page_title: Music of Pakistan
section_title: Qawwali
hierarchical_section_title: Music of Pakistan / Traditional music / Qawwali
caption_attribution_description: A masterful Qawwali voice, Faiz Ali Faiz entranced the crowd at Millennium Park.
context_page_description: The Music of Pakistan includes diverse elements ranging from music from various parts of South Asia as well as Central Asian, Middle Eastern, and modern-day Western popular music influences. With these multiple influences, a distinctive Pakistani sound has emerged.
context_section_description: Qawwali (Urdu: قوٌالی‎) is the devotional music of the Chishti Sufis. Qawwali is a vibrant musical tradition that goes back more than 700 years in  South Asia . Although most Qawwali singers are found in Pakistan and they performed mainly at Sufi shrines throughout South Asia,  it has also gained mainstream popularity. Qawwali music received international exposure through the work of the Sabri Brothers in 1975, late Bakhshi Salamat, Aziz Mian and Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, largely due to several releases on the 'Real World' label, followed by live appearances at WOMAD festivals. Listeners, and often artists themselves are transported to a state of wajad, a trance-like state where they feel 'one with God', generally considered to be the height of spiritual ecstasy in Sufism. Qawwali was essentially created by Amir Khusrau in the late 13th century in the Mughul Empire. During the first major migration in the 11th century, the musical tradition of Sama migrated to South Asia from Turkey. Rumi and his Mevlana order of Sufism have been the propagators of Sama in Central Asia. Amir Khusrau of the Chisti order of Sufis is credited with fusing the Turkish, Persian, Arabic, and South Asian musical traditions, to create Qawwali as well as the classical music tradition. The word "Sama" is used (or is the preferred name) in Central Asia and Turkey, for forms very similar to Qawwali while in Pakistan, the formal name used for a session of Qawwali is "Mehfil-e-Sama". Instruments used in qawwali include:
  Tabla
  Dholak
  Harmonium
  Rubab (instrument)
  Sitar
  Sarangi
  Guitar
  Violin
  Saxophone
  Drums
  Flute
  Shehnai
  Piano
  Harmonica
  Tanpura
  Ektara
  Gharha
  Keyboard
  Chimta
  Dhol
  Dafli or Daf
  A group of qawwali musicians, called Humnawa in Urdu, typically consists of eight or nine men. Women are usually excluded from traditional Muslim music as ' respectable women' are traditionally prohibited from singing in mixed-gender public gatherings. Traditionally over the centuries, this has been the practice per the general interpretation of Islamic Law by the religious scholars. Although women are encouraged to hold their own 'Women Only' gatherings for reciting religious 'Naats' and holding live dance and music parties with musical instruments on 'Just- Before- Weddings-Mehndi' celebrations. This again, has to be a 'Women Only' event per the long practiced tradition where Islam generally discourages mixed-gender gatherings among unmarried women and unmarried men. Although in the 20th century, the so-called modern era, actual practice among Islamic societies, has been that one will see a lot of female musicians and female singers holding public concerts for both men and women. For evidence, one can just read the musician name lists on this page to spot a lot of female names on those lists now.
caption: Faiz Ali Faiz, a qawwali artist live in concert
exif: {}