Album Notes

Companion Instructional CD NOW AVAILABLE:

"Wazifa, Audio Guide to the Training and Practice of Wazifa"
(click link at bottom of page to hear example tracks)

"The Wazifa Performance Manual" FREE
(click link at bottom of page to place a copy of the manual on your computer)

ABOUT WAZIFA vol I

"As many times as a word is repeated, even in a whisper, so many records it has produced in one's mind and heart".
Sufi teacher and musician, Hazrat Inayat Khan

Sufis call chanting 'Wazifa'. It is the repetition of a sacred name or phrase intended to bring about a change in our everyday affairs, our emotions and personality, as well as bring us closer to an experience of Divine Presence.

Pir-o-Murshid Hidayat Inayat-Khan, who is head of the Sufi Movement International and an internationally recognized composer of formal music, has composed and orchestrated music for 15 of these Wazifas.

It is notable that, although Wazifas have traditionally been chanted, that is, half spoken, half sung on the same pitch, these 15 Wazifas are meant to be sung. The melodies are drawn from ragas that PoM Hidayat has chosen to most accurately express the emotional qualities of the Wazifa. The music falls comfortably into a normal vocal range and the possibility of group performance with different parts makes this collection ideal for retreats and gatherings.

A participant's manual provided as a download-able pdf and a Wazifa audio guide CD are available to make the practice clear.

From 1999 to 2001, PoM Hidayat and myself (Jelaluddin Gary Sill) spent several days each autumn producing the 15 compositional miniatures in the Singing Wazifa collection. These orchestrated compositions are unique, perfectly presenting the essential character of each individual Wazifa.

After the music was recorded, a multimedia package that focused on the techniques and understanding required for the practice of the Singing Wazifas was created. There are four major components in the package; two double CD music sets, Wazifa Vol. I and Wazifa Vol. II, a print document entitled The Wazifa Performance Manual and a companion CD, The Wazifa Audio Guides. The package was created to help anyone interested in meditation in general but especially those who want to involve themselves in Wazifa practice.

Here is a list of the Wazifas included in Volume I with their English equivalents:

• Allah Hu Akbar, "God is Great"
• Bismillah, Er Rahman, Er Rahim, "We begin in the name of God,
the Compassionate, the Merciful"
• Dhul Jelal, Wal Ikram, "Towards the Lord of Splendid Power"
• Ya Rasul Illah, "O Messenger of God"
• Ya Shafee, Ya Khafee, "O Thou, Divine Healer,
O Thou All Sufficient Divine Healing Power"
• Al Hum Dul Illah, "All is the Grace of God"
• Ishk Allah Mahbud Allah"
• Ya Suban, "God is Pure"