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qasidas

Qasidas Custom Audio Player

With Synchronized Lyrics & Translations Display

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Lyrics & Translations Display Screen

QasidasWebpageBanner
Sl. Title Artist Composer Type Lyric Time

What is a Qasida?

  • Qasida is an ancient Arabic word and a form of devotional poetry, often addressing a particular subject, passed to other cultures after the Arab Muslim expansion.
  • The classic form of qasida maintains a single elaborate rhythmic structure throughout the poem, and every line rhymes on the same sound.
  • After the 10th century, Persians developed the qasida immensely. Nasir Khusraw, the Ismaili Persian poet, philosopher and scholar, used it extensively for philosophical, theological and ethical purposes.
  • Most qasidas that we encounter today are in Farsi, though they are also found in Arabic, Urdu, Indonesian and even in West African languages.

Note on Translations

  • Poetry, by its very nature, lends itself to different and pluralistic interpretations. However, when poetry is translated into another language, the translator inevitably has to interpret the intent of the poet. Hence, translation reflects one particular interpretation of the poem, to the exclusion of other equally valid interpretations. In the process of translating this collection of Qasidas, every effort has been made to translate the poems as accurately as possible. However, these translations should not be considered as the only possible meaning of the original poems.

JollyGul Qasida Service & User Guide

JollyGul Qasida Service
  • Play qasidas on our custom audio player.
  • Synchronized lyrics and translations will appear on the display screen .
  • Select title, start, pause, skip, forward, rewind, stop – you are in full control!
  • Search by title, artist or composer
How JollyGul qasida custom audio player works
  • Select any qasida recital from list by clicking on title.
  • Once complete, the audio player will play next qasida from the play list at random (not in list order.)
  • To play specific qasida recital, select by clicking on the title in the play list.
How qasida search works
  • Search by title, artist or composer
  • Results of search will appear as you enter your search term.
  • Click on any title you wish to play from the search results.
  • Once it completes playing, audio player will play the next qasida from the search results.
  • Clear search term from search box to see the main qasida play list again.
JollyGul Qasidas Unlocked Services
  • This Qasida service is available on demand. It plays only qasidas and displays lyrics and translations.
  • Here you play qasids, pause, forward, rewind, skip and replay at will. And you see lyrics and translations as you hear the verses.
  • We have a separate Ginans-On-Demand service which only plays ginans without music as heard in Jamat Khanas. Our Kalame Mawla Service enables you to listen to verses and view lyrics & translations at the same time. And JollyGul RADIO plays all types of Ismaili music (ginans with and without music, geets, qasidas, modern, fusion etc.)
  • We do not have specific mobile apps at present for our Qasida, Kalame Mawla and Ginans-On-Demand services (unlike our radio which can be accessed through Android and iPhone Apps) but you can listen on your computer, tablet or even smartphone. Our service webpages and audio players are mobile friendly (fully responsive) so you should have no problem at all accessing them through your smartphone browser.
  • The easy to remember domain to access this Qasida service is www.QasidasUnlocked.com
Icons and symbols and what they mean
  • Play
  • Skip to next title
  • Back to previous title
  • Shuffle/Ordered Playing - Audio Player set on random play as default, clicking this will make it play titles in order. To revert to random play, click it again and it will go back to Shuffle.
  • Repeat
  • Progress bar. You can forward, rewind the title by clicking at appropriate time point.

Acknowledgements

  • Our deep gratitude to all the reciters, artists and translators.
  • These are helpful resources if you would like to study more on the subject:
    Shimmering Light, an Anthology of Ismaili Poetry (I.B. Tauris & IIS)
    Kitaab al-Manaqib (Karachi 1986)
    Qasida - Devotional Poetry of Ismailis of Persian Heritage by Nimira Dewji (IsmailMail)
    Music & Melodies of the Persian Ismaili Qasideh, The Institute of Ismaili Studies
    Music in the World of Islam by Amnon Shiloah, Wayne State University Press, Detroit.1995