Abd al-Hafiz

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1929 - 1977

Egyptian singer and film actor.

Abd al-Halim Hafiz was a singer known for his work in romantic films. He appeared in more than a dozen films, including Lahn al-Wafa, Dalila, Banat alYawm (which included Muhammad Abd al-Wahhab's famous song "Ahwak"), the autobiographical Hikayat al-Hubb, and Maʿbudat al-Jamahir.

He was born Abd al-Halim Ali Ismaʿil Shabana on 21 June 1929 to Ali Shabana and Zaynab Amasha in a village near Zaqaziq in the Egyptian delta province of Sharqiyya. Upon the deaths of his parents shortly thereafter, his maternal uncle took him and his three siblings into his home in Zaqaziq, where Abd al-Halim attended kuttab (Qurʾan school) and later primary school.

At the age of eighteen, Abd al-Halim followed his brother Ismaʿil to Cairo and enrolled in the Institute of Arabic Music. He wanted to study voice and ud (oud; a short-necked lute); he soon moved, however, to the Higher Institute for Theater Music where he took up the oboe. Upon leaving the institute, he worked as a music teacher in several primary schools for girls and played oboe in the Egyptian Radio orchestra. The oboe, however, was considered a Western instrument and not part of Arabic tradition. Disenchanted, Abd al-Halim returned to his previous ambition of becoming a professional singer.

Among his colleagues at the institute were two young composers, Kamal al-Tawil and Muhammad al-Muji, and the conductor Ahmad Fuʾad Hasan who later established an accomplished and prestigious instrumental ensemble. All three became lifelong colleagues. In 1951, Abd al-Halim performed his first successful song, "Liqa" by Kamal al-Tawil; he also began singing for radio. Shortly thereafter, he signed a two-year contract with Muhammad Abd al-Wahhab to record Abd al-Wahhab's songs and appear in his films.

Along with works by numerous popular lyricists, Abd al-Halim sang the poetry of Abd al-Rahman alAbnudi, beginning in the early 1960s. At this time, Abd al-Halim sought to change his style from that of ordinary love songs (al-aghani al-atifiyya) to one closer to that of popular folk song. He sought colloquial poetry more colorful and meaningful than the common romantic song lyric. Together, Abd alHalim and al-Abnudi produced "al-Hawa Hawaya," "Ahdan al-Habayib," and other works that had significant impact on popular song.

Like many other commercial performers, Abd al-Halim was eager for artistic and financial control over his work. In 1959, he and cinematographer Wahid Farid formed their own film company, Aflam al-Alam al-Arabi, and produced, among other works, Al-Banat wa al-Sayf, based on three short stories by the well-known writer Ihsan Abd al-Quddus. In 1961, Abd al-Halim and Abd al-Wahhab formed the record company Sawt al-Fann and, in 1963, Aflam al-Alam al-Arabi became Aflam Sawt al-Fann, with Abd al-Wahhab as the third partner.

The beginning of Abd al-Halim's singing career coincided with Muhammad Abd al-Wahhab's shift away from singing to composition. Abd alHalim's voice differed considerably from that of his famous predecessor: It was mellow and resonant, and his distinctive vocal style was characterized as subtle, with meticulous intonation. He left the impression of extended, almost endless musical phrases. He sang the songs of numerous composers, such as Abd al-Wahhab, Baligh Hamdi, Kamal al-Tawil, and Muhammad al-Muji, all in his own style, in his "confined and fertile vocal space" (al-Najmi, 142). Among his most famous songs are "Safini Marra" (by al-Muji), "Ala qadd al-Shuq" (by al-Tawil), "Ahwak" (by Abd al-Wahhab), and "Qariʾat al-Finjan" (by al-Muji, with poetry by Nizar Qabbani).

Abd al-Halim was diagnosed as having schistosomiasis (bilharzia, a parasitic disease of the tropics) in 1939. Debilitating attacks resulting from the disease began in 1955 and ended with his death in 1977.

— VIRGINIA DANIELSON