Allah Hoo (Allāhu) is a traditional

Sufi Sufism ( or ) is a mysticism, mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic Tazkiyah, purification, spirituality, ritualism, and Asceticism#Islam, asceticism. Practitioners of Sufism are r ...

chant (

dhikr (; ; ) is a form of Islamic worship in which phrases or prayers are repeatedly recited for the purpose of remembering God. It plays a central role in Sufism, and each Sufi order typically adopts a specific ''dhikr'', accompanied by specific ...

) consisting of the word for

God In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...

(, ') run together three times, followed by Truth (

haqq Haqq ( ) is the Arabic word for truth. In Islamic contexts, it is also interpreted as right and reality. , 'the truth', is one of the names of God in the Qur'an. It is often used to refer to God as the ultimate reality in Islam. See also * Abdu ...

): ''Allāhu Allāhu Allāhu Haqq'', itself repeated three times over. According to Sufi tradition, this formula was introduced by

Abu Bakr Abd Allah ibn Abi Quhafa (23 August 634), better known by his ''Kunya (Arabic), kunya'' Abu Bakr, was a senior Sahaba, companion, the closest friend, and father-in-law of Muhammad. He served as the first caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate, ruli ...

as he initiated the

Naqshbandi Naqshbandi (Persian: نقشبندیه) is a major Sufi order within Sunni Islam, named after its 14th-century founder, Baha' al-Din Naqshband. Practitioners, known as Naqshbandis, trace their spiritual lineage (silsila) directly to the Prophet ...

tradition. Other Dhikrs consist of simple ''Allāhu Allāhu'' run together 400 or 600 times. "Allah Hoo" is also a popular title for

Urdu Urdu (; , , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in South Asia. It is the Languages of Pakistan, national language and ''lingua franca'' of Pakistan. In India, it is an Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of Indi ...

-language

devotional

qawwali Qawwali is a form of Sufi Islamic devotional singing originating in the Indian subcontinent. Originally performed at Sufi shrines throughout the Indian subcontinent, it is famous throughout Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and Afghanistan and has ...

Etymology

The "Hoo" is due to the nominative

suffix In linguistics, a suffix is an affix which is placed after the stem of a word. Common examples are case endings, which indicate the grammatical case of nouns and adjectives, and verb endings, which form the conjugation of verbs. Suffixes can ca ...

( i`rab) ''-u'' ( ḍamma) being pronounced before initial vowel, as the word ''Allahu'' is run together several times: ''Allahu Allahu Allahu'' is rendered as /al:a:hual:a:hual:a:h/ (compare the phrase ''

Allahu Akbar Allah ( ; , ) is an Arabic term for God, specifically the God of Abraham. Outside of the Middle East, it is principally associated with Islam (in which it is also considered the proper name), although the term was used in pre-Islamic Arabia ...

'' where the ''-u'' is also audible). In traditional Sufi chant, the length of the ''-u'' is exaggerated. As a

noun phrase A noun phrase – or NP or nominal (phrase) – is a phrase that usually has a noun or pronoun as its head, and has the same grammatical functions as a noun. Noun phrases are very common cross-linguistically, and they may be the most frequently ...

, the chant is interpreted as meaning "God is".

Haqq Haqq ( ) is the Arabic word for truth. In Islamic contexts, it is also interpreted as right and reality. , 'the truth', is one of the names of God in the Qur'an. It is often used to refer to God as the ultimate reality in Islam. See also * Abdu ...

is the Arabic for "truth", so that the full dhikr translates to "God is. God is. God is Truth." A Na'at starts off like this: "Allahu diya paiyan pukaran aqa aye ayan bharan".

Qawwali

Qawwalis titled "Allah Hoo" have been performed by many different qawwals. Although these songs have the same title, many of them are totally different songs. For example, the "Allah Hoo" that appears on the

Sabri Brothers The Sabri Brothers (Punjabi language, Punjabi, ) were a musical band from Pakistan who were performers of Sufi qawwali music and were closely connected to the Chishti Order. They are considered one of the greatest Sufi qawwali singers of all ti ...

1978 album ''Qawwali: Sufi Music from Pakistan'' is totally different from the song that became one of

Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan (, ; born Pervez Fateh Ali Khan; 13 October 1948 – 16 August 1997), also known by his initials NFAK, was a Pakistani singer, songwriter, and music director. Khan was primarily a singer of qawwali, a form of Sufi devot ...

's signature qawwalis, and this in turn is totally different from Qawwal Bahauddin's version on the 1991 Shalimar compilation video titled " Tajdar-e-Haram, vol. 2" (although all three songs do have some lyrics in common). Versions of the song have also been sung by many other qawwals and Sufi singers, including

Hans Raj Hans Hans Raj Hans is an Indian singer and politician. He is a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party and a recipient of the civilian honour of Padma Shri. He sings Punjabi folk and Sufi music as well as in movies and has also released his own 'Pun ...

Master Salim Saleem Shahzada also known as Master Saleem is an Indian singer who is known for his work as a Punjabi singer. He has also released several private albums of Punjabi Music Music.. Early life and training Master Saleem was born as Saleem (Sal ...

, Faiz Ali Faiz, and the

Nooran Sisters Nooran Sisters are Sultana Nooran (born 14 June 1992) and Jyoti Nooran (born 24 February 1994), an Indian devotional Sufi singing duo. Born to a family of Sufi musicians, they perform Sham Chaurasia gharana classical music. They gained public ...

. Versions of the song have been translated into other languages. An English version is sung by

Sami Yusuf Sami Yusuf (born 21 July 1980) is an Iranian-British singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and composer of Azerbaijani descent. He gained international attention with the release of his debut album, ''Al-Muʽallim'', in 2003. As of 2020, ...

on the album ''Al-Muʽallim'' (2003), while a Malay version is sung by a popular Malaysian

Nasheed A ''nasheed'' (, ) is a work of vocal music, partially coincident with hymns, that is either sung ''a cappella'' or with instruments, according to a particular style or tradition within Sunni Islam. Nasheeds are popular throughout the Islamic ...

group

Raihan Raihan (derived from the Arabic word ''Rayḥān'' (), "Fragrance of Heaven") is a Malaysian nasheed group originally composed of five members that became popular in Malaysia with the release of their debut album ''Puji-Pujian'' in October 1 ...

. It is also a song by Sufi rock musician

Salman Ahmad Salman Ahmad (, born 12 December 1963) is a Pakistani born-American musician, rock guitarist, physician, activist, occasional actor and professor at the City University of New York. He earned nationwide popularity in 1998 for his unique sty ...

, formerly of Junoon, the Pakistani rock band. In 1st season of ''

Coke Studio (Pakistan) ''Coke Studio Pakistan'' () is a Pakistani television programme and a part of the international music franchise, Coke Studio, which features studio-recorded music performances by established and emerging artists. It is the longest-running annua ...

'', "Allah Hu" was sung by

Ali Zafar Ali Zafar (; born 18 May 1980) is a Pakistani singer-songwriter, actor, model, producer, screenwriter and painter. He started out on Pakistani television before becoming a popular musician, later also established a career in Bollywood and h ...

along with Saaein Tufail Ahmed in 2008. In 2nd season of ''

Coke Studio (India) ''Coke Studio'' is an Indian music series that's part of the international franchise, Coke Studio. It features live studio recordings by various artists, showcasing a diverse range of music. This includes classical genres from the Indian subcon ...

'', "Allah Hu" was sung by

composed by Hitesh Sonik in 2012. "Allah Hu" in its basic

naat A nucleic acid test (NAT) is a technique used to detect a particular nucleic acid sequence and thus usually to detect and identify a particular species or subspecies of organism, often a virus or bacterium that acts as a pathogen in blood, Tissue ...

form was penned by the late Maulana Syed Hasan Imdad of Pakistan.

References

{{reflist *Muhammad Hisham Kabbani, ''Classical Islam and the Naqshbandi Sufi Tradition'' (2003) * Josef Kuckertz, ''Was ist indische Musik?'', ''

Archiv für Musikwissenschaft The ''Archiv für Musikwissenschaft'' is a quarterly German-English-speaking trade magazine devoted to music history and historical musicology, which publishes articles by well-known academics and young scholars. It was founded in 1918 as the suc ...

'' (1996), p. 99. *Charles Wolverton, '' 'Ballyhoo' '', American Speech (1935), 289-291.

External links

Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan lyrics
Sufism Naqshbandi order Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan songs Junoon (band) songs