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In Mazar-e-Sharif, Balkh Afghanistan.

Imam Shuray رحمه الله said about his wife Zainab:

"I have seen men beating their women. May my right hand be paralyzed if I beat Zainab. Zainab is like a sun and other women are like stars, when the sun rises, other stars do not shine."

"I am just as My slave thinks I am, (i.e. I am able to do for him what he thinks I can do for him)"

ㅤ(Sahih al-Bukhari Book 97, Hadith 34)

"Never a believer is stricken with discomfort, hardship or illness, grief or even with mental worry that his sins are not expiated for him."

(Sahih Muslim Book 45, Hadith 66)

A mural on a wall in Kabul:

I leave my worries to God

He knows best

I have trust in His plans

I will keep going back to Him

در آن نفس

In that Breath 

Two captivating renditions of a composition by the revered استاد محمد هاشم چشتی Ustad Mohammad Hashim Chishti (1944-94) featuring lyrics by the master poet of the ages, سعدی Saadi, vividly showcase the distinct and intriguing musical traditions of کابل Kabul and هرات Herat. 

These performances, by two celebrated vocalists, استاد مهوش Ustad Mahwash and استاد جلیل احمد دل‌آهنگ Ustad Jalil Del Ahang, present a rare and precious chance to delve into the unified artistic expression born from the rich cultural heritage of Kabul’s خرابات Kharabat musician quarter.

The Poem by Saadi  سعدی

In that breath when I pass, may I be yearning for you 

بدان امید دهم جان که خاک کوی تو باشم

I give up my life with the hope of becoming the dust of your alley

حدیث روضه نگویم گل بهشت نبویم

I will not speak of the gardens of paradise nor smell the flowers of heaven

جمال حور نجویم دوان بسوی تو باشم

I will not desire the beauty of the houris but steer towards you

Translated from the Farsi by فرهاد آزاد Farhad Azad with edits by پروین پژواک Parween Pazhwak

استاد مهوش Ustad Mahwash's Version Liner Notes

This song In that Breath was composed by Ustad Mohammad Hashim Chishti (1944-94). 

This recording by Ustad Mahwash was released in 2007 by the Accords-Croises label based in فرانسه France. She was the first woman to have been conferred the honorary title of "Ustad" in 1977 in Kabul by the Ministry of Culture. 

Spiritual Lyrics as Gateway to the Divine from Kabul’s Kharabat 

By Farhad Azad 

The lyrics embody صوفی Sufi ideals, expressing fervent longing for the beloved, rejecting worldly pleasures in favor of divine love, seeking annihilation of the self in union with the Divine, and using the beloved as a symbol for the ultimate reality. 

In Kharabat, where the songs held deep spiritual significance, استادان masters or ustads would often require their students to perform an ablution وضو (wuzu), before singing. This ritual purification emphasized the sacred nature of the poetry and music, ensuring the singers approached their performance with reverence and spiritual readiness.

Reflecting on her musical journey in the CD’s liner notes, Ustad Mahwash says “I am a follower of the sufi path and our Master Mohammad Chishti who encouraged devotion through the practice of 'mystical audition' or سماع Sama. I sing everything that relates to love.” 

Ustad Del Ahang's Version Liner Notes

This استاد جلیل احمد دل‌آهنگ Ustad Jalil Ahmad Del Ahang’s (1961-2018) rendition of در آن نفس (In that Breath) is a moving example of the Kharabati school of music, honed under the tutelage of استاد سرآهنگ Ustad Sarahang (1924-83) and later استاد موسی قاسمی Ustad Musa Qasemi (1936-95). 

From Kabul to Herat: The Journey of Kharabat’s Spiritual Music

By Farhad Azad 

The music of کابل Kabul’s خرابات Kharabat district, a cultural gem, embarked on a poignant journey to هرات Herat as early as the 1930s. This migration was not merely a physical movement of aspiring artists to Kabul to study under the masters, but a profound cultural exchange that shaped the musical landscape of Herat, carrying with it the emotions and aspirations of a community.

This استاد جلیل احمد دل‌آهنگ Ustad Jalil Ahmad Del Ahang’s (1961-2018) rendition of در آن نفس (In that Breath) is a profoundly moving example of the Kharabati school of music, a testament to the emotional depth and beauty that can be achieved through music. His soulful interpretation, filled with longing and devotion, resonates with the spiritual essence of the Chishti Sufi order, inviting the listener on a journey of self-discovery and transcendence. 

Exiled in ایران Iran in 1998, Ustad Jalil Ahmad Del Ahang captured the haunting performance, accompanied by استاد رحیم خوشنواز Ustad Rahim Khushnawaz (1943-2010) on robab, عظیم حسن‌پور Azim Hassanpour on tabla, and غلام سخی رسولی Ghulam Sakhi Rasouli on dutar. 

The reverend musician and composer استاد محمد هاشم چشتی Ustad Mohammad Hashim Chishti (1944-94) traced his lineage to the چشتی Chishti Sufi order a spiritual tradition established in the 900s AD by ابو اسحاق شامی Abu Ishaq Shami in the town of چشت Chisht, located in present-day Herat province افغانستان Afghanistan. The Chishti Sufi order, with its emphasis on music as a spiritual practice, played a pivotal role in developing and preserving the Kharabati school of music, infusing it with spiritual depth and significance. 

The Chishti practice, renowned for its profound emphasis on سماع Sama, a devotional practice of evoking the divine presence through music and poetry, is not just a performance, but a transformative spiritual journey. This unique aspect of the Chishti practice adds a layer of depth and richness to the music, elevating it beyond mere entertainment to a profound spiritual experience that resonates with the soul.

The unique lineage of this صوفی Sufi musical tradition is a testament to the enduring power of cultural exchange and the fluidity of art and culture. Born in the heart of Herat, the Chishti Sufi order’s musical essence found its way to Kabul through the descendants of Ustad Hashim Chishti. 

His descendants, invited from هند مرکزی central India by امیر شیرعلی خان Amir Sher Ali Khan, the ruler of کابلستان Kabulistan in the 1870s, played a crucial role in carrying forward the musical tradition, demonstrating the enduring power of cultural exchange and the fluidity of art and culture, and the importance of preserving such cultural practices.

The poet لیلا صراحت روشنی Layla Sarhat Rushani (1958-2004) aptly observed that artistic works with “simplicity in the expression” are akin to  “a stream of pure, clear water, and clear waters often make their depths appear shallower than they actually are.” 

A Glance at Babrak Arghand's Short Story: "Music and Songs" 

By Farhad Azad  June 2, 2024 

In سازها و آوازها "Music and Songs," ببرک ارغند Babrak Arghand, a noted novelist born in کابل Kabul in 1949 and passed away in Holland in 2019, crafts a magical realist tale of return. The narrator finds himself in the labyrinthine alleys of خرابات Kharabat, the musician's quarter nestled beneath Kabul's ancient Bala Hissar fortress. Amidst the decay of a seemingly abandoned courtyard, a flickering lantern reveals an old acquaintance, a musician playing the santoor alongside his mother.

The story unfolds, revealing a tale of heartbreak and societal constraints. In the societal structure of Kabul during the story's time, musicians occupied a lower social rung, often considered a caste apart. While wealthy families hired them to teach and perform, they maintained a strict distance, embodying the phrase "Kept by the door, fed by the door." This social hierarchy, with its rigid boundaries, plays a significant role in the narrative.

Arghand's narrative channels this societal divide, particularly the rare but tragic instances of musicians falling in love with women of higher social standing only to face harsh consequences. 

The story is imbued with the enchanting lyrics of the famed song من جان خرابات ام "I'm the soul of Kharabat," written by the 19th-century poet مستان شاه کابلی Mastan Shah Kabuli and popularized by the renowned Kabuli-born musician استاد محمدحسین سرآهنگ Ustad Mohammad Hussain Sarahang (1924-83). The lyrics, with their Sufi undertones of ego loss and spiritual seeking, perfectly complement Arghand's magical realist style, inviting the audience to appreciate the beauty and depth of this music.

Arghand's tale, written in exile, may be rooted in historical reality. Rare whispers persist of musicians from Kharabat daring to love women of higher social standing, only to face brutal reprisal. Theirs was a precarious existence, labeled as mere entertainers, or worse, سازنده "zanenda," a term dripping with disdain. 

In Arghand's hands, this becomes a haunting elegy for a vanishing world where music once soared, now echoing only in the memories of ghosts. They serenaded celebrations yet remained outcasts, forever tethered to the threshold, their melodies fading into the encroaching silence.

Qahar Asi's Autumnal Whispers of Loss

By Farhad Azad

The poet قهار عاصی Qahar Asi, enveloped in the golden hues of پاییز autumn, recites his moving poem همه “All”— the exact recording date unknown, perhaps the fall of 1990, the year the poem is dated, and recorded in or around Kabul. The season itself, a melancholic motif in Farsi poetry, channels the poem's themes of loss, sadness and the winds of drastic change.

The acclaimed filmmaker صدیق برمک Siddiq Barmak wrote that Asi had a vision of blending prose and poetry for the screen. This footage, perhaps alongside the iconic ای کابل "O Kabul," where Asi recites amidst a ruined cityscape, hints at his cinematic aspirations. Soon after, artistic repression further worsened under the new Islamist regime starting in 1992, with music silenced and his longtime collaborator, vocalist Farhad Darya, in exile.

The poem itself is a cry for a fractured homeland void of its چراغ و عرفان “light and spirituality” amongst the نسيم تلخ “bitter breeze.” Asi mourns the exodus of loved ones, their absence echoing in the desolate landscape. 

Notably absent from this recitation are the poem's final lines, where Asi names his exiled friends, including عظیم نوذر الیاس Azim (fellow poet Noozar Elias), ملیحه احراری Maliha Ahrari (a friend and collaborator at RTA in the Cinematic Program and Film Narration), کنیشکا Kanishka (?), فرهاد دریا Farhad Darya. These lines conclude the poem with a bitter question, a challenge to himself and to those who remain: 

نه عظيم نی مليحه نه كنيشكا نه دريا

Neither Azim, nor Maliha, nor Kanishka, nor Darya remains

تو چرا نشسته ای عاصی غم‌گسار رفته

Why do you sit here, Asi? The companions have left

Asi’s lyrics resonate with another poet, 600 hundred years earlier, حافظ Hafiz, most likely composed when his city of Shiraz fell to the fundamentalist امیر مبارزالدین محمد مظفر Amir Mubariz al-Din Muhammad Muzaffar (r. 1353-1358) grip. They reflect the tragic rhythm of history in this region, where vibrant societies, once bastions of progress, crumble under the weight of extremism:

یاری اندر کس نمی‌بینیم یاران را چه شد

I don’t see any friends, where have they gone?

دوستی کی آخر آمد دوستداران را چه شد

When did our friendship end, what happens to those who loved?

This question resonates beyond Asi, speaking to the millions who stayed behind while others sought refuge abroad. It's this profound empathy, this ability to voice the unspoken grief of a people, that captioned Asi "the people's poet." His verses transcend mere statistics, giving voice to the forgotten and silenced. 

For me, it stirs the memory of my last encounter with my paternal grandfather who gazed at us before we left, “This will be the last moment we meet.” His prediction was unfortunately right.  

In the wider theater of world politics, Asi's subjects may be reduced to numbers, but his poetry restores their humanity. His words, inscribed in time on this grainy video, remind us that even in the face of immense loss, the spirit of the humanities survives. 

* Special thanks to Parween Pazhwak for her invaluable contributions in researching this introduction and providing translational edits for the poem.

همه

All

قهار عاصی 

Qahar Asi 

همه ترک یار گفته‌ست و ز ملک يار رفته

All have spoken of leaving friends and departed from the beloved land 

همه دل بكنده از این‌جا، همه زين ديار رفته

All have detached their heart from here, everyone has left this realm

همه قصد دوردست، از وطن تباه كرده

All have set their sights on distant places, away from this ruined homeland

همه زين ولايت سوگ به زنگ‌بار رفته

All woefully have left this grief-stricken heartland

چه كنند اگر بپايند غريبه‌هایی اين‌جا

What does it matter if these poor souls remain here?

ز یکی نديمه‌ی دل، ز يكی نگار رفته

When one's confidante of the heart, one's dear friend, has left 

به یکی خراب ماند وطن چراغ و عرفان

For one, the homeland of light and spirituality remains in ruins

ز بس اشک و آه مانده، ز بس انتظار رفته

From so many tears and sighs remain, from so much longing it has vanished 

ز بهار بی‌بر‌‌و‌‌بار، نسيمِ تلخ اين‌جا

From this hollow and bitter breeze of this place    

همه زرد زرد گشته همه زار زار رفته

Everything has turned yellow, everything has become barren

کابل، خزان ۱۳۶۹

Kabul, Fall 1990

Thank you for your continued engagement with our series on poets of the recent past. While their verses may reside on the margins of history, perhaps deemed unfashionable in today’s world, they offer an invaluable glimpse into the souls of their time.

As poet Shukrea Erfani reminds us, “Poetry is a reaction…of the human inner self to the outside world.” In sharing these intimate reflections, we hope to illuminate the lives of those in distant lands, fostering connection through the shared language of the human spirit.