The author attempts to get the true feel of Qawwali by investigating it in devotional, aesthetic and

emotional aspects. The objective of the writing is to explore the degree to which Qawwali proves to be a
stimulant for trance-like or ecstatic states of divine experience. The popularity of Qawwali has increased
in Oriental Culture. What explains the increase in the popularity of Qawwali is its ability to take its
devotees from ecstasy towards the exotic trance in raising the God. The aforementioned ecstasy ranges
from dreamy dancing, shaking the head, to violent convulsions of the body; this varies from a person to
person.

The Arthur used a multimodal framework to explore the emerging trends like love and devotion of Allah
and Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H), blessedness of Allah and contradiction between worldly love and
the spiritual love. The author main source of data was a Qawwali which was sung at many renowned
shrines in Lahore, Pakistan. In order to investigate the impact of the Qawwali, the author used 16 case
studies to take into account the views of the devotees. The core finding of the author was that the
emphatic rhythmical stress patterns of the Qawwali which repeatedly referred to Allah shook the
emotions of the devotees and demanded spiritual repositioning from them.

The article complemented my knowledge by shedding light on the place of origination of Qawwali. It
was primarily performed at the shrines and it was from there that its popularity increased and it
emerged as a popular music genre in India and Pakistan. The reason why it was majorly performed at
shrines was that it advocated for the love of Prophet (P.B.U.H) and desire of man for closeness to Allah.
Besides this, another surprising point of view which this study presented was that the Qawwali has the
power to liberate individuals from everyday life worriers and to take them to a next world; it is a world
about which devotees are not aware of. I am of the view that the effect is temporary and one feels
relieved only when one is fully absorbed in it and therefore the escape from this manly world is only for
a few minutes after which all the problems strike back to our minds. Other than this, I am of the view
that the degree to which devotees get absorbed in it strongly depends on the lyrics. The Qawwali whose
lyrics strongly depict love for god and Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H) are more likely to take the
devotees to another world as compared to the other Qawwali’s which have less strong lyrics.

The author used qualitative sample which I believe is a good move because it enabled the author to get
the detailed views of the devotees via detailed discussions with them. I have a few reservations on the
sample size of the research as only 16 case studies were used by the author to collect data. Had the
sample size been a bit bigger, the quality of the research could have improved further.

The language used by the author is very professional and up to mark. I must highlight that the author
has not only translated the Punjabi and Urdu verses of Qawwli into English but has also transcribed the
act of circular dances by devotees by calling it whirling (dances) of darwaishs. She has beautifully
expressed the ideas and reactions of the devotees which truly reflect what they meant. I must highlight
here that the devotees linked the act of whirling dances to the revolution of planets around its orbit. The
devotees praised Allah for his creation of the world by these whirling dances during Qawwali
performances.
The results of the research suggest that 13 out of 16 devotees reported that they were of the view that
listening to Qawwali as a gods hymn earned them great riches and combatted with their financial
problems. Assuming all the devotees considered were Muslims, I completely disagree to this because
the primary sources of legislation in Islam- Quran and Hadis- say nothing about role of Qawwali in
combatting financial problems of Muslims. I believe that such beliefs of the devotees represent lack of
literacy, nothing more than that. If there had been such a association between Qawwali and God’s
blessings in terms of elimination of financial problems, our Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H) would have
definitely endorsed it to his Ummah. As none of the authentic sources provide such evidence, Muslims
must refrain from such exaggerations because such an act will not please Almighty Allah but will earn his
displeasure which will have repercussions.

Some devotees were of the view that Qawwali had a medicinal effect on them as whenever they faced
tension and anxiety, they resorted to the Qawwali option and it worked as an antidepressant for them. I
agree to the fact that Qawwali without any doubt relaxes individuals but I must say that the element
which must be stressed here is that Qawwali is blessed with this power by God because we are praising
our God in it, we are praising our Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H) in it therefore the lyrics have a soothing
impact on us. If the lyrics would have been about manly love, there would have been no impact then. So
the credit must go to the strong lyrics.

The author points out that the variations in the tone of recitation served the purpose of inducing
sensation of the sublime. I always questioned the rationale for these variations but never got a
satisfactory answer to it. However, the explanation of the author makes sense. Furthermore, a few
devotees have reported that the Qawwali transformed their lives by germinating an internal urge in
them to give up fraudulent activities and work towards the right path. This is the best part of Qawwali as
it makes man more spiritual and polishes and elevates his love for God which plays a crucial role in
adoption of righteous deeds.

Furthermore, the author presents another interesting fact that many devotees believed that having dam
wala pani( water on which some verses have been recited) serves as a cure for diseases like tuberculosis
and hepatitis. The devotees were of the view that the words had a therapeutic power to provide
firmness to the soul and the body of the individuals. I had studied that music has an impact on humans
and it is soothing but knowing that it can combat severe diseases like hepatitis and tuberculosis was
surprising for me and I believe that it should be further investigated to trace the authenticity of the
claim.

Besides this, the author further discovered that the girls were of the view that the Qawwali played a
part in giving them hope of finding a better spouse. They basically seek assistance from their God to help
them find their spouse. This was again something which I had no idea about in the past and I will surely
research on this further to explore the popularity and the authenticity of the claim.

Overall, the author has presented the details in a very organized and logical manner. Ranging from
Abstract section to the conclusion, the author has systematically and logically connected the ideas and
made it very easy for the readers to understand her work. I must highlight that the quality of references
quoted by the author is remarkable which depicts her efforts. She has raised some imperative questions
which need to be researched upon.