I had heard of Doctors without Borders and Reporters without Borders, but when I saw a headline in a Pakistani newspaper about Mystics without Borders, it was a first for me and certainly caught my attention.
It turns out a fascinating festival by the name of the “International Mystic Music Sufi Festival” is currently being celebrated in Karachi at the Bara Dari. The festival is being organized by the Rafi Peer Theatre Workshop, which is also the group that has been responsible for the popular World Performing Arts and Theatre Festival held annually in Lahore.
This Sufi festival is the first of its kind in Karachi and certainly an encouraging sign that people are able to express and share their sentiments, devotion, spirituality and passion in diverse ways. This festival is expected to last until May 7, and with an entrance fee of just Rs 300, it promises a lot of entertainment and education to Karachiites. According to the organizers, performers from over 70 countries have been invited to present their specialties in muslim sufi rituals, including music, songs and dances. There are performers from as far away as Syria which can be a delight to watch.
ATP has written before (here, here, here, here, here and here) on some of the great mystic poets and we wish to join the participants in this festival in spirit.
According to the media report:
Usman Peerzada of the Rafi Peer Theatre Workshop said that the group’s main aim had been to bring festivals to Pakistan since 1992 and now, as a result of their efforts, the World Performing Arts Festival had become the largest festival of Asia. “Festivals are living festivals and we aim to make the Sufi festival into just that. So please, own the festival,” he said in his address to the audience.
Daily Times spoke to Faizan Peerzada, the master-mind behind the show, to ask him what his audience could expect out of this festival. “A lot of variety. Some of these performers, like the Syrian performers can alone perform for four hours, but we have condensed it into a performance of 32 minutes so that we can manage 17 performances in one day. We have tried to bring together as many performers here as was possible and each one of them is performing a different Islamic tradition, so there’s a collection of so many aspects, which makes this festival unique.”
and the performances so far seem to have kept up to their high expectations:
The curtain raiser began with a performance by Zain-ul-Abideen Shah also known as Jumman Shah and his troupe of five people who sang a qafi by Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai. Their performance was followed by a mind-blowing performance by Mithoo and Goonga Saeein, who presented an instrumental using dhols while three of their members whirled around, representing the ecstasy so indispensable to the Sufi tradition. The next performance was by an Iranian four-member group called Bidaat, after which Kathak dancer Sheema Kirmani stole the show with her brilliant performance on Ameer Khusro’s aaj rang hai. With her group of two male dancers and two female, she brought the words to life and used the vacuum of the stage as a canvas portraying a beautiful painting that she successfully displayed to an audience that erupted in a round of applause for her.
Another one of the most appreciated performances of the curtain raiser was by Saeein Zahoor who performed a kalaam by Baba Bulleh Shah. Zahoor is a recipient of the BBC World Music Award and performed for an approximate 10 minutes, not a single second of which could be termed as a ‘drag’. A Syrian group called “Sham group of Syrian and Andalusian Music” performed next and recited verses from the Holy Quran.
We hope this Sufi Festival will become a local tradition, and that such art, folk, mystic, music, poetic, dance, and religious festivals will be held regularly in a city that still hosts one of the most diverse and culturally steeped citizenry.
[quote post=”695″]inshaAllah. Now, maybe you are talking about spirituality of something like that of a Hindu jogi[/quote]
It reminds me the background of two surahs, Naas and Kafiroon which were revealed when oponents of Prohphet[SAW] performed Magic upon Him[saw]. Now does that mean that those oponents were more powerful and pious than Prophet[saw] or more friend of Allah than Prophet[saw]. By using logic, people would claim something like that while IMO, I could be wrong that the message Allah wants to give that Prophets themselves are nothing and they are also dependant upon God. Prophets like Ayub[as],Jonah[as] also gone thru difficult times like Muhammad[saw]. I said all this because there is a sect among us who consider Prophet[saw] above the God [nazobillah].
Salamalikum,
Mahi, if sticking to Quran and Sunnah are loaded words, then my friend Islam is a loaded thing. Many places in Quran Allah says to be obedient to Allah and His Rasool. Of course, people have different level of emaan, taqwa and knowledge. Nobody is denying that. But, how do you increase things? Through philosophy? No, but by reading the Quran with tafseer, the ahadeeth, learning from scholars, etc. The point I’ve been making is invalidity of philosophy in Islam.
You’re saying some might have attention problems while praying (not enough kushoo’ [خشوع]). Yes, many do. But, can that be fixed by applying philosophy!? To me, this is almost laughable.
[quote post=”695″]That said, if what you are saying is only with the intention of being a ‘good Muslim’, then I have no quarrels. There is a prescribed way, with its fixed methods and yes, all one has to do is to stick to that, even if mechanically. That achieves that goal. But once you bring in spirituality, everything changes, since the spirit behind an action starts to count.[/quote]
I’m flabbergasted! How can you differentiate between “good Muslim” and “spirituality”? Being good Muslim is having spirituality (taqwa/piety) and sticking to Quran and Sunnah makes that possible, inshaAllah. Now, maybe you are talking about spirituality of something like that of a Hindu jogi. So, that’s completely different and is not the real spirituality that Islam talks about, and such trance-like spirituality has no place in Islam. Allah knows best.
Adnan, very true what you said about aethists and evolution. Baseless ideologies, I say.
i mean *prove God by logic*
[quote post=”695″]There is a difference between thinking or pondering or fikr and philosophy.[/quote]
I agreed. So far people here are not successful to make difference and they are putting philosphy,logic,faith etc, all in one slot.
[quote post=”695″]Bye bye Pakistaniat.com[/quote]
Bye Bye dude. Get well soon! *grin*
Speaking of logic. The aethist cult came into being because they wanted to prove by logic. The funniest thing is that they themselves are not successful yet to prove their own existance by using some *logic*. Ask them how did you came into being and they would start talking evolution without any solid argument. Funniest thing I must say!
[quote comment=”46668″]Salamalikum,
Mahi, we hold our end of the bargain by sticking to Quran and Sunnah! Your argument might have some weight if not for the fact that philosophy usually introduces bidaat in Islam; haven’t you seen enough examples right here. The “walking stick” to be used is the Quran and the Sunnah and the actions of the first three generations who Rasoolillah (saw) himself praised.
[/quote]
*sticking to Quran and Sunnah* – thats the crux. But is a loaded few words, no?. Sticking to some spiritual path is not as simple as reading words and following the prescribed daily actions. And even there not everybody is blessed with the same capabilities or circumstances. This apart, the whole notion of being able to understand and apply comes in.
What if somebody has a lesser ability than you stick? What if I pray five times but my mind is never still, always worried about my next meal or sex? Is a brute force approach the only solution available? Or should I just ‘assume’ God will take care of it and go my merry way? Thats just one potential issue, as an exmaple, but there can be many many questions in a practitioner’s way. Spiritual pursuit is never a smooth way I am sure you will agree.
That said, if what you are saying is only with the intention of being a ‘good Muslim’, then I have no quarrels. There is a prescribed way, with its fixed methods and yes, all one has to do is to stick to that, even if mechanically. That achieves that goal. But once you bring in spirituality, everything changes, since the spirit behind an action starts to count.