IndiaStand

A Melodious Path To God

Sufism in the words of the renowned Darqawi Sufi teacher Ahmad ibn Ajiba, “a science through which one can know how to travel into the presence of the Divine, purify one’s inner self from filth, and beautify it with a variety of praiseworthy traits.”

As the history of Islamic religious sciences tells us, religious commandments were not written down during the early days of Islam; rather, the practice and oral circulation of commandments related to belief, worship, and daily life allowed people to memorize them. Thus the Sufism was the way to propagate the religious commandments. Today’s Sufi singer like Rabbi Shergill, Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, Kailash Kher are using the Sufi as “sound of connectivity, peace and friendship”. Sufi music has changed and got a new form. The fusion of old musical instruments with guitars and drum sets has made a significant change in Sufi music. Composers like A.R. Rahman, Pritam Chakraborty, Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy, Vishal Bhardwaj and Salim-Sulaiman have often weaved in Sufi tunes in films. They’re endeavoring to give a new face to the Bollywood music, which is widely accepted by the audience.

Sufi music has a universal appeal because it speaks of everyday things – like pain, poverty, emotions, joys, sorrows and way of the lives of common people in the context of their ties with the “supreme power”. The impact of Sufi music in Dil se, Fanna and Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi has showed a new direction to Bollywood music. In movies like Kurbaan were the Sufi music has been used and become very popular; ‘Shukran allah’ and ‘Ali maula’ are two amazing sound tracks.

‘Allah ke bande’ (‘Waisa Bhi Hota Hai Part II’), ‘Man ki lagan’ (‘Paap’), ‘Rubaru’ (‘Maqbool’), ‘Yeh hausla’ (‘Dor’), ‘Maula mere maula’ (‘Anwar’), ‘Khwaja mere khwaja’ (‘Jodhaa Akbar’), ‘Ya Ali’ (‘Gangster – A Love Story’), ‘Maula mere’ (‘Chak De! India’) and ‘Arziyaan’ (‘Delhi-6′) are few examples of Sufi music which is still very popular and it shows the genre’s success in bollywood.

Sufi music is prevalent among people living in India and Pakistan. It is also being used to abridge the distances between these two nations. The music composed by Pakistani singers is popular among Indian audience. Sufi music is becoming a part of Bollywood music. Some of the singers think that overuse of Sufi may dilute the true and pure form of Sufi but the fact is that the audience has accepted it with open arms.