Naat is poetry in praise of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. The practice is popular in South Asia, commonly in Bengali, Pashto, Punjabi or
Urdu_ People who recite Na'at are known as Na'at Khawan or sana'a-khua'an. Exclusive 'Praise to God" and God alone is called Hamd, not to be
confused with Na'at
In Arab countries: lyrics and praises said for Muhammad are called /vIaddh nabawi.
History
It is difficult to trace the history of Na'at khawani since no authenticated record of when it was initiated can be found. One early author: Hassan, was
known as Shair-e-Darbaar-e-Risalat. Even before accepting Islam he was a poet: but after embracing Islam he gave a new turn to his poetry and started
NYats in honor of Muhammad. He was famous for his poetry that defended Muhammad in response to rival poets who attacked him and his
religion_ Therefore, Hassan is known as the first sans-khawaan of that time After that many a poet followed this trend and totally dedicated
them