Man kunto maula

I was introduced to Qawali at a Sacred Voices music festival in Regents Park in 1999. It was an amazing programme with a sikh group with 20 tablas, a hindu singer followed by Buddhist monks, then a gospel choir. But the performers who made the greatest and most lasting impression were the Qawali group, led by Sher Ali and Mehr Ali. I managed to see them four times in London and keep being bowled over by the song they usually open with, Man kunto maula.


Qawali singers are Sufis who sing to achieve an ecstatic union with their God. And in doing this they try to create something similar for their audience. If an audience member seems particularly affected by the song the lead singer will tailor the performance to that person, something I personally experienced in the Union Chapel the following year.


If you just give yourself to the music and the singing ... I often try to think of their singing as guided visualisation. I hope you find something to enjoy in the two parts of Man kunto maula, a song  based on a hadith, i.e. a saying of Prophet Mohammad: "Whoever accepts me as a master, Ali is his master too."

Could only find video in two parts: