Ayub Tarish and religious hymns in Yemen

With the advent of the month of Ramadan, Yemeni gatherings during the nights of this month turn into gatherings for remembrance, chanting of religious songs, and supplications.

Religious singing or tawashih in Yemen occupies a prominent position due to two factors: the authenticity, excellence and diversity of Yemeni singing schools, in addition to the status of religion among Yemenis. This art is present in dhikr gatherings and social occasions as well, such as weddings, condolences and religious occasions, and is performed individually or collectively.

Sufism represents a rich value in the life of the Yemeni artist Ayoub Tarish Absi and in his singing career, adding to his record as a committed artist. Ayoub Tarish is one of the most prominent artists who represented an addition to Yemeni religious hymns by combining heritage and innovation. He produced a number of hymns in the form of singing accompanied by music, which represents a qualitative addition and renewal to hymns.

Most of the religious poems performed by Taresh are composed by him and the lyrics are by contemporary poets, in addition to his singing of poems by Sufi sheikhs, such as Sheikh Ahmed bin Alwan, Sheikh Abdul Rahim Al-Barai, Sheikh Abdul Hadi Al-Sudi, and Imam Abu Hamid Al-Ghazali.

The Yemeni artist used traditional words from the heritage in some of his songs, and he also used some traditional tunes in a few of the songs he sang. These songs are popular and passed down orally through generations, and are used for supplication and entreaty on various religious occasions.

The Tawsheeh “Jalaa Al-Qalb” (lyrics by Sheikh Muhammad Abd Al-Mu’ti Al-Junaid) is at the forefront of Taresh’s religious Tawsheehs with its melodious and humble melody. Its opening says:

O Prophet, there is no one like him in the universe.

Oh my beloved, I have a lot of worries and concerns about him

An eye whose eye is a soul and a mind

You are my light and my radiance, you have my love and loyalty in my death and my survival.

Among the religious songs sung by Taresh are: “O Lord, by their blessings and their favors,” “O God, by a glance,” “O God, O Lord, be kind to your perplexed servant,” “O light of my proof,” “O Lord, bless Muhammad,” “You are the Mighty,” “O Lord, I ask you by majesty and strength,” “To you be praise,” and “You are the Mighty, help, help.”

Ayyoub’s Ramadan songs stand out, and they are the songs dedicated to the month of Ramadan. At the top of the list is “Ramadan, the unique month of fasting” with lyrics by the poet Ahmed Al-Jabri. Among his Ramadan songs are also the songs “Ramadan Has Arrived on the World,” “The Brink of Fasting,” and “Ramadan, O Fasting Ones.”

Sufi researcher and investigator Abdul Aziz Sultan Al-Mansoub told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed: “Tarish is keen to choose distinctive Sufi texts written by Sufi sheikhs, so that he can combine the purposeful cognitive word with the rhythmic melody that he draws from Sufi listening sessions.”

The researcher points out that Yemen embraces diverse treasures and enormous artistic treasures, formulated by sheikhs who wrote, composed and created Sufi poetry and literature collections, and melodists participated with them in presenting melodies that hearts yearn for. The singers succeeded in spreading and transferring this knowledge and melodies to the vast areas in which their journeys took place, and the Sufi corners had enriched this aspect, and preserved a great heritage legacy whose roots are deeply rooted in history, and whose geography extends across the length and breadth of Yemen.

Al-Mansoub explains that there are challenges facing religious decoration in Yemen, which appear in the unstable conditions that the country is experiencing in terms of security, economy and society, which do not allow for good documentation and preservation of this heritage: “People’s concerns have become focused on finding the necessary livelihood and emigrating from the country, which does not allow for the opportunity to pay attention to this aspect and makes it vulnerable to loss.”

New Arab