Even non-Muslims find themselves enchanted by the tremulous singing of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. His beautiful voice evoked the sublime joy of being at peace with God, and his performance of the qawwali, the traditional music of praise in the Sufi branch of Islam, is legendary. Before his death in 1997, Khan not only entranced Muslim audiences, but found enthusiastic listeners in America, where his music was used in several well-known films.

Known as Shahen-Sha-e-Qawwali, or "the brightest star in Qawwli," he was born in 1948 in Lyallpur, in the Punjab province of Pakistan. Qawwali comes from the word "qual," generally translated as "utterance (of the Prophet Muhammad)." A qawwali is someone who sings qual, and in tradition, the practice is passed down through generations. Certain families can trace back their lineage of qawwlis through entire centuries, and Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan was said to be able to trace his own family's history of qawwlis back an unbroken 600 years.

As he rose to fame in Pakistan and India, Khan's recording output grew to amazing size. To try and sift through his discography might be considered a divine effort, not simply because of the content of his music so much as the incredible number of recordings which exist, particularly in the Indian market. He released more than 50 albums between 1973 and 1993 on a whole range of labels from various countries. His was truly a global appeal.

The devotional music that he crafted is traditionally made by Sufis, who believe their mystic path of worship can allow them to reach states of spiritual ecstasy. Both the content and sound of Khan's spiritual music made it appealing for moviemakers, who included his work in films like Dead Man Walking, The Last Temptation of Christ and even the ultra-violent Natural Born Killers (he was reportedly quite upset about his music being used in the latter).

Despite his passing in the late '90s, his work continues to find new audiences both in America and across the globe, and new releases--including remixes of his work--continue to be issued.