Zikr-1 / Tevhid Halkası, Vol. 1

Ilahiler (singular: ilahi) are Turkish Sufi hymns—devotional songs in the Turkish language that praise God, the Prophet Muhammad, saints, and express mystical yearning and ethical counsel. They are a core strand of Ottoman/Turkish religious and tekke (dervish lodge) music, typically set in the makam (modal) system and performed with simple, singable melodies and memorable refrains. While ilahiler can be sung a cappella, they are often accompanied by instruments associated with Ottoman and Sufi music—ney (end-blown reed flute), ud, tanbur, kanun, and small devotional drums such as bendir and kudüm. Texts commonly draw on the poetry of Yunus Emre, Niyazi-i Mısri, and other Sufi poets. Musically, ilahiler balance accessibility and spiritual depth: they favor clear melodic contours, limited ambitus, and steady usul (rhythmic cycles) like Sofyan (4/4), Düyek (8/8), Aksak (9/8), or Semai (6/8), with occasional free-rhythm passages. They are performed in mosques and dervish lodges, in religious gatherings (zikr/sohbet), and in domestic devotional settings, and today also exist in concert, recording, and media contexts.

Sufi chant refers to the vocal devotional practices (dhikr, ḥadra, inshād, ilāhī, samaʿ) used by Sufi orders to remember God through the repetition of divine names, litanies, and poetic texts. It is primarily voice-led, often unaccompanied or supported by sparse percussion (frame drum/duff, riqq) and occasionally by modal instruments (ney, oud). Melodies draw on regional modal systems (e.g., maqam in the Middle East, dastgah in Iran, raga/raga-like frameworks in South Asia) and are delivered with melismatic ornamentation and flexible rhythm that intensifies toward ecstatic climax. Chant can be responsorial (call-and-response between a leader and a chorus) or communal unison. Its texts range from Qurʾanic invocations and the Beautiful Names of God to Sufi poetry by figures such as Rumi, Hafez, and al-Busiri (e.g., Qaṣīdat al-Burda). Though styles vary from Egypt to Turkey, Morocco, Iran, and South Asia, the shared aim is spiritual remembrance and transformation through sound.

Mevlevi Sufi music is the sacred repertoire of the Mevlevi (Whirling Dervish) order in Anatolia, closely bound to the Sema ceremony founded on the teachings of Jalāl al-Dīn Rūmī in Konya. It belongs to the Ottoman–Turkish art music tradition and is built on the makam system (modal scales and pathways) and usûl (long, cyclical rhythmic patterns such as devr-i kebir). The core form is the Ayin-i Şerif, a multi-movement suite that accompanies the ritual stages of Sema—from the opening Naat-ı Şerif in praise of the Prophet to a ney (end-blown reed flute) taksim (improvisation) and four “selam” sections representing spiritual ascent. Its quintessential timbre comes from the ney, supported by tanbur and kemence, with small kettledrums (kudüm), frame drums (bendir/def), and often choral or solo chant. The music is contemplative, microtonally inflected, melismatic, and designed to guide breath, movement, and remembrance (dhikr) rather than to dazzle with virtuosic display.