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The History of Qawali, the impact of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Sufi Poetry - Hamza Akram Qawal #TPE

The Pakistan Experience

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Hamza Akram Qawwal is a prominent Pakistani Sufi singer and composer leading the Hamza Akram Qawwal & Brothers ensemble, representing the 26th generation of the historic Qawwal Bachon ka Gharana of Delhi, known for reviving traditional qawwali with modern relevance, performing globally, and blending classical Persian/Urdu/Punjabi poetry with contemporary sounds. He trained under Ustad Naseeruddin Saami and Farid Ayaz Qawwal, bringing this ancient spiritual art to younger audiences.

Chapters:
0:00 Introduction
1:00 History of Qawali
8:57 Qawal Gharana
14:27 Amir Khusrau
19:07 Is Qawali haram?
23:15 Jagjit Singh, Pakistan and India
27:50 Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and new age Qawali culture
41:55 Original melodies and Qawalis
48:00 Hamza Akram's journey
56:35 Idea of Ishq in Sufism and Peer-Mureed ka rishta
1:05:32 How Hamza Akram became a Qawal and understanding Sufi Poetry
1:27:00 Understanding Music, Raag and Frequencies, and performing concerts
1:36:00 Coke Studio, Pakistan Idol and Commercialization of Music
1:39:15 Audience Questions

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20 Comments

@aeslec-525 9 months ago

If possible, please get Fareed Ayaz or Abu Mohammad on the podcast.

@areebanaveed9485 9 months ago

Qawali and TPE are my 2 favourite things..... together ❤
LETS GO....

@yasirbhat4879 7 months ago

One of the best episodes

@AYJamal5 9 months ago

Absolutely loved this conversation!

@kainatafandi8572 9 months ago

Do more podcasts like these ❤

@Ghazal.Ahmed.765 9 months ago

❤ Interesting. You never disappoint SGS🙌🏻

@AsBi1 9 months ago

nice

@sarahkhan3711 9 months ago

He is so right about so many points! Thanks for this wonderful interview Shehzad.

@GETFITWITHHUZAIFA 8 months ago

❤❤❤❤

@ali_zuberi 9 months ago

Phenomenal—absolutely beautiful ❤️
Exactly what I needed after surviving way too many winter qawwali nights at Karachi weddings 😂

@rgyalchanhussain9966 9 months ago

You should definitely invite Ahmed Javed Saab

@munawarhussain9671 8 months ago

I would like to watch that clip where Ayaz Fareed shb paid tribute to Nusrat fateh ali khan plz

@mimma904 9 months ago (edited)

1:14:22 i got chills and misty eyed
1:15:58 i was crying oh gosh

@tuktuk20 9 months ago (edited)

Shahzad, I think you might mean the Natyashastra not the Bhagvad Gita. Also, Amir Khusrau was not from Turkey. He was born in Kasganj, in UP, though his father was from Persia, of Turkic origin. Still, your guest spoke with passion, even if he was a little shaky on history, and it was a pleasure to listen to.

@ahsanchandio8757 8 months ago

We want fareed ayaz sahab and abu Mohammad sahab.

@sugeetsunder843 9 months ago

Heard of Sama Veda?

@farooqsiddiqi04 3 months ago

ham ne aj tk koi banda aesa nh dekha jo qawali sun k musalman hua ho

@sarfrazahmad2580 9 months ago

His teacher Ustamad sami khan also taught Ali sethi. they both even toured together. his sons are great singers too but more focused on khayal. They do bara khayal too a much more acquired taste than qawali but is beautifull once you get used to it and you have about an hours for a relatively slow moving song.

@ughthu 9 months ago

Yaar! I loved the conversation; it is not confined to logic or accuracy. What moved me was the sincerity of the exchange. Qawwali, in its purest form, .." it flows where it is meant to, and touches hearts beyond reason."

@TheSketches 9 months ago (edited)

Hamza Akram is an amazing Qawal and artist - I just want to add my thoughts and little understanding on Amir Khusro’s question- Amir Khusro’s music could only be born in India, because music is not created by theology alone but by soil, language, and collective longing. Sufism travelled from Arabia through Persia to Central Asia and reached Turkey and Afghanistan too, yet qawwali did not flower there because those lands already had complete musical identities of their ow maqam in Turkey, rubab-based traditions in Afghanistan - formal, courtly, and less porous to folk devotion. India, however, was different: here lived an ancient Sanskritic science of rāga and tāla, a living Bhakti culture where God was sung as a lover, and a people for whom repetition, trance, and emotion were already sacred acts. Khusro did not invent qawwali; he listened deeply to India - its temples, villages, bhajans, kirtans, and language and allowed Sufi love to wear an Indian body. That is why qawwali breathes Hindavi, sways in rāga, and seeks ecstasy through collective singing. Turkey and Afghanistan preserved Sufism as philosophy and ritual; India transformed it into song. And i would say when love finds a land already singing to God, it does not argue it dances.

Love
Saif Samejo ♥️🙏🏽