An Introduction to Arabian Music

Music is one of the melodious art forms that developed in the first centuries. Simply can be defined as an art of combining sounds or sequences of notes into harmonious patterns pleasing into the ear and satisfying to the emotions. Watching through an Islamic sense, it is of high importance and even Quran recitation and Azan bear a visible resemblance to the music notations. In terms of its permissibility in Islam or not is a wide topic in jurisprudence that needs a deep exploration regarding the modern circumstance. Here, in this short article, the researcher tries to give a brief image of Islamic music history in the medieval world, implying slightly its musical theory, influence and how it differed from western music. The reason behind choosing medieval history is that the art of Islamic Music is developed into classical music, but, neglected from the main course of world history due to the distortions done by some oriental historians. For instance, the pioneering musicians like Zeryab, Ibrahim Al-Masala, Ishaq Al-Mawsili, Al-Wathiq, Ibn Sina, Al-Farabi, Al Kindi, Ibn Misjah, Ibn Timids and Tuwais were expunged from the mainstream of our Music History regardless of their tremendous efforts in shaping Musical notation to the entire world.

Historically, the first music was lamented by Lamak over his son in the Jahiliyya age (the age of ignorance). Gradually, the poetic tradition that existed widely in Jahiliyya Arab world, later retrieved into the music forms like that of Huda, Shana etc. which are considered to be the oldest songs in the Arab world. By prophetic age, the music became so prevalent and particularly, it is used in the occasions of war, to spur the morale of cavalry. Though Our prophet Muhammad (PBUH) discouraged this art form, sensing its overflow will lead to the unconscious state of the mind, he loved some sort of Music, as it is evident that he impelled the Daff Singer on his arrival to Medina. Nevertheless, most of the modern music is not involved in kinds he appreciated as well as they may turn the men screwed up by its internal effects at all. That is what opined by Abdul Hakim Murad in a talk on ‘Music in Islamic Tradition’ in which he brings down both the effects and de-effects in the Human brain. 

While back-pedalling to the medieval world, Ishaq Al-Mawsili, is considered the father of Arabian Music. He is credited with the authorship of nearly 40 works on Music, which were subsequently lost. Ishaq was a court musician of the Abbasid Caliphate. His father Ibrahim Al-Mawsili was also a good musician of the Abbasids and Harun Rashid kept him always with him until he died in 804 AD. In concern with the Umayyad period, Tuwais and Ibn Misjah are of great importance and played a vital role in shaping Arabian Music. Besides, of all the medieval Musicians, Zeryab is the pioneering musician, also known as a polymath, with knowledge in astronomy, geography, meteorology, botanic, cosmos etc... The word ‘Zeryab’ comes from the Persian word ‘Jaybird’ and means the blackbird. He is also a gifted disciple of Ishaq-Al-Mawsili, where Zeryab got his first lessons. According to his contributions, he added a fifth pair of strings to the Arabian Music style and developed the Arabesque into classical music even today, some of his codified rhythms are used in a wide range.

Subsequent to the growth of Islamic Music, there rose several musicians and music composers from different parts of the Islamic world. The great philosophers, Ibn Sina and Al-Kindi contributed a good hand to the art of music. Al-Kindi wrote 12 treatises on music and translated some of the Greek principles in 15 articles and Ibn Sina left a separate chapter in his Kitab-Al-Shifa to describe the effects of the musical theory. The books Kitabul Aghani (The book of songs) by Abul Farajul Isbahani and Kitabul Music Alkabir (The great book of music) by Imam Farabi are significant books in Music tradition which also drew the attention of non-Muslim Musicians globally. Apart from these musicians, there are numerous quintessential musicians born out of the Islamic world like Ibn Muhriz, Ibn Suraij, Ibn Zaila, Thabith bn Qais, Safi-Al-din-Al-Urmawi, the author of Kitabul Adhwar, Zarkasha etc… who left an indelible mark in the legacy of Arabesque.

In the Ottoman period, Bartol Gyurgieuvits (1506–1566) is well-versed in music as he wrote a book on music, called De Turvarum ritu et caermoniis. The historians didn’t get much information related to his life and biography except that he was a Croatian musicologist and lexicographer. In fact, Ottoman music or Turkish classical music is the tradition of classical music originating in the Ottoman Empire. Developed in the palace, major Ottoman cities, and Sufi lodges, it traditionally features a solo singer with a small to the medium-sized instrumental ensemble. While coming to the 20th century, Egypt became the centre of Music where rose several female voices to embellish the music circles. Ummu Kulthum, Fairuz, and Zohra Al-Fassiya are three charismatic musicians who rose from Egyptian culture. They have also paved a way for other Muslim nations, to compete with western music in the modern era. That is how the popular musicians of all time Sami Yusuf and Maher Zain emerged. The voice of Maher Zain, Sami Yusuf, Yusuf Islam, Seven 8 Six (the boy band), Dawud Wharnsby Ali etc… are now echoing in various ceremonies and music programs at every crook and cranny of the world. Yes, now, we can be proud of our great brothers as a product of the efforts of our medieval Musicians…

According to the science of Arabian music, it is quite different from that of western music. The chief characteristics of Arabesque are the modal homophony, florid ornamentation and modal rhythm. One major thing about Arabian Music is it has four strings on traditional Oud, each represents the different phenomena of our nature like: -

           Zir – Fire

           Mathna – Air

           Mathalath – Water

           Banm – Earth

And the aforementioned musician Zeryab added a fifth string to this Oud and later Al-Kindi added 12 Maqamas to this musical theory. Habib Hassan Touma submits that there are five components that characterize Arabic music: -

1. The Arab tone system; that is, a musical tuning system that relies on specific interval structures
2. Rhythmic-temporal structures that produce a rich variety of rhythmic patterns, known as awzan or "weight", that are used to accompany metered vocal and instrumental genres, to accent or give them form.
3. A number of musical instruments that are found throughout the Arab world that represent a standardized tone system, are played with generally standardized performance techniques and display similar details in construction and design.
4. Specific social contexts that produce sub-categories of Arabic music, or musical genres that can be broadly classified as urban (music of the city inhabitants), rural (music of the country inhabitants), or Bedouin (music of the desert inhabitants) ..."
5. An Arab musical mentality is "responsible for the esthetic homogeneity of the tonal-spatial and rhythmic-temporal structures throughout the Arab world whether composed or improvised, instrumental or vocal, secular or sacred." 

These features are commonly known as the main characters of Arabian music. 

Besides, there are several differences between Arabian Music and Western Music. Basically, in the sense of composition and construction, Arabian Music has only one melody in Articulation and dynamics while western music, use several melodies in one articulation. Secondly, there is a special maestro in the western orchestra while it is not found a maestro in Arab orchestra, as they sing together. Thirdly, in concern with the audience, they have no role in the west but, in Arab, the audience plays an important role in impelling the orchestra, as a famous Musician Tarab says “in order to boost my energy, the audience cheer up my name for their ecstasy”. Besides, there are several major and minor differences between Arabian and Western Music which needs a separate, crucial and punctual study over them.

In essence, do you think did Arabian Music have an impact on western Music? That is a much debatable matter. Nevertheless, it is an undeniable fact that most of the western musical instruments have a quite resemblance to the old Arabian instruments. For Instance, the word lute is derived from Oud, Rebec from Rabeb, Guitar from the word Qiltar, etc… I could find that western Music is influenced by Arabian music because the earlier of both is Arabesque as the word transmission would be from that of the Arabic instruments. Let us check the variations in Music notations of Arabic and Italian Music

Arabic: Mi Fa Sad 

La Sn Dal Rs

Italian:  Mi Fa 

Sol La Si 

Do Re

As seen in the illustrations, the transmission from Arabic to Italian is explicitly apparent. Hence, you can decide did West was influenced by Arabians…

To sum up, the role of Arabian Musicians in the formation of modern Music is absolutely remarkable and its influence worldwide is quite outward. Except for Maliki, all three schools have been permitted to listen to music for its benefits in the relaxation of mental stress. Nowadays, one of the popular arts consists of the art of Music as it reflects in every society, every ritual, ceremony and whole function will not be excluded from the art of Music. Thus, let raise from modern society a group of Muslim Musicians who will propagate Islam by the way of Music, imitating the way of Maher Zain.