An important part of the Palestinian resistance is preserving and promoting its culture and connections to the land that has been violently stolen. The approach of wedding season offers us a special way to bring the Palestinian cause to mind and appreciate the rich and ancient heritage of this blessed and beautiful land: Palestinian wedding songs!
A big thank you to Alia for her suggestions for this list. May Allah bless you.
For those unfamiliar with Muslim Palestinian, and Arab more generally, wedding songs, a brief tour:
Prepare for a potentially longer song than Western songs or English anasheed. The songs can move from one tempo or rhythm to another as they progress, but you’ll often find a chorus that comes back throughout to tie it together. Enjoy the journey!
A traditional feature of Palestinian – and Arab – songs is the mawwal (موّال), which is slow, sentimental singing that comes at the beginning of a song before the main song starts at a faster tempo (there is a short example at the beginning of this song).
These songs tend to describe traditional stages in a Palestinian wedding, for example, the groom going to the bride’s house to take her to the wedding, their entrance into the wedding venue (this example is called “Welcoming the Bride”) or the pride and joy of the parents. They are always interspersed with prayers on the Prophet, peace be upon him, and prayers for the couple and their families.
You will also find Palestinian songs can transition from the wedding scene to themes of love for the homeland, natural features of the Palestinian landscape or resistance. A Palestinian wedding is a celebration of a marriage but also of Palestine.
If you or someone you know are getting married soon, why not add a few of the options below to your wedding playlist? If you have any suggestions to add to the list, let me know in the comments, by email or in an Instagram message.
May Allah bless the marriages of all those getting married this summer and fill them with love, compassion and common love of Allah. May He give patience and strength in iman to those in Palestine and around the world dealing with the pain of losing their spouse. May He reunite them in His highest Paradise.
Notes: 1. These songs do not feature any instruments except drums. 2. They are all in Arabic, but still enjoyable for non-Arabic speakers. 3. The lyrics are all based on Palestinian and/or Islamic tradition. 4. Some of the songs are not credited on Youtube. If you know the singer/group they are by, do let me know.
Wedding Songs
ساعة فرح (A Time of Joy) by Al Yarmouk Group (an album playlist)
فرحة عمري (The Joy of my Life) by Abdul Rahman Al Qaryouti and Nagham Biladi Group: an album playlist
يا حلالي ويا مالي – Abdul Rahman Al Qaryouti and Nagham Biladi Group (from the album above)
طلة قمر – Abdul Rahman Al Qaryouti and Nagham Biladi Group (from the album above)
دبكة صبايا – Abdul Rahman Al Qaryouti and Nagham Biladi Group (from the album above)
فرحة عمري – Abdul Rahman Al Qaryouti and Nagham Biladi Group (from the album above)
An audio play with traditional songs: this tells the story of a Palestinian wedding from going to ask for the bride’s hand to the end of the wedding. It features entertaining dialogues and traditional-style Palestinian songs.
0 Comments