Naʽat Explained

Naat (bn|[[wikt:নাত|নাত]] and ur|{{Nastaliq|[[wikt:نعت|نعت]]) is poetry in praise of the Islamic prophet, Muhammad. The practice is popular in South Asia (Bangladesh, Pakistan and India), commonly in Bengali, Punjabi, or Urdu. People who recite Naat are known as Naat Khawan or sanaa-khuaan. Exclusive "Praise to Allah" and Allah alone is called Hamd, not to be confused with 'Na'at'.^{[1] [2] [3]}

In Arab countries, lyrics and praises said for Muhammad are called madih nabawi.

History

One early author, Hassan, was known as Shair-e Darbaar-e Risalat. Before converting to Islam he was a poet, and after converting he started writing Na'ats in honor of Muhammad.^[4] His poetry defended Muhammad in response to rival poets who attacked him and his religion.^{[5] [6]}

Tala al Badru Alayna is a traditional Islamic poem known as nasheed recited to Muhammad when he moved to Medina in 622 CE.^[7]

Language

Commonly, the term naʽat shareef is reserved for poetry in the praise of Muhammad. In Arabic, na'at is usually called madih or nasheed, although the latter can describe any type of religious poetry.

Urdu Na'at anthologies

• Hadaiqe Bakshish by Ahmad Raza Khan
• Wasail e Bakhsish by Muhammad Ilyas Qadri
• Tajalliyāt, by Syed Waheed Ashraf First Ed.(1996), Second Ed.(2018), Maktaba Jamia Ltd, Shamshad Market, Aligarh 202002, India
• Urdū zabān men̲ naʻt goʼī kā fann aur tajallīyāt, 2001 by Syed Waheed Ashraf
• Safeena e Bakhshish by Akhtar Raza Khan (Azhari Miya)

Notable Na'at khawans

Na'at poets

• Hassan ibn Thabit (c. 563–674)
• Pir Syed Meher Ali Shah (1859–1937)
• Amir Khusro (1253 – 1325 AD)
• Mian Muhammad Bakhsh (c. 1830–1907)
• Ahmed Raza Khan (1856 – 1921)
• Pir Syed Naseer-uddin-Naseer (1949–2009)
• Mustafa Raza Khan Qadri (1892–1981)
• Muhammad Ilyas Qadri (b. 1950)
• Syed Waheed Ashraf (b. 1933)
• Muzaffar Warsi (1933–2011)
• Akhtar Raza Khan (1943–2018)
• Muhammad Iqbal (1877–1938)
• Behzad Lucknavi (1900–1974)
• Tabish Mehdi (1951–2025)

Urdu Na'at reciters

• Syed Sabihuddin Rehmani (b. 1965)
• Junaid Jamshed (1964–2016)
• Abrar-ul-Haq (b. 1969)
• Syed Fasihuddin Soharwardy (b. 1957)
• Siddiq Ismail (b. 1954)
• Khursheed Ahmad (1956–2007)
• Abdul Rauf Rufi
• Qari Waheed Zafar Qasmi
• Bekal Utsahi (1924–2016)
• Ajmal Sultanpuri (1923–2020)

See also

• Hamd
• Islam in South Asia

Notes and References

1. Web site: Naat Sharif (Meaning of Naat & Hamd)- Naat by Sahaba-e-Ikhram. sufisaints.com website. Sufi Saints. 7 December 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20170113062202/http://sufisaints.com/forumss/index.php?topic=642.0. 13 January 2017.
2. https://www.definitions.net/definition/naat/ Definition of Naat on definitions.net website
3. https://web.archive.org/web/20181209123609/https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/naat Definition of Naat in English on oxforddictionaries.com website
4. 'URDU ZABAN MEIN NAT GŪĪ KA FUN' (Literary Criticism) Book in URDU by Syed Waheed Ashraf
5. Web site: khan . atif . 2024-11-17 . Naat Noor Wala Aya Hai Naat Lyrics . 2024-11-24 . SURAH BAQARAH . en-US.
6. Web site: KHAN . ATIF . 2024-11-24 . A Beautiful Naat- Wo Mera Nabi Hai Lyrics . 2024-11-24 . SURAH YASIN . en-US.
7. Web site: Islam and Islamic History in Arabia and the Middle East. islamicity.com website. 7 December 2018.