Mother’s lullaby vs. Rahman’s melody
Hasbi Rabbi jalla Allah, mafi qalbi ghairu Allah, Noor Muhammadu sallallahu, haqq la ilaha illaa Allah…
The traditional umma of traditional Malabar used to hum these mantras while smoothly swinging the cradle of her dear little one. The melody of this centuries-old lullaby pierced right into the ears of the baby into the heart. And this was easy as it flowed from the lips of the mother- on whom the child relied for his sensation and perception of the world around. It breathed the same air as hers; its definition of cold and warmth was her own body temperature.
The child’s heart beat in rhythm to the zikr recited by the mother. It ingrained two Realties of the world into his Subconscious and Unconscious Mind as he slowly sank into sleep: Allah the most Supreme and Ultimate; and the light of His Beloved Muhammad sallallahu alaihi wa sallam! The child’s eyes would fall fast asleep, but the heart would remain engrossed in the lullaby … Hasbi Rabbi jalla Allah, mafi qalbi ghairu Allah.
Jaihoon recalled those good old cradle-days as a friend shared with him a composition from the musical maestro AR Rahman. Perhaps it is first time that such a work has been released in the mainstream entertainment industry. The composer has dared to come up with these ‘traditional’ lyrics which is very specific to Islamic mysticism.
The song emphatically resounds ‘Hu’, which refers to the short form of Huwa, “He”, one of the Divine Names. Rahman creates a spiritual tumult when he shouts Ya hayyu, ya Qayyum – (O Living One, O Self-subsisting One) – which is typical of that mantra chanted by the Rifai’ dervishes. He selectively picks from among the 99 names of Allah and describes the virtues of zikr (Remembrance), invoking the names of God.
Although loud and fast beats surround the wholly religious lyric, Rahman has successfully maintained a spiritual aura for the listener to experience.
Yet, I have to admit that the lullaby of the mother would give peace and serenity for the baby, but this song when played on the 5.1 speakers had my parrot at home screaming in fear (and in protest probably).
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3 comments
Those who comment wrong and bad views about Rehman sir mainly thy r haters
this song which u feel doznt mach up to ar rahmans standards was selected by the students of colarado university for the awe inspiring performance of followinh the silk road.chek it out.the lullaby,is the chorus,not d urdu begining.and this song proves the qutan aya alaa bi zikrollahi thathma innul qoob.indeed in the remembranc of Allah (God)do hearts find peace.sura rad vers 28. personaly this song reaches deep n makes one feel spiritual n at peac.too bad u seem to b missin out..
I am referring to the so called famous zikr tuned by AR Rehman. I don’t talk about the inner Islamic views of what he has done, wheather he did it beacuse of his love to Islam etc etc, but I must say that it is very poorly tuned and does not meet what it actually is supposed to! We know that AR Rehman has done excellent jobs in the past and he is a number one musician and when I heard that he has tuned a good lullabie, that too was there in Malabar in old days, I was really excited and wanted to hear that. In my mind, I imagined a very good lullabi with AR Rehman’s magical music touch, but what I heard was totally against my assumptions! Frankly speaking, the first impression I had after listening to this was that it is same to the the dikr we used to hear when ‘mayyath’ is taken to ‘Khabr’…same sound, same way of recitation….and is this what a lullabie? Is this what a child should listen when he is trying to sleep?
What is recited and the other sides of it are something else.
I know, this comes like this, whatever AR Rehman does is superb!! and if some religious touch is given, everything is superb!
A real failure of AR Rehman and I must say that those who praise this song as a lullabie is saying something wrong!