Signs of Beauty (Nihavend No.34)
The ilahi (nasheed) 'Signs of Beauty' - translated into English from the Turkish original by Abdal Hakim Murad - is sung by poet and songwriter Dawud Wharnsby Ali. The original was written by famous Turkish Sufi Aziz Mahmut Hüdayi* (d. 1628), known in Turkey as the 'Sultan of Hearts'. [flvplayer videoUrl="/images/upload/media/signs-of-beauty-dawud-wharnsby.flv" previewImageUrl="/images/upload/me...

The Mawlid of Al-Barzanji (Trailer)
Mishkat Media has released a beautiful live recording of the celebrated Mawlid of Imam al-Barzanji. A classic of Islamic culture, it is a sung celebration of the birth and greatness of the Holy Prophet Muhammad.

The recording was made in Cape Town at the annual Mawlid Jama’at at the Al-Zawiya mosque, under the direction of Shaykh Seraj Hendricks. The performance is available on DVD, with full Engl...

Naat (poem)
Naat is the name of a work written to praise the Prophet, to ask for his intercession, and remember and describe his beautiful attributes; it is sung musical form. The lyrics are mainly selected verses written by Sufi poets in Turkish, Arabic and Persian.  Separated into two categories of mosque or dervish lodge poems, these works are recited by the na'than (reciter) after the Qur'an is read befo...

Qasida (Eulogy)
A Qasida is a poem, sung by one person, which conveys praise for the Prophet, describes great people of religion or the praise due to them, or mentions Sufi topics and is produced within a modal framework. The eulogies most loved in mosques and dervish orders are those whose lyrics are related to the Prophet Muhammad. Next in popularity with the people after Süleyman Çelebi's Mevlid and Regaibiyy...

Works about Prophet Muhammad in Turkish Religious Music
Turkish music is divided into two categories, vocal or instrumental. Vocal music is further divided into a) religious music and b) non-religious music. The development of the musical form in the Islamic world belongs more to the Ottomans than any other state. Created on the themes of Allah and Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) within the framework of the Sufi understanding, religious music is comprised of ...