Qawwali

Topic: Bhakti and Sufi Traditions · NCERT: Class 12, Ch 2 "Bhakti-Sufi Traditions"

Meaning

Qawwali is a form of sufi devotional singing. It grew out of sama' (listening to mystical music) and is sung at sufi shrines, mainly those of the Chishti order. Amir Khusrau (1253–1325) is widely accepted as its creator [3].

It matters because music was the bridge between sufi Islam and Indian devotion. Bhakti worship was also full of song, so qawwali helped sufi ideas reach ordinary people across the subcontinent.

Explanation

Background: why the Chishtis turned to music

• The Chishtis came to India in the late 12th century and became the largest sufi order there. They succeeded because they fitted into the local setting.
• Their worship had two main practices:
• Zikr: repeating the Divine Names of God again and again. Chishtis did this both aloud (dhikr jahri) and silently (dhikr khafi) [2].

• Sama': literally "audition". It means listening to mystical music to come closer to God.

• For the Chishtis, sama' was central, not optional.

• Other Muslim groups were less comfortable with music in worship.
• The Chishtis saw singing as a direct path to love of God.
• Qawwali is the form that this sung devotion took.

Main features and parts

• Qaul: a hymn introduced by Amir Khusrau, sung at the opening or closing of a qawwali. It is still sung first at the shrine of Nizamuddin Auliya in Delhi.
• Rang: the closing song. It remembers the close bond between Khusrau and his master, Nizamuddin Auliya [3].
• Language:
• Most qawwali texts are Persian devotional verse, by Khusrau and also by Rumi and Hafez [3].

• Many songs are also in Punjabi and Hindi [3], the languages of ordinary people.

• Theme: love of God and the bond between the disciple and his sufi master (pir or Shaikh).

• Old repertoire: Khusrau's works are the base of the classical qawwali repertoire [3].

How it grew and spread

• 14th century, Delhi: Nizamuddin Auliya's khanqah (the hospice where a sufi master lived with his followers) at Ghiyaspur, on the Yamuna, drew poets such as Amir Khusrau and Amir Hasan Sijzi, along with singers, soldiers, slaves and Hindu jogis. This mixed crowd was the setting in which Khusrau's devotional music grew.
• After Nizamuddin's death, his successors were sent out across the subcontinent. Chishti shrines and their musical practice spread with them.
• Today: qawwali is still performed at dargahs (tomb-shrines of sufi saints) such as Nizamuddin's in Delhi. The qaul still opens the singing there.

Results

• Shared devotional space: music let people of different faiths worship side by side. In the 18th century, Dargah Quli Khan in Muraqqa-i Dehli described Muslims and Hindus together at the shrine of Chiragh-i Dehli, even at Diwali.
• Islam spread through culture, not force. Qawwali belongs to the same pattern as Hindavi speech, Baba Farid's verses in the Guru Granth Sahib, and the Dakhani songs that women sang while grinding grain and spinning thread.

Time, place and evidence

• Period: from the late 13th–early 14th century, under the Delhi Sultanate. This is Khusrau's lifetime (1253–1325).
• Place: Delhi, especially Nizamuddin Auliya's khanqah at Ghiyaspur. It later spread to Chishti shrines across the subcontinent.
• Key people:
• Amir Khusrau: poet, disciple of Nizamuddin, and creator of the qaul. He was called "Tuti-e-Hind" (Parrot of India) for his sweet verse in qawwali, ghazal and rubai forms [4][5].

• Shaikh Nizamuddin Auliya (d. 1325): the Chishti master whose shrine is still the main home of the qaul. The rang honours him [3].

• How we know:

• NCERT Class 12, Ch 2 records the qaul and the place of sama' among the Chishtis.
• Khusrau's own poetry survives and is still sung [3].
• Living practice: the qaul is still sung first at Nizamuddin's dargah today.
• Muraqqa-i Dehli (18th c.) by Dargah Quli Khan shows that Delhi's sufi shrines drew both Hindus and Muslims.

Don't confuse with

• Qaul vs qawwali: the qaul is one hymn sung at the opening or closing of a qawwali. Qawwali is the whole performance.
• Qaul vs rang: the qaul is the hymn still sung first at Nizamuddin's shrine. The rang is the closing song that honours Nizamuddin Auliya [3].
• Sama' vs zikr: sama' means listening to mystical music, which is where qawwali belongs. Zikr means reciting the Divine Names, aloud or silently [2].
• Ghazal and rubai vs qawwali: ghazal and rubai are kinds of poem, and Khusrau also wrote in them [4][5]. Qawwali is a form of devotional performance at shrines.

Prelims Hooks

• Amir Khusrau (1253–1325) is widely accepted as the creator of qawwali [3]. He introduced the qaul.
• Khusrau's title: "Tuti-e-Hind" (Parrot of India) [4][5]. He was a disciple of Nizamuddin Auliya.
• The qaul is still sung first at Nizamuddin Auliya's shrine in Delhi. The closing rang honours Nizamuddin [3].
• Qawwali texts are mostly Persian (Khusrau, Rumi, Hafez), with many in Punjabi and Hindi [3].
• Sama' ("audition", listening to mystical music) was central to the Chishtis. Trap: it is not the same as zikr.
• Dargah Quli Khan's Muraqqa-i Dehli (18th c.) records Hindus and Muslims together at Chiragh-i Dehli's shrine, even at Diwali.

Mains Points

• Music as the bridge between sufi and bhakti traditions:
• Bhakti worship was full of singing, and the Chishtis made sama' central to theirs.
• Qawwali, sung in Persian and also in Punjabi and Hindi [3], gave both traditions a shared devotional language.

• Shrines like Chiragh-i Dehli's became places where Hindus and Muslims prayed side by side.

• Adaptation explains Chishti success: qawwali belongs with other local forms the Chishtis took in, such as bowing before the Shaikh, Hindavi speech and yogic exercises. This shows Islam spreading in India mainly through shared culture, not force.

• Continuity of a living heritage: a hymn introduced by Khusrau in the 14th century is still sung first at Nizamuddin's shrine today. Qawwali is an example of unbroken Indo-Islamic composite culture, useful for GS-I answers on Indian art and culture.

Related concepts

• Chishti silsila
• Muinuddin Chishti
• Qutbuddin Bakhtiyar Kaki
• Nizamuddin Auliya
• Nasiruddin Chiragh-i Dehli
• Baba Farid
• Shaikh Salim Chishti
• Gesu Daraz
• Langar
• Sama

Read more

• The Chishtis: khanqah life, devotionalism, language, and the state