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Muhammad Ali Zafar - 17020101

Rakae Rehman Jamil
SS 137 - Evolution of Music in the Subcontinent
16 May 2014
The Origins of Sufi Music in the Subcontinent
In modern day Islam that is mired in fundamentalism, the concepts of Sufism stand out as
a beacon of tolerance, peace and plurality. A major part of the teachings of Sufism has some
connection to the universe of Sufi Music that has developed over the years into a powerful force
in society. To date, the shrines of major Sufi saints, poets and thinkers are visited by devotees en
masse. The devotees pay their respects to the Sufis and take part in rituals that are characteristic
of Sufi shrines. Amongst those rituals is the performance and audition of devotional music,
sama, performed on major Sufi poetic works with themes in line with Sufi teachings. The style
of performance, i.e. the forms, the instruments and the code of conduct is preserved in more or
less the same form as during the origins of this genre of devotional music. Moreover, the fervour
with which devotees flock to these shrines, offers proof to the fact that the purpose behind the
performance of such music has not been polluted or tarnished. That purpose is spiritual
enlightenment or ecstasy, termed as wajd: the eventual goal of followers of Sufism. Even the
social hierarchical setup of the shrines has not altered to a large degree, and they still possess a
role and significance in society as they did in the initial stages of Indic-Sufism. Thus it appears
that it would serve our interests of understanding Sufism better, if we looked deeper into the
status of the genre as it existed during its formational stages. This essay will attempt to do just
that; by focusing on the forms, motivations, contributors and socio-cultural significance of Sufi
Music during the years of early Muslim rule in the subcontinent. This will help to elucidate the

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situation of Sufi music in that time period, as well as bring us closer to understanding Sufism in a
musical context.
It would be wise not to shift from the analytical to the descriptive by simply beginning
with a chronology of events, starting from the arrival of Muhammad bin Qasim in Sindh.
However, a brief contextualization would do us well before moving into the details relevant to
our research on the musical genre.
Before the advent of Muslim Rule, the subcontinent was dominated primarily by Hindu
society and culture. Thus, Hindu beliefs and practices were ingrained in the subcontinent. The
social setup was divided into four major castes, from which two broad categories emerge: first,
the owners of resources and second, the producers of goods and providers of services. The lower
castes fit into the service providers. This has an important impact on the social setup of Sufi
shrines as we shall see later on. However, we will soon see how the development of Sufism
provided a congenial environment for the coming together of Islamic and Hindu cultures, a blend
that had its most evident manifestation in Sufi Music.
The importance of music in Hindu culture is also a point to be noted before we begin our
analysis of Sufi music and its origins. Music is considered an integral tenet of Hinduism and thus
had developed a cultural importance in the subcontinent. This too had a major role in the
simultaneous development of Islam and Sufism with Sufi Music as we shall soon examine.
1. Contributors to Sufi Music
The emergence of Sufism in the subcontinent can be credited to the Sufi saint who established
the Chishtiya Order in the region; Khwja Mo`nuddn Chisht. It must be noted that of the four
main orders of Sufism present in the subcontinent, it is the Chishti Order that propagates the
usage of music as a tool for reaching spiritual ecstasy. Mo`nuddn Chisht established the order

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in Ajmer, a place which became a centre for interaction of Hindu and Muslim music (Rizvi 331).
Evening sama rituals, spiritual musical performances, used to be held without fail at the
establishment in Ajmer. The message of Sufism gained popularity during this time, and so did
the Sufi music genre. This was due to Mo`nuddn Chisht being popular amongst both Muslims
and Hindus. He offered an inclusive view of Sufism to the masses. It was not rooted in a rigid
form of Islam but sought to refine the consciousness of the divine, intensify piety, and inculcate
a humanistic attitude (Alvi). Due also to Mo`nuddn Chishts social welfare activities Ajmer
has been dubbed the nucleus for the Islamization of central and southern India (Schimmel).
Such was the importance of Sufism during the origins of Islam in the subcontinent. It is an
importance that naturally extended itself to Sufi music
The Chishti Order did much to promote music in the subcontinent. Apart from the
promotion of music in Ajmer, followers of the Chishti Order became proponents of music in
other spheres of life. This extended to the political sphere when Shamsuddin Iltutmish,
influenced by the orthodoxy, imposed a ban on music in his Sultanate. Kadi Hamiduddin Nagori,
a proponent of the Chishti Order, convinced the Iltutmish that music was not prohibited for those
devoted to God. As a member of the Mamluk dynasty, Iltutmish was a former slave; and Nagori
striking up allusions from the previous status of the Sultan managed to get the ban on music
lifted (Rizvi 332). The influence on Iltutmish of Bakhtiyar Kaki, the successor of Mo`nuddn
Chisht, was also very important in the uplifting of this ban (Ahmad 86).
It was one of Mo`nuddn Chishts spiritual descendants who, along with his disciple,
emerged as another major contributor to Sufi music in the subcontinent. Nizamuddin Auliya and
Amir Khusrau are big names in Sufism. Nizamuddin Auliya stuck to the permission of music and
the struggle against the orthodoxy, according to the beliefs of his Order. Thus, when the then

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ruler, Ghiasuddin Tughlak, questioned the musical parties held at Nizamuddin Auliyas
monastery, the Saint stood firm with his favourable opinion towards music (Rizvi 334). The
King called a Congress of 253 ulema, in which Nizamuddin Auliya was present as a defendant of
music. It was upon learning from the rationalist traveller, Alam al-Din Multani, of the ubiquity
of musical assemblies in Sufi hospices all over Dar al-Islam, that the King made an exception for
the Sufis with regards to music (Ahmad 87).
By far amongst the most important figures in the development of Sufi music is
Nizamuddin Auliyas disciple, Amir Khusrau. In the domain of music, Khusrau came to
prominence during the reign of Sultan Ghiasuddin Balban (Rizvi 332). Khusrau was one of the
greatest polymaths in history. He was a soldier, a philosopher, a poet, a disciple and a musician.
His work in the field of music led to great advancements as he was the pioneer of a multitude of
breakthroughs in music. The formal development of Indian Classical Music has also been
accredited largely to the work of Amir Khusrau. A member of the nobility, Khusrau was in touch
with his Persian heritage. He fused his Persian ideas with those that he acquired as he matured in
the subcontinent to cause a fusion of Iranian and Indian musical forms. Even his Sufi poetry
contained a fusion of Farsi and Dehaati dialects of Hindi. He is even known to have produced
works in Punjabi, such as Ghias-ud-din Tughlaks war ballad (Rahman 1). This excerpt from
Khusraus Zehaal-e-Miskeen displays the use of both Persian and Brij Bhasha in the same poem
by the skilled belle-lettrist.
Zehaal-e-miskeen makun taghaful (Farsi),
Duraye naina banaye batiyan (Brij Bhasha).

Ke taab-e-hijran nadaram ay jaan (Farsi,

Na leho kahe lagaye chatiyan (Brij Bhasha).

Do not overlook my misery,

by blandishing your eyes and weaving tales,

My patience has over-brimmed, O

sweetheart!
Why do you not take me to your bosom?

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Khusraus work on the science of music led to his invention of around 20 new melodies,
which included aiman, tarana, khyal and shahana. Khusrau brought this about by his
hybridization of Indian rags and Persian maqamat (Ahmad 92). Khusrau talked about the Indian
people as putting [their] heart and soul in music (Khusrau); such was the importance the Sufis
accorded to music in the early period of Muslim rule.
2. Musical forms and instruments
Perhaps the most important contribution that Khusrau made to Sufi music was the pioneering of
the ghazal and qawwali forms of music (Ahmad 89). The qawwali was a regular form of
devotional music in the shrines of old; a tradition that has continued in its original form to the
present day.
The music during the Muslim rule of the subcontinent inherited much from the Arab and
Persian cultures from which it had derived. The similarity of instruments is a perfect example of
this with the daff, tambourine, reed pipe and lute as common instruments in the subcontinent that
had already been in use in the Muslim World (Rizvi 331). The very same instruments continued
as the Muslim rule carried on, with inclusions of rabab, dastak and dastan being used in Amir
Khusraus time (Rizvi 333). These instruments were to become the greatest source of
controversy in Sufi music later on, as it would be debated whether they should be permitted or
not. However, the use of percussion instruments has been typical of Sufi spiritual gatherings as it
aids and reinforces the element of zikr (Qureshi 82). There have even been some inventions of
instruments accredited to Sufi mystics. The dambor is said to have been originated by Shah
Abdul Latif Bhitai (Dalrymple). The invention of the sitar by Amir Khusrau, however, is a
common misconception (Ahmad 89).

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Actually, in the Indian subcontinent, Sufi thoughts find expression through several
musical genres: Qawwali, Qaul, Qalbana, Ghazal, folk forms from Rajasthan, Sindh & Punjab,
Sufiyana kalam from Kashmir. Nonetheless, it is Qawwali, the homegrown genre attributed to
Amir Khurau that seems to be the most popular 'food for the soul' (Rao). Of the forms, khyaal
and qawwali were the two most popular in Sufi music. Both are accredited to Amir Khusrau. The
disciples of the khyaal gayiki tradition are known as khayaalis. The Qawwali form, however, can
be seen as the more powerful one amongst the two. It was even present in its nascent form during
the time of Khwja Mo`nuddn Chisht (Rizvi 331), whose Qawwaals were a regular attraction
of the establishment at Ajmer. Qawwal has been derived from the word qaul which means the
spoken word. Thus, Qawwals are literally speakers or singers of a verbal message (Qureshi
83). We have to realize that the Qawwali was not just a musical performance. It was religious
ritual for the Sufis as it was a practical way of realizing the sama gatherings. The Qawwali had
proper rules of procedure, with a proper, established relationship between the singer and the
listener. It is rumored that the first ever Qawwali came from the originator of this form of Sufi
music: Amir Khusraus Man Kunto Maula (Dalrymple).
A major component of the music of the Sufis was the content of the musical
performances. That content was invariably poetry written by the Sufi masters or mystics. There
was one message in each, the common denominator of the universal message of Sufism. It was a
message of peace and harmony. It propagated the Sufi practices of purifying the interior rather
than focusing on the exterior. Devotional in character, it praised either a Sufi saint ranging from
the Caliph Ali to any of the Sufi sheikhs of the various Orders. It was often secular in character
as well, thus explaining the ease with which non-Muslims could accept its universality. Bulleh
Shah the famous poet writes,

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Parh parh Aalim Faazil hoya

You read to become all knowledgeable.

Kaday apnay aap nu parhya nai

But you have never read yourself

This very message of inward focus is what Sufism and Sufi music stood for. It even
challenges the orthodoxy on some level, by questioning their claims to be authorities simply on
the basis of the knowledge they believe they possess.
This poetry ranged from Farsi and Hidi to Urdu and Punjabi, each language holding some
importance in the socio-cultural climate of the gradually Islamizing subcontinent. Farsi was the
elite language, Hindi and Punjabi catered to the untutored devotee and Urdu was soon to become
the lingua-franca of the Muslims (Qureshi 85).
The purposes behind the promotion of Sufi music can easily be extended from the
examination of its poetry. The poetry constituted the spiritual musical performances and was rich
in Sufi beliefs, symbols and imagery. This contributed to the creation of the ritual of sama that
was the reason behind the audition of Sufi music. This way it became a synthesis of Sufi
teachings and Sufi experience (Qureshi 77).
Qawwali, with elements such as mystical poetry and powerful rhythm suggesting
ceaseless repetition of God's name (zikr), the music of Qawwali fulfills a religious function; to
arouse mystical love and divine ecstasy, which is the core experience of Sufism (Rao).
The music undoubtedly aided in the element of zikr. Thus, extending from the importance
of zikr and sama, the musical aspect of Sufism gained relevance. Al-Ghazali the great Muslim
philosopher has encapsulated the importance of music for Sufis by calling it a means to stir up
greater love towards God, obtain spiritual visions and ecstasies and attain a degree of purity
which could never be attained by any amount of mere outward austerities (Bhanu 12).

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Another reason behind the focus on music by the Sufis during the early years of Muslim
rule was to present an image of Islam that could be accepted by a wider populace. Qureshi
attributes this to the ubiquitous presence of religious music in Hinduism (Qureshi 83). Thus, in
that Hindu environment, it was important to give Islam a universal reach. Music, particularly, in
the ritual of sama greatly aided in the Islamization process of the subcontinent.
3. Socio-cultural role and significance
The role and significance of Sufi music can only be understood after recognizing the social
hierarchical setup of the Sufis in the Muslim subcontinent: a land itself witnessing much social
division.
Sufism and Sufi music were established in the subcontinent in the 13th century (Qureshi
90). The subcontinent was seen as a safe haven by all those affected by Mongol invasions and
soon the court had an immense influx of diverse cultures, religiosity, and literature from Persia
and Central Asia; Sufism was the main ingredient in all mediums (Morgan 76).
However, the subcontinent possessed its own feudal setup which had a hierarchical
relationship that followed a courtier pattern (Qureshi 90). Society was divided into two: the
producers and the controllers of resources. This Muslim categorization can be seen as similar to
the Hindu caste system, however, the one major difference is that in the former the basis of
superiority is power not inheritance, and religion simply gave legitimacy. However, religion
could be used to uplift ones social position.
Thus, in such an environment there was a replication by the Sufi shrines of the status quo
that prevailed in the land. Sufism did not just aid in legitimizing Muslim rule, it also emulated it.
Just as worldly power manifested itself in government seats, saintly power manifested itself in
shrine establishments (Qureshi 91). A formal code of conduct in the Sufi shrines was derived

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from early Muslim court behaviour. Here the saints took on the role of the appropriating class
and the Qawwals and the menials took on the role of the clients. This mimicked the client-master
relationship in the feudal setup. All affairs of the shrine, especially monetary ones were in
control of the saints or their descendants. Indeed, the Sufi shrines too adopted the concept of
familial descent (Qureshi 92).
Perhaps due to this hierarchical setup which demoted the Qawwals and the performers,
the profession of music was looked down upon. Thus, when Muhammad bin Tughlak promoted
the meritorious son of a musician to a high office his action was condemned as encouragement
to low-born people (Rizvi 335).
In the socio-cultural environment of the subcontinent, the question of the permission or
prohibition of music was also one of great import. While the orthodoxy did not allow it, there
were liberal thinkers such as Maulana Ahmad Mukarram who tried to prove [] that music was
not forbidden by Shariat (Rizvi 331). Even the rulers of the Delhi Sultanate had each a
different view regarding the acceptance of music in Islam. While many were great patrons, some
were strongly averse to the art form. The Sufis, especially the Chishtis, did much to ameliorate
the situation of music, as we have already examined.
However, even in light of Sufism; the ritual of sama has a controversial standing.
Although the element of zikr is sanctioned in the Quran (Qureshi 82), sama has been an issue
of much theological debate. This is due to the propounded difference between recitation and
music that comes to the fore in such a discussion. While the Quranic chanting and zikr are taken
as recitation and accepted, sama is rejected by the orthodoxy due to its strong attachment to
music.

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Nevertheless, there exists the concept of a band-sama as well, that is devoid of any
musical instruments. This evolved due to the wavering opinion of some Sufis and Sufi Orders
pertaining to music. Often, Nizamuddin Auliya and his spiritual descendant, Syed Gesudaraz
would vacillate on their opinion on music; despite belonging to the Chishtiya Order (Qureshi
82). The Naqshbandiya Order prohibit the use of music altogether..
These discords leave the Qawwal in a very peculiar position. Qureshi talks about the
incongruity between singing and listening to music that developed in the subcontinent. Sama
was conceived to be achieved simply through listening and making music was considered by
many to be against Islamic tenets. However, this had greater roots in the inheritance from Hindu
culture that the subcontinent under Muslim rule had tacitly acquired (Qureshi 96). This can quite
logically be linked to the idea of making music being unacceptable by the Brahmins due to the
use of leather in the design of instruments.
All in all, the role of Sufi Music in the subcontinent was the propagation of the Sufi
message of tolerance and harmony. Through a khanqah's services, Sufis presented the true form
of Islam and forged a way for voluntary conversions of lower class Hindustanis (Aquil). This
seems like a good respite from the radical fundamentalism that has engulfed the Islam of today.
It would be foolish of us not to tap into the resource of our mystical music and find a solution to
the problems that mire our cultural standing in the global village of todays world. With the same
resources available to us through Sufism, that inspired minds like Amir Khusrau, Bulleh Shah
and many others; we should at least attempt to revive the same fervour which constituted Islam
at the period of the origins of Sufism in India. With its awe-inspiring forms, its inspirational
proponents and engaging goal of obtaining wajd, Sufi music is at our service now as it was when
Muslims came to the subcontinent. Its eternal and universal message might be just what we need.

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Works Cited
Ahmad, Aziz. "Muslim Attitude and Contribution to Music in India." History of Indian Music.
N.p.: n.p., 1969. 86-92. Print. (Page 206-209 of Coursepack)
Alvi, Sajida Sultana.

rs cti s n

u ha n ia

u rs

ist rians

am an Su is.

Karachi: Oxford UP, 2012. Print.

Aquil, Raziuddin. Sufism, Culture, and Politics: Afghans and Islam in Medieval North India.
New Delhi: Oxford Univ., 2007. Print.
Dharma, Bhanu. "Promotion of Music by the Turko-Afghan Rulers of India." Islamic Culture.
N.p.: n.p., 1955. 9-31. Print. (Page 202-205 of Coursepack)
Khusrau, Amir. Nuh Sipihr. Trans. R. Nath and Faiyz Gwaliari. N.p.: n.p., 1318. Print.
<http://books.google.com.pk/books?vid=ISBN8125020225&id=MbGyZN1I4E0C&pg=P
A92&lpg=PA92&dq=amir+khusrau+turk&sig=9jOGAwURrnlavieSIU_0gP5FtqU&redir
_esc=y#v=onepage&q=amir%20khusrau%20turk&f=false>
Morgan, Michael Hamilton. Lost History: The Enduring Legacy of Muslim Scientists, Thinkers,
and Artists. Washington, D.C.: National Geographic, 2007. Print.
Qureshi, Regula B. "The Performance Context: The Qawwali Occasion." Sufi Music of India and
Pakistan: Sound, Context, and Meaning in Qawwali. N.p.: n.p., n.d. 77-96. Print. (Page
191-201 of Coursepack)
Rahman, Tariq. "Punjabi Language during British Rule." Punjabi during British Rule. N.p.: n.p.
Web. 15 May 2014. <http://www.global.ucsb.edu/punjab/14.1_Rahman.pdf>.
Rao, Suvarnalata. "Sufi Music: The Song of the Soul." The Economic Times. Bennett, Coleman
and Co. Ltd., 1 Apr. 2011. Web. 15 May 2014.

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<http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2011-04-01/news/29370440_1_sufimusic-gnawa-sufi-thoughts>.
Rizvi, S. N. Haider. "Music in Muslim India." Islamic Culture. N.p.: n.p., 1941. 331-40. Print.
(Page 185-190 of Coursepack)
Schimmel, Annemarie. "Sufism in Indo-Pakistan." Mystical Dimensions of Islam. Chapel Hill: U
of North Carolina, 1975. 334. Print.
Sufi Soul: The Mystic Music of Islam. By William Dalrymple. Perf. William Dalrymple.
Channel 4, 2005. Documentary. < www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICG3YqI2AD4>