Qawwali and Naat: A Short Guide for New Listeners

If you grew up in Pakistan, India or Bangladesh, you probably know qawwali and naat without ever having been taught what they are. If you did not, they can be hard to get into. The language is unfamiliar, the pieces are long, and nobody tells you what to listen for.

This is a short guide for the curious, and for anyone who wants to explain these to a friend.

What is qawwali?

Qawwali is devotional music from the Sufi tradition of South Asia. It is sung by a lead singer with a group of supporting voices, who repeat lines and answer him, and it is driven by harmonium, tabla or dholak and a lot of hand-clapping. Tradition links the form with Amir Khusrau, the poet and musician of Delhi, more than seven hundred years ago.

A qawwali is not a song with a verse and a chorus. It starts slowly, sometimes with a long wordless introduction, then builds. A single line of poetry can be repeated and turned over for minutes, each time with a different feeling, until the room, or the audience, is carried along with it. That is why the pieces are long. They are supposed to take you somewhere.

Names you will hear again and again include Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, who brought qawwali to listeners all over the world, and the Sabri Brothers. Abida Parveen is closely tied to Sufi kalam and kafi, which is related music, usually without the full qawwali party.

What is naat?

A naat is poetry in praise of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), recited or sung. It is a different thing from a hamd, which praises God. Many naats are sung with very little music, or none, so the voice and the words are what you hear. Naats are written in Urdu, Punjabi, Pashto, Arabic and many other languages, so one naat can sound very different from another.

People listen to naat at home during Rabi ul Awwal and Ramadan, at gatherings, and simply when they want something calm. It is considered a matter of respect and love, so it tends to be quiet and gentle in a way that qawwali, with its energy, is not.

How to start listening

1. Give a qawwali ten minutes. The first two can feel slow. By the fifth, you will understand why people stay for an hour.
2. You do not need every word. Even without Urdu or Punjabi, the rhythm and the voices carry the feeling. Many listeners follow the meaning over time.
3. Try different voices. Some people like the powerful, almost operatic sound of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. Others prefer a softer, gentler reciter. Both are good.
4. Use the radio for discovery. A live station plays things you would never have searched for, which is a good way to find a favourite.

Where to listen

• Qawwali radio: live stations playing qawwali around the clock.
• Naat radio: naat sharif, hamd and nasheed.
• Sufi music radio: Sufi kalam, kafi and more.
• Ghazal radio: if you like the poetry but want something lighter.

Open any of them, press play, and let it run while you do something else. That is how most people find their way in. If you find a station you love, tell a friend, and if there is one you think we are missing, send it to us.