Anasheed by Mais Shalash

Mais Shalash: the sun of the Arabic nasheed

Young and old alike know her for the nasheed “Ya Taiba”. With her sweet voice and remarkable talent, she managed to break into the world of Islamic and patriotic nasheeds, which had long been the preserve of men. Her wonderful vocal qualities and her young age, together with her Palestinian origins, are among the factors that made her rise as one of the best-known nasheed singers in the Arab and Muslim world. This is the Palestinian nasheed singer Mais Shalash, who was born on June 7, 1989, in Kuwait.

Mais Shalash, whose full name is Mais Saud Taha Shalash, grew up in Kuwait, the daughter of Palestinian parents who had taken refuge in Kuwait years earlier. Her ardent love for her country of origin, despite being far from it, helped shape her personality and inspired her art and creativity. Her talent blossomed at the age of seven, and she went on to sing the most beautiful nasheeds for the land and the sweetest melodies for her homeland.

She sang for Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa, and released her first album at the age of eleven, titled “Sawt al-Hurriya” (The Voice of Freedom).

Alongside her many albums, the young nasheed singer began performing at a number of nasheed concerts in Palestinian refugee camps in Jordan. She then went on various artistic tours that led her to take part in international festivals, singing in more than one Arab capital; yet the dream of singing on the soil of her homeland, Palestine, still lives on in her.

Besides her talent, what has perhaps contributed most to her wide popularity is her constant collaboration with her father, the poet Saad Shalash, who writes most of her poems and has given her advice and guidance throughout her artistic career.

Despite her young age, then, Mais Shalash has managed to write her name in bold letters across the sky of Arabic song and nasheed. She has also won a number of awards at local and Arab festivals: the bronze award in 2001 for the nasheed “Ya Alam al-Adala,” two gold awards in 2002 for the nasheeds “Yatima” and “Amshi wa Durubi Nar,” and the awards for best performance and best composition in 2003 for the nasheed “Sabah al-Khayr ya Biladi”, which her father wrote and she composed herself, in addition to the award of the Children’s Festival in Cairo.