Shafqat Ali Khan: Sublime Sufi

Shafqat Ali Khan

EUCD2924

Sufism is the mystical branch of Islam. The Sufi strives for a direct connection with God. The rapture of music and dance is often used to create a transcendental experience in which the ego falls away and a direct experience of the divine is made possible.

There is a saying: "If a man claims to be a Sufi, he is not, and no true Sufi will ever claim to be." To call a music "Sufi" is to question its authenticity. If we claim this is Sufi music, it must not be. What we can say, however, is that Shafqat Ali Khan's music is deeply rooted in the Sufi tradition.

Many of the songs are ghazals, a poetic musical form in which the singer can yearn for the return of her beloved from the perspective of the woman. This longing, expressed in a romantic form, is understood as a metaphor for the longing of the soul to be connected with the divine. The spiritual expression of Sufi music is robust and intensely emotional. This is not quiet background music for meditation, but deeply passionate music that wrestles with strong emotions, from melancholy and despair to intoxicating ecstasy.

By engaging directly with the emotions, much like an American blues or gospel singer would, we find transcendence. The music takes us on a journey and we emerge somehow changed.

CD x 1

ARC Music

8/28/20

5019396292420