Musical path to spirituality



Sufi Concert



Sandeep Dwivedy

SUFI MUSIC is the devotional music of the Sufis inspired by the works of Sufi poets like ‘Rumi’, ‘Hafez’, ‘Bulle Shah’ and ‘KhwajaGhulam Farid’.

Qawwali is the most well-known form of Sufi music, common in India and Pakistan. However, music is also central to the Sema ceremonyof the whirling dervishes, which is set to a form of music called Ayin, a vocal and instrumental piece featuring Turkish classical instruments such as the ‘Ney’ (a reed flute). The West African ‘gnawa’ is another form, and Sufis from Indonesia, Afghanistan and Morocco have made music central to their practices.

Sufi love songs are often performed as ghazals and Kafi, which are  accompanied by percussion and harmonium. Sufi music is catching the attention of everyone, whether it is youth or the older generation. A Sufi song is said to be a collection of poems which were composed by Islam’s greatest saints from the very beginning of Sufism.

Sufism believes in the harmony of all the religions. It believes that hurting the sentiments of people of different religions is a sinful deed and is punishable by God. Hence, Sufi songs are sung in praise of both Ram and Allah.  For Sufism it is human beings, instead of Hindus and Muslims.

Some notable contemporary Sufi singers are Abida Parveen, Bibi Nooran, Barkat Sidhu, Iqbal Bahu, Miraj Khan, Ustad Juman, Allan Fakir, Swam Noora, Sultan Khan, Shahram Nazeri, Kailash Kher, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Rabbi Shergill, Shubha Mudgal, Ghulam Ali, Wadali Brothers, Pathanay Khan and many more.

These singers are some of the most famous Sufi singers the world has ever seen. Their compositions are superb, simply spiritual and it seems that their songs are the path that will lead one to the all powerful, the divine. They and their work are valuable. They are giving the world an easy path towards spirituality.

Sufi music has also entered Bollywood. The song ‘Kun Faaya Kun’ from the yet to be released movie ‘Rockstar’ is already topping the charts. The song ‘Khwaja Mere

Khwaja’ from the movie ‘Jodhaa Akbar’ was a soulful number. The video shows the whirling dervishes lost in trance and dancing in a manner which is unique to the art

form.