Singing in praise of the Lord
By Devi Singh Naruka

‘SAMA’ or ‘Qawwali’ has played an important role in the Sufism. The word qawwali has been derived from the Arabic word Quaol which means Bol or saying. It is sung in the praise of God and dictums of his great prophets, saints and other holy persons.

Though singing and dancing is not considered good in Islam, when Sufism came to India, it was considerably influenced by the religious ways of this country.

The qawwali in the present form was first introduced during the times of Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti (1142-1233 AD) at Ajmer. It became popular during the period of Hazrat Amir Khusro (1253-1325 AD). He was a great Sufi poet and composed poems in Persian, Urdu and Hindi languages. He was the most beloved mureed or disciple of Hazrat Nizamuddin Aulia and held important positions in the courts of several Sultans of Delhi.

The sight of religious mehfil-e-sama or qawwali in the Dargah of Khwaza Moinuddin Chisti is unique. The main religious qawwali mehfils are held in the Mehfil Khana of the Dargah during the Urs. During six days of the Urs, the Mehfils are presided by the Dargah Deewan, the descendant of Khwaza Moinuddin. He sits in front of the Mehfil khana in saintly robes and a turban on his head. He sits under the canopy which stands with the help of silver sticks. A Chobdaar with a silver stick, stands before him in traditional robes.

In the beginning of the qawwali mehfil, the Fatha is read out and then the Mehfil begins. At the beginning, Qawwals sing in the praise of God Almighty, then in the praise of Prophet Mohammed, the Sufi saints, and then the qawwali starts.

According to sufism, the devotee is a lover and God is the beloved. The qawwals narrate the state of separation between the lover and the beloved. The lover wants to meet the beloved and implores the beloved to see him just once. Even a kind look of the beloved will fulfil the desire of the devotee. As per directions of the Deewan, one after another qawwali party sits before him and the audience, starts singing and as soon as the signal is received, they finish their programme. When the qawwali mehfils are going on and a devotee wants to pay something to the qawwal, he does not give directly to him. The procedure is that the money is offered to the Deewan, who presides over the mehfil directly or through some elderly person. That money is given immediately to Chobdaar and he gives it to the qawwal. The heads of the religious qawwali mehfil audience are covered and people are expected to observe the ‘Adaab’ or decorum of the mehfil.

Hazrat Ali Hujwri in his book Kashf-ul-mahjoob writes "In the first instance, a Sufi must try to avoid ‘Sama’ or Qawwali if he can. But if he can not, then he must limit it’s frequency in order to preserve it’s charm and usefulness. A peer or senior Sufi must preside over all ‘Sama’ concerts which must be held in a quiet and secluded surrounding. Common folk, women and boys in their teens must not be admitted to a Sama mehfil. During the Sama mehfil the listerners’ hearts must be free of all worldly worries. In the state of Wazd a Sufi must never subdue or resist his inner urge but try to control as gracefully as possible. Tearing of clothes in the state of Wazd is against the etiquette of Sama. He must not pass his opinion on the quality of music.

Hazrat Khwaaza Kutubuddin Bakhtiar Kaki of Delhi was very much fond of Sama or qawwali. In the year 1237 AD when he was in qawwali mehfil in the Dargah of Sheikh Ali Sijistani at Delhi, Wazd came into him. At this time the qawwali party was singing the following Persian couplet of Sheikh Ahmed Jam’s famous Qasseeda.

"Khushtagaan-e-khanjar-e-tasleem raa,
Har zamaan azz gheb jaan-e-deegar ast."

For the victims of the sword of divine love, there is a new life every moment from the unseen).

Hazrat Khwaaja Qutubuddin remained in the state of Wazd for three days and nights continuously. The qawwals repeated the above couplet during this period except the prayer times. On the fourth day the saint died in the same state. Therefore, he is also called Shaheed-e-Mohabbat because he sacrificed himself in the love of God.

A similar incident took place in the year 1902 A.D. A great Sufi Maulana Mohammed Hussain of Allahabad, died in the state of Wazd in the Dargaah of Khwaza Moinuddin Chishti at Ajmer. On this occassion the qawwali party was singing the following person couplet:-

Guft quddusi faqir-e-dar fana-o-dar baga,
Khud-ba-khud azad budi khud giraftaar aamdi.

The humble Darvesh Quddasi says that in the cycle of life and death, the soul confines itself to human body at the time of birth by its own free will, and then liberates itself from the human body at the time of death by its own free will, i.e. one is neither born nor dies of one’s own free will.

I have personally seen in the Urs fair of Ajmer in the year 1985, when the qawwali mehfil was in full swing the Wazd ecstasy overpowered a devotee of Hyderabad, Mohammed Abdul Qayyuum. He stood up and went on circling. There were tears of joy in his eyes. At that time the qawwali party was singing in Persian:-

"Aarzoo Daram ch mehmanat kunam
Jano-e-dil-e-dost kurbanat kunam"

(Oh Lord, I beseech you to be my guest because I want to sacrifice my life and heart on you).

Whenever a devotee becomes in the state of ‘Wazd’ at that time the whole mehfil stands up. The party repeats the words of a particular couplet which brought the devotee in ecstasy. After some time the devotee is pacified and the mehfil continues.

Hazarat Baba Fariduddin Ganj Shakar has said: Without doubt, sama is the way of divine lovers, who feel enjoyment when there is a mention of their beloved God."