Artist's Site: www.ahmadraffur.com
He is an unassuming, self-effacing Qur'an teacher from Oklahoma City, USA by way of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. In demeanour Ahmad is small, yet when he sings the voice that emerges is truly awesome.
He combines this with an intensity rarely seen nowadays and its clear by his live performance that he gives it his all. Orginally released in the USA in 2003, the album has been re-packaged and digitally re-mastered for its UK release in June 2004. 'Prophets' combines Qur'anic recitation, adhan, and infectious songs designed for children but equally loved by adults. The album seeks to be entertaining but also educational
Ahmad Abd Raffur has been singing professionally since he was at college back in his native country of Malaysia. His growing talent was underlined when his song ‘Khabaran Rasul’ (The Prophet's Advice) was selected for inclusion in a compilation album in praise of the Prophet, that featured the likes of Raihan and other major Malaysian nasheed acts. Later he moved to the United States and today he is a Qur’an and Islamic Studies school teacher in Oklahoma City, OK, USA, whose aspiration is to further his study of ‘Ulum-ul-Qur’an. ‘Prophets’ - his first album since leaving Malaysia - was recorded between June 2002 and April 2003.
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His thoughts on his nasheeds:
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Prophets Of Islam
......goes way back in 1997. I had used it to teach students Islamic Studies and I had to figure out a way to make remembering the names of the prophets mentioned in the Qur’an easier. The rhythm had to be catchy and the words not complicated for children as young as 5 years old to say or remember. The whole school sang the song at our first end of school ceremony. In the process of fine-tuning the song, we came up with double track for the drums as this would spice up the percussions. It was a bit of a challenge to preserve the enunciation of English words with a rhythm that is "middle eastern" in nature. Personally, I think we did a great job.
Everything Praises You Allah
.....when I was young, I had three Malay albums to my credit. I released all of them while I was attending college. This was one of my favourite songs. I like simple rhythm and easy words but strong enough to convey my message. This song is very representative of the world we live in. We embellished the main vocal with three voice-harmonies only at the end of a phrase. It's the first in any nasheed. I must mention my friend Dr Mohd Haniki who contributed to the lyrics. I also wanted this song to be like the original recording, in which we included the ambience of the beach and seagulls, to replace the musical accompaniment. It's a great match.
What Do We Read In The Morning?
.... it was initially my vision that the CD would be like a "movie on an audio CD". It tells the listeners a story sans images. This song is short but it is great for youngsters and teens alike to remind them what we usually read in the morning. And to "act out" the morning like situation, we preceded this song with the call to prayer for Fajr salat. In addition to that, we wrapped the adhan with some sound effects (crickets, rooster) to give it a realistic feel. Lastly, we faded in the drums to provide the sense of continuity to the song. It's a great tool for teachers instructing students Al Quran. I know my KG students love it.
We Care
...this song in particular is very special to me. It was composed ad hoc, on site, with little preparation, sung live, during Mercy School's performance in one of Oklahoma's major universities. It was the first year that the school was in operation. I felt like, okay, this is how I felt about our children and I'm sure the other teachers felt this way too. We did not add any choir nor additional vocals to this song as we wanted it to be "pure" and "dry"...in a good way. The only technical touch that we did to it was the extra reverb on one part of its chorus. The finale is great and if you are really into vocals, you are going to like this song.
Alif Ba Ta
...teaching students Al Quran has not been my cup of tea, especially when I deal with over 60 kids in a day, ranging from Pre K to 6th grade. It is always good to come up with something new and refreshing so that the students don't get bored. Poems have been tools of learning for ages. There are poems of rules of Tajweed, poems of Arabic syntax and many more. Composing the rhythm for this particular song was not the most difficult part. This song was first used back in 1997 when the school began to operate. The kids enjoyed learning the alphabets and at the same time they know how to spell Allah in Arabic. People asked me, "was this the easiest song to sing?" I'd reply, "Au contraire. It was the most difficult one." Reason being, I had to make sure that the pronunciation of each letter was preserved, the best that I can, as this is the precursor of reading Al Quran. Secondly, the rhythm is a mixture of Middle Eastern and Western styles. Conventional harmonies won't work. We had to relearn the whole vocal harmonies. Special thanks to Ernie Tullis at PDM Recording who tirelessly coached me and by the end of the numerous sessions, memorized the whole song and how to spell Allah!
Your Signs
... the first time this song was rendered, it was not even with a chorus and was sung at a wedding! This is my favourite number. This song was really a challenge. I wanted it to have a whispering effect but not too complex as I want everyone to be able to sing this song. Even my first graders love it! It is a sentimental monologue of a servant of Allah reminding him/herself about the signs of Allah's existence. It begins softly with consistent vocal control and then progressed to more powerful rendition of chorus and a bridge. Then we added the sound effects. That was the ultimate joy for everyone of us at the studio. It was then this song came alive. This song will change your paradigm of how Islamic songs should be.
Allahu Rabbee
...every song has its unique character. This song is most liked by my 3rd graders and lower. It brings out the joy and gives them the opportunity to play the role of a teacher or someone who wants to teach others about Allah. You would probably notice by now, that most of the words in my songs are two-syllabled words. This was very important to me as I, personally love simplicity in a song and I want people to be able to sing my songs quickly. How difficult is it to say "Allahu Rabbee"?
Assalamu'alaykum
...what can I say? This song is pure joy. Just like the du’a says. Peace be unto you. So far, this song is top of the charts. If you think any differently, email me. Jivey rhythm and great percussion make this song, one of a kind. We had already completed the vocals and percussions for this song and then we decided to make it a little bit ahead of its time. We changed to a "call and response" song which was neat since conveying salam is an action between two or more people. Then, since this is the final track, we faded it out so that listeners would be able to sing along....figure-of-speech-ly until the end of time... |
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