas
of the Qadiri or Shadhili Sufi orders, for example, the gatherings open with a song, performed as a solo, of the
Mawludiyya
(‘‘Birthday Song’’) of Shaykh Barzanji (d. 1765
CE
). The words of this song are as follows: ‘‘Our Lord Muhammad was always smiling and affable. He never showed the least brutality or the least violence in his words or in his criticisms. He never made a show of his desires and he abstained from judging others and speaking ill of them. When he spoke, his companions kept silent, as if a bird had perched on their heads. Never did they raise their voices in argument, and when they spoke, it was he who was silent.’’

Another poem that is also very popular among the Sufis of North Africa and the Middle East is the
Burda,
the ‘‘Cloak,’’ composed by Muhammad al-Busiri (d. 1296
CE
), who is buried in the Egyptian city of Alexandria. The title of this poem recalls a miraculous healing. Having been stricken with paralysis, Shaykh Busiri in a dream saw the Prophet, who enveloped him in his cloak. Upon awakening, he found himself cured and able to move. He also found that the poem of the
Burda
was carried within him and that it only needed to be transcribed. For more than seven centuries, this poem has been recited in choruses by generations of Sufis. As a poem of 162 verses, and rhyming in the Arabic letter
mim
(
qasida mimiyya
), it lends itself admirably to quick rhythmic variations and possesses a great emotional charge when it is sung in unison.

In Turkey, the meetings of the Mevlevis, the ‘‘Whirling Dervishes,’’ also open with a song in praise of the Prophet Muhammad. This is the
Naat i-Sherif
(‘‘The Noble Praise-Song’’), whose words were composed by the great Sufi master Rumi (d. 1273
CE
), and whose music is attributed to the Mevlevi Sufi composer Itri (d. 1711
CE
). The solemnity of this song, which is reminiscent of Byzantine psalmody, plunges those who hear it into a state of remembrance and recollection (
dhikr
), which prepares them to perform the whirling dance. Its words go like this:

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Voices of Art, Beauty, and Science

Oh Beloved of God, oh incomparable Messenger, Preferred among all Creatures, the Light of Our Eyes, You know the weakness of nations,

You are the guide for the infirm,

The Guardian of the Garden of Prophecy, The springtime of Gnosis.

You are the rose garden of the Law and its most beautiful flower.

Examples such as these could be multiplied. They illustrate the ways in which Muslims—while keeping themselves away from the deification of the Prophet—revered the Prophet Muhammad as an ever-present spiritual guide, who is able to help the seeker through his influence and intercession to approach the Lord of the Worlds. In Sufism, this role was not only reserved for the Prophet but also included several categories of saints, both living and dead, who were seen as living embodiments of the Prophetic example. In Shiite Islam, devotion to the Prophet was complemented by devotion to the Imams and their representatives.

Devotional Music of Shiite Islam

Among the genres of music that are practiced in contemporary Iran, certain ones show a devotional effi cy and an incontestable mystical resonance. These are first of all the ceremonial musical styles associated with the great Shiite mourning period of
Azadari,
which commemorates the Karbala’ massacre in which Imam Husayn and many members of his family were martyred in 680
CE
. These events are recalled in the singing of poems, especially those composed at the beginning of the seventeenth century by Husayn Wa‘iz Kashifi in his
Garden of the Martyrs.
This collection of poems has become so popular that the first word of its title,
rozeh
(from the Arabic
rawda,
‘‘garden’’), now designates all gatherings, whether they are held in a mosque or in a private home, during which the martyrdom of the Shiite Imams is evoked. The
rozeh khans,
the singers who specialize in the recitation of these poems, are held in high esteem by the people of Iran.

The mourning period of
Azadari
takes place between the fi and the tenth day of Muharram, the fi t month of the Islamic year. Its highlight is a procession of penitents and flagellants, who ritually express remorse for the failure of Imam Husayn’s followers to come to his aid. The procession is accompanied by songs and exclamations that are modulated to the rhythm of the march, and that are used by the penitents to punctuate the blows of their fists to their chests and backs.

Theatrical presentations also retrace the same tragic events. These are the
ta‘ziyas,
sacred dramas that have been enacted, at least since the eighteenth century, in the open air in a location that has been specially arranged (
takyeh
). The
takyeh
includes an elevated stage surrounded by an open space for the

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actors and their mounts. The performance lasts well into the night and includes processions accompanied by songs and the sounds of trumpets, with rhythms maintained by drums and cymbals. The actors’ cries of ‘‘Hassan, Husayn,’’ the names of the martyred grandsons of the Prophet Muhammad, return again and again, arousing echoes and tears in the crowd. Each sequence of the
ta‘ziya
drama is sung in a mode (
dastgah
), that corresponds to the nature of the scene and the character of the person represented.
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One finds in this singing an example of classical Islamic music that was popularized and later became a source of inspiration for numerous court musicians, particularly during the Qajar period of Iranian history (eighteenth and nineteenth centuries
CE
).

Also specifi to Iran is the music of the
zurkhaneh,
centers of martial training where the participants wield clubs and heavy chains, spurred on by lyrical songs and powerful rhythms. The
zurkhaneh
is a school in which corporal discipline serves the ideal of chivalry. In Persian culture, chivalry was first incarnated in the figure of Rustam, the mythical hero of the ‘‘Book of Kings’’ (
Shah-Nameh
). This Persian cultural tradition was assimilated to Islam by including with Rustam ‘Ali, the son-in-law of the Prophet Muhammad and the fi of the Shiite Imams, whose courage earned him the nickname ‘‘Lion of God.’’

The Qawwalis of South Asia

The mystical songs known as
Qawwali
(from the Arabic root
qul,
‘‘to say’’) were popularized in India by the Chishtiyya Sufi order during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries
CE
. This is attributed sometimes to the patronage of Shaykh Mu‘in al-Din Chishti (d. 1236
CE
), the founder of the order, and sometimes to that of the Sufi poet Amir Khusraw (d. 1326
CE
), whose tomb in Delhi adjoins that of Nizam al-Din Awliya’ (d. 1325
CE
), the fourth great master of the Chishti order. The tomb of Nizam al-Din remains to this day one of the preferred meeting places of the
qawwal,
that is, the singers of
Qawwali
music. In this sanctuary throughout the year one can hear dervishes singing their religious hymns and poems while accompanying themselves on drums. On holidays, concerts are organized in which eight to ten singers accompanied by various instruments participate. These instruments include the Japanese zither, the clarinet, a drum shaped like a cask (
dholak
), the violin (
sarangi
), and a small manual harmonium, which was imported from Europe in the nineteenth century.