History/Origin
Qawwali can be categorized under the realm of Hindustani semi-classical music, set to mystical Sufi poetry in Farsi, Hindi, Persian, Punjabi, and Urdu. Historically, this type of music was performed in smaller assemblies at the dargahs or shrines of the respected Sufi leaders. The roots of Qawwali go back to 8th century Persia. It was during the first major migration from Persia, in the 11th century, that the musical tradition of Sama migrated to the Indian subcontinent, Turkey and Uzbekistan. Rumi and his Mevlana order of Sufism propagated Sama in Central Asia. Amir Khusrau of the Chisti order of Sufis is credited with blending Persian and South Asian musical traditions, to create Qawwali as well as the Hindustani classical music tradition. In recent times, it was in the early eighties, that the likes of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Sabri Brothers took qawwali to the masses by performing outside the dargah.

Artists who made it famous
Aziz Ahmed Warsi, Aziz Mian Qawwal, Badar Ali Khan (aka Badar Miandad), Bahauddin Qutbuddin, Fateh Ali Khan Mubarik Ali Khan, Jafar Husain Khan Badauni, Muhammed Saeed Chishti, Munshi Raziuddin, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Sabri Brothers

Best known proponents today
Abida Parveen, Amjad Sabri, Aziz Nazan, Bakshi Javed Salamat, Chhote Aziz Nazan, Faiz Ali Faiz, Fareed Ayaz, Ghulam Sabir Nizami and Ghulam Waris Nizami, Mehr Ali Sher Ali, Najmuddin Saifuddin, Rahat Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Rizwan-Muazzam, Sher Miandad Khan, Waheed and Naveed Chishti

High points/Memorable Moments
Before the recent introduction of the harmonium, Qawwalis were usually accompanied by the sarangi. While the sarangi had to be retuned between songs, this has not been the case with the harmonium. Thus, the sarangi faded away in its use during the Qawwali. As the main Qawwali begins, the tabla, dholak and clapping begin. As the song proceeds, the lead singer may break out into an alap. Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan popularized the interjection of sargam singing at this point of the Qawwali.

Trivia
The longest commercially released Qawwali runs slightly over 115 minutes (Hashr Ke Roz Yeh Poochhunga by Aziz Mian Qawwal). The qawwali maestro, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan has at least two songs that are more than 60 minutes long.

The word "Sama" is used in Central Asia and Turkey, for forms very similar to Qawwali. And even in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, the formal name used for a session of Qawwali is "Mehfil-e-Sama".

Famous Song
Sabri Brothers - Greatest Hits (1997), Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan - Greatest Hits (1997), - Imprint: Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan In Concert (1999), Sabri Brothers - Qawwali (1978), Abida Parveen - Songs Of The Mystics, Sabri Brothers - Ya Habib (1990), Nusrat Fateh