What Is Sufi Kalam? A Short Introduction

Kalam simply means "words", but in the Sufi tradition it means poetry written in love of the Divine and of one's spiritual guide.

Words you'll hear at a mehfil

- Murshid / Pir: the spiritual guide. Many kalams are letters of longing addressed to the Murshid. - Maula: the Master, used for God and for the saints who show the way. - Malang: a free-spirited devotee who has given up everything for love. Nachde Malang is about them. - Dhamaal: the ecstatic dance that breaks out when the dhol and chorus lift the whole crowd.

Why it still moves people

Punjab's Sufi poets wrote in the language of ordinary people: the village, the spinning wheel, the river crossing. That's why a kalam written centuries ago can still bring a mela crowd to its feet today.

Come to a live mehfil and you'll feel it before you understand it.