Sufism And The Practice Of Chanting
The Sufi tradition originates from the belief system of Islam. Sufism is often said to be the mystical branch of Islam.
Realizing a mystical connection with the divine or experiencing unity with God or mystical love is one of the aims of Sufism.
In Sufism the practice of chanting songs, or texts and poetry is practiced to reach this objective. Qawwali is the name given to this type of music.
Qawwali music is a devotional form of vocal music. It has this spiritual function to facilitate the divine connection. This is the central purpose of this devotional form of music of Qawwali.
Qawwali falls into the genre of North Indian Classical Music and has particular musical characteristics.
A particular chanting practice is used in order to arouse the emotional and spiritual connection with God. The recitation of Gods name is what is used for this chanting practice. The name of this chanting practice is called “zikr”. While “sama” is the name given to the listening practice of this devotional music.
Zikr and sama set the context in order to experience the emotional connection to God within Sufism. The vehicle through which mystical love is communicated and experienced is the poetry or text. This poetry or text is given a musical setting.
The performers aim for that of the listeners is to bring about an intensification of the text. The singer will shape via improvisation the structure of the music in such a way that this can be done. The singer uses repetition of phrases, clapping and changes in tempo to intensify the emotions of the listeners.
Intensification has two functions and operates to reinforce and also generate increased spiritual arousal.
The performer is acutely aware of the impact of his performance on the listeners. As long as the song is effecting the audience, it is continued. The song is stopped and changed once the effect stops.
So in Sufism to facilitate the spiritual experience of mystical love, unity and connection to God, the practice of chanting is utilized.