Madih nabawi
Madih nabawi is a major Arabic religious song form that praises the Islamic prophet Muhammad and his family. It began around 632 CE, right after Muhammad’s death, but the performers speak to Muhammad in the songs. It is also a Sufi literary tradition.
A typical performance features a solo singer with a chorus of men playing frame drums. The chorus sings a refrain, and the soloist improvises in response, varying or transforming the refrain to fit the musical scale (maqam). The chorus sings together, and at moments a new verse of prayers or blessings for the audience is added.
In North Africa it resembles ma’luf or Andalusi nuba; in Egypt it is known as dur; in Syria as muwashshah; and in Iraq as maqam al-iraqi.
Northern Sudan has a famous madih tradition, dating back to Hajj El-Mahi of Kassinger (c. 1780–1870), who wrote about 330 religious poems. They are performed by pairs of male singers with two frame drums (tar) at religious celebrations, markets, or outside mosques.
Subgenres in madih include tanzilah (revelation), ibtihal (supplication), tawassul (beseechment), tawshih, and muwashshah.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 03:50 (CET).