Celebrate Eid Nasheed Concert – London

Celebrate Eid Nasheed Concert – London

Celebrate Eid Nasheed Concert – London

I attended this event on Sunday 21st November with my wife and two children, Meem Music kindly gave me some complimentary tickets for the event. I know it’s a bit late but I had started writing this a few days after the event buut never finished it.

The acts at the show were Omair Ali [comedian], Moez Masoud [speaker], Shaam, 786 Boyz and Raihan.

I hadn’t seen any of the acts perform live apart from Shaam; and I had heard 786 Boyz and Raihan on CD. The compere for the day was Omair Ali who really held the whole show together very well with is witty sketches and observations and persistent goading of the 786 Boyz (all in good humour), the audience really took to him and he worked the audience really well. My kids thought he was excellent.
The first act up were Shaam, they went through their usual qasidahs and they were quite simply superb, they have really improved considerably from before, not that they were bad but they just seemed much more together and “tighter”, there was a real purity about their performance and they created a very spiritual and mubarak atmosphere.

I never was big fan of harmonies and so Raihan didn’t appeal to me but having seen them live now I can honestly say that I was impressed. On CD the whole harmony thing just didn’t do it for me but live it was something else. They went through their familiar songs and did so with great delight, these guys are the original nasheed band and really know what makes their audience tick. One of the main singers had a sore throat from the previous night’s performance but they were so good you just couldn’t tell.

The other act was 786 from Detroit. They are not a nasheed group as such although they do perform nasheeds and na’ats. They are the first Muslim “boy band”, 5 good looking young guys, dressed in a modern western style and with great singing voices. Now, there will be many people who will criticise them for their dress, their haircuts, their lack of facial hair, their singing style and their occaisional use of instrumentation but as a father with small children who are going to be exposed to all forms of music, I for one am greatful to them in providing an alternative. My youngest child, Binyamin aged 7, now knows a little about Palestine because of the song of the same name! Someone complained that their sing style is too western as it is an RnB type of sound, I thought about this and came to the conclusion, so what? Aren’t the musical styles of Indo-Pak na’ats based on old Hindu surrs and raags, qawwalis on pre-Islamic Persian music, qasidahs on pre-Islamic signing? I don’t think we should object to 786 based on their singning style.

Moez Masoud gave a very inspiring talk on Loving Allah and how we must attach ourselves to the Divine. Moez has the knack of being able to send a message to people of all levels, he appeals to the young and the teenage, parents and senior people alike. He is generally well know within the Arab community as he has his own TV Show on ART Iqra. He is not so well known to the wider community, many people approached him after the event and told him how they were inspired and moved by his talk.

We hope to have Moez come back to the UK to give a series of talks insha’Allah as I believe he can be of immense benefit to young Muslims in the UK.

wa’as-salam

Mas’ud

www.masud.co.uk

10 thoughts on “Celebrate Eid Nasheed Concert – London

  1. Assalamoalaykum!

    Brother, you should try and avoid music as much as possible ? and not just think of it as inevitible now that you have kids… With music you are poisoning them as well as yourself. If you don’t care aout yourself, then think about your children. Music creates nifaaq in the heart.

    Wasalaam.

  2. Assalamou 3alykoum :),
    well,if it is a religious music i do not think it is going to poison any body my brother .Well just take the example of our brother Sami Yusuf in his nasheed “mu3alim” which is a great example and so as other islamic singers.So,please my brother never stereotype!Listen then judge. Wallah A3lam 🙂

  3. salamz..
    “islamic music”…”muslim artist”…”religious music”…”??
    music is music…i cannot find any evidence for use of instrument apart from the daff
    we are in the 21st century and such “libralism” is detrimental to the foundation of traditional islam…play one of them “islamic music” CD’s to a scholar, a traditional scholar and let me know his response…
    Supporting such “artists” is wrong and we need to take a firm stand against falsehood (batil) no matter what “islamic” smokescreens they lurke behind.
    When is comes to falsehood we never fear to speak the truth, oppose falsehood even if it be against your own brethren…
    speaking out against falsehood is not “stereotyping” it is haq.
    I suggest we all read answers posted on the sunnipath website regarding music and so called “islamic music”

    “Libralism and extreamism..take the path of libralists and die a slow death and take the path of extreamism for a spontaneous death..a death lacking the traits of a true muslim” Anon.

  4. Salam Brothers and Sisters. As you all know soon is Eid and one of the duties upon us Muslims is to celebrate Eid to thank Allah on making us able to witness it and the holy month of Ramadan before it. Therefore a series of Celebrate Eid Concerts will be taking place at 6 different cities around the UK providing families the opportunity to celebrate Eid along with a fundraising appeal at each one of the concerts from the victims of the Asia Earthquake. If interested see information below:

    Muslim Association of Britain Youth & Meem Music Present Celebrate Eid.
    A family evening of nasheeds, comedy and inspirational talks to celebrate Eid ul-Fitr and the passing of the blessed month of Ramadan with fundraising on the night for the victims of the Asia Earthquake.

    Celebrate Eid Events:

    Saturday 5th November ? 5pm
    BRADFORD
    St. George?s Concert Hall
    Box Office: 01274 432000 or visit http://www.celebrateeid.com

    Sunday 6th November ? 5pm
    MANCHESTER
    Manchester Opera House
    Box Office: 0870 401 9000 or visit http://www.celebrateeid.com

    Thursday 10th November ? 5.30pm
    CARDIFF
    Reardon Smith Theater
    National Museum & Gallery
    Box Office: 07743524325, 07843806080 or visit http://www.celebrateeid.com

    Friday 11th November ? 5.30pm
    EDINBURGH
    George Square Theater
    University of Edinburgh
    Box Office: 07973708328, 07876488308 or visit http://www.celebrateeid.com

    Saturday 12th November ? 5pm
    LONDON
    Grand Hall, Wembley Conference Centre
    Box Office: 0870 850 1887 or visit http://www.celebrateeid.com

    Sunday 13th November ? 5pm
    BIRMINGHAM
    Hall 1, The ICC
    Box Office: 0870 763 6158 or visit http://www.celebrateeid.com

  5. asalam alykum wa rahmatuallah wa barakat dear brothers and sisters in islam. i am an irish (through and through) rever to islam alhamdolilah. we must be careful not to compormise guidance from Allah as a little towards wat is haram is never better, and is indeed what will lead us to haram. let us seek Allahs guidance and seek and stay to what has been made best for us, that which is halal. Allah guide us, ameen. your sister in islam

  6. salam again
    just to add to my last message
    as i am living in ireland, can anyone tell me of a good website or high street store where i can purchase nasheeds insha Allah
    sister in islam

  7. ummm i dont htink u should listen to music nasheeds as they contain music in it.we are only allowed 1 islamical instrument and the rest is forbidden. The punishment for listening to music is that when you stand before Allah, the melted wax of a window would be poured into your ears. Jazakallah. Wassalam. Sister Hawa and Brother Omar

  8. Assalamou 3alykoum,

    I agree with everyhting you said except for 786. I disagree with this. We can’t blindly follow the boyband image and persona. I feel we ought to create our own style rather than jumping the bandwagon.

    Their songs are nice but this boyband image is really distasteful. especially changing of clothes at each track.

  9. Asslamoalykom

    I have avidly read the blogs on this page and am not really surprised at the controversaial argument surrounding music and islam. It is every muslims duty to spread the word of Islam. It truly is a beautiful religion, that deserves to be voiced all over the world. In todays lifestyle music is a powerful medium through which messages can be delivered to the masses. There are various styles of music, whether they be nasheeds, qawalli’s, naats etc. We have grown up with naats and qawalli’s and more recently these musics have been bought to life again through nasheed groups like 786 and Shaam. People who never listened to naats and qawalli cannot truly appreciaite it and the younger generation will not listen to it anymore. However people have a lot to say about the group 786, which i think is unfair as they are a young group of muslims that give up their time and efforts to spread the word of islam to an audience that maybe does not listen to any islamic forms of music or recitations. They have found a niche audience and have tapped into the issues that really matter to this generation of people. Through their nasheeds 786 give this generation of people the benefit of not only learning about the importance of Islam, quranic recitations and its meanings but also about the issues that really matter to the islamic community as a whole. I think 786 are doing a wonderful job and I hope to hear and see them around for many years to come inshallah.

  10. salaam
    even from an agnostic point of view, as well as that of a musician, i personally think islamic countries have produced some of the best music so far, to the point where it is now influencing countries that have traditional music already. for example, i was in argentina this summer, and amr diab is hugely popular down there…. also, im north indian, so a lot of our musical traditions would not be possible without muslim influence. most musicians hold what is at least labeled as “muslilm” music in high esteem…. and groups like 786 does more than encourage muslim youth growing up in western countries; they break the cultural barrier so that understanding islam is more accesible for other people…. i was introduced to them by an american-born hindu, for example.

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