In the colloquial sense used by the Islamic poets and by the Muslims mainly from the Indian subcontinent, ‘Naat Shareef’ refers to poetry in praise of the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) — mostly in the ‘Urdu’ language. It includes poetry regarding his Sunnah, virtues, miracles and every aspect of his blessed life which can be praised. Its scope is vast, as no one can describe the Master of Universe completely. Until now, thousands of people have tried to write Naat, but no one can claim that they have managed to fully express how perfect the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) was. This is because the God-given virtues of the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) are beyond and above what words can describe and what our thought can fully comprehend.

‘Naat’ recitation is also called “Nasheed” (singular of the word “Anaasheed”) in some regions. However, nowadays, ‘Naat’, has become more popular under the appellation of ‘Nasheed’ and it is commonly available in many languages.

During the time of the Holy prophet (peace be upon him), Hazrat Hasaan bin Thabit (Radiallahu Anhu) used to write poems and also recite it in front of the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him).

One of his famous poem in praise of the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) is:

واحسن منك لم تر قط

Beautiful as you, my Eyes have never seen

واجمل منك ام تلد النسآء

And more beautiful than you, no woman has ever given birth to

خلقت مبرأ من كل عيب

You have been created free from all blemishes

كانك قد خلقت كما تشآء

As if you have been created just as you wished

It will not be permissible to sing or to listen to Naat, Nazam, Hamd in the following cases:

  1. If it is accompanied with music[1]
  2. If it is by the voice of a woman
  3. If it contains such wording that leads to Kufr or Shirk

Difference between Naat, Nazam and Hamd

Some Muslim poets differentiate between Naat, Nazam and Hamd as follows:

‘Naat’ is poetry in praise of the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him)

‘Nazam’ is poetry about anything, any topic such as Nazam on Wedding etc…

‘Hamd’ is poetry in praise of the Almighty Allah Subhaanahu Wata’aala

[1] Only Daf is permissible in some circumstances like Eid, weddings ; however, a Daf which have ringlets around it is not permissible to use.