A night to remember with Shaykh Hisham Kabbani

Bismillah.

Alhamdulillah wa shukrulillah. I think Friday nights should be like last night. It was a fantastic night to remember, a musical celebration for lovers of Mawlid. But then again every session with Shaykh Hisham is an event to remember.

Courtesy of the Budiman Foundation established by Dr. Azriman Rosman and wife, Hajjah Zanariah Zainal together with several other sponsors, Datuk Dr. Raj Karim and Datuk Nora Tun Rahman to name but two, we had a fabulous time at Bukit Damansara Community Hall yesterday evening. 

Shaykh Hisham Kabbani and wife, Hajjah Naziha Adil graced the event. Shaykh Hisham first made the audience sing the Malaysian national anthem. [I thoroughly appreciated that because it's been ages since I last had an opportunity to sing Negaraku].

Shaykh Hisham reminded the audience of a hadith of Rasulullah s.a.w that love of one's country is from faith. He then gave a tausiyah and for the second time, I heard him taught a special salawat called Salawat al-Fatih. So let me post that separately InshaAllah.

The attendees were treated to some great performances by eight groups including the famed evergreen singer Ramli Sarip! [Yes, believe it or not.] And a whirling dervish from Indonesia, MashaAllah.

First up was a Johor qasidah group of ten. I remember one of them, a cute guy wearing a taj [a cone pointed hat] and kain pelekat (sarong) playing guitar, can you picture that? Then came the 'The Dervish Mawlid Ensemble' comprised of five vocalists and five percussionists from Kuala Kubu. They have got a new album called Mawar Buatmu Ya Rasulullah (A rose for you O Rasulullah). 

Then it was the turn for the only all-ladies group to perform. 'Az Zahra Ensemble' comprises of seven pretty young ladies based in America. One of them is none other than Sajeda Kabbani [Shaykh Hisham's daughter]. Only three of them performed last night. They had toured the USA and a few other countries and collected a good sum of money from their performances for donation to orphanages in Indonesia.

Sajeda Kabbani (middle) and two gorgeous Az Zahra members
enjoying the performances of the other groups
at Bukit Damansara Community Hall last night.

Next to perform was the 'The Haqqani Mawlid Ensemble' of KL, a mawlid group that is synonymous with the Naqshbandi Haqqani tariqa group of Malaysia. It was put together by Almarhum Shaykh Raja Ashman in 1996. This ensemble comprises of 14 members. 

After a string of quite sober qasidah performances, the audience was treated to an upbeat show by a duo 'Ahmad Ahmad' comprised of Dr. Syed Ahmad Faisal or Pacai [a famous Malaysian composer] and Ali Ahmad.  

After that came Ramli Sarip who needs no introduction really. Good news for his fans, Ramli Sarip has compiled 14 hit songs into a new album named Sadaqah.

Then, 11 members of the 'Singapore Haqqani Ensemble' took the stage. This impressive group has a qasidah album called "Our Beloved Mustafa". Their show was punctuated by a poem recital by Lina Othman on behalf of her popular sister Liza Othman [a prolific actress who is now hospitalized. Please pray for her.]

The last group to come on stage was the 'Shamsul Haq Al-Haqqani' band of Kedah, comprising of 30 members including five young performers. The youngest member of this group is 4 years old and I'd seen one of the little boys playing the drum in another majlis. The eldest is 40. Brother Amzari Halim is the lead vocalist. They have lately begun to showcase Malay numbers. Let me share a couple of lines from their newly composed Malay qasidah, courtesy of one of the group members, Brother Safar [singer cum taj maker].

Engkaulah Nabi yang mulia

You are an honorable prophet

Engkaulah bulan purnama

You are a glorious full moon

Engkaulah harapan hamba

You are my hope

Engkaulah belahan jiwa

You are my heart throb

Cintamu tak akan sirna

Your love is never fleeting

Cintamu tak kan terdua

Your love is undivided

Cintamu sepanjang masa

Your love is eternal

Cintamu hirupan syurga

Your love is a heavenly potion

Berdebar hatiku bangga

My heart is nervous, proud

Berdebar senang terasa

Nervous at feeling joy

Berdebar kerana cinta

Nervous as I am feeling love

Berdebar gejolak jiwa

Nervous is my soul 

Sakitku indah terasa

My pain feels beautiful

Sakitku kerana cinta

My pain is on account of my love

Sakitku ingin berjumpa

My pain is due to my yearning to meet

Dengan Nabi yang mulia
Meet with the honorable Prophet

Muhammadun Ya Rasulullah...
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That's it from me, for now. Have a pleasant weekend.

 -E-

Note:

The wonderful event was produced by Madam Juwita Jalil. I apologize for any errors or omissions.