Muwashahaat/موشّحات (singular: muwashah/موشّح) is a form of Arabic poetry that is believed to have originated in Andalusia in Muslim Spain. It’s characterized by straying outside the form and meter of Classical Arabic poetry, as well as sometimes mixing colloquial language with Classical Arabic. As such, it was considered a folksy and “lower” form of poetry. Classical Arabic poets tended to distance themselves from it. However, this form of poetry has stood the test of time, and the best muwashahaat continue to be covered by singers big and small. Some of the greatest singers of our era who have kept this art form alive include Fairuz and Sabah Fakhri.

I’d like to share two of my favourite muwashahaat.

The first one is أيّها الساقي (Ayyuha As-Saaqi). It was written by Ibn Zuhr (commonly Latinized as Avenzoar). Ibn Zuhr was born in the city of Ishbiliyah (known in English as Seville) in Andalusia in the 11th century. He was a surgeon and poet, and was a contemporary of the great Andalusian Muslim philosopher Ibn Rushd (Averroes) and the great Andalusian Jewish philosopher Moses Ben Maimon (Maimonides).

This is my favourite rendition of this muwashah—it’s so sublime. (The video has the lyrics translated and transliterated into English.) <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qf6dpegRRvU" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qf6dpegRRvU</a>;

This is another rendition, by Sabah Fakhri: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=enbtwgljndo

The second muwashah is لمّا بدا يتثنّى (Lamma Bada Yatathanna). This is arguably the most well-known muwashah. Its author is disputed, but it’s believed to have been written by Ibn Al-Khatib (Ibn Al-Jatib in Spanish), who was born in the 14th century just outside the city of Grenada in Andalusia. He was a polymath and one of the greatest poets of his time. He is still celebrated in Andalusia as one of the cultural icons of the region: <a href="https://www.alhambra-patronato.es/en/disfrutar/biography-of-ibn-al-khatib" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.alhambra-patronato.es/en/disfrutar/biography-of-ibn-al-khatib</a>;

His poetry today decorates the walls of the Alhambra palace: <a href="https://www.alhambradegranada.org/en/info/epigraphicpoems.asp" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.alhambradegranada.org/en/info/epigraphicpoems.asp</a>;

The following are three renditions of this muwashah:

Fairuz: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_BZOoSnfH7s" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_BZOoSnfH7s</a>;

Sabah Fakhri: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CTzplo-ZZW0" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CTzplo-ZZW0</a>;

Lena Chamamyan (with English translation and transliteration): <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8zhueJdyVA0" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8zhueJdyVA0</a>;

If you’d like to listen to more of this art form, check out <em>Andalusiyyaat</em> by Fairuz and Wadih El-Safi (another Arabic music icon of the 20th century). It’s an album comprised of muwashahaat and other Andalusian songs. You can find it in its entirety here: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAN1nNTkaBo" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAN1nNTkaBo</a>;