‘Become Qaris, not Nasheed Artists’

Ebrahim Moosa – Cii Broadcasting (26-07-12)

Barely 20 years ago, they hardly existed. The term ‘Nasheed Artist’ would not register even a blip on the radar of professions. But with the growth of new technologies and advances in mass communications, that has all changed. The Nasheed genre has developed substantially, in both content and technique, leaving behind an ever increasing number of professional and prospective artists in its wake. Many welcome the growth of Anasheed as a necessary counter-balance to the pervasive and corrupting influences of popular music. But not all are too happy. The trend of more and more young people opting to dedicate their talents to the promotion of Anasheed at the expense of other facets of Islam has of late sparked renewed criticism and calls for introspection.

Speaking to Cii recently, Quraan Reciter and humanitarian Qari Ziyaad Patel said the obsession with Anasheed was depriving many young people of an even more fulfilling relationship with the Quraan. He expressed concern at the current nature of goals being set by contemporary Muslim youth. “This is gaining momentum – wherever we go in the world, we find youngsters (saying): ‘I want to be like this Nasheed artist, I want to go here to sing, I want to sing on this platform, I want to share this platform with this person, I want to try this kind of thing, I want to try this beat-boxing etc.’ – this in unfortunately what is now gripping our youth, which is now distracting them in a very, very big way away from the path of the Holy Quraan e Kareem”

Whilst being part of the Nasheed industry may guarantee instant stardom, Qari Ziyaad said more honour would be found in learning the Quraan. “I always say to students…that before you start learning Nasheeds and Nazms, first learn to read the Quraan and learn the Quraan correctly. You must learn to recite the Quraan e Kareem correctly before we can start learning Nasheeds and Nazms. That’s in its place, but we need to prioritise. The first priority is the Quraan – let me take some time off to learn to recite the Quraan e Kareem correctly, to learn Tajweed correctly before we start going into the avenues of the Nasheed industry.”

Qari Ziyaad believes more projects should be initiated to introduce youth to the vibrancy of the Quraan. “When I was young, every child you spoke to would say ‘I want to become Hafiz of the Quraan, I want to learn to recite the Quraan e Kareem beautifully, I want to become a Qari of the Quraan.”

In response to his call, Cii has launched the ‘Who want to be a Qari?’ intiative, a challenge aimed at all listeners for the month of Ramadaan. In an exciting contest aired daily at the time of Suhoor, those with talent are encouraged to recite a portion of the Quraan live in the mode of their favourite Qari/Quraan reciter. A recording of the renowned Qari is played out and the contestant is required to offer his version of the recital straight after. Prizes of mobile phones are on offer weekly for the most talented contestants.

Launching the segment earlier this week, Qari Ziyaad Patel highlighted a host of benefits associated with becoming a Qari. “It is for the pleasure of the Quraan, it is for the love of the Quraan Kareem and it is also a great Sunnah because the Nabi of Allah SAW was the greatest Qari.” He said it was imperative that those blessed with good voices use it in the correct avenues to recite the Quraan correctly and eloquently. He suggested that the imitation of the manner of recital of a well known Qari could serve as a good springboard on the path of Qiraah. “Insha Allah, to motivate our youngsters, to encourage them, and to try and explore their potential within them, this is a good initiative. Rather than getting them into the path of Nasheeds, let them get into this field of the Quraan e Kareem.”

He however cautioned that mere imitation of a Qari would not alone render one a qualified reciter. “One cannot become a Qari only by listening to radio or CD’s of other Quraa. It is very important that one comes under the feet of an expert Qari…In the process of Deen we have the thing known as a Sanad, where the chain of learning goes back to Nabi SAW”

Who wants to be a Qari? is aired daily on the Awakening Suhoor Show with Ebrahim Moosa at approximately 4.45am daily. To register as a participant, sms the word QARI followed by your name, age, location and the name of the qari/reciter you would like to imitate to 32414

ebmoosa@ciibroadcasting.com

Tags: Anasheed, Ebrahim Moosa, Nasheed Artists, Qari, Qari Abdul Basit, Qari Ziyaad Patel, Qiraah, Quraan, Ramadan, Suhoor

Ebrahim Moosa

Jbrb

priorities are important, and al-Quraan is more important than the nasheeds,

but perhaps this is an alternative to them wanting to go into the music industry?

Kdawood91

Qzp should know , being on both sides of the coin. Excellent initiative CII

Nazeer Jamal (NazJam)

Mashallah. I think this initiative is absolutely brilliant. Its easy for us to question why is it that kids today express the love to be a nasheed artist and not the love to be a qari, but we fail to realise that it is because of us.

The mere difference is that the nasheed industry is being marketed extremely well, with the public showing appreciation to artists who are always trying to improve on their style, skills and message so that the net album or song that they write or perform causes a greater love for Allah, Islam and our beloved Prophet Muhammad (peace be on him).

The fad of being a hafez or qari has faded out because we show no respect to someone who is a hafez or qari. If a child is not the sharpest tool in the classroom or is expelled from schoold for misbehavior, we take him out and put him in a madressah. “Do hifz, you’ll come right”.

If we market that being a qari is cool! That listening to Qiraat is awesome. We will definetly bring back the glory of Qiraat.

But at the same time, never say its wrong to be a nasheed artist because then you restrict the growth and exploration of a child. I know many qari’s who are nasheed artists in South Africa and abroad. Lets promote it by being both! Take for instance, Qari Idris Rajib, Hafez Ahmad Abulatif, Qari Ziyaad Patel, or Sh. Mishari Al Afasy. For that matter, one can be nasheed artist and be a rocket scientist, as long as we remember that the nasheed industry is not like the mainstream music industry.

Singing nasheeds or being a qari is not for fame or money or praise. It is for the pleasure of Allah and to bring people closer to Allah by the message and by the melody. Nasheeds has brought me from a dark horrible place of hatred to Islam and feeling Islam a burden, to me loving Islam and realising how true and simple the religion is. All praise is to Allah.

May Allah accept all our efforts. Who wants to be a Qari? I do , Who wants to be a nasheed artist? I do!
Zainab Mponda

I totally agree with Nazeer..I also think maybe the reason that nasheeds have become so popular is because of the popularity of mainstream western music which is taking our youth out of the fold of Islam and therefore this provides an alternative and inspiration for them to come back to the correct path..Even some of our huffaz today who are being sent to madressas for years to do hifz and have the quraan in their hearts are the first ones to be found in nightclubs and other such places..indeed quraan should be our main priority!..but in the times we live in,we also need the help of other mediums such as nasheeds to encourage our youth towards learning the quraan and understanding it…quick question…can females also call in on this show or is it just males that are allowed?..because I think this is a major part of our society that is being neglected and not enough emphasis is being put on teaching them as much as it is on males..With females being the most important role players in the shaping of kids,we would be doing a great injustice by not encouraging and focusing on them to..and maybe this could be another factor in trying to solve this problem we face with our youth of today..being a female myself who loves qiraat and would like to be a qaari’ah one day inshallah,i know that i can play a major part in teaching my kids quraan and inculcating in them the love for it..At the same time,i love singing nasheeds and this does not take away from my love for quraan..As Nazeer said,lets promote both because both are beautiful!
Ummeluqman71

Assalaamu Alaikum excellent initiative I just love this program at Sehri I just love listening to Qiraat Alhumdulillah
kzn_guy

I really wonder what the intent of the subject of this article is. Is it merely to paint nasheed artists in a bad light?

Yes, the term nasheed artist didnt exist 20 years ago. Would we prefer some other term for them? Maybe Islamic Pop Star or Muslim Rockstar? Which is better? What is the basis for comparison? And have nasheed artists brought such negativity to Islam? Do we find the sisters throwing their hijabs at them at live shows or the brothers throwing their topis in the air? NO WE DONT.

In South Africa, we are truly blessed to be able to practice Islam freely. To don a sunnah beard khurtha, hijab & cloak proudly. Islam has evolved & strengthened in this country from the arrival of Shaykh Yusuf and Abdul Sultania during the 1600s on the shores of Cape Town to the establishment of Awal Musjid (The first mosque in SA) to be able to find a musjid almost anywhere. It is this transistion & progression that has constantly allowed Islam to grow and to enlighten people.

Saying that a nasheed artist (assumption is that the nasheeds are done with the correct intention) has no place in Islam is extremely restrictive and also limiting the growth.
We all know of famous Islamic poets that wrote about their love for Islam and the prophet (saw). Imams often quote a few cuplets in a bayaan. Why not lambast these Imams & poets?? Surely they should become qaris before they become poets? And surely it must be wrong to quote a poet then??

The point being that poetry, at that time, was a very acceptable manner of getting a message to people. It worked at that time. Will it work now? Hardly. Nasheeds prove to have more of an impact and some are very educational.
A simple childrens nasheed by Yusuf Islam, “Ah is Allah, Ba is for Bismlillah…” or a nasheed to celebrate the day or Eid? Where is the harm in these? Why are these forms of expression of faith not allowed? Or is Islam a religion that allows only one acceptable manner of expressing ones faith?

The propogation of nasheeds is done mainly by radio stations. We all hear it. People call in to request a certain nasheed.The radion station plays it. A nasheed play softly in the background during some announcement or it is used a filler material. So, should we blame nasheed artists for the propogation? Or is it actually the radio station itself?

The context of this article could be written to explain the benefits of being a Qari, the way in which one can go about becoming a qari and then to market the program that is being held. It can also amicably state that one should be careful when reciting nasheeds and to anunciate the words correctly. Why specifically choose to say, “become a qari, not a nasheed artist”? Does this title spark debate or does it create division?

Let not see a small crack and then take a sledgehammer and chiesel and make the crack wider by trying to make a point. We are fortunate to experience & practice Islam on many levels (as opposed to other countries). Lets make the most of it instead of a one dimensional view of the way in which Islam can be practiced and celebrated.

May we have peacful kinship between nasheed artists and qaris. Ameen

(Note – My response is not written to place priority of a nasheed artist over a qari or vice versa. It is written with the intent such that we can see the power of our words and the impact a simple article title can have. Bringing people together as opposed to creating division should be our aim.)