What is qawwali? Qawwali is a style of Muslim devotional music now associated particularly with Sufis in Pakistan. I was introduced to this sort of music back when I was 5-6 years old, and at the time every time my dad would play it in the car or in the house, my sisters and I would start whining about how trash it is, because we wouldn’t understand the lyrics of it. And instead, would make fun of the way the song is being played, and how dramatic the singer is. But now…oh my goodness, I could listen to this music all day long, depending on the mood obviously. From the lyrics to the beat of the ‘qawwali’, everything just makes you swoon and go “WOW, just wow, how did these people even come up with lyrics/poetry like this. It blows my mind.” The very first qawwali singer that I was introduced to was Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan aka NFAK. World renowned qawwali singer, there were people who started worshipping him because of his words and songs. He was almost like the Michael Jackson of the Pakistani music industry, Bollywood wanted to start using his songs for their movies, he also sung some songs for them.
Tumhe Dillagi Bhool Janey Parey Gi
The first qawwali that I’m introducing you to is his most famous one called, “Tumhe Dillagi Bhool Janey Paregi” (you will have to forget all about infatuation). His qawwali wasn’t the normal song length, they would go till 16-20mins, some even longer. This song is 16mins long and he would sing all this live. The lyrics of this song is just exceptional. His music is very repetitive, but you don’t get tired of listening to it. And the only way to admire and appreciate his music is if you can understand what he’s talking about. There’s this stanza in this song that says, “zakhm pe zakhm kha ke ji, apne lahoo ke ghoont pi, aah na kar labon ko si, ishq ha dillagi nahi”, (stay alive, torment after torment…take a sip of your own blood…don’t object, seal your lips, this is true love not infatuation!) And at another time he says, “kuch khel nahi hai ishq ki lag, paani na samaj ye aag hai aag”, (love is not a game, don’t mistake it for water, it’s a sea of fire!). So, he’s basically singing about how love isn’t something that could/should be taken granted for. It’s not easy to love, it’s a challenge, an extremely difficult one to love somebody. He describes love as a sea of fire and in order to love somebody truly and deeply you have to dive into that sea of fire. This qawwali has come into many new forms for today’s era with a new tune and a new song structure but nothing beats the old one.
Ankh Uthi Mohabbat Ne Angrai Li
All I want to post for this song is….
Tanhai Mein Faryaad Toh Kar Sakta Hoon
Veerane Ko Aabaad Toh Kar Sakta Hoon
Jab Chahoon Tumhe Mil Nhi Sakta Lekin
Jab Chahoon Tumhe Yaad toh Kar Sakta Hoon
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In loneliness, I can plaint
Some may define this as a prayer or request being made to God
A desolate place I can bring back to life
When you want, I cannot meet you, however
when you want I can think of you
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Achi Surat Ko Savarne Ki Jaroorat Kya Hai
Saadgi Mein Bhi Keyaamat Ki Ada Hoti Hai
Tum Jo aa jaate ho Masjid mein Ada Karne Namaaz
Tum ko maalum hai kitno ki Kaja Hoti Hai
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What is the purpose in adorning your beautiful face
there can be greatness in simplicity
You , who comes and goes …
to the mosque to offer your prayers
are you even aware of how many peoples prayers are disrupted
…. I hope you all can comprehend this. This is one of my very favorite poetry of his. I never knew where this came from, I had read it on Instagram before, until my husband played this song the other day and I was like OMG THIS IS WHERE THIS POETRY IS FROM! I was so happy to have found this song, I didn’t even know this was from a song of his. Bollywood has recently come out with a very new version of this song and honestly, they just ruined it. They did not do justice with this song! I sort of wish they had never renewed this one. The main chorus, the singer failed to pronounce the word “uthi” correctly and instead it sounds like “kutti”, which means b**** in English.
Ye Jo Halka Halka Suroor Hai
My all-time favorite song, the qawwali version and the song version that a Pakistani singer sang. Both, I can never get tired of. I had listened to the newer version before the old version and instantly fell in love with it. Such an emotional song, and the singers voice, Farhan Saeed is so soft and soothing, just makes you want to listen to it all day long. The tone and music of the new version is completely different than the old version, but the lyrics remain the same. The original song is almost 20 minutes long, whereas the newer version is just 4 mins and 22 seconds. My favorite lyric from this qawwali is “na namaz ati hai mujhko na wudhu ata hai, sajda kar leta hun jab samne tu ajata hai” which means, “nor prayer nor ablution do I know, but I prostrate when you come before me”. I absolutely love the ending of this qawwali, when everything sort of calms down and NFAK calmly sings and finishes it off.
