Islamic religious music.

I. General
II. Sufism and popular Islam
III. Shi‘a Islam
BIBLIOGRAPHY
ECKHARD NEUBAUER/VERONICA DOUBLEDAY
Islamic religious music

I. General
1. Introduction.
2. The legal status of music.
3. Qur'anic recitation.
4. The call to prayer
5. Calendrical and weekly observances.
6. Prayers, praises and devotional songs.
Islamic religious music, §I: General
1. Introduction.
The consideration of religious singing and instrumental music in the context of Islam
is fraught with complexity and ambiguity. Strictly speaking, the words ‘Islamic
religious music’ present a contradiction in terms. The practice of orthodox Sunni and
Shi‘a Islam does not involve any activity recognized within Muslim cultures as
‘music’. The melodious recitation of the Holy Qur'an and the call to prayer are central
to Islam, but generic terms for music have never been applied to them. Instead,
specialist designations have been used. However, a wide variety of religious and
spiritual genres that use musical instruments exists, usually performed at various
public and private assemblies outside the orthodox sphere.
General terms relating to music within Islamic cultures require some clarification. The
word samā‘ is used to distinguish between licit (halāl) and illicit (harām) music as
understood by the schools of Islamic religious law and in discussions between
representatives of the law schools and Sufi orders. The Arabic word ghinā’ (literally
‘song’) has sometimes been used generically for musical practice. The traditional
term mūsīqī (which is classical Arabic) has been used in writings dating from the 9th
century, is a loan and theoretical concept inherited from the ancient Greeks. In the
countries of Islam it was rarely used in the sense of singing and instrumental music:
reference to musical practice was made through a series of individual terms. The
modern Arabic term mūsīqā is not representative of the traditional Islamic
understanding of musical practice, but has connotations more akin to the Western
sense of ‘music’. Current usage of the word mūsīqī in modern Persian is similarly
general. 20th-century scholars have used some of these terms in attempts to
elucidate categories of music that have been accepted or rejected according to
Islamic (Shari‘a) law (see Al-Faruqi, 1985; Nasr, 1997). See Table 1.
Since its birth in the 7th century, Islam has spread over a vast geographical area
stretching into China, South-east Asia, Russia, many parts of Africa and elsewhere
(fig.1). From an early period orthodox jurists expressed hostility to certain kinds of
music in principle, and the legal status of music has been continually contested and
discussed. Sufism evolved as the mystical branch of Islam and some Sufis actively
opposed the extremist puritans. Their musical practice, inspired by the message of
Islam and personal religious experience, had a broad influence. Another important
development was the music of commemoration and lament specific to the Shi‘a sects
(see §III, 1 below).
The many forms of Muslim musical religious expression present considerable
diversity, and they are often strongly local in flavour. However, there are significant
unifying factors: the consistent presence of Qur'anic recitation and, within that, the
influence of Egyptian style; the importance of Arabic as the language of divine
inspiration in the Qur'an; and the widespread use (albeit in varied ways) of dhikr,
repetitive vocalizations of names of God (see §II, 3 below).
Religious and devotional musics are variously performed by professional, semi-
professional, amateur, male and female adults (and occasionally children) in solo or
group styles. Some are accompanied by musical instruments or include dancing.
With very few exceptions, instrumental music is not performed in mosques, where
only certain types of religious recitation and singing are permitted. Other
performance settings include shrines, Sufi lodges, Shi‘a religious meeting-places,
homes and encampments, streets, concert platforms and recording studios.
Our present knowledge and understanding of religious and devotional music within
Muslim cultures is patchy and incomplete. There are many areas where research
has not been undertaken; some regions have been closed or inaccessible, and the
musical role of women has not been adequately studied. From the 1970s onwards,
sweeping changes precipitated by Islamization (also known as ‘fundamentalism’)
and globalization have compounded the situation with fresh impulses and reactions.
This survey draws upon available material and does not claim to be comprehensive.
Islamic religious music, §I: General
2. The legal status of music.
There is no statement in the Holy Qur'an explicitly condemning music. Evidence in
the Traditions of the Prophet Muhammad (Hadīth) clearly demonstrates that on
occasion he listened to music with pleasure, but these texts are open to many
interpretations. From an early period, Islamic jurists felt concern about the perceived
dangers of music and began to differentiate between admissible (halāl) and
inadmissible (harām) music, both sacred and secular. Between these categories
there is an intermediate zone consisting of material not expressly forbidden (see
above, ‘controversial’ categories, Table 1). The simple chanting of the Qur'an and
the call to prayer have an uncontested lawful status, and certain types of devotional
singing have been variously tolerated within the different Islamic law schools.
A rejection of music was expressed immediately after the Prophet's death, and the
jurists' condemnation extended to court musicians of the Umayyad dynasty (661–
750). Concern about inadmissible music increased in the 9th century, when Sufi
communities introduced dance and spiritual audition (samā‘) into their ecstatic
rituals. In Islamic thought, the basis of hostility to music lies in its power to stimulate
the ‘lower passions’ (nafs). Individuals such as Ibn Abī al-Dunyā (d 894) theoretically
condemned almost all instrumental and vocal music, yet Majd al-Dīn Ahmad al-
Ghazālī (d 1126) and Abū Hāmid Muhammad al-Ghazālī (1058–1111) defended the
practice of listening to music, including its usage by the Sufi orders. Arguments in
favour of music have stressed the individual's ability to listen (samā‘), drawing close
to the Divine. An extensive literature in Arabic, Turkish and Persian discusses
admissible and inadmissible music with constant reference to verses of the Qur'an
and the Hadīth. The most exhaustive collection of learned opinions is contained in
the Kitāb al-imta bi-ahkām (‘Guide to the application of the rules for listening to
music’, c1300) by Kamāl al-Dīn al-Adfuwī.

See also Arab music, §§I, 3(iii) and II, 2.

No universally acceptable agreement about the legal status of music was ever
reached, leaving interpretation open. This has led to ambiguities. In Iran at the
beginning of the 1979 Revolution, the broadcasting and public performance of music
was banned. Yet, shortly before his death in 1989, Ayatollah Khomeini pronounced
that music was admissible, except in the case of women singing to men and as long
as it did not incite sensual passions.
Islamic religious music, §I: General
3. Qur'anic recitation.
The sacred words of the Holy Qur'an pervade the experience and practice of Islam.
Great importance is placed upon the proper articulation of its sound patterns in the
original Arabic. In all Islamic cultures, Qur'anic recitation is performed by lay people,
in a plain style, and by prayer leaders and specialist Qur'an readers, sometimes in a
highly embellished form. Islamic education prescribes that children learn to recite the
Qur'an by memory, a task requiring concentration upon rhythmic aspects of
vocalization.
Qur'anic recitation has many applications. Verses are silently recited within the ritual
prayer (Arab. salāt) performed five times daily by pious Muslims. Public recitation
precedes congregational prayers and occurs within most religious rituals, and the
entire Qur'an (khatm al-qur'ān) is performed during the month of Ramadan and for
commemoration of the dead. At the Topkapi Museum in Istanbul, teams of reciters
provide continuous recitation of the Qur'an inside the room housing important relics
of the Prophet Muhammad. Although usually performed solo, collective recitation
occurs; for instance in some Iraqi mosques on the ‘eve’ of Friday, or in Liberia, where
collective recitation for the dead is termed fidao.
As a unique and divine text, the Qur'an is set apart from other religious texts and
praises. Specialist Arabic terminology is used. Qirā'a designates Qur'anic recitation;
qāri' is a trained reciter (both words derived from the same Arabic root as Qur'an).
Tilāwa is a general formal term for all Qur'anic; in pre-Islamic Arabia it simply
designated recitation of poetry. Tartīl, another term for recitation, especially implies
slow deliberate attention to meaning, for contemplation. Tajwīd is the exact science
of correct recitation.
For 300 years Egypt has been regarded as the centre of Qur'anic recitation both for
accuracy and artistry, and its Qur'an readers are very respected and highly paid.
There two styles are distinguished: murattal (ex.1), a plain style used in private
devotion and for teaching, and mujawwad (ex.2), an embellished style reserved for
public audition, performed by specialists trained in tajwīd (sharing the same Arabic
root as mujawwad). Tajwīd, the system of rules regulating the correct oral rendition
of the Qur'an, governs many parameters of sound production. These include precise
duration of syllable, vocal timbre and pronunciation, with characteristic use of
nasality and special techniques of vibration. Echoing silences between text sections
add to the dynamic nature of presentation. Public Qur'anic recitation has a distinctive
sound which has been profoundly influential as an aesthetic ideal.
Qur'anic recitation has developed considerably since the time of the Prophet
Muhammad (570–632), who apparently enjoyed the mellifluous recitation of the holy
words. By the mid-7th century, simple chanting was extended into a kind of
conventional artistic concert performance. This reached a peak between the 9th and
12th centuries. Verses of the Qur'an were sung like secular poems to existing tunes,
including folksongs and dance-songs: the court reciter of the Abbasid caliph Hārūn
al-Rashīd (786–809) made the Qur'an sound almost like secular song. Florid styles
of recitation spread to many cultural centres in the eastern Caliphate, North Africa
and Muslim Spain. Orthodox legists condemned this as qirā'a bi-l-alhān (‘recitation
to secular melody’). Such extreme secularization has not recurred, but the artistic
limits of Qur'an reading are still discussed.
Today the science of recitation (tajwīd) is taught in specialized schools. These may
exist for women as well as men, and in Egypt, Malaysia and Indonesia female Qur'an
specialists have attained prominence. Qur'anic recitation has always been orally
transmitted; notation is opposed. As a consequence, personal and regional variants
developed. A significant aspect of qirā'a is the lack of regulations with regard to
melody, except that it must enhance comprehension of the text and not be based on
secular material.
The relationship between Qur'anic recitation and local traditional musical idioms is
open. In West Africa, South Asia and South-east Asia, lay people generally modify
the qirā'a towards the tonal idioms of their local traditions. In many areas Qur'anic
chanting takes the form of a recitative mostly independent of the Arab art music
tradition (maqām). But some complex and richly ornamented melismatic styles show
a pronounced influence of the maqām tradition in their tonality and melodic
construction. In countries including Egypt, Turkey, Syria, Iraq and Iran, chanting is
taught in the tonal tradition of certain maqāms. Iraqi Qur'anic reciters usually excel
as secular maqām singers (also known as qāri'), but when reciting the Qur'an they
do not follow the formalized melodic ordering of the Iraqi maqām. Learning the
Qur'an is sometimes the first stage of a secular singer's musical education.
International communication networks are strengthening the impact of Egypt and
Arabia within global Islamic culture through education, travel and the export of
materials including audio-cassettes of Qur'anic recitation. Egyptian reciters visit
other Muslim countries to perform during Ramadan, and Arabization in style is
evident in parts of Africa, South Asia and elsewhere.

See also Egypt, §II, 1; Iraq, §II, 2; Saudi arabia.

Islamic religious music, §I: General

4. The call to prayer

(Arab. adhān/azān). The adhān is performed five times daily, loudly and in public, a
prominent aspect of Muslim soundscapes. Its deliberately attractive sound invites
Muslims to perform the ritual prayer (salāt), regulating daily life and creating sacred
time within it.
The Prophet Muhammad is said to have instituted the vocal call in order to distinguish
Islamic practice from those of other religions. The first prayer-caller (muezzin,
mu‘adhdhin) was Bilāl, an Abyssinian slave and early convert to Islam. The post of
muezzin soon attracted great respect, and important mosques came to employ as
many as 20 muezzins at a time; in the Ottoman empire they formed their own guild.
The call has not always been exclusively vocal. From the 10th century in some urban
areas, military/ceremonial bands, variously called tablakhāna, Naqqārakhāna,
mehterhane or naubāt, sounded the prayer times on a daily basis. By the 19th
century this practice had mostly died out, but in the shrine of Imām Rezā at Mashhad,
Iran, a remnant of this tradition (consisting of drums and horns) sounds out at dawn
and dusk (see Iran, §III, 2(iv), fig.15). In West Africa a prayer-drum (tabula) was later
replaced by a vocal call.
The vocal call consists of seven or (in Shi‘a areas) eight passages, with repetitions
and certain variations according to the time of day and importance of the specific
prayer. It is chanted once from the minaret, then again (called iqāma) inside the
mosque, directly preceding congregational prayer. Nearly all branches of Islam allow
it to be sung. The text must be clearly understandable and its pronunciation
impeccable.
The musical form has no rules. Styles vary from calls at a measured pace on a single
note, or within a narrow range centred on one note, to richly melismatic chants with
a wide range. Regional schools may assert rules based on the choice of certain
maqāms; these seldom gain general acceptance, but sometimes melodic structures
are related to the maqām. Rhythmic structure is influenced by the length of the
syllables in the text. Melismas seem to be associated with particular words and
formulaic endings. Textual repetition often leads to repeated musical phrases
differing only in their final note. Unusually, the call may be collective (see Syria, §4(i)).
Broadcasting, commerce and international travel have spread the influence of the
Egyptian call, considered the model and widely imitated. The use of audiotapes as a
substitute for muezzins is causing a decline in variety of the adhān, and loudspeakers
often produce harsh distorted sounds. In cities where Muslims are in a minority,
amplification of the adhān has caused neighbourhood conflict: use of calls broadcast
on the radio creates a non-intrusive abstract communal Islamic context for worship.
Western media representations often debase the adhān as a ‘sound-bite’ introducing
any aspect of Muslim culture.
Islamic religious music, §I: General
5. Calendrical and weekly observances.
The Islamic lunar calendar is punctuated by two major events affecting the entire
Muslim community: the annual pilgrimage to Mecca (Makkah) in Saudi Arabia and
the holy month of Ramadan. These culminate in two major festivals (‘Īd): ‘Īd al-Adhā
(Festival of Sacrifice) and ‘Īd al-Fitr (Festival of Charity) respectively.
Military and ceremonial bands with drums, shawms, trumpets and cymbals
previously used to sound out important times of the day and year. Some examples
of this tradition remain, especially marking the beginning of festivals. In Morocco,
Thursday evenings (the beginning of Friday, the Muslim day of rest and prayer) are
announced with trumpets (nafīr) and shawms (ghayta). Similarly, in 1975 an
ensemble of four large cylindrical drums (tabl) and a shawm (alghaita) were
documented playing in front of the sultan's palace in Dosso, Niger, announcing the
beginning of Friday as a weekly musical event attended by the general public.
Thursday evening is also the traditional time for weekly Sufi gatherings.
The Friday midday congregational prayer takes place in principal mosques (‘Friday’
mosques). The structure of observances may vary, and it is quite common for
supplicatory prayers (du‘ā or munājāt) or praises to Allah (tasbīh) to be sung. At the
Ummayad Great Mosque in Damascus, the main Friday prayers include specific
types of solo and choral singing (see Syria, §2(iii)(b)).
The month of fasting during Ramadan has a special musical character (see §(ii)
below). Within Shi‘a communities the months of Muharram and (to a lesser extent)
Safar are devoted to mourning, with specific types of singing and ritual (see §III, 1
below). Joyous celebrations and instrumental music are proscribed, and Shi‘a
professional musicians are not normally available.
(i) Pilgrimage to Mecca (hajj).
Islamic treatises state that Mecca pilgrimage songs (tahlīl) are admissible. They may
be sung on departure for Mecca, at the various stopping-points in and near Mecca,
or they may be used to greet pilgrims on their return home. They are mostly choral,
or solo with a choral refrain, sung by women or men according to local tradition. In
Egypt they are accompanied by the mizmār baladī consisting of shawms (mizmār)
and a drum (tabl baladī). Formerly military bands hailed departing pilgrims and even
accompanied prominent individuals to Mecca, using a tabl al-hajj (‘pilgrims’ drum’).
At the Festival of the Sacrifice (‘Īd al-Adhā), a wealth of chanted prayers and festival
invocations may be sung in mosques, at private gatherings or during the visits to
cemeteries that are customary during the two principal Muslim festivals. In Turkey
specifically composed pieces of Sufi origin are still performed: the bayram tekbiri
(festival declamation) by Itri (d 1711/12) is used in festival ceremonies, and the
bayram salati (festival prayer) by Hatib Zakiri Hasan Efendi (c1600) is sung either
from the minaret or inside the mosque. Elsewhere there are festival pieces in other
styles: Algerian Tuareg women perform songs for ‘Īd al-Adhā to the rhythm of a
mortar drum (tinde).
(ii) Ramadan.
The beginning and end of the fast, the nightly prayer-times and the time for pre-dawn
breakfast used to be announced vocally and/or with musical instruments throughout
the month. In Anatolia and other areas, ceremonial naqqārakhāna bands were
replaced with large cylindrical drums (davul) or by the drum and shawm (davul-
zurna). In Morocco pairs of trumpets (nafīr) are blown in the streets or from the
minarets.
At night the mosques are ablaze with light, and each evening congregations gather
to hear a chapter of the Qur'an recited. Qur'anic recitations are also organized in
homes, with invited guests. In Turkey composed songs glorifying God (temcit) are
sung from the minaret between the nightly hours of prayer. Many old Turkish
compositions (ilahi) are intended for specific nights of the holy month. Children sing
Ramadan evening processional songs, questing for sweets and coins (see Arab
music, ex.17, from Egypt). In parts of North Africa, families sing religious songs as
they gather for their evening or pre-dawn meal. Ramadan music by modern Egyptian
composers also exists. Secular theatrical shows and concerts used to be common,
but increased religious disapproval and the advent of television and video culture
has weakened live evening entertainment traditions.
The beginning of ‘Īd al-Fitr is marked with loud public sounds: ceremonial bands,
cannon-fire, gunfire or (today) modern sirens. Celebratory songs are especially
found in Muslim parts of Africa.
(iii) Ceremonies for the Prophet.
The anniversary of the Prophet's birthday (mawlid) is celebrated on the 12th of Rabī
‘al-awwal. Observances vary considerably from region to region, and mawlid
ceremonies are performed at other times of the year (see §II, 4 below). The Prophet's
miraculous ascent to heaven (mi‘rāj), described in the Qur'an, is celebrated in
mosques, and especially by members of Sufi and heterodox sects.
Islamic religious music, §I: General
6. Prayers, praises and devotional songs.
A restricted range of devotional singing is admissible inside the mosque. The
frequency of sung prayers and their position in communal devotions within mosques
depends on the authority of the various law schools. Forms include the takbīr
chanting of Allāhu akbar (‘God is great’), tasbīh (praise of God) and supplicatory
prayers (du‘ā and munājāt). Styles range from plain recitation to highly decorative
delivery. Madīh designates sung praises (for God or the Prophet). Tawshīh and
ibtihāl are free-rhythm unaccompanied solo vocal improvisations on religious poetic
texts performed at festivals, ceremonies or special events such as the opening of a
mosque. Ilahi (‘for God’) is a general Turkish term applied to devotional invocations.
In Turkey numerous art compositions have gained acceptance in the mosques
through the influence of the Sufi orders, for instance the festival pieces mentioned in
§5(i) above.
The na‘t is an important form glorifying the Prophet: in Turkey it sometimes precedes
daily prayers. When the Timurid theoretician ‘Abd al-Qādir (d 1435) collected song
texts for all occasions as an appendix to his treatise Jāmi‘ alhān (‘Compendium of
melodies’), his list began with munājāt texts and na‘ts. Serious and devotional, na‘ts
and munājāts may be performed unaccompanied or as an art music genre (but in
the latter case not in mosques).
Madīh praise-songs are commonly performed by itinerant singers. Northern Sudan
has a famous madīh tradition going back to Hajj El-Mahi of Kassinger (c1780–1870),
who composed about 330 religious poems of which handwritten copies survive. They
are performed by pairs of male singers with the accompaniment of two frame drums
(tār), at religious festivities, at markets or outside mosques. (See Sudan and Yemen,
§I, 1(v).)
Classical poetic forms common in Muslim devotional music are the ghazal and
qasīda. Ghazal, an elevated form of love song treating secular and/or divine love, is
used throughout Muslim Asia; within North Indian semi-classical music, it is more
romantic than religious in tone (see India, §IV, 3(ii)). The qasīda (classical Arabic
ode) is an extended vocal form sometimes applied to religious themes in the Arab
world. Muwashshah, the technically complex song of Arab-Andalusian tradition, has
sacred connections, but is less frequently performed.
Wedding songs are an important admissible expressive outlet for women; many have
religious content, invoking the blessings of God and the Prophet.
Islamic religious music

II. Sufism and popular Islam

1. Sufi music.
2. Popular Islam.
3. Dhikr and sufi ritual.
4. ‘Mawlid’.
5. The Mevlevi ayin.
6. Chishtī Sufism.
Islamic religious music, §II: Sufism and popular Islam.
1. Sufi music.
Sufism (Arab. tasawwuf) is an umbrella term applied to mystical practices that
developed beyond the normal obligatory duties of Islam, both within and outside
organized Sufi orders (tarīqa).
As a result of doctrinal controversy about the legal status of music (see §I, 2 above),
early Sufi music avoided secular tunes and employed only reed-pipes, flutes and
drums. Within many traditions, the frame drum (duff, tār, mizhār, dāire) remains the
sole instrument used in communal rituals. From an early period the vocalization of
the names of God (dhikr) became important (see §3 below). Ecstatic movements of
the body were recognized as expressions of spontaneous emotion caused by
experience of the divine, and head and arm movements, sometimes combined with
simple steps, became incorporated into Sufi rituals. The Mevlevi order was the first
to make dance as important as the dhikr (see §5 below). From the 14th century other
orders adopted dance, as depicted in Persian miniature paintings (see fig.2). In Syria
the samāh dance accompanied classical mūwashshah metric verses (see Syria,
§2(ii)(a)).
From the 16th century the use of musical instruments and dancing was abandoned
or forbidden within Shi‘a Sufi orders. Some orders (especially Shi‘a ones) gave up
dance and/or musical performance altogether. Sufi music flourished within the
Ottoman empire. From the 15th to 17th centuries, the Mevlevi, Rifā‘ī and Qādirī
orders gained such strong recognition and political influence that they were able to
develop their own music. This was strongly influenced by secular art music, which in
turn influenced it (see Ottoman music). The South Asian Chishtī order is significant
in its recognition of the use of musical instruments as valid in a devotional context
(see §6 below).
Rituals are held at Sufi lodges or saints' shrines, on a weekly and occasional basis,
with the aim of attaining union with God. They usually include dhikr (‘recollection of
God’) (see §3 below). The various Sufi orders recognize spiritual ‘chains’ of
transmission through male leaders; women have been largely excluded, although
there are numerous ‘sister’ orders in Egypt. In Uighur Chinese Turkestan in 1989 a
closed weekly ritual (zekr) for about a hundred women was documented as taking
place without many of the husbands' approval.
Middle Eastern and Central Asian art music traditions are (to varying extents) imbued
with Sufi concepts of spiritual audition, as reflected in the use of mystical song texts
and reverential audience responses. The ethos and instrumentation of the Sūfiāna
kalām of Kashmir also show these connections (see Kashmir, §3(i)). The Tunisian
ma’lūf repertory is linked to Arab-Andalusian traditions preserved within Sufi lodges
(see Tunisia, §1). The long Sufi poem in Persian, Mathnawī-i ma‘nawī by Jalāl al-Dīn
Rūmī, has been spread by specialist mathnawī-singers. Its melody is found within
the main vocal part of several modern dastgāhs of Persian art music (in particular
the avāz-e Afshārī).
Outside the organized orders, music has an important place in certain groups which
split away from Islam. Avoiding orthodox restrictions, they were able to cultivate
music-making as an expression of pious emotion, developing and retaining musical
forms no longer found elsewhere. The Bektaşi movement founded by Hajji Bektaş (d
1338) was accommodated within the Ottoman empire as a Sufi order, but its beliefs
are heterodox, closely related to those of the Alevis and also to the Ahl-e Haqq sect
(see §III, 2 below). (For an account of Yezidi sacred music and musical instruments
see Kurdish music, §5.)
Islamic religious music, §II: Sufism and popular Islam.
2. Popular Islam.
Devotion to the Prophet Muhammad has popular expression at mawlids (see §4
below). Saints' shrines have provided an informal focus for religious music with
strong popular appeal, and in Algeria, Morocco, Egypt and elsewhere saints' festivals
(moussem, mawlid) with music attract thousands of pilgrims. In the Pakistani
province of Sind, there are numerous musical shrines, those of Lāl Shahbāz
Qalandar (d 1262) at Sehwan, and of Shāh Abdul Latīf (1690–1752) at Bhitshah
being most notable (see Pakistan, §7(i)). At shrines and outside mosques, religious
mendicants (variously known as faqīr, dervish, malang and qalandar) have
improvised and disseminated religious folk music.
In Egypt religious singers (munshid) occupy a prominent role in rituals at shrines and
in other settings. A leading exponent is Sheikh Yāsīn al-Tuhamī (b 1949), who
specializes in the poetry of Ibn al-Fārid (d 1235). A munshid may be privately
sponsored to sing at a layla or hafla dīniyya (‘religious night’), which includes dhikr
and religious songs with melodic accompaniment (see Egypt, §II, 3).
Islamic and indigenous traditions mingle. In Liberia women sing ‘There is no god but
Allah’ in Arabic while pounding rice for consumption at a funeral feast, combining the
power of holy words with West African work-song. The use of religious invocations
is notable in various traditional forms of therapy that employ music, divination and
trance. Baluchistan is a desert area spanning south-eastern Iran and western
Pakistan and influenced by African culture along its coast. There male musicians
organize musical sessions (leb) to exorcize spirits (guat) believed to cause sickness.
Instruments include the sorud (fiddle), with song texts drawn from well-known
Persian Sufi poets and local material, including qalandar songs (see Iran, §III, 2(v)).
In North Africa, Gnawa male professional musicians descended from African slaves
have created musical sessions (lila: ‘night’) designed to induce healing trance states
(hadra). These and other examples include pre-Islamic and non-Islamic practices
and beliefs incorporated within Islamic mysticism.
In Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore, vocal genres known as zikir or dikir (derived
from the Arabic term dhikr) have popular appeal. Various styles use group repetitive
singing of religious phrases with accompaniment on small frame drums, performed
in a seated position, with coordinated body movements. In Malaysia dikir barat has
developed into a form of competitive entertainment. The West Sumatran form (diki)
spread from Aceh in the late 16th century, influenced by the Rifā‘ī sect whose Iraqi
founder was Ahmad Rifā‘ī (d 1178).

See Indonesia, §VI; Malaysia, §I, 1(v) and (vi); and Singapore.
West Sumatra has other Sufi-derived popular genres. Indang has a lead solo singer
with 11–15 musicians sitting cross-legged in a row, providing interlocking drum
patterns and swaying movements of the upper body. Salawat dulang uses two
singers performing interlocking continuous melodies with accompaniment on brass
trays. These enliven weddings, circumcisions, death ceremonies and national and
religious holidays. In Indonesia qasidah moderen (‘modern ode’) designates a
popular type of religious music typically performed by a lead singer (usually female)
and modern instrumentation (see Indonesia, §VIII, 1).
As the language of the Qur'an, Arabic has a special elevated status, greatly
appreciated even in areas where it is not understood. The Taussig people of the
sourthern Philippines have a tradition of highly melismatic songs in Arabic known as
lugu, performed mainly by women (see Philippines, §II, 1(ii) (d)). (See also §III, 2(i)
below.)
Islamic religious music, §II: Sufism and popular Islam.
3. Dhikr and sufi ritual.
The remarkable ecstatic rituals of the Sufis usually focus on the communal utterance
(dhikr/zikr) of the sacred name of God (Allāh) and phrases such as Allāh hū (‘God is
he’). The declaration (tawhīd) in Arabic of ‘There is no god but Allah’ is also
commonly used. The term dhikr (or zikr) literally means the ‘remembrance’ of God.
It refers both to the act of naming God and to the actual words or phrases used. In
many societies it also designates the entire ritual session, but in North Africa this is
called hadra (‘in the presence of [God]’) or in Sudan noba.
The Sufi dhikr rituals include recitations from the Qur'an, prayers and, optionally,
singing. Group performances, coordinated by a religious leader, usually last several
hours. Depending on tradition, the devotees stand, sit or dance in a circle or lines.
Rhythmic breathing accompanies the constant repetition of the dhikrs, usually with
regular body movements. Performance usually entails several phases, sometimes
accelerating in tempo and dynamism. Many orders use frame drums for additional
rhythmic effect.
Dhikr can be performed silently (as within the Naqshbandī order) or aloud, spoken
or sung to a simple series of notes. Soloists or several singers (in unison or
heterophony) often accompany the dhikr, commonly using classical forms such as
the ghazal or qasīda. Most Ottoman orders (except the Mevlevi) formerly sang durak
songs as solos or in chorus, with free improvisation, in pauses within the ritual.
Turkish Sufis sometimes sing a form of mystical poetry (tevhit), which evolved from
the tevhit (Arab. tawhīd) declaration ‘There is no god but Allah’. In some orders (e.g.
Mevlevi and Rifā‘ī), dhikr and dance are performed side by side, complementing
each other. In others dhikr, musical performance and dance-like movement may
alternate or occur simultaneously. Among the Dayfī and Shadhilī in Alexandria and
‘Ammārī in Morocco, some participants dance while the rest perform the dhikr.
Outside the Sufi orders, dhikr has quite varied applications. Female dhikr
performances have been documented in Transoxania (Central Asia) for many
centuries. In the Ferghana valley, Uzbekistan, professional women religious
practitioners (otin-oi) sing texts including classical poetry and dhikrs at life-cycle
events and for problem-solving sessions (mushgelkushā). In western Afghanistan
women use dhikrs as a form of lullaby. In Tajikistan female and male professional
experts use them in shamanistic divinatory ceremonies (kōch) to call spirits for
diagnostic and healing purposes. In Indonesia dikir maulud is used in contexts such
as celebrations on passing a Qur'an-reading examination.

See also Afghanistan, §I, 4; Algeria, §2; Iran, §III, 2(i); Iraq, §II, 4; Morocco, §4(ii);
Sudan, §1; Syria, §2(i); Tunisia, §§1(iv) and 2; Yemen, §I, 2(ii).

Islamic religious music, §II: Sufism and popular Islam.

4. ‘Mawlid’.
The term mawlid (‘birthday’) refers to celebrations attending the Prophet
Muhammad's birthday or other occasions. There are many linguistic variants, the
most common being mālid, mawlūd, mevlit, mevlut, milād, mōlid and mūlid. Mawlid
designates both the festival and the hymns of praise and epics about the Prophet's
life performed there.
The Prophet's birthday has been celebrated since at least the 9th century, and by
the end of the 12th century it had become a magnificent festival with various musical
and other entertainments. According to region, the mawlid developed in very different
ways, offering scope for popular musical expression in local vernacular styles. These
observances are particularly important in the Arab world, Turkey and Muslim Africa,
being more muted (or absent) in other areas. In South Asia the milād has developed
as a women's event, held at home to mark auspicious occasions (see India, §VI, 2).
Performance of the mawlid is not restricted to the Prophet's birthday, but can mark
anniversaries of local saints (held at their shrines) and official and private days of
commemoration, both joyful and sad. Performances may be held in public or private
spaces, including saints' shrines and mosque courtyards, but rarely in the prayer hall
itself. At outdoor venues where huge crowds gather, there may be other
entertainments, such as fireworks, as in Libya.
In Egypt mawlids resemble vast fairs, with dhikr performances by many different Sufi
orders, funfairs and secular entertainments. The mawlid in Cairo honouring the death
of Husayn (the Prophet's grandson) draws huge crowds and lasts for several weeks.
The October mawlid of Abū Haggāg in Luxor features a procession of boats as in
pre-Islamic ceremonies related to the annual flooding of the Nile.
As performed in the Middle East, the mawlid generally begins with an introductory
recitation from the Qur'an. There are songs in the qasīda and tawshih forms, and
anecdotal sections describing the Prophet's life, performed solo in improvised free
rhythm. Interspersed, there may be choral songs which invite audience participation.
In Iraq the mawlid is divided into four sections, each comprising three to seven
maqāms, marked off by metric songs in colloquial Arabic (see Iraq, §II, 3). In Turkey
mevlit compositions began using the makams of art music in the 18th century,
developing ‘improvised’ settings with precise rules for the selection of makam to text,
as transmitted within schools for professional mevlit singers. In rural areas of Turkey,
the mevlit is performed as a recitative with a narrow range but with impressive
climaxes. However, styles vary considerably. In Oman and other parts of the Gulf,
mālid ceremonies are conducted by two groups of men facing one another under the
leadership of a shaykh (fig.3; see also Oman, §3(iv)).
Certain texts are commonly used within the mawlid. A Turkish mevlit, Vasilet ün-
nejât (‘Way to salvation’), written by Sülyman Çelebi in 1409, spread throughout the
Ottoman empire, known simply as ‘the mevlit’. The Arabic text by Ja‘far al-Barzanjī
(d 1765), composed of prose narratives and accompanying invocations and poems,
is used in Iraq and elsewhere. In North Africa al-burda (‘the Prophet's cloak’) is the
best-known epic about the Prophet, chanted in its entirety once a week at the tomb
of Sharaf al-Dīn al-Būsīrī (d 1298) in the centre of Alexandria, and used in mawlids.
Essentially popular, ceremonies for the Prophet's birthday borrow extensively from
local musical styles. In the Dagbon area of northern Ghana, the damba festival
entails performance on the damba (hourglass drum). In the Atlas mountains of
Morocco, women perform highly rhythmic group singing, accompanied by drumming
(on bendīrs), hand-clapping and ululation. In Liberia the mahodi festival includes an
innovative dramatic enactment by women of the birth; the audience participates with
singing, dancing and hand-clapping led by a song-leader (suku-ba) performing in
Arabic. There are also reciters in Arabic, and translators work phrase by phrase,
directly explaining the Arabic narrative content. The educational aspect of the
Prophet's birthday celebrations is evident elsewhere. In Pakistan, schools and
colleges present impressive milāds, and in Egypt children participate in group singing
of mawlid songs glorifying the Prophet's life and work.
Celebrations for the Prophet's birthday present considerable diversity. Types of
music (which may include audience participation) allow the strong expression of
emotions ranging from happiness and exhilaration, spiritual ecstasy, and even the
pain of separation, as in Iraq, when songs of separation (fragiyyāt) are performed in
dialect. Melodic instruments are rarely used, but Java has a sacred type of gamelan
(gong/metallophone ensemble) termed gamelan sekati. This provides music for the
week of Sekaten, for seven days leading up to the Prophet's birthday, performing
throughout the day and most of the night.
Islamic religious music, §II: Sufism and popular Islam.
5. The Mevlevi ayin.
Founded by ‘Mawlānā’ Jalāl al-Dīn Rūmī (1207–1273), the Mevlevi (Arab. Mawlawī)
order was the first to develop dance with set forms and strict rules for group
performance. Its centre is at Rūmī's tomb in Konya, Turkey.
The ceremonial dance (ayin-i şerif or mukabele) has retained its sacred ethos but
now also flourishes as a tourist attraction and concert phenomenon. Its standardized
musical form probably originated in the 17th century, the current version being a
19th-century development. Ayin compositions can be traced back to the 16th
century. Over 100 reputedly survive (some as fragments), most by well-known
composers. From the 18th century some were notated and over 40 are published.
With closure of the Sufi orders in Turkey in 1925, Mevlevi rituals continued
clandestinely, but in 1946 the ayin became officially permitted at anniversary
celebrations of Rūmī's death at Konya.
The ayin is preceded and followed by Qur'anic recitation and prayers and is
accompanied by Turkish art music songs and musical instruments. The original
instrumentation of end-blown flute (ney) and frame drum (def) or small kettledrums
(kudüm) is retained in country districts, but in western Anatolia and Istanbul it was
gradually enlarged to include several flutes, a long-necked lute (tanbur), a fiddle
(rebab), several pairs of small kettledrums and a pair of cymbals (halile) (fig.4).
Three introductory passages precede the dance: the na‘t (addressing the Prophet)
composed by Itri (in makam rast and türkizarb metre); a non-metric taksim on flute,
establishing the underlying makam; and the instrumental peşrev in devr-i kebir
metre, usually in four sections, each ending with a refrain (teslim). The dance is
performed to four vocal compositions known as selams (‘salutations’), usually to
texts by Rūmī or his son Sultan Veled, chosen according to the makam of the day,
which used to vary from week to week. The first selam has no set metre; the second
is usually slow (ağir evfer metre); the third and longest has several vocal and
instrumental sections in devr-i kebir metre, ending with an aksak semai, a saz
semaisi and a yürük semai; the fourth selam may be a repetition of the second. The
ayin closes with an instrumental postlude (son peşrev) and a piece named after its
metre, son yürük semai.
The dancers move serenely in a continuous turning motion, the head
characteristically tilted and arms raised sideways, right hand turned upwards and left
downwards. They move in two rings around the sheikh who slowly gyrates in the
centre, breaking the formation after each selam to move around once more.
Islamic religious music, §II: Sufism and popular Islam.
6. Chishtī Sufism.
The Chishtī order was founded by Mu‘īnuddīn Chishtī (d 1236), from the village of
Chisht in western Afghanistan. His shrine at Ajmer, North India, is highly venerated
by Muslims and non-Muslims as a pilgrimage site. It is an important centre for
qawwālī, an ecstatic style performed by hereditary male professional singers with
harmoniums supported by drums (dholak or tablā), hand-clapping and other voices
(solo and in chorus). Chishtī Sufism is widespread in Pakistan and North India,
significant for its ideology supporting the use of instrumental music in spiritual
concerts (samā‘). Its major form, qawwālī, employs texts in Persian, Urdu and other
local languages such as Punjabi, often by notable poets. Performers such as the
Sabri Brothers and Nusrat Fateh Ali Khān have achieved commercial success and
brought this music to a globalized and non-Muslim audience.

See also India, §VI, 2(ii) and Afghanistan, §I, 4.

Islamic religious music

III. Shi‘a Islam

Shi‘a communities are found in an area stretching from East Africa to India and
beyond. Shi‘ism originated in the political and religious faction following ‘Alī, the
Prophet Muhammad's son-in-law. Political failure and the death of ‘Alī's son Husayn
in the battle of Karbala in Iraq (680) led to fervent worship of saints and martyrs, and
the development of specific genres of religious recitation, lamentation and drama.
1. Mourning ceremonies.
(i) Gatherings and processions.
The anniversary of Husayn's death on the 10th of Muharram (Arab. ‘āshūrā: ‘tenth’)
is the focus of group lamentation observed over many days (10 or 40). Special
religious gatherings are held in homes and religious meeting-places (tekie;
imāmbara in South Asia). In Iraq, Iran and Afghanistan, male specialist rowze singers
sermonize and chant recitations (rowze) about the martyrs’ lives; these may be
interspersed with dirges (nowhe). The most important rowze singers are esteemed
as virtuosos, and their material may overlap in structure with local art music
repertories. Rowze has application at any time of the year and is used in
commemorating the death of family members. Folksongs and children's songs with
religious content are sung during Muharram and other occasions, including feast
days such as Omar-koshūn (‘The slaying of the Caliph Omar’).
In South Asia, the Muharram assembly (majlis) opens with ornate and expressive
invocations (sōz and salām) by specialist performers trained in rāga music.
Accompanists support the solo melody with a vocal drone. Marsiya is a narrative
style, and simple nowhe laments precede the final mātam hymns during which all
the participants stand, beat their breasts and fervently call out. (For transcriptions
see India, §VI, 2, ex.19 and ex.20.)
Shi‘a women may attend public mourning ceremonies, sitting separately, but they
also commemorate Muharram in closed all-female gatherings at home. In Iraq, ten
days of consecutive sessions (qirayyāt al-husayniyya) are led by a specialist reciter
(mullāya), declaiming from a book in a highly dramatic way. Her assistants clap in
rhythm, and she evokes coordinated cries from members of the audience, who also
beat their chests rhythmically. Two girls loosen their hair and perform a mourning
dance to a rapid rhythm. In a most impressive style (‘Indian women's style’), the
women all stand, beating their chests and repeating the syllable ‘Ha’ or ‘sayn’ with
accelerating speed and accented off-beats, sometimes attaining trance states.
Outdoor Muharram processions (daste-gardānī) originated in the streets of Baghdad
from the 10th century. They became more elaborate after Shi‘ism became the state
religion of Iran in 1502. They are performed in Iraq (centring on Karbala), Iran,
Afghanistan (prior to Taliban rule), Pakistan and India (especially in Lucknow).
Individual processions are organized by district, rehearsed and directed by a leader.
Male performers move in rhythm through the alleys of their quarter, singing
antiphonal nowhe songs and beating their breasts (sīnezanī) or striking their bare
backs with small bundles of chains (zenjīrzanī). The songs are heavily rhythmic; and
the blows on the performer's breast and back fall on the downbeat (see Iran, §III,
2(ii), ex.1).
(ii) Ta‘ziye.
Ta‘ziye is remarkable as the only type of indigenous religious drama in the Islamic
world. From at least the 18th century, theatrical plays (ta‘ziye or shabih) depicting
the martyrdom of Husayn were staged during Muharram and at other times,
especially in Iran. They were first performed at crossroads, marketplaces and town
squares, then in special buildings (tekie, tekie husayniye). The heyday of ta‘ziye was
the second half of the 19th century: plays performed in Tehran's impressive royal
Tekie Dawlat (built in the 1870s next to the palace) involved numerous players, a
chorus and military ensemble. In Iran royal patronage was withdrawn under Pahlavi
rule, and ta‘ziye was banned for a while. The corpus of ta‘ziye plays is very large,
and since the 1979 Revolution there is renewed interest in Iran in this popular art. A
related tradition exists in the Shi‘a village of Nabawiya in Lebanon, with an
impressive presentation of the martyrdom story, an elegy singer and some choral
passages by actors.
Ta‘ziye means ‘consolation’, and, like the rowze and qirayyāt al-husayniyya, its
purpose is to evoke remembrance and weeping. In Iran and Iraq certain conventions
are used: the ‘bad characters’, Husayn's opponents, wear red and declaim in violent
shrieking voices, whereas Husayn and his party wear green and sing their parts (see
Iran, §III, 2(iii), ex.2). Drums and wind instruments may be used, with different
instrumentation allotted to the opposing forces.

See also Iran, §III, 2(ii) and (iii); Iraq, §III, 1(ii); and India, §VI, 2.

2. Heterodox sects.
(i) Alevi and Bektaşi.
The term Alevi refers to Anatolian heterodox communities worshipping ‘Alī, Husayn
and the Shi‘a imams; they are closely related to the Bektaşi Sufi sect. Closed
ceremonial gatherings (cem) involve poetry, music and dance. They take place on
feast days (including the 10th of Muharram and the Persian New Year representing
‘Alī's birthday), initiation ceremonies and private gatherings (muhabbet).
Highly respected within their own communities, Alevi musicians are among the most
gifted singers in Turkey. They have considerably influenced aşik singers such as
aşik Veysel. Aşik initiation dreams are modelled on Bektaşi and Alevi initiation rites,
and the social criticism within aşik songs revives old Bektaşi musical traditions. The
Alevi repertory includes deyiş and nefes (‘breath’) poems of mystical love. The latter
are always metric (usually with six or nine beats), structurally resembling the main
form of aşik poetry, koşma (see Turkey, §II, 3). Texts are by religious poets of the
14th century to 20th. Other genres are düyaz, addressed to the 12 Shi‘a imams, and
mersiye laments for Husayn. Alevi musicians are skilled performers on the long-
necked lute (saz or Bağlama) to which religious symbolism is attached. Its body
represents ‘Alī: the neck is his sword, and the 12 strings of the large saz symbolize
the 12 imams.
In Istanbul, Bektaşi music is influenced by Turkish art music. Their early 20th-century
nefes songs resemble makam-style ilahi songs of other Sufi orders in tonality and
form, and they are accompanied by instrumental ensembles. Emigrant communities
maintain their traditions in Germany (see fig.6; see also Turkey, §VI).
(ii) Ahl-e Haqq.
This secret sect is principally Kurdish, with religious poetry performed to music as a
prominent feature of its closed gatherings. The concept of music as the way to the
Knowledge of God appears in many legends, and in their name, meaning ‘Followers
of divine truth’. As with the Alevi, their long-necked lute has religious symbolism (see
Iran, fig.14). It is used to play Kurdish folktunes (dastgāh) analogous to the Alevi
makam, but dissimilar to the dastgāh of Persian art music.
3. Zūrkhāne.
In Iran ritual athletic training within the zurkhāne (‘house of strength’) has a religious
character. The gymnastic exercises were originally primarily intended to train the
breath. Pre-Islamic tradition mingles with the influences of medieval Islamic men's
leagues and guilds, military training and Shi‘a piety. Music within the zurkhāne
includes recitations of Sufi poems by the morshed (leader) to his own
accompaniment on a large clay goblet drum (zarb).
Islamic religious music
BIBLIOGRAPHY
and other resources
a: historical sources in arabic
b: general
c: qur'anic recitation
d: the call to prayer
e: festivals and ceremonies
f: sufi music and mysticism
g: sufi dance
h: music of the shī'a
i: heterodox sects
j: recordings
Islamic religious music: Bibliography
and other resources
Islamic religious music: Bibliography
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G. Weil: Der Gebetsruf der Mohammedaner (Berlin, 1929)
R.A. Blasdell: ‘The Use of the Drum for Mosque Services’, Moslem World, xxx
(1940), 41
B. Mauguin: ‘L'appel à la prière dans l'Islam’, Encyclopédie des musiques sacrées,
ed. J. Porte, i (Paris, 1968), 404–8
F. Hoerburger: Volksmusik in Afghanistan, nebst einem Exkurs über Qor'ân-
Rezitation und Thora-Kantillation in Kabul (Regensburg, 1969), 95ff, 123
L. al-Sa‘īd: Al-Adhān wa-l-mu'adhdhinūn [Prayer call and the muezzins] (Cairo,
1970)
F. Hoerburger: ‘Gebetsruf und Qor'ān-Rezitation in Kathmandu (Nepal)’, Baessler-
Archiv, xxiii (1975), 121
Islamic religious music: Bibliography
e: festivals and ceremonies
T. Canaan: Mohammedan Saints and Sanctuaries in Palestine (London, 1927/R)
A. Chottin: ‘Note sur le “Nfîr”’ (trompette du Ramadān)’,Hespéris, vii (1927), 376–
80
A. Rifat and others, eds.: Türk musikisi klasiklerinden ilâhîler [Ilâhi hymns from
classical Turkish music], i–iii (Istanbul, 1931–3)
A. Chottin: ‘Airs populaires marocains’, Le ménestrel, xciv (1932), 351, 359, 367
F.L. MacCallum, ed.: The Mevlidi Sherif by Süleyman Chelebi (London, 1943)
Aboû Châsma: ‘Origine du “Mawlid” ou fête de la naissance du prophète’,Bulletin
des études arabes, v (1945), 147
Suphi Ezgi: Temcit-na‘t-salat-durak [Temcit, na‘t, salat and durak hymns and
chants] (Istanbul, 1946)
J. Németh: ‘Die Zeremonie des Mevlud in Vidin’, Acta orientalia Academiae
scientiarum hungaricae, i (1950–51), 134
E. Littmann, ed.: Islamisch-arabische Heiligenlieder (Mainz, 1951)
A.R. Sağman: Mevlid nasıl okunur ve mevlidhanlar [How to sing the mevlid, the
famous mevlid singers] (Istanbul, 1951)
G.E. von Grunebaum: Muhammadan Festivals (New York, 1951/R, 2/1958)
A. Ateş, ed.: Süleyman Çelebi: Vesîletü'n-necât (mevlid) [Süleyman Çelebi: epic
poem on the birth of the prophet] (Ankara, 1954)
J. Jomier and J. Corbon: ‘Le Ramadan, au Caire, en 1956’,Mélanges: Institut
dominicain d'études orientales du Caire, iii (1956), 1–74
B.S. Rasheed: Egyptian Folk Songs (New York and Cairo, 1958)
E. Bannerth: ‘Une chanson populaire de pèlerinage’, Mélanges: Institut dominicain
d'études orientales du Caire, vi (1959–61), 403
A. Türkmenoğlu: Ilâhi mecmuası [Collection of Ilâhi texts] (Istanbul, 1962)
I. Ilgar: Mevlid (Istanbul, 1965)
H.R. Şenses: Bu günün meşhur huffazı kiramı ve mevlithanları [Famous Qur'an and
mevlid singers of today] (Istanbul, 1965)
N. Çağtay: ‘The Tradition of Mavlid Recitations in Islam particularly in Turkey’,Studia
islamica, xxviii (1968), 127
A. Chottin: ‘Panégyriques et musiques religieuses populaires dans la religion
musulmane’, Encyclopédie des musiques sacrées, ed. J. Porte, i (Paris, 1968),
409–13
N.A. Jairazbhoy: ‘L'Islam en Inde et au Pakistan’, ibid., 454–63
S. Kinney: ‘Drummers in Dagbon: the Role of the Drummer in the Damba Festival’,
EthM, xiv (1970), 258–65
A. Mursi: Al-Ughniya al-sha‘biyya [The folksong] (Cairo, 1970), 90ff
A. Simon: Studien zur ägyptischen Volksmusik (Hamburg, 1972)
A.K. Belviranlı: Mûsikî rehberi: dînî mûsikî [Guide to music: religious music]
(Istanbul, 1975)
L.I. al-Farūqī: ‘The Mawled’, World of Music, xxviii/3 (1986), 79–87
N. and R. Tapper: ‘The Birth of the Prophet: Ritual and Gender in Turkish Islam’,
Man, xxii (1987), 69–92
E. Waugh: The Munshidin of Egypt: Their World and Their Song (Columbia, SC,
1989)
Islamic religious music: Bibliography
f: sufi music and mysticism
D.B. Macdonald: ‘Saints and the Ascetic-Ecstatic Life in Islam’, ‘The Mystery of
Man's Body and Mind’, The Religious Attitude and Life in Islam (Chicago,
1909/R), 157–219, 252
A. al-Hujwírí: The Kashf al mahjúb: the Oldest Persian Treatise on Sufism, ed. R.A.
Nicholson (London and Leyden, 1911/R, 2/1936/R)
A.N. Tarlan: Divan edebiyatinda tevhidler [Tevhid poems in Turkish art poetry]
(Istanbul, 1936)
Sirajul Hag: ‘Samā‘ and Rags of the Darwishes’, Islamic Culture, xviii (1944), 111–
30
A. Gölpınarlı: Mevlânâ'dan sonra mevlevîlik [The Mevlevî order after the death of
Mevlânâ J. Rūmī] (Istanbul,1953)
V.M. Kocatürk, ed.: Tekke şiiri antolojisi [Anthology of Turkish monastic poetry]
(Ankara,1955)
H. Ritter: Das Meer der Seele: Mensch, Welt und Gott in den Geschichten des
Farīduddīn ‘Aţţār (Leiden, 1955/R)
H. Hickmann: ‘Un zikr dans le mastaba de Debhen, Guîzah (4ième dynastie)’,
JIFMC, ix (1957), 59–62
K.H. Aïssou: ‘Musique et mystique au Maroc’, Encyclopédie des musiques sacrées,
ed. J. Porte, i (Paris, 1968), 464–6
N.A. Jairazbhoy: ‘L'Islam en Inde et au Pakistan’, ibid., 454–63
B. Mauguin: ‘Musique de mosquée et musique de confrérie en Turquie’, ibid., 422–
40
Ibn al-Qaisarānī: Kitāb al-samā‘ [Book on listening to music], ed. A. al-Wafā' al-
Marāghī (Cairo, 1970)
Syed Shah Khusro Hussaini: ‘Bund samā‘ (or Closed Audition)’, Islamic Culture,
xliv (1970), 177
A. Simon: ‘Islamische und Afrikanische Elemente in der Musik des Nordsudan am
Beispiel des dikr’, HJbMw, i (1975), 249–78
A.L. Troitskaya: ‘Iz proshlogo kalandarov i maddakhov v uzbekistane [From the
history of qalandars and maddah singers of Uzbekistan]’, Domusul' manskie
verovaniia i obriadi v srednei azii, ed. G.P. Snesarev and V.N. Basilov (Moscow,
1975), 191–223
J. During: ‘Structure du rhythme dans la musique de transe du Baloutchistan’, RdM,
lxii (1976), 213–25
D. Safvat: ‘Musique et mystique’, Etudes traditionnelles, no.483 (1984), 42–54, 94–
108
R. Burkhardt Qureshi: Sufi Music of India and Pakistan: Sound, Context and
Meaning in Qawwali (Cambridge, 1986)
J. During: Musique et extase: l'audition mystique dans la tradition soufie (Paris,
1988)
J. During: Musique et mystique dans les traditions de l'Iran (Paris, 1989)
J. During: ‘L'autre oreille: le pouvoir mystique de la musique au Moyen-Orient’,
Cahiers de musiques traditionelles, iii (1990), 57–78
J. During: Baloutchistan: musiques d'extase et de guérison (1992)
J. During: ‘What is Sufi Music?’, The Legacy of Mediaeval Persian Sufism, ed. L.
Lewisohn (London, 1992), 277–87
R. Sultanova: ‘Poyutchee slovo uzbekskih obrgadov’ [The singing word of Uzbek
incantations], Konjik (1994), 5–105
R. Sultanova: ‘Rituels poétiques et musicaux des femmes de la vallée du Ferghana
(Ouzbekistan)’, Musées/Hommes, iv (1994), 58–62
A. Hammarlund, T. Olssen and E. Ozdalga, eds.: Sufism, Music and Society in
Turkey and the Middle East (Istanbul, in prep.) [incl. R. Sultanova: ‘Sufi Female
Rites in Modern Uzbekistan’]
Islamic religious music: Bibliography
g: sufi dance
Les voyages du Sieur du Loir (Paris, 1654), 149ff
H. Ritter: ‘Der Reigen der “tanzenden Derwisché”’, Zeitschrift für vergleichende
Musikwissenschaft, i (1933), 28
A. Rifat and others, eds.: Mevlevî âyînleri [Âyîn compositions of the Mevlevî]
(Istanbul, 1934–9)
E. Dermenghem: Le culte des saints dans l'Islam maghrébin (Paris, 1954/R)
F. Meier: ‘Der Derwischtanz: Versuch eines Überblicks’, Asiatische Studien, viii
(1954), 107
M. Rezvani: Le théâtre et la danse en Iran (Paris, 1962)
H. Ritter: ‘Die Mevlânafeier in Konya vom 11.–17. Dezember 1960’, Oriens, xv
(1962), 249
M. Molé: ‘La danse extatique en Islam’, Les danses sacrées (Paris, 1963), 147–280
H.Z. Ülken: ‘L'amour divin et la danse mystiqué’, Ilâhiyat fakültesi dergisi [Ankara],
xiv (1966), 13
H.Z. Ülken: Mevlânâ ve mevlevâ a âyînleri [Mevlânâ J. Rûmî and the dances of the
Mevlevî] (Istanbul, 1969)
K. Reinhard: ‘Strukturanalyse einer Hymne des türkischen Komponisten Itrî (1640–
1711)’, Musik als Gestalt und Erlebnis: Festschrift Walter Graf, ed. E. Schenk
(Vienna, 1970), 158–77
H.P. Seidel: ‘Studien zum Usul ‘Devri Kebir’ in den Peşrev der Mevlevi’, Mitteilungen
der deutschen Gesellschaft für Musik des Orients, xi (1972–3), 7–70
S. Heper and Z. Akyığı, eds.: 43 âyîn külliyati [Collection of 43 âyîn compositions]
(Konya,1973)
S. Heper, ed.: Mevlevî âyînleri [Âyîn compositions of the Mevlevî] (Konya, 1974)
Islamic religious music: Bibliography
h: music of the shī'a
W. Ivanow: ‘Some Persian Darwish Songs’, Journal and Proceedings of the Asiatic
Society of Bengal, new ser., xxiii (1927), 237–42
H. Massé: Croyances et coutumes persanes suivies de contes et chansons
populaires, i (Paris, 1938)
J. Chelhod: ‘Pèlerinage à Kadzimain, lieu saint de l'Islam’, Objets et mondes, iii
(1963), 253
M. Schneider: ‘Religiöser Sport im Islam’, Rhythmus, xxxvi (1963), 4
A. Piemontese: ‘L'organizzazione della “Zurxâne” e la “Futuwwa”’, Annali: Istituto
universitario orientale di Napoli, new ser., xiv (1964), 453
N. Caron: ‘La musique shiite en Iran’, Encyclopédie des musiques sacrées, ed. J.
Porte, i (Paris, 1968), 430–40
M.T. Massoudieh: ‘Die Melodie Masnawī in der persischen Kunstmusik’, Orbis
musicae, i (1971–2), 57–66
E. Neubauer: ‘Muharram-Bräuche im heutigen Persien’, Der Islam, xlix (1972), 249
M.T. Massoudieh: ‘Tradition und Wandel in der persischen Musik des 19.
Jahrhunderts’, Musikkulturen Asiens, Afrikas und Ozeaniens im 19.
Jahrhundert, ed. R. Günther (Regensburg, 1973), 73–94, esp. 76ff
J. Kuckertz and M.T. Massoudieh: Musik in Būsehr (Süd-Iran), ii (Munich and
Salzburg, 1976)
P. Chelkowski, ed.: Ta'ziyeh: Ritual and Drama in Iran (New York, 1979)
M. Riggio, ed.: Ta'ziyeh: Ritual and Popular Beliefs in Iran (Hartford, CT, 1988)
G. van den Berg: Minstrel Poetry from the Pamir Mountains: a Study of the Isma‘ilis
of Tajik Badakhshan (diss., U. of Leiden, 1997)
Islamic religious music: Bibliography
i: heterodox sects
T. Menzel: ‘Das Bektāsi-Kloster Sejjid-i-Ghâzi’, Mitteilungen des Seminars für
orientalische Sprachen, xxviii/2 (1925), 92–125
A. Rifat and others, eds.: Bektaşî nefesleri [Nefes songs of the Bektāşi] (Istanbul,
1933)
E. Borrel: ‘Sur la musique secrète des tribus turques Alévi’, Revue des études
islamiques, viii (1934), 241
J.K. Birge: The Bektashi Order of Dervishes (London and Hartford, CT, 1937/R)
S.N. Ergun: Bektaşî şairleri ve nefesleri [Poets of the Bektaşî and their nefes
poems], i–ii (Istanbul, 1944, 2/1955) [up to the 19th century]
S.N. Ergun: Bektaşî-Kizulbas – Alevî şairleri ve nefesleri [Poets of the Bektaşî,
Kizilbas and Alevî and their nefes poems], iii (Istanbul, 1944, 2/1956) [from the
19th century]
S.N. Ergun, ed.: Hatâyî divanı: şah ismail safevî, edebî hyati ve nefesleri [Collection
of nefes poems of Hatâyî] (Istanbul, 1946, 2/1956)
E. Borrel: ‘Les poètes Kızıl Bach et leur musique’, Revue des études islamiques, xv
(1947), 157–90
A. Gölpınarlı, ed.: Alevî-Bektaşî nefesleri [Nefes songs of the Alevi and Bektaşî]
(Istanbul, 1963)
T. Bois: ‘Une secte ésotérique kurde: les Ahl-e Haqq’, Bibliotheca orientalis, xxiii
(1966), 250
B. Mauguin: ‘Musique de mosquée et musique de confrérie en Turquie’,
Encyclopédie des musiques sacrées, ed. J. Porte, i (Paris, 1968), 422–40, esp.
426
M. Mokri: ‘La musique sacrée des Kurdes “fidèles de vérité” en Iran’, ibid., 441–53
C.J. Edmonds: ‘The Beliefs and Practices of the Ahl-i Haqq in Iraq’, Iran, vii (1969),
89
I. Markoff: ‘The Role of Expressive Culture in the Demystification of a Sect of Islam:
the Case of the Alevis of Turkey’, World of Music, xxviii/3 (1986), 42–54
Islamic religious music: Bibliography
j: recordings
Dikr und Madih: Islamische Gesänge und Zeremonien, rec. 1974, Telefunken 66.28
192-01, 66.28 192-02 (1980) [incl. disc notes]
Syria, Zikr, Islamic Ritual Rifa'iyya Brotherhood of Aleppo, UNESCO/Audivis D 8013
(1989) [incl. disc notes]
Turquie: ceremonie des derviches Kadiri, VDE-GALLO CD 587 (1989) [incl. disc
notes]
Baloutchistan: musique d'extase et de guerison, Ocora C580017, C580018 (1992)
[incl. disc notes]
Kurdistan: Zikr et chants soufis, Ocora C560071, C560072 (1994) [incl. disc notes]