Rabbana
| "Rabbana" | |
|---|---|
| Arabic: «ربَّنا»* | |
Mohammad-Reza Shajarian | |
| Artist | Mohammad-Reza Shajarian |
| Year | July 1979 |
| Type | SupplicationReligious music in Iran |
| Medium | Segāh modal system Maqām Rast |
| Website | https://rabanaa.ir/ |
"Rabbana", or "Shajarian's Rabbana", is one of the revered works of Mohammad-Reza Shajarian, consisting of four supplications taken from the Qur'an. It is performed in the Segāh modal system, and each supplication begins with the phrase Rabbana (Our Lord).
The piece was recorded in July 1979,[1][2][3] and for 30 years it was one of the main broadcasts of Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting during the Islamic month of Ramadan.[4][5] In May 2017, the piece was inscribed as a piece of Iran's intangible cultural heritage, with the registration number 1396.[1][6]
According to Shajarian, because people had long been accustomed to hearing Seyyed Javad Zabihi’s rendition of the supplication Rabbana at iftar time, he composed a new version by adding two more Qur’anic verses and recorded it at a Radio Iran studio.[3] His main motivation was to teach the piece to students who were to recite supplications on national television before iftar.[3][5][4]
Mohammad-Reza Shajarian performed this supplication as a training version for his students to practice, unaware of its potential to rise to popularity.[7][8]
Composition
In 1979, transformations were underway in the music department of the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB), and the management was considering halting music production. During this time, Shajarian advocated for retaining talented staff in the music department.
The leader of IRIB asked Shajarian to create a new piece suitable for broadcast before iftar in light of the political and religious shifts in Iran. Shajarian initially declined, saying he had been away from such content for years, but the director insisted: "Only you can do this—we have no one else." At that time, Shajarian had transferred from the Ministry of Agriculture to IRIB and was formally a National Iranian Radio and Television employee. He agreed and in the summer of 1979, started a training course for students who were to recite Dua al-Sahar and supplications. Soon after, he began recording the pieces.[2][3]
Form
Shajarian performed the piece in the Segah dastgah (musical modal system of Persian classical music). Throughout the piece, the melody modulates into other dastgāhs and āvāzes of the Persian radif tradition, including Āvāz-e Afshāri, but ultimately returns to Segāh.[9]
Rabbana was released as part of Shajarian’s album “Be Yād-e Pedar” (In Memory of Father).[10]
This rendition is nearly devoid of vocal ornaments known as tahrir (a traditional trill-like technique) and, aside from a few pitches, is primarily performed using glissando and vibrato techniques. It begins with tones around B♭ and ascends to C, staying largely within this range (on a G-clef staff), and reaches its peak note at E♭.[11][12]
Dua
| Arabic | Transliteration | English Translation |
|---|---|---|
| رَبَّنَا لَا تُزِغْ قُلُوبَنَا بَعْدَ إِذْ هَدَيْتَنَا وَهَبْ لَنَا مِن لَّدُنكَ رَحْمَةً ۚ إِنَّكَ أَنتَ الْوَهَّابُ
Al-Imran, verse 8 |
Rabbana lā tuzigh qulūbanā baʿda idh hadaytanā wa-hab lanā min ladunka raḥmatan innaka anta al-Wahhāb | O our Lord, do not let our hearts deviate after You have guided us. Grant us mercy from Yourself—surely You are the Giver of gifts. |
| إِنَّهُ كَانَ فَرِيقٌ مِّنْ عِبَادِي يَقُولُونَ رَبَّنَا آمَنَّا فَاغْفِرْ لَنَا وَارْحَمْنَا وَأَنتَ خَيْرُ الرَّاحِمِينَ
Al-Mu'minun, verse 109 |
Innahu kāna farīqun min ʿibādī yaqūlūna rabbana āmannā fa-ghfir lanā wa-rḥamnā wa-anta khayru al-rāḥimīn | Surely, a group of My servants would say: “Our Lord, we have believed, so forgive us and have mercy on us. You are the best of the merciful.” |
| إِذْ أَوَى الْفِتْيَةُ إِلَى الْكَهْفِ فَقَالُوا رَبَّنَا آتِنَا مِن لَّدُنكَ رَحْمَةً وَهَيِّئْ لَنَا مِنْ أَمْرِنَا رَشَدًا
Kahf, verse 10 |
Idh awā al-fitiyatu ilā al-kahf fa-qālū rabbana ātinā min ladunka raḥmatan wa-hayyiʾ lanā min amrinā rashadā | When the youths took refuge in the cave, they said: “Our Lord, grant us mercy from Yourself and guide us rightly in our affairs.” |
| وَلَمَّا بَرَزُوا لِجَالُوتَ وَجُنُودِهِ قَالُوا رَبَّنَا أَفْرِغْ عَلَيْنَا صَبْرًا وَثَبِّتْ أَقْدَامَنَا وَانصُرْنَا عَلَى الْقَوْمِ الْكَافِرِينَ
Surah Al-Baqara, verse 250 |
Wa-lammā barazū li-Jālūt wa-junūdihi qālū rabbana afriġ ʿalaynā ṣabran wa-thabbit aqdāmanā wa-nṣurnā ʿalā al-qawmi al-kāfirīn | When they faced Goliath and his troops, they prayed: “Our Lord, pour out patience upon us, make our steps firm, and help us against the disbelieving people.” |
Reception
- Mustafa Ghalwash, a renowned Egyptian qāriʾ, heard Shajarian’s Rabbana during his trip to Iran. He initially kept a copy of it for inspiration but later remarked that reciting it is not within the ability of just any singer.[13]
- Hushang Ebtehaj, an Iranian poet, regarded Rabbana as both an unearthly work and “Shajarian’s great masterpiece,” saying that no one—not even Shajarian himself—could perform it the same way again.[14]
- Shahram Nazeri, an Iranian singer and musician, stated that from a performance standpoint Rabbana is unmatched. He then expressed his long-held wish that it had been delivered with a more distinctly Iranian tone and style, believing it could have deeply influenced the expressive traditions of future generations of Iranian vocalists.[15]
- Gholam Kuwaitipour, a religious vocalist, stated: “If you recite God’s word with love and listen to it with love, your body cannot help but tremble. I don’t recall ever hearing Shajarian’s *Rabbana* without being overwhelmed. Like many of his other works, Rabbana is immortal and part of our cultural and artistic heritage.”[16]
- Ali Khamenei: “...those ‘Rabbana’ recitations sung by Shajarian and aired before maghrib during Ramadan are artistic productions; they are not spiritually-charged pieces. It is not appropriate to broadcast something like that after the adhan. I believe the ordinary, local voice from the mosque is more suitable and fitting after the adhan.”[17]
References
- ^ a b "Shajarian's Rabbana registered as national heritage". Shargh Daily. Retrieved 6 May 2025.
- ^ a b ""Rabbana": An unchanging auditory habit / A rash decision with an eternal voice / An artist to be appreciated while alive". ILNA. Retrieved 6 May 2025.
- ^ a b c d "Mohammad-Reza Shajarian in conversation with "Shargh": Rabbana belongs to all the people". Shargh Daily. Retrieved 6 May 2025.
- ^ a b "سی سال رمضان با ربنای شجریان". web.archive.org. 2010-08-22. Retrieved 2025-05-06.
- ^ a b "Rabbana in Shajarian's voice" (in Persian). HarmonyTalk. Retrieved 6 May 2025.
- ^ "Shajarian's Rabbana registered as national heritage". ISNA (in Persian). 2017-05-09. Retrieved 2020-05-12.
- ^ "رمضان و سی سال ربنای شجریان". خبرگزاری مهر | اخبار ایران و جهان | Mehr News Agency (in Persian). 2008-09-01. Retrieved 2025-05-06.
- ^ موسسه فرهنگی واطلاع رسانی تبیان | tebyan.net (2009-08-23). "ربنای شجریان یک اثر ملی است". موسسه فرهنگی و اطلاع رسانی تبیان (in Persian). Archived from the original on 2025-02-21. Retrieved 2025-05-06.
- ^ "On the Suspension of a Supplication: Shajarian's Rabbana Is an Iranian Vocal Masterpiece". BBC Persian. 23 August 2011. Retrieved 25 September 2011.
- ^ "ربنا با صدای شجریان – گفتگوی هارمونیک Harmony Talk". web.archive.org. 2018-04-22. Retrieved 2025-05-07.
- ^ "Shajarian's Rabbana Is a Fusion of Technique and Inner Emotion". Khabar Online. 22 August 2011. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
- ^ "IRIB's Decision on Nostalgic Works". IMNA. 1 June 2016. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
- ^ "On the Suspension of a Supplication: Shajarian's Rabbana Is an Iranian Vocal Masterpiece". BBC Persian. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
- ^ "Ebtehaj's Reflections on Shajarian's "Rabbana"". ILNA. Retrieved 18 June 2017.
- ^ "Shahram Nazeri's Thoughts on Shajarian". fararu.com. Retrieved 9 Oct 2020.
- ^ "Kuwaiti-pur: Shajarian's Rabbana Is Eternal, Whether Broadcast or Not". Iranian Music. 6 May 2015. Retrieved 26 June 2015.
- ^ "Speech in Meeting with Islamic Radio Special Group". Office of the Supreme Leader. 4 March 1992. Retrieved 27 June 2015.