People of Ramadan: Nour Nageh Ali, Sufi Chanter

Life during Ramadan is very different for Sufi chanter Nour Nageh Ali than for many Egyptians. For Ali, Ramadan is his busiest season. Founder and member of well-known Sufi ensemble Al Hadara, Ali worked as a musician before becoming a Sufi chanter.

He has not always been so in tune with his faith, however. Sitting in the shade outside the Cairo Opera House a few weeks before Ramadan, Ali revealed something he doesn’t often speak about to the press: how it was that he came to Sufism. As Ramadan approached in 2013, Ali was discontent with his life and searching for change. A friend suggested he use Ramadan to reconnect with his spirituality and God, and as he did, Ali’s whole world changed. He found himself enveloped in Sufism and was fascinated by the chant; most importantly, by the way the music and chanting brought him closer to God. After more than a year spent simply sitting, listening and learning, Al Hadara was born in 2015.

“Ramadan, for all Muslims, is a nice month for two things: spiritual practice and gathering with family and friends and going out in the evenings,” says Ali, adding that chanting and performing with Al Hadara “kind of takes me from friends and family.”

Last Ramadan was particularly frustrating for Ali. “It was hard for me to see my sheikh,” he recalls. “I was really in trouble, it was really annoying for me. . . . Sometimes someone [would agree] to a concert on the day I meet the sheikh, because I only see him once per week in Ramadan, and it was for me really, really annoying.”

For Ali and Al Hadara, Ramadan is the busiest time of the year. Usually Al Hadara plays two to three ticketed concerts per month, plus a handful of smaller concerts or events. As of mid-May, the band already had seven concerts booked for Ramadan at major venues such as Sawy Culture Wheel and the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, and Ali expects they will end up performing at least twice that number by the time the month ended.

During the first week of Ramadan, the band will travel from Cairo to Ras el-Bar then back to Cairo and then to Alexandria—in only four days!

Despite the hectic pace, Ali loves and values his work. “It’s better, because it’s a season,” he says. “There is a season for each musician. It’s nice to go to new places, to work and to work a lot. It’s a great opportunity for the level of our group. It’s good for the harmony, [and] it’s good for everyone to get paid well, too.”

With performances falling so soon after iftar and a necessary pre-concert soundcheck, Ali says the band “usually eats iftar at the place of the concert.” While sometimes the venue provides iftar, more often they bring their own food with them or go to a nearby café or restaurant to break their fast.

Ali, whose favorite Ramadan dessert is “qatayef, it must be qatayef!” says the holy month is all about mercy and sums up his Ramadan in three things: “spiritual practice, chanting, and gathering with friends and family.”