Naat ( bn, নাত; Punjabi and ur, ) is

poetry Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings i ...

in praise of the Islamic prophet,

Muhammad Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet divinely inspired to preach and confirm the mo ...

. The practice is popular in South Asia (Bangladesh, Pakistan and India), commonly in

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

, Punjabi or

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
'' Hamd Hamd ( ar, حمد, ḥamd, praise) is a word that exclusively praises God - whether written or spoken. Thus, The word "Hamd" is always followed by the name of God (Allah) - a phrase known as the Tahmid - "al-ḥamdu li-llāh" (Arabic: ) (English ...

, not to be confused with 'Na'at'. In Arab countries, lyrics and praises said for

are called

Madih nabawi Madih nabawi ( ar, مديح نبوي, pl. Madā'ih nabawiyah), one of the principal religious genres of Arabic music, is a song form dedicated to expressing praises, love and devotion for the Islamic prophet Muhammad and his family. The genre dates ...

History

It is difficult to trace the history of Naat khawani since no authenticated record of when it was initiated can be found. One early author, Hassan, was known as ''Shair-e Darbaar-e Risalat''. Even before accepting Islam he was a poet, but after embracing Islam he gave a new turn to his poetry and started writing Na'ats in honor of Muhammad. He was famous for his poetry that defended Muhammad in response to rival poets who attacked him and his religion. Therefore, Hassan is known as the first ''sana-khawaan'' (naat reciter) of that time. After that many a poet followed this trend and totally dedicated themselves towards writing of naats. Tala al Badru Alayna, is a traditional Islamic poem known as nasheed recited to Muhammad during his completion of migration to Medina in 622 CE, is believed to be one of the earliest naats.

Language

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

Urdu Na'at Anthologies

*''Hadaiqe Bakshish'' by

Ahmad Raza Khan Ahmed Raza Khan, commonly known as Aala Hazrat, Ahmed Raza Khan Barelvi, or Ahmed Rida Khan in Arabic, (14 June 1856 CE or 10 Shawwal 1272 AH – 28 October 1921 CE or 25 Safar 1340 AH), was an Islamic scholar, jurist, mufti, philosopher, ...

*''Wasail e Bakhsish'' by Muhammad Ilyas Qadri *''Farsh Par Arsh'', 2009 () by Abūlḥāmid Muḥammad *''Tajalliyāt'', by

Syed Waheed Ashraf Syed Waheed Ashraf is an Indian Sufi scholar and poet in Persian and Urdu. Ashraf received his B.A., M.A. and PhD (1965) degrees from Aligarh Muslim University. The title of his doctoral dissertation was ''A Critical Edition of Lataife 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

* ''safeena e bakhshish'' by Akhtar Raza Khan (Azhari Miya)

Notable Na'at Khawans

Urdu Na'at poets

Ahmed Raza Khan Ahmed Raza Khan, commonly known as Aala Hazrat, Ahmed Raza Khan Barelvi, or Ahmed Rida Khan in Arabic, (14 June 1856 CE or 10 Shawwal 1272 AH – 28 October 1921 CE or 25 Safar 1340 AH), was an Islamic scholar, jurist, mufti, philoso ...

Mustafa Raza Khan Mustafa Raza Khan Qadri (1892–1981) was an Indian Muslim scholar and author, and leader of the Sunni Barelvi movement following the death of its founder, his father Ahmed Raza Khan. He was known as ''Mufti-Azam-i-Hind'' to his followers. ...

* Muhammad Ilyas Qadri * Mushtaq Qadri *

Amir Khusro Abu'l Hasan Yamīn ud-Dīn Khusrau (1253–1325 AD), better known as Amīr Khusrau was an Indo-Persian culture, Indo-Persian Sufi singer, musician, poet and scholar who lived under the Delhi Sultanate. He is an iconic figure in the cultural his ...

Muzaffar Warsi Muzaffar Warsi (23 December 1933 – 28 January 2011; ur, مظفر وارثی) was a Pakistani poet, essayist, lyricist, and a scholar of Urdu. He began writing more than five decades ago. He wrote a rich collection of na`ats, as well as seve ...

* Akhtar Raza Khan *

Muhammad Iqbal Sir Muhammad Iqbal ( ur, ; 9 November 187721 April 1938), was a South Asian Muslim writer, philosopher, Quote: "In Persian, ... he published six volumes of mainly long poems between 1915 and 1936, ... more or less complete works on philos ...

* Behzad Lucknavi

Urdu Na'at Reciters

* Sabihuddin Rehmani *

Junaid Jamshed Junaid Jamshed Khan ( ur, ; 3 September 1964 – 7 December 2016) was a Pakistani singer-songwriter, television personality, fashion designer, actor, and preacher. After graduating with a degree in engineering from the University of Engineer ...

* Abrar ul Haq * Syed Fasihuddin Soharwardy * Siddiq Ismail * Khursheed Ahmad * Abdul Rauf Rufi * Qari Waheed Zafar Qasmi * Bekal Utsahi * Ajmal Sultanpuri

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Naat Cultural depictions of Muhammad Islamic worship Islamic poetry Islamic culture Urdu-language poetry Sufism Islamic music Pakistani music Bengali poetry Bengali music Bangladeshi music Devotional literature Islamic terminology Islam in South Asia