Har Funn Maula
Har Funn Maula – Make me worthy, O’ Lord
This week’s Har Funn Maula is a Sufi dhamaal power track using dhol based rhythm along with Western drums giving it a rock element. This is the first song for week 3 of Coke Studio 2020 and has been performed by contemporary rock-star Umair Jaswal and Sufi stalwart Sanam Marvi. The initial lyrics in the demo was submitted by Shuja Haider and then was eventually modified for Coke Studio 2020 for a more universal message.
Speaking about the message of the song, Jaswal said, “Har Funn Maula is a beautiful prayer in which a man asks his God to make him better at everything he does, asks Him to make him good at everything he does. We’ve performed a song with such high energy after a very long time; and the energy of it is bound to have you moving to its groove,” said Jaswal. He added, “The song means so much to me – I feel every word I am singing in this song.”
The song starts with the dhamaal which is a type of devotional music/dance practice that honors qalandars or Sufi saints and is well suited to the raw and loud vocals of rock musician, Umair Jaswal. The song departs into Marvi’s majestic and big voice, bringing in a Sufic flair to the message.. Marvi’s departure is sung from Shah Jo Risalo, written by Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai, a Sufi saint and one of the greatest Sindhi poets of all times.. The Shah Jo Risalo is his most celebrated work of poetry which is divided into chapters known an “surs” (which are also musical notes) and reference stories of famous female characters from romantic folk tales such as Momal Rano, Sassi Punnhun, Sohni Mehar etc.
The departure sung by Sanam Marvi is a beautiful crescendo is known to be the first waayi from Sur Sohni in Shah Jo Risalo:
“In the melody of the river’s rapid current and the desert breeze
And in the plant kingdom, one single cry resounds (‘I am the Truth’)
All of creation has become worthy of the gallows
All are Mansur Al-Hallaj – thousands upon thousands of them
How many will you hang at the gallows?
Master
O my dear Master”
Talking about the song, Marvi said, “When you set foot on the first step of love, without even realizing it, you take a step in the direction of Ishq-e-Haqqiqi (love for God Almighty). Somewhere along the way you feel the pain of heartbreak, loss and you realize that only prayer can give you a sense of peace and calm.”
Referring to the translation below Jaswal said, “What is being said is, we are all sinners and in the process of sinning we forget about God; but God calls upon us five times a day, beckoning us to come towards Him and ask for what we want. We forget Him, but He does not forget us. This is my favorite line of the song.”
“Go and make your peace
He calls you five times a day
The One whom you forget everyday
That Lord does not forget you”
Jaswal adds that, “When intentions are pure, all the troubles in life vanish. All that is required then is for you to build a connection with God and open your heart to other people.”
Composed by Shuja Haider and arranged by producer Rohail Hyatt himself, the backing vocals for Har Fun Maula were provided by Kumail Jaffery, Nimra Rafiq, Shahab Hussain and Wajiha Naqvi. The house-band include Hyatt himself on the keyboards and acoustic guitar; Asad Ahmed on electric guitar; Turkish musician Volkan Öktem on drums; Kamran ‘Mannu’ Zafar on bass guitar; Shehroze Hussain playing the sitar; Nawazish Nasri on the rabab; Abier ‘Veeru’ Shan playing percussions and Babar Khanna on eastern percussions.