Nasheed

A Nasheed (Arabic: singular نشيد , plural أناشيد; also spelt Nasyid in Malaysia; in Bosnia and Herzegovina: Ilahija) is an Islamic-oriented song. Traditionally, it is sung a cappella, accompanied only by a daff. This musical style is used because many Muslim scholars interpret Islam as prohibiting the use of musical instruments except for some basic percussion. Many people admire the purity and simplicity of the music.

A new generation of "Nasheed" artists use a wide variety of musical instruments in their art.Fact|date=April 2007 This has caused controversy amongst the Muslim community because of the vast range of scholarly opinions that exist on Music in Islam Fact|date=April 2007. These range from absolutely no music and singing, to that of any musical instruments allowed so long as the subject matter is of an Islamic ethos. There is also a crossover of mainstream music of groups like Outlandish, Aman, and solo artists like Dawud Wharnsby Ali, Sami Yusuf, Slave of allah and Idris Phillips, appealing to a significant Muslim crowd and also leading to performance of such artists at Islamic orientated festivals, conferences, concerts and shows (e.g. ISNA, Celebrate Eid, Young Muslims). Other artists and organisations such as Noor Media promote a 100% instrument free stance with nasheeds, differing from the current trends of the increasing usage of instruments in nasheeds.

Nasheeds are also increasingly being accompanied by professionally produced videos for certain tracks. Examples include "Madinah Tun-Nabi" by Aashiq al-Rasul "Al Mu'allim", "Meditation", "Hasbi Rabbi" (all by Sami Yusuf), "Du'a" by Seven 8 Six, "Mercy like the Rain" by SHAAM & "Our World" by Zain Bhikha.

They are also used by jihadist organizations, such as some sectors of the Iraqi insurgency, as backgrounds to videotapes of military operations they release to the internet.fact|date=September 2008

One example of a Nasheed artists now is Mishary Rashid Al-Afasy.

Nasheeds are popular in Middle East, Southeast Asia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo and South Asia. They are also popular in the UK among British Muslims.

External links

* [http://www.sparklywater.com/local_links.php?catid=2 www.SparklyWater.com]
* [http://muslimways.com/library/miscellaneous/music/the-ruling-on-nasheeds.html Islamic ruling on 'Nasheeds' ]
* [http://www.alifmusic.net/ AlifMusic.net - Muslim Social Network for Nasheed Fans and Artists]
* [http://www.muslimhiphop.com/index.php?p=Nasheed MuslimHipHop.com's Nasheed Section]
* [http://www.nobeatsnecessary.com "No Beats Necessary" - Nasheeds with no Music]
* [http://www.rhymesofpraise.com "Rhymes of Praise by Labbayk" - Nasheeds with no Music]
* [http://www.suhailnajmi.com "Suhail Najmi" - Nasheeds with only percussive instruments]