“The qawwâl singer does not sing for himself:; he connects the listener with the invisible, the immaterial and guides him towards a perception of the impalpable aspect of the world. We sit down at a “mehfil” (meeting) to listen with our soul.”
(Claire Devos, Qawwâli, Editions du Makar)

The “qawwâli song”, a soufi expression from the Indo-Pakistani continent continues thanks to the qawwâl, these musicians singers stemming from the fellow order “chishtiyâ” created in India by the saint Muînuddîn Chistî Kwaâjâ Gharîbnawâz,who died in 1236 in Ajmer.

During religious gatherings, these great singers can be heard proclaiming their art, facing the tomb or shrine “dargah” of a saint “pir”, surrounded by their disciples and by the crowd at traditional festivals.

The apogee of the “qawwâli music” was embodied in the West through the personality of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, a public idol of an art which took us back into some antique trance. The term “Qawwâl” comes from the Arabic “qual” meaning the verb, the word or the action of speaking. The “qawwâl” sings the sacred word of the inspired poet whether in Persian,Hindu or Urdu, according to the origin of the poetry. Beyond the very sophisticated and emotional vocal effects the singer should, in fact, always dedicate himself to the gift of the word and speech to create the state of grace (amad).

Backed by an incredible rhythmic section consisting of handclapping and the inevitable “dholak”, the singer enjoys repeating (takrâr, repetition) a powerful hypnotic verse. The praises to the saint are repeated like an invocation by choirs, heartrending and enraptured at the same time, which creates the “tarab” effect, this loss of self control in which , in bygone days, even the sultans in the grip of such an emotional force would rip their clothes.

It is thanks to the great Indo-Persian poet Abdul Hasan Yaminuddin Khusrau (1253-1325 AD), better known by the name of Amir Khusrau that the classical Hindustani music as well as the qawwâli song developed rapidly both in mood and poetically. This great mystic poet, disciple of Nizamuddin Auliya, one of the most famous masters of the “chishtiyâ” order whose mausoleum in Dehli is the site of frequent mystical meetings, is at the origin of the rich Indo-Pakistani classical poetic repertoire still sung today by the  “qawwâl” in the farsi language (Persian), the literary language of the end of the 19th century.

Asif Ali Khan belongs to a family of famous musicians. He is the talented protégé of the great Qawwali maestro Late Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, who said of his music that “in this atomic age where every body is after material gains, music can give spiritual calmness and peace of mind”… He died seven years ago, much too early…

Taking inspiration from his mentor, Asif and his ensemble have a unique traditional and contemporary rendering style. Asif Ali Khan was greatly influenced by his Ustad. It could be rightly said that the legacy of Late Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan lives on in his voice…

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"Wash my soiled shawl
You have already washed hundreds of shawls for the others
The clothing of the body with the soap of your soul
Wash the stains from our hearts
I have little soap and a lot of dirty water
Let me soak there
Your heart is a river and in the running water
Rub hard to remove the stains”
Poem dedicated to the saint Baba Farid Ganje-Shakar- 1265