FREE Sufi Music Essay (original) (raw)

20,000 people, listening to one rhythm. Their heads, moving in an enchanting trance, and their minds seem to link with one single source; the music sprouting through the traditional instruments and amplified via the Boss speakers. This is a scene from a Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan concert in NYC, circa 1994. What is this music? What culture does it represent? Why is it so appealing to an audience that at large, not even understand the lyrics of the song? These are the questions that fueled my curiosity to write this report: Sufi Music, the art form that defines a culture.
A major part of my child hood was spent in the Pakistani province of Sindh. This land is famous for its Sufi scholars and their teachings. The area also possesses a legacy of Sufi music that I grew up listening to. Upon my first encounter with the western world ten years ago, when I landed in New York, I was surprised to see a devout following and a fan base for the music. Since then, I was intrigued by the fact that why is this message of Sufi music so popular, that it is even recognized by people who don't even share and understand the basics of the culture it represents? This question was of prime interest to me when I decided to write this report.

• What is Sufism?.
Before I shall confer to the report's core subject, I think it's a better idea that the reader should be familiarized with a general context of the culture of Sufism, the very notion that dictated the art of Sufi music. .
Derived from the Arabic word Suf, meaning wool, the term "Sufi- was originally used to describe a type of ascetic Muslim who wore coarse woolen garb. Sufism "often referred to as Islamic mysticism "emphasizes the beneficence of God and the spirit of faith and submission. Sufism developed in the 7th century alongside the emergence of formal Islam in the Middle East and spread to Africa in the 12th century AD. Beginning in the 19th century, Sufi orders proliferated in Africa, and in the 20th century they became a venue for political and economic organization.

1. battles

This is made evident when analyzing the works of Christian mystic, Margery Kempe, and Sufi poet, Jalal al-Din Rumi, who despite the difference in gender and culture, shed light on the meaning of Truth through acts and words of devotion and love for a common God. ... Jalal al-Din Rumi, a member of the mystic sect of Muslims called Sufi, wrote several poems in his lifetime. Sufis placed a large emphasis on the sensory aspects of worship: music, poetry and dance. ...

2. Religions

Christian music wanted to exclude any secular feeling from their music, for that reason they would not allow any form of individual expression from liturgical music. ... Buddhist Music in India and China: Buddhist music was an important part of there worship. There music was nothing likes that of the Christian music, they would use chants and hums for there sound. ... Sufi Poetry: Sufi poetry was founded by followers of Muhammad who wanted to practice a meditative religious life that of Christian and Buddhist. Sufi's believed in the purification of the soul and a mystical union with God...

3. "To Junoon, Or not to Junoon"

I always loved the music that Junoon started off with i.e. ... This was the kind of music Junoon should have kept on doing with a few experimentations. ... On the other side Noori had arrived on the net & among the fans of Rock music. ... It should be a welcome change from the Sufi rock that they were playing and in my opinion was getting out of hand. ... It's not so much the lyrical content but the music that has one mesmerised. ...

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