Even today, we find the curious mixВture of Persian moqquams with InВdian rags. It is said that he mixed the varВious musВical elements from Turkey, greater Persia and India together. It is said that he was the advisor to 11 rulers of Delhi, parВtiВcuВlarly the rulers of the Khilji Dynasty (Deva 1973:76).ДЄmir Khusru is so imporВtant to the development of qawwali that he is often (erroneously) said to be the inventor of it. Amir Khusru was a legendary musician, statesman and philosopher. His father died when he was eight years old, whereupon the job of raising him fell to his maternal grandfather. His father was oriВgiВnally from Turkey, this gave the young boy a broader exposure to the rest of the Islamic world. One man who was inВspired by the Hazrat Nizamuddin was Amir Khusru (1254-1324). Even today there is an annual gathering at his tomb. Nizamuddin Auliya was, and still is, a source of inspiration for countless peoВple. This creaВted a great amount of friction with the more orthodox Islamic elements in Delhi. Here he acВquired a reВpuВtaВtion for using music in his devotional gatherings. He was then sent to Delhi to instruct the populous. It is said that it was here that he received the key to inner illumination. He was born in Budaun, but at the age of 20 he moved to Ajodhan and beВcame a disciple of Fariduddin Ganj-i-Shakkar. One of the followers of the Chisti school was a man by the name of Shaikh Nizamuddin Auliya (1236-1325). He later grew tired of the life in Delhi and withdrew to the peace and quite of Ajmer (Rajasthan) where he lived the remainder of his days. He immigrated to Delhi and beВcame a very reВspecВted saint. At a young age, he was influenced by seveВral saintly men, including Ibrahim Qahandazi, and Shaikh Abdul Qadir Jilli. Khwaj Moinuddin Hasan Chisti was undoubtedly reВsponВsible for the widesВpread propagation of this school of Sufism. HowВever there are a some who hold that the originator was Abu Ishaq Shami Chisti who died in Damascus in 940 C.E. Most believe that it was esВtabВlished by Khwaj Moinuddin Hasan Chisti (1143-1234). The origin of the Chisti school is unclear. It is this order that has been reВsponВsible for the propagation of the qawwali in India and Pakistan for then last few centuВries. These principles were then expanded by the Chisti school of Sufism. The earВliest Islamic scholars disВcusВsed the spiritual efВfects of music, but it was only in the time of al-Gazali (1085-1111) that these principles were refined and codified. The origins of qawwali probВably predate the birth of Muhammad. In the ideal siВtuaВtion the participant is moved to a state of spiritual enlightenment (fana). It is the goal here to lead the listener and performer alike into a trance (hal). After awhile there is a repetition to the exВtent that the words cease to have a meaning. The words are sung, quite repeatedly with variations intended to bring out deeper means of the lyrics. In this psychological state the song is received in a manВner that is not unlike standard forms of musВical expression. One starts with the singВing of the song. There is a very specific psychological proВcess which a qawwali follows. These samas took place under the direction of a spiritually reВspecВted man (shaikh). The sama was often a spiritual concert, which inВcluВded a vocalist, and instrumentalists.

The use of music as a spiritual force was disВcusВsed in great length by al-Gazali (1085-1111).Д«y the end of the 11th cenВtury, there arose the tradВition of the sama. The qawwali may be viewed as an exВtenВsion of the vocal form of this remembrance. This remembrance, known as dhikr, may be either siВlent of vocal. The Koran instructs man to reВmemВber God. To this end there are a numВber of difВferВent techniques and methВods. HowВever, where the mainstream Muslim believes that it is only posВsible to reach God after death at the final judgement, the Sufi believes that it is posВsible to reach God duВring ones life. All Muslims believe that man is on a path to God (tariqah). The difference betВween Sufism and mainstream Islam is simple. In Arabic, this mysticism is known as tasawwuf. The qawwali is inВextВricВably linked to the Sufi tradВition Sufism is a mystical school of Islamic thought which strives to attain truth and divine love by direct perВsonal experience.

The Qawwali is closely linked to the spiritual and arВtisВtic life of norВthern India and Pakistan. A Qawwal is one who sings qawwali, or the dictums of the prophets and praises of God. The word qawwali is derВived from the Arabic word Qaol which means вЂњaxiomвЂќ or вЂњdictumвЂќ. Qawwali is the tradВitional form of Islamic song found in India and Pakistan. Biblio., Disc., & Works Cited open child menu.Electronic Aids in Indian Music Education.

Hindi qawwali