The following is a categorically arranged list of notable singers of Sufi music. [a]
The Music of Pakistan includes diverse elements ranging from music from various parts of South Asia as well as Central Asian, Middle Eastern, and modern-day Western popular music influences. With these multiple influences, a distinctive Pakistani music has emerged.
Qawwali is a form of Sufi Islamic devotional singing originating in South Asia. Originally performed at Sufi shrines or dargahs throughout South Asia, it is famous throughout Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and Afghanistan and has also gained mainstream popularity and an international audience as of the late 20th century.
Sayyid Abdullāh Shāh Qādrī, known popularly as Baba Bulleh Shah and Bulleya, was a Punjabi revolutionary philosopher, reformer and a Sufi poet of the 17th and 18th centuries, universally regarded as the 'Father of Punjabi Enlightenment'. He criticised powerful religious, political, and social institutions; and is revered as the 'Poet of the People' amongst Punjabis.
Allah Hoo (Allāhu) is a traditional Sufi chant (dhikr) consisting of the word for God run together three times, followed by Truth (haqq): Allāhu Allāhu Allāhu Haqq, itself repeated three times over. According to Sufi tradition, this formula was introduced by Abu Bakr as he initiated the Naqshbandi tradition. Other Dhikrs consist of simple Allāhu Allāhu run together 400 or 600 times.
Rahat Fateh Ali Khan is a Pakistani 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 Khan, son of Farrukh Fateh Ali Khan and grandson of Qawwali singer Fateh Ali Khan. In addition to Qawwali, he also performs ghazals and other light music. He is also well-known as a playback singer in Hindi cinema and the Pakistan film industry.
Faiz Ali Faiz is a well-known Pakistani qawwali singer.
Urban Qawwali (Urban Quwalli) is a genre of music that fuses Sufi devotional music popular from South Asia mixed with Urban beats from the west.
Pakistani folk music refers to the local genre of folk music that originates from Pakistan.
Chhaap Tilak Sab Chheeni, is a Ghazal written and composed by Amir Khusro, a 14th-century Sufi mystic, in Western Indian language Braj Bhasha. Due to the resonance of its melody and mystical lyrics, it is frequently heard in Qawwali concerts across Indian Subcontinent. Chaapp Tilak Sab Chheeni is considered as Amir Khusru‘s most known Kalam which is basically a penned version of his imagination of devotion and the joy of oneness with the eternal one. This poetry is an epic example where an inherent middle eastern art form gets entangled with the Indic philology, custom and art a unique twist between the two artforms. This kind of devotion is rarely seen in Islamic ghazals and qawwalis preceding it. This poetry is a great example of the role both cultures played to create this Ghazal and Qawwali which has a unique essence combining both Indic and Islamic culture which inherently created a new unique art form which contributed to the early beginnings of the Ganga-Jamuni Tehzeeb culture to be developed.
Aaj Rang Hai also known as Rang or Rung (transl. Color) is a Qawwali written by the 13th-century Sufi poet, Amir Khusrau in Hindavi and Braj Bhasha dialects. In the song, Khusrau describes to his mother his ecstasy upon finding his murshid in the Sufi saint Nizamuddin Auliya. The song is a staple of most Qawwali sessions in North India and Pakistan, especially in the Chishti shrines of Delhi. It is traditionally sung as a closing piece at the end of a Qawwali session.
Dama Dam Mast Qalandar is a spiritual Sufi qawwali written in the honour of the most revered Sufi saint of Sindh, Lal Shahbaz Qalandar (1177–1274) of Sehwan Sharif. The origins of the poem is unknown, since no recordings or written documents exist mentioning it prior to the 1950s. However, legends around the Shrine of Lal Shahbaz Qalandar in Sehwan suggest that the original poem was initially written by the 13th-century Sufi poet Amir Khusrow, then further modified by Bulleh Shah in the 18th century. The poem includes a reference to the town of Sehwan, and the word "Lal" can refer to Lal Shahbaz Qalandar as a young man, his legendary ruby glow, or his red dress. Bulleh Shah gave an entirely different color to the qawwali, adding verses in praises of Shahbaz Qalandar and giving it a large tint of Sindhi culture. It also venerates Ali, the cousin and son-in-law of Muhammad.
Sheikh Muhammad Sadiq or S M Sadiq is a Pakistani lyricist and a poet whose written songs frequently have been sung by Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, and other singers like Attaullah Khan Esakhelvi, Aziz Mian, Shabnam Majeed, Shahid Ali Khan and Arif Lohar.
Surriya Khanum, also spelled as Suraiya Khanum, is a veteran Pakistani folk and classical singer from the Punjab. She is also known for her soulful performances and singing Sufi music on Pakistan Television and other TV channels.
Dhruv Sangari also known as Bilal Chishty Sangari بلال ڇݜتى سنگارى is a Sufi and Classical Indian vocalist, composer, lyricist, savant and teacher. He is the son of well-known scholar and author Kumkum Sangari and noted painter Mahendra 'Manu' Sangari.