Berita
Reconciling Cat and Yusuf
How well I remember the sixties and the seventies, that singular musical era! Styles and genres mixed and mingled in an effervescence of creativity and non-conformism, in a search for meaning and renewal that was as singular as it could be troubling. In the London of July 1975 the songs of Cat Stevens could be heard at every corner. There was something about his voice; an unmistakable musical talent combined with words that told of a spiritual journey; the poetry of life and suffering, peace and childhood, separation and death. Peace Train, Wild World, Lady d’Arbanville, Father and Son: all popular hits, all expressing the rich, complex and often tormented inner life of their creator.
Two years later, in 1977, Cat Stevens converted to Islam and turned his back on music. He later explained his decision as driven by the need to make a clean break with his past as a star and as a musician. There was no place for music in his early understanding of Islam; nor did music fit with his natural need to separate himself from a world in which he had become an “idol”, with all the inflated sense of appearance and possession that the term implies. He craved silence, intimacy; sought simply to be. His journey had become an inward one, spiritual and demanding. There was no longer room in Yusuf Islam, his newly adopted convert’s name, for the man who had once been Cat Stevens.
Over the following years Yusuf embarked on a series of far-reaching initiatives. In retrospect we can see that each bore the seal of Cat’s aspirations and of Yusuf’s newfound beliefs. He established schools that combined academic excellence with clear-cut ethical objectives. He set up an aid and solidarity organization that financed projects around the world; he was one of the first to travel to Sarajevo to defend and celebrate Bosnian culture through art and song. He wrote tirelessly, composed children’s songs and anacheeds (Islamic chants) to be recited with no instrumental accompaniment except percussion, in conformity with the views of several Muslim scholars. The scope of his action was as broad as his gift of self was limitless: Yusuf emerged as a man of spirituality, a man with a cause and a vision. What before he’d expressed in music, he now brought into being in the most concrete way in the name of his faith, through his commitment to education, solidarity, love and peace. Music without music: Yusuf no longer wished to be Cat.
Then came his reaction to the Rushdie affair, which shocked many of his friends and admirers. How could a man who had spent so much of his life singing of life, love and the quest for meaning, then taken up the cause of education, solidarity and peace, lend his support to a government’s call to kill a man? I quickly took a stand against Khomeini’s fatwa, arguing that it was more politically motivated than grounded in Islam. When, years later, I met Yusuf Islam for the first time, I asked him two questions: one, on his endorsement of the fatwa, and the other on his position on music in Islam. His response to the first was clear, unequivocal. When asked by the media about the question of blasphemy in Islam, he had answered that the Jewish Torah, the Christian Bible and the Qur’an all prescribed the death penalty for blasphemy. For all its absoluteness, his answer, based on scripture, was by no means an endorsement of the fatwa, which for him was an act of illegitimate vengeance that respected neither British nor international law. On the other question, that of music, we disagreed. I submitted to him other views on the subject, and encouraged him, with all his talent and creative powers, to return to music. Firmly believing that musical instruments were not permitted in Islam, but above all driven to cut himself off from that world, he could not accept my arguments. But though I differed with his position on music in Islam, how could I not grasp his desire to remove himself from such an intense, invasive and often disturbing past? Yusuf could never entirely escape the light or the shadow of Cat, whether in his personal quest, his one-time celebrity, or in the way others—Muslims or non-Muslims—saw him. Cat was part and parcel of Yusuf.
Yusuf, Fawzia (wife) and daughters at a charity event ‘Adopt-A-Minefield’ Benefit Gala in support of landmines victims on May 28, 2005 in Neuss, Germany. Source: Zimbio.com
Time went by… 28 years. His children had grown up; now they would help their father Yusuf rediscover Cat the child. Yusuf caught a whiff of Cat’s musical perfume in the guitar that his son had left in a room by mistake. It was a beautiful mistake—and our good fortune. That guitar, one of Cat’s old friends, was to summon Yusuf and to represent the reconciliation of past and present, of the star and the believer, of art and the quest for meaning. Yusuf returned to music with all his power, his voice and his humanity. With his guitar he sang of life, love, war, the environment and freedom; he now sang of the human and the universal, never ceasing to be Muslim, speaking the most intimate hopes and dreams of his fellow human beings. Once again he sang his original successes, which even then had so faithfully conveyed his doubts and hopes, and mankind’s universal humanity. At long last, Cat and Yusuf had become one.
For Muslim women and men around the world, his story embodies a powerful lesson. We hear of “Islamic chants” (anacheeds) that are supposedly “Islamic” because they express religious themes, or because they employ no instruments, or because they are based on traditional or Qur’anic texts. In this light, only such chants are permissible (halal) in Islam, the only form of creativity recognized. There are indeed scholars who hold such a position, but it is far from unanimous. In To Be a European Muslim (written in 1996) I dealt with these views and took a clear position on music in Islam. Not only is it permitted, but Muslim women and men must also reconcile themselves with art, with creativity, and with the imagination in all its dimensions. Guided by their ethical bearings, they must not allow themselves to be enchained by the adjective “Islamic” that ends up isolating them, suffocating them, and depriving them of their creative energy in the universe of art, of music, painting, sculpture and literature. Muslims are constantly justifying themselves; they feel obliged to describe everything as “Islamic” to satisfy and to conform to the norm. But our ethical concerns must not force upon us an obsession with the norms of “licit” and “illicit” (halal and haram).
He’s back in the studio. New album in progress.
Seen in this light, any song, any form of artistic expression that celebrates humanity, love, justice, the quest for meaning, and peace is, in fact, in full conformity with Muslim ethics and needs no further qualifiers. Meaning, hopes and human edification are to be felt and to be lived; they have no need of a normative framework that bridles and ultimately annihilates them. The expression of ultimate ethical causes in art transcends the narrow limitations of specific ways of belonging, and brings together the universal quality of all that is most precious to humans, who can feel themselves uplifted, broadened, vibrating, becoming more human, more peaceful; who can feel themselves being regenerated by a voice, a hand, a pen or a brush. Music can be a prayer, a painting a path, a song a story: as long as art speaks to mankind of its heart, its wounds, its hopes, tears, smiles and aspirations, it forms the universal language of humankind and can bring about by way of imagination, emotion and the heart what no dialogue of reason or of civilizations can hope to offer.
It’s true. Yusuf had been a part of Cat before Cat became Yusuf: a paradox that the Sufi tradition has long taught us. It was necessary for Cat to set out in search of Yusuf for Yusuf to discover and understand Cat’s secrets. Now at last the quest and the path converge: artist and believer now sing with the same voice. For faith and art are friends of the beautiful, and in the end, together create a love story: “God is beautiful and He loves the beautiful,” as He loves those who create beauty, the friends of hope and the seekers of meaning.
Berita
“Mungkin Tiada Lagi Yang Lebih Besar Dari Ini” — Konsert Nur Kasih Sebagai Kemuncak (‘Magnum Opus’) Karier Inteam
Setiap Artis ada satu persembahan besar yang mendefinisikan siapa mereka.Tengoklah konsert-konsert besar artis tempatan yang berderet diadakan sejak setahun dua ni. Ella, KRU, M. Nasir. Semuanya sold out dan menjadi bualan pmerhati muzik tanah air. Viral, tak boleh move on, tu yang diperkatakan
Dan untuk Inteam, Ahad ini di Axiata Arena, ia adalah segala-galanya. Kali ini lebih besar daripada konsert tahun lepas di Idea Live Damansara. Rasanya, konsert solo artis nasyid terbesar yang pernah dianjurkan di tanah Air.
Dalam satu pengakuan yang cukup jujur dan menyentuh hati, anggota kumpulan Inteam, Hazamin tidak berselindung tentang magnitud acara ini. Bagi mereka, Konsert Nur Kasih bukan sekadar satu lagi show dalam kalendar tahunan.
“Ini boleh jadi kemuncak kepada kejayaan dan karier kami,” akui Hazamin.
Kata-kata itu berat. Ia membawa makna bahawa selepas 25 tahun mengemudi bahtera nasyid, Ahad ini adalah puncak kepada apa yang telah mereka bina selama ini. “Kami sebelum ini tidak pernah bermimpi sebegitu. Jadi tak salah kalau kita katakan ini boleh jadi konsert terbesar kami, mungkin tiada lagi yang lebih besar dari ini,” tambahnya.
Darah, Keringat & Air Mata
Bagi kami di Munsyeed yang mengenali susuk kumpulan Nasyid ini secara peribadi lebih 20 tahun, kami melihat sendiri dengan mata kepala kami saat jatuh bangun mereka. Bermula dari duduk dibawah Hijjaz Records, kemudian bertatih sendiri dengan Inteam Records Sdn Bhd.
Mereka membina empayar mereka sendiri. Segala apa yang difikir boleh jalan, mereka redah sahaja. Dari penerbitan album, mengasah bakat-bakat baru, hingga ke penjualan buku dan produk-produk lain. Semua mereka dah lalui
Untuk sampai ke kemuncak show berskala besar, apatah lagi di venue prestij Axiata ini, laluan yang mereka daki untuk sampai ke tahap ini bukan mudah. Inteam telah berjalan melalui lurah dan jurang. Naik turun adalah benda biasa bagi Inteam.
Orang luar hanya nampak kilauan lampu pentas, tetapi Hazamin tampil membuka cerita tentang “fasa gelap” yang hampir menamatkan riwayat kumpulan ini.
“Detik paling rapuh? Ketika tonggak utama, Syahril jatuh sakit. Inteam ibarat hilang separuh nyawa”Tanpa berselindung Hazamin meluahkan apa yang terbuku di hati. “Alhamdulillah, kembimbangan tu beransur bila kami lihat perkembangan kesihatannya semakin baik lepas tu”
Namun, skrip Allah SWT itu cantik—kepedihan itu menjadi asbab kembalinya Hisyam, melengkapkan semula kepingan puzzle Inteam. Dan mereka dah tak menoleh kebelakang lagi dah.
Satu lagi fasa yang memeritkan apabila mereka terpaksa berdepan dengan zaman peralihan produk fizikal seperti CD dan kaset kepada dunia digital. Penggunaan Youtube, gejala ‘download’ dan kemunculan platform streaming benar-benar memberi tamparan hebat buat mereka.
“Bayangkan, empayar perniagaan kami yang selama ini bertunjangkan penjualan CD dan kaset tiba-tiba ‘lumpuh’. Aset menjadi liabiliti. Stok fizikal menimbun, tetapi pendengar sudah beralih ke alam maya.”
Hazamin menyifatkan fasa ini sebagai satu ‘kegawatan ekonomi yang teruk’—satu frasa sopan untuk menggambarkan detik nyawa-nyawa ikan bagi sesebuah syarikat rakaman.
Secara lebih terperinci, tempoh ini menyaksikan kemerosotan mendadak dalam jualan fizikal, yang sebelum ini merupakan tunjang pendapatan utama syarikat rakaman. Cetak rompak digital yang berleluasa dan peralihan pengguna kepada platform perkongsian fail secara percuma telah melumpuhkan model perniagaan tradisional.
Ramai gergasi muzik tanah air tumbang dan gulung tikar di era transisi ini kerana gagal beradaptasi. Tetapi Inteam enggan menjadi ‘dinosaur’ yang pupus ditelan zaman. Mereka bangkit, belajar ‘berenang’ dalam gelombang teknologi baru, dan menyusun semula strategi.
Pertaruhan Segala-galanya
Bila kami tanya tentang konsert ini 25 Tahun Nur Kasih yang akan diadakan pada Ahad ini, tersimpan satu pertaruhan yang menggusarkan.
Cabaran utama konsert ialah mencapai sasaran jualan tiket dan sambutan tinggi, memandangkan kos penganjuran yang biasanya tinggi, kebanyakannya dibiayai modal sendiri dengan sedikit geran kerajaan. Oleh itu, strategi pemasaran, pengiklanan, dan kesedaran awam penting untuk memastikan konsert diketahui dan disokong melalui pembelian tiket.
“Ketika kami didekati oleh Iman Tang dari Icon Entertainment, sebuah nama yang tidak asing lagi dan dihormati dalam industri penganjuran acara di Malaysia, kami merasakan satu gelombang emosi yang bercampur-campur—rasa dihargai, diberi penghormatan yang tinggi, dan satu kesedaran baharu tentang potensi muzik nasyid”Kata Hazamin
Penglibatan ini merupakan bukti jelas bahawa genre nasyid bukan sahaja relevan, malah berhak mendapat tempat di pentas acara berprestij dan berskala besar.
Pendekatan strategik daripada tokoh seperti Iman Tang dan syarikat seperti Icon Entertainment telah membuka ruang signifikan untuk seni nasyid menembusi arus perdana. Sokongan padu peminat mengesahkan bahawa mesej nasyid bukan sahaja memberi impak yang besar tetapi juga amat dinantikan oleh khalayak yang lebih luas.
Hazamin menjelaskan, “Oleh itu, kami amat menghargai dan mengucapkan terima kasih yang tidak terhingga kepada Iman Tang dan seluruh pasukan Icon Entertainment. Kepercayaan mereka dalam membenarkan Inteam merealisasikan Konsert Nur Kasih ini melambangkan lebih daripada sekadar sebuah projek; ia adalah pengiktirafan penting terhadap genre nasyid. Sokongan padu ini telah membolehkan hasrat kami untuk mengangkat nasyid ke peringkat yang lebih tinggi menjadi kenyataan, sekali gus menetapkan penanda aras baharu bagi penganjuran acara nasyid di masa depan. Kerjasama ini merupakan satu detik bersejarah dalam perjalanan karier kami.”
Pengiktirafan Gergasi & Legasi Masa Depan
Tetapi, adakah ini penamat Inteam? Tidak. Amin menegaskan selepas tirai di Axiata berlabuh, fokus mereka akan berevolusi—ke arah penerbitan, pencarian pelapis baru, dan misi antarabangsa.
Mereka mahu melihat pelapis baru bangkit, menjadi mainstream seperti era emas 1996-2000. Mereka mahu mewariskan legasi ini.
Namun untuk malam Ahad ini, ia adalah tentang Inteam. Ia adalah tentang meraikan puncak perjalanan suku abad mereka.
Seperti kata Amin: “Mungkin tiada lagi yang lebih besar dari ini.”
Jika anda mengaku peminat nasyid, anda wajib berada di sana. Kerana sejarah bakal tercipta.
Debaran kian terasa apabila penganjur Konsert 25 Tahun Inteam Nur Kasih, Icon Entertainment secara rasmi mengumumkan senarai lagu penuh yang bakal dipersembahkan oleh kumpulan Inteam dalam Konsert 25 Tahun Inteam Nur Kasih, yang dijadualkan berlangsung di Axiata Arena pada 1 Februari 2026.
Lebih mengujakan, konsert ulang tahun ke-25 ini turut menampilkan barisan artis jemputan yang cukup istimewa merentas generasi, termasuk maestro muzik Datuk M.Nasir, Nazrey Johani, dan Zizi Kirana, sekali gus memberi bayangan malam penuh kejutan, nostalgia dan momen sing-along yang tak mudah dilupakan.
Berdasarkan poster senarai lagu yang dikongsi, peminat bakal dihidangkan dengan deretan karya ikonik yang membina perjalanan Inteam selama lebih dua dekad. Antara lagu yang tersenarai ialah Dia, Rabiatul Adawiyyah, Kasihku Abadi, Siti Khadijah, Impian Kasih, Damba Kasih, Bisikan Nurani, Allahu Rabbi, Dia Muhammad, Surat Cinta, Iman Aman, Sutera Kasih, Tuhan Yang Esa, Nur Kasih, Az-Ziarah, Pemergianmu, Kasih Kekasih, Bebas Palestin, Satukan Kami Di Syurga, Tiada Tarikh Tamat, Kehidupan, Alhamdulillah, Ya Rabbi Ya, Kalimah Cinta, Mulakan Hari Ini, Ratu Syahidah, Perjalanan 2, Puji-Pujian dan Setanggi Syurga dan lain-lain lagi.
Dengan gabungan set list yang sarat emosi dan tetamu jemputan yang pelbagai warna, Konsert 25 Tahun Inteam Nur Kasih jelas bukan sekadar sebuah persembahan biasa tetapi sebuah “pertemuan semula” peminat dengan lagu-lagu yang pernah menjadi latar doa, semangat, cinta dan perjalanan hidup ramai orang. Titik pertemuan inilah yang akan menyatukan seluruh peminat Inteam di malam konsert tersebut.
Setiap lagu yang akan dipersembahkan bukan hanya lontaran vokal semata-mata, sebaliknya ia dinyanyikan bersama memori kenangan yang akan turut bermain di minda penonton pada malam tersebut. Mungkin akan ada penonton yang terbayang momen sewaktu di zaman universiti, terkenang aktiviti gotong royong asrama di zaman sekolah dan tidak kurang juga memori sesi muhasabah program motivasi yang menggunakan lagu Damba Kasih dan lain-lain.
Kini, persoalannya tinggal satu: lagu mana yang paling anda tunggu untuk dinyanyikan beramai-ramai di Axiata Arena nanti?
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“Mungkin Tiada Lagi Yang Lebih Besar Dari Ini” — Konsert Nur Kasih Sebagai Kemuncak (‘Magnum Opus’) Karier Inteam
Set List Konsert 25 Tahun Inteam Nur Kasih Telah Keluar!
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