This limited print edition helps you master the qasidas and elevate your choral singing. It is comprehensive, functional, durable and pleasing to the soul.

Songs of Presence

• is Comprehensive: With more than 200 qasidas, Songs of Presence has almost every qasida you can expect to be sung in a Sufi gathering, especially those of the Shadhili Order.
• is Easy to read from: Every Arabic letter has been fully vowelled following the Mughal Koran system. This system was designed by great scholars to make the correct pronunciation of every letter easy on non­-Arabs.
• helps you Keep in Sync: Songs of Presence was specifically designed to facilitate choral singing. Repeated choruses are underlined, repeated phrases are gold-coloured and repeated verses are indicated in the margins.
• is Transition Friendly: In Songs of Presence, qasidas are grouped up by maqam and ordered by letter. This helps you transition between qasidas smoothly without any frantic page-flipping.
• helps you Match Qasidas by Tune: In Songs of Presence, the poetic metre (bahr) of each poem is specified in the margin of the Arabic text. Using this, you can sing many qasidas using common tunes.
• is Pleasing to the Soul: The pages are proportioned harmoniously and enjoy gilded edges. The cover is embossed and foil-stamped with design from the Abul Hasan Al-Shadhili Zawiya in Amman. Art and calligraphy adorns it, with contributions from Besim Bruncaj, Ibrahim Batchelder, Mukhtar Sanders, Alparslan Babaoglu and Mothana al-Obaydi.
• Built to Last: Made from recycled leather, the cover produces the strength and flexibility needed to protect the book and won't bubble like soft-covers do. Meanwhile, the single mikleb (flap) gives further protection whilst bringing in a touch from the manuscript tradition.

In recognition of its exquisite design, the 2015 British Book Design and Production Awards shortlisted this edition in the Limited Edition and Fine Binding category.

It is comprehensive, accurate, functional and a pleasure to use. It is a treasure for any lover of qasidas, especially non-Arab speakers. And, as no further printings of the book will be released with the design treatment described, we recommend you to purchase your copies whilst you still can.