Oum Kalthoum was born in Tamay ez-Zahayra village in El Senbellawein, Dakahlia Governorate, Egypt. Her birth date is controversial, either 31 December 1898, 31 December 1904 or 4 May, 1904. She died 3 February, 1975.
At a young age, she showed exceptional singing talent. Her father, an Imam, taught her to recite the Qur'an, and she is said to have memorised the entire book. When she was twelve years old, her father disguised her as a young boy and entered her in a small performing troupe that he directed. At the age of sixteen she was noticed by Abol Ela Mohamed, a modestly famous singer, and by the famous oudist Zakariyya Ahmad, who invited her to Cairo. She waited until 1923 before accepting the invitation. She was invited on several occasions to the house of Amin Beh Al Mahdy, who taught her how to play the oud. She developed a very close relationship with Rawyeha Al Mahdy, daughter of Amin, and became her closest friend. Kalthoum even attended Rawheya's daughter's wedding, although she has always tried to avoid public appearances. Amin Al Mahdy introduced her to the cultural circles in Cairo.
At this point in her career, she was introduced to the famous poet Ahmad Rami, who wrote 137 songs for her. Rami also introduced her to French literature, which he greatly admired from his studies at the Sorbonne, Paris, and eventually became her chief mentor in Arabic literature and literary analysis. Furthermore, she was introduced to the renowned lute virtuoso and composer Mohamed El Qasabgi. El Qasabgi introduced Kalthoum to the Arabic Theatre Palace, where she would experience her first real public success. In 1932 her fame increased to the point where she embarked upon a large tour of the Middle East, touring such cities as Damascus, Baghdad, Beirut, and Tripoli, Lebanon.
By 1948 her fame had come to the attention of Gamal Abdel Nasser, who would later become the president of Egypt. At one point the Egyptian musicians guild of which she became a member (and eventually president) rejected her because she had sung for the then-deposed king, Farouk of Egypt. It was his favour that made the musicians' guild accept her back into the fold. In addition, Kalthoum had been a dedicated Egyptian patriot since the time of King Farouk.
Her songs deal mostly with the universal themes of love, longing and loss. A typical concert consisted of the performance of two or three songs over a period of three to six hours. In the late 1960s, due to her age, she began to shorten her performances to two songs over a period of two and a half to three hours. The duration of her songs in performance was not fixed, but varied based on the level of emotional interaction between the singer and her audience. A typical improvisatory technique of hers was to repeat a single phrase or sentence of a song's lyrics over and over, subtly altering the emotive emphasis and intensity each time to bring her audiences into a euphoric and ecstatic state. Thus, while the official recorded length of a song such as "Enta omri" (You Are My Life) is approximately sixty minutes, a live performance could extend to many hours, as the singer and her audience fed off each other's emotional energy. This intense, highly personalised creative relationship was undoubtedly one of the reasons for Kalthoum's tremendous success as an artist.
In 1967 Kalthoum was diagnosed with a severe case of nephritis. She gave her last concert at the Palace of the Nile in 1973. Tests at that time indicated that her illness was incurable. She moved to the United States, where she benefited for some time from the advanced medical technology, but in 1975, upon re-entering her home country, she required hospitalisation due to declining health. She died in a Cairo hospital on 3rd February 1975.
Her funeral was attended by over four million mourners – one of the largest gatherings in history – and descended into pandemonium when the crowd seized control of her coffin and carried it to a mosque that they considered her favourite, before later releasing the coffin for burial.
Ahl El Hawa
Oum Kalthoum Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
واتجمعوا يا ليل صحبه وأنا معهم
يطولوك يا ليل ويقصروك يا ليل
يطولوك يا ليل من اللي بيهم
وانت يا ليل بس اللى عالم بيهم
فيهم كسير القلب والمتألم
واللي كتم شكواه ولم يتكلم
وبات حزين يشكي هيامه ووجده
يشكو ولا مخلوق سمع شكواهم
إلا الكواكب فى السما سمعاهم
يطولوك يا ليل بالسهد والأفكار
والشمس بعد الليل يطلع عليهم نهار
وبعد طول الويل تعود لهم ياليل
ويقصروك ياليل فى صحبه هنيه
على وتر رنان فى الصبحية
فيهم ياليل خل عطف على خله
ويقوله لحن الشوق وخله يقول له
ويقصروك ياليل على هنا وسرور
والشمس بعد الليل يطلع عليهم نور
ويسألوك ياليل امتى تعود ياليل
ناس من قلوبهم تقول ياليل
وناس على الأرغول تقول ياليل
واحنا معانا بدر طالع فى ليلة قدر
فيها حبيب القلب وافا ووفى الندر
هو يقول ياليل واحنا نقول ياليل
وكلنا بنقول ياليل أهل الهوى ياليل
The song Ahl El Hawa by Oum Kalthoum speaks of the lovers of the night, who gather together in their beds and share their sorrows and joys. The night, personified, is witness to their heartbreak and pain, as well as their longing and joy. The song describes the different types of lovers; those who keep their complaints to themselves, those who are isolated and sad after being separated from their loved ones, and those who openly express their feelings. The night, therefore, becomes a symbol of empathy and understanding, as it is the only one who knows and feels their pain.
Throughout the song, Oum Kalthoum's voice evokes a sense of intensity and passion, with its long and sustained notes. Her vocal improvisations also add a spiritual element to the song, which is meant to be heard and felt as much as it is meant to be understood. The melody itself is haunting and beautiful, with its complex rhythms and microtones, and its emphasis on the use of the oud and the strings.
Overall, Ahl El Hawa is a beautiful song that speaks to the universal experiences of love and heartbreak, and the power of music to give voice to our emotions.
Line by Line Meaning
أهل الهوى يا ليل فاتوا مضاجعهم
The people of love have gone to bed, night has fallen
واتجمعوا يا ليل صحبه وأنا معهم
They gathered, and I'm with them, night
يطولوك يا ليل ويقصروك يا ليل
Night, they either stretch you or shorten you
يطولوك يا ليل من اللي بيهم
They make you long because of those they long for
وانت يا ليل بس اللى عالم بيهم
But only you, night, know about them
فيهم كسير القلب والمتألم
Among them, there are broken-hearted and in pain
واللي كتم شكواه ولم يتكلم
And those who kept their complaints to themselves and didn't speak
واللي قعد بعد الحبايب وحده
And those who sat alone after they parted from their beloveds
وبات حزين يشكي هيامه ووجده
They sleep sad, complaining about their love and longing
يشكو ولا مخلوق سمع شكواهم
They complain, and no creature hears them except for the stars in the sky
إلا الكواكب فى السما سمعاهم
Only the planets in the sky hear them
يطولوك يا ليل بالسهد والأفكار
They prolong your night, night, with wakefulness and thoughts
والشمس بعد الليل يطلع عليهم نهار
And the sun rises after the night on them with daylight
وبعد طول الويل تعود لهم ياليل
After prolonged sadness, night, you return to them
ويقصروك ياليل فى صحبه هنيه
And they shorten your night, night, in happy company
على وتر رنان فى الصبحية
On a melodious string in the morning
فيهم ياليل خل عطف على خله
Among them, night, let them show their love and affection for each other
ويقوله لحن الشوق وخله يقول له
And let the melody of longing be sung between them
ويقصروك ياليل على هنا وسرور
And they shorten your night, night, in joy and delight
والشمس بعد الليل يطلع عليهم نور
And the sun rises after the night on them with its light
ويسألوك ياليل امتى تعود ياليل
They ask you, night, 'when will you come back, night?'
ناس من قلوبهم تقول ياليل
Some from their hearts say, 'Oh night'
وناس على الأرغول تقول ياليل
And some on the lute say, 'Oh night'
واحنا معانا بدر طالع فى ليلة قدر
And with us, the moon rises on the Night of Power
فيها حبيب القلب وافا ووفى الندر
On it come the beloved of the heart and fulfilled the promise
هو يقول ياليل واحنا نقول ياليل
He says 'Oh night', and we say 'Oh night'
وكلنا بنقول ياليل أهل الهوى ياليل
And we all say 'Oh night, the people of love, oh night'
Contributed by Nathan S. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@user-ny3jr2er8j
أهل الهوى يا ليل فاتوا مضاجعهم
واتجمعوا يا ليل صحبه وأنا معهم
يطولوك يا ليل ويقصروك يا ليل
يطولوك يا ليل من اللي بيهم
وانت يا ليل بس اللى عالم بيهم
فيهم كسير القلب والمتألم
واللي كتم شكواه ولم يتكلم
واللي قعد بعد الحبايب وحده
وبات حزين يشكي هيامه ووجده
يشكو ولا مخلوق سمع شكواهم
إلا الكواكب فى السما سمعاهم
يطولوك يا ليل بالسهد والأفكار
والشمس بعد الليل يطلع عليهم نهار
وبعد طول الويل تعود لهم ياليل
ويقصروك ياليل فى صحبه هنيه
على وتر رنان فى الصبحية
فيهم ياليل خل عطف على خله
ويقوله لحن الشوق وخله يقول له
ويقصروك ياليل على هنا وسرور
والشمس بعد الليل يطلع عليهم نور
ويسألوك ياليل امتى تعود ياليل
ناس من قلوبهم تقول ياليل
وناس على الأرغول تقول ياليل
واحنا معانا بدر طالع فى ليلة قدر
فيها حبيب القلب وافا ووفى الندر
هو يقول ياليل واحنا نقول ياليل
وكلنا بنقول ياليل أهل الهوى ياليل
رحمك الله يا ام كلثوم
@muhammadalfaqeh748
هذه الأغنية (أهل الهوى)
غنتها الست أم كلثوم في مقهى الهموز
بمدينة نابلس الفلسطينية يوما ما 🇵🇸✌️
رحمك اللّٰه يا أم كلثوم ❤️
@aboabo2798
متى. رجاء. اي. في. اية سنة. مع. اجزل. الشكر
@mayaa4762
الكواكب اتجمعو لإخراج هذا العمل الرائع كلمات ولحن وأداء كل انسان يسمع لها الان يتذوق الفن الأصيل الله يرحمهم لا عوض لهذا الفن الرائع زمن الفن الجميل فعلا
@user-wh7gx1fd6p
فعلا فن رائع وكلك ذوق
@kassemsafad9303
نسرين الصيد اذا شي مرة فتحتي هل اغنية، لايك 😉❤️
@000ameer000
الذي لا يعرف ألحان الشيخ زكريا لام كلثوم لا يعرف معنى الطرب الحقيقي الأصيل، الطرب في أثقل عياراته.
@magedmakram695
الشيخ زكريا احمد ملك اللحن التطريبي و له اسلوب مميز و تستطيع ان تميز الحانه بين جميع الملحنين
@user-zc8sc8lc4f
سبحان الله رغم الألم والحزن والوجع الذي اعيشه ولله الحمد الا انه عندما أسمع ام كلثوم أشعر بالسعاده مجرد سماع الموسيقى تشعرك بالسعاده اليوم ١٥ ٦ ٢٠٢٢ الموافق ه١ ذو القعده ١٤٤٣هجريالساعه واحده ظهرا
@user-wh7gx1fd6p
الله يرحمكم ام كلثوم وبير وشيخ زكريا احمد لا يمكن ان يتكررون مهما طال الزمن.
@magedmakram4487
هكذا كان الفن فى مصر من 80 سنه انظروا الى ما وصلنا اليه الان اذا اردت ان تعرف حضاره شعب فانظر الى فنه عليه العوض و منه العوض