Amjad Sabri
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Amjad Farid Sabri (23 December 1970 – 22 June 2016) was a Pakistani
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 ...
singer and a proponent of the Sufi Muslim tradition. Son of Ghulam Farid Sabri and nephew of Maqbool Ahmed Sabri of 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 ...
, he emerged as one of South Asia's prominent ''
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 ...
'' singers. The TTP Hakimullah Mehsud group has claimed responsibility for Sabri's death, saying that they carried out the assassination "for blasphemy".


Career

Born in
Karachi Karachi is the capital city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Sindh, Pakistan. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, largest city in Pakistan and 12th List of largest cities, largest in the world, with a popul ...
,
Sindh Sindh ( ; ; , ; abbr. SD, historically romanized as Sind (caliphal province), Sind or Scinde) is a Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Pakistan. Located in the Geography of Pakistan, southeastern region of the country, Sindh is t ...
, on 23 December 1970, Amjad began learning ''
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 ...
'' music from his father at age nine and joined his father on stage to perform in 1982. His father trained him in ''Raag Bhairon'', which is practiced in early morning. For this training Sabri had to get out of bed in the middle of the night, then after performing ''tahajjud'' (a midnight prayer), he practiced the ''baja''. Sabri sang the famous qawwalis of his family and travelled widely to India, America and Europe where he was known as the "rock star" of ''qawwali''. At the time of his death, he was an acclaimed ''qawwali'' singers in the
Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a physiographic region of Asia below the Himalayas which projects into the Indian Ocean between the Bay of Bengal to the east and the Arabian Sea to the west. It is now divided between Bangladesh, India, and Pakista ...
and performed around the world. Amjad initially used to be in the chorus and would clap in his father's and uncle's band, 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 ...
. He also appeared alongside his father Ghulam Farid Sabri and uncle Maqbool Ahmed Sabri at the age of 6 years old, along with 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 ...
in Pakistani film ''Saharay'' which was released in 1982. In which his father and uncle recited their famous qawwali '' Tajdar-e-Haram''. Amjad also recited
Allama Iqbal Muhammad Iqbal (9 November 187721 April 1938) was a South Asian Islamic philosopher, poet and politician. Quote: "In Persian, ... he published six volumes of mainly long poems between 1915 and 1936, ... more or less complete works on philoso ...
's poem '' Lab Pe Aati Hai Dua'' in the same film. After his father's death, The Sabri Brothers were led by Amjad's uncle Maqbool Ahmed Sabri, Amjad took up the role of a supporting vocalist and also used to play the
Bongos Bongos (Spanish language, Spanish: ''bongó'') are an Afro-Cubans, Afro-Cuban percussion instrument consisting of a pair of small open bottomed hand drums of different sizes. The pair consists of the larger ''hembra'' () and the smaller ''macho'' ...
. Later, in 1996, he started his own group with his brothers and friends as members. His first album was ''Balaghal Ola Be Kamalehi'' which was released by Oriental Star Agencies in 1997 featuring his father's and uncle's qawwali ''Sar E La Makan Se Talab Hui'' as the main item. He mostly used to sing qawwalis sung by his father and uncle, then eventually began to include some of his own compositions. Some of his hit qawwalis included ''Ali Ke Sath Hai Zehra Ki Shaadi'' and ''Na Poochiye Ke Kya Hussain Hai''. His most popular song is a Naat ''Karam Maangta Hoon''. His other works include ''Main Nazar Karoon Jaan E Jigar'', ''Allah Allah'', ''Dhoom Macha Do'', ''Kaabe Ki Raunaq'', ''Kaash Yeh Dua Meri'', ''Ali Mera Dil'', ''Phir Dikha De Haram'', ''Tuloo E Saher Hai Shaam-E-Qalandar'' and his last Naat ''Aye Sabz Gumbad Wale''. Sabri's last musical project was with '' Coke Studio'' (Pakistan). He performed an outstanding qawwali, "Aaj Rang Hai" with
Rahat Fateh Ali Khan Rahat Fateh Ali Khan (, ; born 9 December 1974) is a Pakistani Punjabi singer, primarily Qawwali, a form of Sufi devotional music. Khan is one of the most popular and highest paid singers in Pakistan. He is the nephew of Nusrat Fateh Ali Kha ...
in Episode 7 of Season 9. Sabri's performance on the platform turned out to be his first and last one at this studio.


Personal life

Amjad Sabri is fondly remembered by friends and family as a warm and affable person who was always smiling, and had a love for board games and a childish tendency to play pranks. He married his wife Nadia after being introduced to her in 2002 through mutual friends. Nadia and Sabri have five children together. Sabri was known to be a family man who preferred to spend time with his wife and children despite his hectic career and travelling commitments and felt homesick when travelling abroad. Friends who knew him closely also considered him somewhat of an eccentric and an outspoken misfit. Sabri preferred to live in his humble Liaqatabad residence even after achieving world fame and refused to move to a more affluent area due to his spiritual association with the home built by his father.


Death

On 22 June 2016, after finishing a morning TV show where his last naat included the words "When I shudder in my dark tomb, dear
Prophet In religion, a prophet or prophetess is an individual who is regarded as being in contact with a divinity, divine being and is said to speak on behalf of that being, serving as an intermediary with humanity by delivering messages or teachings ...
, look after me", two motorcyclists opened fire on Sabri's car in Liaquatabad Town, Karachi, critically injuring Sabri, an associate and his driver. Sabri was shot twice in the head and once on the ear. All of the car passengers were then shifted to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital where Sabri died. His assassination occurred near an
underpass A subway, also known as an underpass, is a grade-separated pedestrian crossing running underneath a road or railway in order to entirely separate pedestrians and cyclists from motor or train traffic. Terminology In the United States, as ...
named after his father. Tens of thousands of people attended Amjad Sabri's funeral in Karachi. He was buried near the graves of his father Ghulam Farid Sabri and uncle Maqbool Ahmed Sabri at '' Paposh Qabristan'', in Nazimabad. Sabri's murder was met with condemnation from many public figures in Pakistan and India, and several protests were organised against the killing.


Perpetrators

According to local Pakistani media like
Dawn News Dawn News HD is a Pakistani 24-hour Urdu news channel. Based in Karachi, the station is a subsidiary of Pakistan Herald Publications Limited (PHPL), Pakistan's largest English-language media group. The test transmission of the station occurr ...
,
Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan The Pakistani Taliban, officially the Tehreek-i-Taliban-e-Pakistan (TTP), is an umbrella organization of various Islamist armed militant groups operating along the Durand Line, Afghan–Pakistani border. Formed in 2007 by Baitullah Mehsud, i ...
(TTP) claimed responsibility for killing Amjad Sabri. The responsibility was claimed by the group's spokesman, Qari Saifullah Mehsud. Qari Saifullah Mehsud was later shot dead by an unknown gunman in
Khost province Khost (Pashto/Dari: ) is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan located in the southeastern part of the country. Khost consists of thirteen districts and the city of Khost serves as the capital of the province. Historically, Khost used to be a par ...
of
Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...
on 29 December 2019. Mehsud was a key TTP commander and was among the terrorists most wanted by Pakistan for his involvement in several terror attacks in the country. He was previously arrested by U.S. forces in Afghanistan in 2016 but was later released after he spent 14 weeks in jail in Afghanistan.


Awards and recognition

*In 2018, Sabri was posthumously awarded the
Sitara-i-Imtiaz The Sitara-e-Imtiaz () also spelled as Sitara-i-Imtiaz, is the third-highest (in the order of "Imtiaz") honour and Civil decorations of Pakistan, civilian award in the State of Pakistan. It recognizes individuals who have made an "especially me ...
– Pakistan's third highest civilian honour – by President Mamnoon Hussain. *Amjad Sabri's voice featured in the track "Church" on
Coldplay Coldplay are a British Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1997. They consist of vocalist and pianist Chris Martin, guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman, drummer and percussionist Will Champion, and manager Phil Harvey (band m ...
's 2019 album ''Everyday Life''.


Legacy

According to a major newspaper of Pakistan, "He lived a life above worldly emotions, and did not consider his contemporaries as rivals. When singer Atif Aslam showed interest in singing the famous Qawwali 'Tajdar-e-Haram', which was originally sung by Amjad's father, Amjad not only permitted it, but also praised Atif for delivering a powerful and befitting rendition".
National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...
's obituary for Amjad Sabri gives a summary definition of qawwali this way, "In South Asia, ''qawwali'' is also one of the most popular and relatable expressions of Islam and of Sufism - the hugely diverse, mystical branch of Islam that emphasizes having a personal connection to God, as well as embracing tolerance, peace and equality".


Notes


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sabri, Anjad Pakistani terrorism victims 2016 deaths 1970 births Harmonium players Pakistani qawwali singers Crime in Karachi People killed by the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan Targeted killings in Pakistan People murdered in Karachi Pakistani Sufis Pakistani murder victims Deaths by firearm in Sindh Recipients of Sitara-i-Imtiaz Muhajir people Chishti-Sabiris