Mohammad Sultan Life and Music

Mohammad Sultan: The Composer of Romance, Longing, and Egyptian Song

Introduction

Mohammad Sultan was an Egyptian composer, musician, actor, and film-score writer whose career extended across more than half a century. He created melodies for several generations of Arab singers, but his name remains most closely connected with Fayza Ahmad, his wife and greatest musical interpreter.

Together, Sultan and Fayza formed one of the major singer-composer partnerships of modern Arabic music. Their collaboration produced an extensive repertoire of romantic songs, poetic works, radio compositions, concert pieces, and popular recordings. Among their best-known works are “Gharib Ya Zaman,” “Risala Min Imra’a,” “Khalliku Shahdin,” “Akbar Min Hubbi Lik,” “Ahibbuhu Kathiran,” “Qul Likull al-Nas,” “Allamitni al-Dunya,” and “Aywa Ta‘abni Hawak.”

Sultan’s contribution, however, extended far beyond Fayza Ahmad. He composed for Warda, Sabah, Souad Mohammad, Hani Shaker, Samira Said, Mayada al-Hennawi, Assala Nasri, Nadia Mustafa, Medhat Saleh, Mohammad Tharwat, Muharram Fouad, Fayza Kamel, and other prominent performers.

He also wrote music for approximately fifty films, including Al-Nimr wa al-Untha, Al-Raqisa wa al-Siyasi, Al-Tout wa al-Nabout, Ya Azizi Kulluna Lusous, and Al-Souq. His work therefore occupies an important place at the meeting point of classical Arabic melody, Egyptian popular song, cinema, radio, and modern orchestration.

Birth and Childhood in Alexandria

Mohammad Abdel Hamid Sultan was born in Alexandria on July 20, 1937.

He grew up in a cultured household. His father held a senior position in the Egyptian police and maintained a substantial home library. His mother was musically gifted and played both piano and oud.

The contrast between his parents’ interests proved important. His father represented education, discipline, and professional stability, while his mother introduced him to melody, instrumental performance, and the emotional world of music.

Sultan began experimenting with the piano and oud while young. The piano gave him an understanding of harmonic spacing and orchestral texture, while the oud connected him with maqam, Arabic phrasing, and the structure of traditional melody.

Alexandria was itself an ideal environment for a developing musician. The Mediterranean city brought together Egyptian, Greek, Italian, Levantine, and North African communities. Its theatres, cinemas, cafés, beaches, and radio broadcasts exposed young listeners to both Arab and European music.

This mixture later appeared in Sultan’s compositions. His melodic foundations were Arabic, but he was comfortable with piano, strings, Western orchestral instruments, and film-score techniques.

Family Opposition and Formal Education

Despite his musical interests, Sultan’s family initially preferred that he pursue a conventional profession.

He briefly entered the Naval College before changing direction. He later studied law and earned his degree in 1960.

Legal education may seem unrelated to composition, but it gave him habits that benefited his musical work: concentration, organization, patience, and an ability to analyze complicated structures.

Music remained his central passion. He continued reading, listening, playing instruments, and studying composition while completing his university education.

In a 1966 television interview, Sultan explained that his family had resisted his entry into the arts. He nevertheless continued learning independently through books, recordings, and close attention to the works of established composers. Youm7

Mohammad Abdilwahhab’s Encouragement

Mohammad Abdilwahhab reportedly recognized Sultan’s musical potential and encouraged his artistic ambitions.

Abdilwahhab represented the highest level of professionalism in Egyptian music. He united composition, singing, cinema, orchestration, production, and careful study of both Arab and Western traditions.

His approval mattered. For a young man whose family questioned the security of an artistic career, recognition from Abdilwahhab provided artistic legitimacy.

Sultan learned from Abdilwahhab’s belief that melody should be memorable but carefully constructed. He also absorbed the importance of selecting the correct voice for each composition and writing according to the singer’s personality rather than applying one style to everyone.

Although Sultan developed an individual musical language, Abdilwahhab remained an important model of artistic discipline.

Entering Cinema as an Actor

Sultan’s first public career was not as a composer but as an actor.

According to Sultan’s own recollection, director Youssef Chahine noticed him during his school years and encouraged him toward cinema. His appearance, confidence, and horsemanship made him suitable for screen roles.

Sultan acted in several films during the 1960s, including:

• Yawm Bila Ghad
• Al-Nasir Salah al-Din
• A’ilat Zizi
• Min Ghair Mi‘ad
• Al-Bahitha ‘an al-Hubb
• Al-‘Ataba Gazaz

In Al-Nasir Salah al-Din, directed by Youssef Chahine, he participated in one of Egyptian cinema’s most ambitious historical productions. In A’ilat Zizi, he appeared within a popular social-comedy setting.

His screen career gave him practical knowledge of film production. He learned how scenes were edited, how music supported dialogue, and how rhythm affected cinematic storytelling.

The major films in his early acting career and his 1960 law degree are documented by ElCinema and Asharq Al-Awsat.

Choosing Music Over Acting

Although Sultan was successful enough to continue acting, his deeper interest was composition.

Acting required him to interpret someone else’s words and direction. Music allowed him to build an emotional world from its foundation.

He gradually withdrew from acting and devoted himself to melody, orchestration, radio, and film music.

This decision shaped his legacy. Had he remained primarily an actor, he might have enjoyed a visible but limited career. As a composer, he contributed to hundreds of songs and dozens of films across several decades.

Early Compositions

Before his partnership with Fayza Ahmad became dominant, Sultan composed for singers including Adel Mamoun, Fayza Kamel, Muharram Fouad, and other performers active in Egyptian radio and cinema.

His early work already showed several characteristics that later became central:

• A strong interest in the singer’s vocal personality
• Clear, memorable refrains
• Emotional development through modulation
• A balance between traditional maqam and modern orchestration
• Dramatic instrumental introductions
• Careful setting of colloquial Arabic
• An attraction to romantic conflict and longing

Sultan also studied older Arabic forms. He stated that he had composed muwashshahat and continued learning from heritage repertoire rather than restricting himself to commercial song.

Meeting Fayza Ahmad

Mohammad Sultan met Fayza Ahmad during the early 1960s. Their relationship developed through music before becoming a marriage.

Fayza was already a major singer. Her collaborations with Mohammad al-Mooji, Mohammad Abdilwahhab, Farid al-Atrash, Riyadh al-Sunbati, and other composers had established her among the most expressive voices of the period.

This placed Sultan in a demanding position. He was not discovering an unknown singer whose style could be shaped without comparison. He was writing for an established artist with a distinctive voice and successful repertoire.

Their early work included the patriotic song “Hatou al-Full Ma‘ al-Yasmin,” while Sultan recalled “U’mur Ya Qamar” as the first romantic melody that brought them closely together. Youm7

Marriage and Family

Sultan and Fayza married during the 1960s. Their marriage combined family life with a remarkably productive musical partnership.

They had twin sons, Tarek and Amr, who later pursued medical careers.

The marriage lasted for many years but eventually ended in separation in 1981. Fayza briefly remarried, but she and Sultan reunited during the final period of her illness.

Fayza died from cancer in 1983. Sultan did not marry again and remained deeply attached to her memory for the rest of his life.

Their relationship became part of Arab musical history because personal affection and artistic creation were so closely connected. Yet the importance of their work cannot be explained by romance alone. It also depended upon discipline, rehearsal, disagreement, and a detailed understanding of voice.

Understanding Fayza Ahmad’s Voice

Sultan’s most important ability as Fayza’s composer was his understanding of her vocal psychology.

Her voice contained several contrasting elements:

• A bright, penetrating upper register
• Warmth in the middle range
• A slight tremor suggesting vulnerability
• Strong dramatic projection
• Clear Arabic diction
• The ability to move from tenderness to accusation

Sultan wrote melodies that allowed these qualities to appear gradually.

He rarely began by forcing her immediately into the high register. A typical composition might open with a restrained orchestral introduction followed by an intimate vocal entrance. The melody would then expand section by section until her upper register carried the emotional climax.

His writing often positioned the strongest note on a psychologically important word. The vocal climax therefore completed the meaning of the lyric rather than functioning as an unrelated display.

A Singer-Composer Partnership

Reports often credit Sultan and Fayza with more than two hundred songs, although the total varies according to whether radio pieces, national songs, unreleased material, alternate versions, and television recordings are counted separately. Independent Arabia

Their collaboration was comparable in importance to other great partnerships in Arabic music:

• Umm Kulthum and Riyadh al-Sunbati
• Fairouz and the Rahbani Brothers
• Abdel Halim Hafez and Mohammad al-Mooji
• Warda and Baleegh Hamdi

Each partnership created a recognizable musical world. For Sultan and Fayza, that world was centered on emotional honesty, romantic conflict, mature feminine experience, and orchestral tarab.

The Character of Sultan’s Melodies

Mohammad Sultan’s musical language was lyrical and singer-centered.

Clear Melodic Identity

His songs generally possess a central motif that can be recognized quickly. Even in extended compositions, the listener retains a strong melodic point of reference.

Emotional Modulation

Sultan used maqam changes to reflect changes in the lyric. A passage might begin with confidence, move toward uncertainty, and conclude in sorrow or reconciliation.

Vocal Preparation

He understood that a powerful high note must be prepared. The melody gradually expands in range so that the climax feels inevitable.

Dramatic Introductions

His orchestral introductions often establish the atmosphere before the singer enters. Strings, oud, qanun, nay, accordion, piano, and percussion introduce motifs later heard in the voice.

Respect for Words

He allowed important phrases to breathe. The orchestra did not continuously compete with the singer.

Repetition with Development

A refrain returned with altered orchestration, register, or emotional intensity, creating tarab without losing formal direction.

Maqam in Sultan’s Music

Sultan’s compositions drew upon the established Arabic maqam system.

Maqam Nahawand

Nahawand was especially important in his romantic and dramatic work. It supported sadness, memory, uncertainty, and emotional expansion.

Maqam Bayati

Bayati gave his melodies warmth and conversational intimacy. It was well suited to Fayza’s middle register.

Maqam Rast

Rast provided dignity and balance. Sultan used it in confident, celebratory, and socially oriented works.

Maqam Hijaz

Hijaz intensified distance, yearning, and separation. Its distinctive intervallic character allowed him to prepare strong emotional climaxes.

Maqam Kurd

Kurd supported direct modern expression, particularly in shorter film and popular songs.

Maqam Saba

Saba carried pain and supplication. Sultan used its emotional color carefully because excessive emphasis could overwhelm the structure.

Maqam Sikah

Sikah connected his work with traditional Arabic intonation and allowed subtle ornamentation.

His compositions often modulated among related maqamat. These movements followed the singer’s emotional journey.

Rhythm and Iqa‘

Sultan used a wide variety of Arabic and modern rhythms.

Wahda Kabira

This spacious cycle supported extended tarab and allowed the singer freedom within long phrases.

Wahda Saghira

The smaller wahda pattern suited lyrical romantic songs with steady forward movement.

Maqsum and Baladi

These rhythms connected his compositions with Egyptian popular character.

Malfuf

Malfuf provided energy in lighter, festive, and rapidly moving sections.

Waltz Rhythm

Triple meter added elegance or emotional suspension to certain songs.

Rumba and Latin-Influenced Rhythms

Like many postwar Egyptian composers, Sultan occasionally drew upon Latin rhythmic ideas while preserving Arabic melody.

The rhythm always served the singer. He avoided mechanical repetition when the lyric required flexibility.

“Khalliku Shahdin”

“Khalliku Shahdin”—“Remain as Witnesses”—is one of Sultan and Fayza’s defining songs.

The singer asks others to witness the truth of her love or emotional suffering. The audience therefore becomes part of the drama.

This idea suited Fayza’s stage personality. Her voice often sounded as though it were presenting personal evidence before a community of listeners.

Sultan’s melody allows the phrase to return with increasing intensity. At first, it may sound like an invitation. Later, it becomes an urgent demand that the singer’s experience not be denied.

The song demonstrates his skill in turning everyday Egyptian language into extended musical expression.

“Akbar Min Hubbi Lik”

“Akbar Min Hubbi Lik”—“Greater Than My Love for You”—belongs to the mature romantic repertoire of the partnership.

The title suggests that ordinary language is insufficient. The singer’s feeling exceeds what can be described simply as love.

Sultan builds the melody around expansion. The musical range grows as the emotional claim becomes larger.

Fayza’s upper register provides the climax, but the earlier restrained sections are equally important. They establish sincerity before the voice reaches its strongest declaration.

The work is an example of Sultan’s belief that composition should reveal the singer gradually.

“Ahibbuhu Kathiran”

“Ahibbuhu Kathiran”—“I Love Him Very Much”—sets romantic confession within formal Arabic rather than everyday dialect.

The shift in language changes the musical atmosphere. Classical Arabic requires more careful vowel length, consonant articulation, and phrase construction.

Sultan’s melody respects the text while avoiding stiffness. He gives Fayza space to shape the words and use her brilliant upper range.

The song demonstrates that their partnership was not limited to colloquial Egyptian romance. They could also work within the tradition of the modern Arabic qasida.

“Risala Min Imra’a”

“Risala Min Imra’a”—“A Letter from a Woman”—is one of Sultan’s most ambitious compositions for Fayza Ahmad. The text is based on poetry by Nizar Qabbani.

The poem presents a woman speaking in her own voice. She remembers love, examines pain, and expresses feelings that might otherwise remain hidden.

Sultan treats the work as musical drama rather than a repeated popular refrain.

The composition moves through several emotional stages:

1. Private recollection
2. Confession
3. Emotional questioning
4. Accusation or disappointment
5. Assertion of dignity
6. A reflective conclusion

The orchestra creates transitions between these states. Some passages approach speech-song, allowing the text to remain clear. Others expand into full tarab.

Fayza’s interpretation gives the poetic speaker vulnerability and authority. Sultan’s achievement lies in supporting the poem without overwhelming it with unnecessary musical complexity.

Composing Literary Poetry

Setting literary poetry is different from composing for colloquial song.

The composer must consider:

• Classical Arabic meter
• Long and short vowels
• Grammatical endings
• The meaning of each image
• The danger of excessive repetition
• The relationship between recitation and melody
• The overall dramatic structure

Sultan understood that not every poetic line should receive equal musical weight. He selected crucial phrases for expansion and allowed transitional verses to move more directly.

This approach kept “Risala Min Imra’a” coherent despite its length and literary density.

“Gharib Ya Zaman”

“Gharib Ya Zaman”—“Strange, O Time”—became one of Sultan and Fayza’s most memorable works.

The singer addresses time as though it were a person capable of betrayal, surprise, and cruelty.

The song belongs to a long Arabic tradition in which al-zaman represents fate and changing fortune. Yet the language and orchestration give the theme a modern emotional immediacy.

Sultan’s melody creates a sense of instability. Phrases appear to seek repose, but the emotional tension returns. This reflects the song’s central idea: time refuses to remain predictable.

Fayza’s mature voice gives the composition extraordinary weight. She sounds not like someone imagining life’s reversals but like someone who has experienced them.

The song became so closely associated with Sultan that tributes following his death frequently invoked its title.

“Allamitni al-Dunya”

“Allamitni al-Dunya”—“Life Taught Me”—is another work centered on experience and maturity.

The title implies that knowledge has been acquired through pain rather than formal instruction. Life becomes the teacher.

Sultan’s melody allows the singer to look backward. The emotional direction is reflective, but not passive. What has been learned gives the singer greater strength.

Such works suited Fayza’s later career. Her voice had deepened, and audiences knew aspects of her personal struggle. The song therefore carried autobiographical resonance even when it was not written as biography.

“Aywa Ta‘abni Hawak”

“Aywa Ta‘abni Hawak”—“Yes, Your Love Exhausted Me”—was among Fayza Ahmad’s final important recordings.

The title expresses admission rather than denial. The singer acknowledges that love has caused fatigue and suffering.

Sultan’s melody avoids treating exhaustion as weakness. Fayza’s voice remains strong, even when the text describes emotional weariness.

This contrast gives the song its power. The singer is tired but not defeated.

Because the work appeared near the end of Fayza’s life and during her struggle with illness, listeners often hear it through the lens of biography. The knowledge of her condition adds poignancy, though the musical work remains a universal statement about the cost of love.

“Ahlam al-Arba‘a”

Among Sultan’s poetic and extended compositions were works exploring romantic imagination, memory, and the days of the week.

His willingness to compose qasidas and unconventional poetic texts distinguished him from composers who specialized exclusively in short commercial songs.

These works reveal an intellectually curious musician who continued studying Arabic heritage and literary poetry while participating in popular media.

“Ihna al-Naharda Eih”

“Ihna al-Naharda Eih”—“What Are We Today?”—was performed by Fayza Ahmad and Mohammad Sultan together.

The duet format makes the emotional question immediate. Two people attempt to define their relationship: Are they lovers, strangers, friends, or something left unresolved?

Sultan was not primarily known as a major solo singer, but his musical voice allowed him to participate convincingly in dialogue with Fayza.

The duet reveals another side of their partnership. The composer is no longer hidden behind the orchestra; he enters the emotional scene.

“Hatou al-Full Ma‘ al-Yasmin”

“Hatou al-Full Ma‘ al-Yasmin”—“Bring the Jasmine with the Arabian Jasmine”—was among their earliest collaborations.

Its imagery is festive and ceremonial. Flowers are brought, arranged, and scattered in celebration.

The song connected Sultan and Fayza before their partnership became dominated by sorrowful and dramatic romance. It reveals his ability to compose national, festive, and optimistic music.

Flower imagery was especially appropriate to Fayza’s Levantine background and Egyptian career, since jasmine and full carry cultural associations across both regions.

Writing for Souad Mohammad

Souad Mohammad possessed one of the strongest classically trained Arab voices of her generation.

Sultan composed works for her including “Iyyak Tinsa” and “Aw‘idak Dayman Fakrak.”

Writing for Souad required a different approach from writing for Fayza. Souad’s voice was broad, classically grounded, and capable of long qasida-style phrases.

Sultan adapted by emphasizing dignity, sustained line, and controlled melodic architecture. The collaboration demonstrates that his style was not restricted to one singer.

Writing for Warda

Warda’s voice combined emotional vulnerability with tremendous stage power.

Sultan wrote for her within the larger world of Egyptian orchestral song. Her ability to expand a phrase and command the upper register suited his interest in dramatic development.

Composing for Warda also placed him alongside musicians such as Baleegh Hamdi, Mohammad Abdilwahhab, and Riyadh al-Sunbati. This required him to offer material with an individual identity.

His work for Warda formed part of a catalog extending beyond his famous partnership with Fayza Ahmad.

Writing for Sabah

Sabah possessed a bright, flexible voice and a lively stage personality.

For her, Sultan could use quicker rhythms, Lebanese-inflected color, and lighter orchestration. The collaboration demonstrated his capacity to move away from the heavy romantic mood frequently associated with his work.

A successful composer must not make every singer sound alike. Sultan adjusted melodic range, rhythm, and instrumental texture according to the performer.

Hani Shaker

Sultan became an important composer for Hani Shaker, one of the leading Egyptian romantic singers to emerge after Abdel Halim Hafez.

Their songs included:

• “Al-Hawa Garah”
• “Mushtarikee”
• “Huwa Ana Ansa”
• Other romantic works

Hani Shaker’s voice differed from Fayza Ahmad’s in range, timbre, and gender, but it shared an ability to communicate vulnerability.

Sultan wrote melodies that allowed Hani to begin gently, develop emotional pressure, and arrive at a polished upper-register climax.

The collaboration helped carry Sultan’s musical language into a younger generation. Al-Araby Al-Jadeed

Samira Said

Sultan composed several songs for Moroccan singer Samira Said, including:

• “Malak”
• “Khallik Hurr”
• “Rouh Ya Zaman”
• “Al-Dunya Kida”

Samira represented a modern, rhythmically flexible approach to Arabic pop. She could perform Egyptian, Moroccan, and pan-Arab repertoire while adapting to contemporary studio production.

Sultan’s work with her shows that he was not trapped within the orchestral language of the 1960s and 1970s. He could create shorter, more modern songs while preserving melodic strength.

“Khallik Hurr”—“Remain Free”—also reflects a more independent lyrical attitude suited to changing social expectations.

Mayada al-Hennawi

Mayada al-Hennawi possessed a powerful Syrian voice capable of long-form Arabic tarab.

Sultan composed songs for her including:

• “Hikayat Hayati”
• “Fi Qurbak”
• “Akher Marra”
• “‘Eneik”

Mayada’s broad range and dramatic authority allowed Sultan to return to the extended romantic style he had developed with Fayza while writing for a different vocal personality.

Her voice was darker and heavier, requiring changes in register and orchestration. Sultan adapted without losing his preference for emotionally unfolding melody.

Assala Nasri

Sultan also composed for Syrian singer Assala Nasri, whose voice combined technical agility, strength, and modern interpretive style.

Their collaborations included:

• “Samhtak”
• “Kull al-Nas”
• “Mish Ma‘qoul”
• “Bil-Usoul”

Assala belonged to a generation shaped by cassette production, music television, and shorter album formats.

Sultan’s ability to work with her demonstrated the continuing relevance of his melodic language. He did not need to abandon maqam or vocal development to participate in contemporary Arabic music.

Nadia Mustafa, Medhat Saleh, and Mohammad Tharwat

Sultan composed for additional Egyptian singers including Nadia Mustafa, Medhat Saleh, and Mohammad Tharwat.

These performers represented different aspects of the post-golden-age music scene:

• Nadia Mustafa combined Egyptian warmth with popular romantic song.
• Medhat Saleh brought a smooth, trained voice suited to cinema, television, and concert music.
• Mohammad Tharwat possessed classical control and was strongly associated with national and religious repertoire.

Sultan adjusted his writing accordingly, demonstrating that his catalog was broader than the emotional style most closely associated with Fayza.

Film Music

Sultan’s early experience as an actor helped prepare him for film scoring.

A film score differs from a standalone song. The composer must support:

• Character development
• Suspense
• Romance
• Social atmosphere
• Transitions between scenes
• Geographic setting
• Comedy or tragedy
• Silence and pacing

Music cannot compete continuously with dialogue. It must enter and withdraw at the correct moment.

Sultan composed or contributed music to approximately fifty films, including:

• Al-Tout wa al-Nabout
• Al-Nimr wa al-Untha
• Al-Raqisa wa al-Siyasi
• Awlad al-Ih
• Al-Souq
• Al-Sharis
• Ya Azizi Kulluna Lusous
• Hams al-Jawari
• Leih Ya Dunya
• Samara al-Amir
• Fadihat al-‘Umr

The scale of this film work is documented by Independent Arabia.

Al-Nimr wa al-Untha

Al-Nimr wa al-Untha—The Tiger and the Female—was a popular action drama starring Adel Imam and Athar al-Hakim.

The film required music capable of moving between suspense, crime, action, and romance.

Sultan used recurring themes to give the story continuity. Rhythmic passages supported pursuit and danger, while more lyrical music accompanied emotional scenes.

The score demonstrated his ability to work outside the concert-song format. Instead of building toward a singer’s climax, he shaped tension around visual action.

Al-Raqisa wa al-Siyasi

Al-Raqisa wa al-Siyasi—The Dancer and the Politician—required a different musical environment.

The film explored entertainment, power, hypocrisy, and the relationship between public respectability and private corruption.

Sultan’s score had to reflect both the glamorous world of performance and the darker political drama beneath it.

Music associated with dance needed rhythmic vitality, while dramatic scenes required restraint and psychological tension.

The film remains one of the titles most frequently associated with his cinema music.

Orchestration

Sultan’s orchestral language drew upon both Arabic and Western instruments.

A typical ensemble might include:

• Violins, viola, cello, and double bass
• Oud
• Qanun
• Nay
• Accordion
• Piano
• Classical and electric guitar
• Tabla and riqq
• Frame drums
• Western percussion
• Brass and woodwind instruments
• Electronic keyboards in later work

Strings frequently carried the emotional atmosphere. Oud and qanun reinforced maqam identity, while nay provided introspection or sorrow.

Piano was especially natural to Sultan because of his early exposure through his mother. It could introduce a harmonic color, support film drama, or create a quieter space around the voice.

The Role of the Instrumental Introduction

Sultan treated the instrumental introduction as part of the composition’s emotional argument.

The introduction could:

• Establish the principal maqam
• Present the main melodic motif
• Suggest conflict before the lyric begins
• Prepare the singer’s vocal range
• Create anticipation
• Introduce rhythmic identity
• Return later as a structural marker

In his long songs for Fayza Ahmad, the introduction often created an entire emotional landscape before she sang the first word.

This approach belonged to the great orchestral tradition of twentieth-century Egyptian music, in which the introduction was not a decorative preface but an essential movement.

Respect for the Singer

Sultan believed composition should serve the singer’s expressive strengths.

He listened to the natural speaking voice, comfortable register, breath length, pronunciation, and emotional personality of each performer.

For Fayza, he emphasized vulnerability and brilliant upper climaxes. For Souad Mohammad and Mayada, he provided broad classical lines. For Hani Shaker, he cultivated polished romantic tenderness. For Samira Said, he adopted more contemporary rhythmic structures.

This adaptability explains his long career.

Sultan and Umm Kulthum

Sultan said that there had been discussions about composing for Umm Kulthum.

According to his recollections, “Daret al-Ayyam” was once considered in connection with him before Mohammad Abdilwahhab ultimately composed the work. He also said Umm Kulthum contacted him about possible collaborations near the end of her life, but illness prevented the projects from being completed.

These unrealized plans should not be treated as part of his recorded catalog, but they indicate the level of recognition he had achieved.

To be considered as a composer for Umm Kulthum was one of the highest professional honors in Arabic music.

Sultan and Abdel Halim Hafez

Sultan also discussed a proposed collaboration with Abdel Halim Hafez.

The song “Ahla Tariq fi Dunyati” was reportedly considered for Abdel Halim before becoming part of Fayza Ahmad’s repertoire.

The collaboration did not take place, but the story illustrates how songs sometimes moved between singers during development. A text or melody could be proposed, tested, rejected, revised, and finally recorded by another voice.

Fayza’s interpretation gave the work a feminine emotional identity that became inseparable from the final composition.

Leadership in Musical Institutions

Sultan served for several years as president of Egypt’s Society of Authors and Composers and participated in major festival and competition juries.

These positions involved more than ceremonial recognition. They placed him within discussions about:

• Copyright
• Royalties
• Preservation of composers’ rights
• Professional standards
• Recognition of lyricists and arrangers
• The changing recording industry
• Support for younger musicians

His legal education may have been useful in understanding the institutional and contractual issues surrounding musical authorship.

Views on Musical Change

Sultan lived long enough to witness major changes in Arab music:

• The age of radio orchestras
• The golden period of musical cinema
• The rise of cassette albums
• Electronic arrangements
• Satellite television
• Digital recording
• Internet distribution
• The growth of mahraganat and electronic street music

In later interviews, he criticized styles he felt sacrificed melody, singing, and linguistic clarity for noise or commercial fashion.

His judgment reflected the values of his generation: respect for the voice, identifiable melody, proper orchestration, and careful treatment of words.

Even when listeners disagree with his criticism of newer genres, it reveals his understanding of music as a structured art requiring study and craftsmanship.

Life After Fayza Ahmad

Fayza’s death in 1983 profoundly affected Sultan.

He remained devoted to her memory and did not remarry. He preserved their home and continued discussing her voice and artistic importance in interviews.

Yet he did not stop composing. He worked with later generations and developed a large film-music catalog.

This continuation is important. His career should not be treated as though it ended with Fayza. Her death closed his most emotionally significant partnership, but he remained an active composer, mentor, institutional figure, and defender of musical standards.

Selected Songs for Fayza Ahmad

Among Sultan’s important compositions for Fayza are:

• “Gharib Ya Zaman”
• “Risala Min Imra’a”
• “Khalliku Shahdin”
• “Ahibbuhu Kathiran”
• “Akbar Min Hubbi Lik”
• “Aywa Ta‘abni Hawak”
• “Allamitni al-Dunya”
• “Qul Likull al-Nas”
• “Insani Ya Habibi”
• “A‘lant al-Hubb ‘Aleik”
• “Ihna al-Naharda Eih”
• “Qa‘id Ma‘aya”
• “Sa‘ban ‘Alayya”
• “Bokra Ti‘raf”
• “Habbaitak wa Badari ‘Aleik”
• “Ahla Tariq fi Dunyati”
• “Tahet Khatawina”
• “Hatou al-Full Ma‘ al-Yasmin”
• “U’mur Ya Qamar”

Attributions can vary among later reissues, and the full partnership deserves a dedicated scholarly catalog.

Selected Works for Other Singers

Souad Mohammad

• “Iyyak Tinsa”
• “Aw‘idak Dayman Fakrak”

Hani Shaker

• “Al-Hawa Garah”
• “Mushtarikee”
• “Huwa Ana Ansa”

Samira Said

• “Malak”
• “Khallik Hurr”
• “Rouh Ya Zaman”
• “Al-Dunya Kida”

Mayada al-Hennawi

• “Hikayat Hayati”
• “Fi Qurbak”
• “Akher Marra”
• “‘Eneik”

Assala Nasri

• “Samhtak”
• “Kull al-Nas”
• “Mish Ma‘qoul”
• “Bil-Usoul”

He also composed for Sabah, Warda, Muharram Fouad, Fayza Kamel, Nadia Mustafa, Medhat Saleh, Mohammad Tharwat, and other Arab performers. Al-Araby Al-Jadeed

Death

Mohammad Sultan died on November 13, 2022, after a period of illness. He was eighty-five years old.

Egypt’s Musicians Syndicate and artists from several generations mourned him. Tributes emphasized both his extensive catalog and his legendary partnership with Fayza Ahmad.

He had lived through almost the entire history of modern Egyptian media: pre-television radio, black-and-white cinema, large concert orchestras, color film, cassette production, satellite broadcasting, and digital distribution.

His death closed a direct living connection with the composers and singers of Egypt’s mid-century golden age. Asharq Al-Awsat

His Place Among Egyptian Composers

Mohammad Sultan belonged to the generation following or overlapping with such giants as Mohammad Abdilwahhab, Riyadh al-Sunbati, Zakariya Ahmad, Mohammad al-Qasabji, and Farid al-Atrash.

He was also a contemporary of Baleegh Hamdi, Mohammad al-Mooji, Kamal al-Taweel, Mahmoud al-Shareef, Sayyid Makkawi, and Hilmi Bakr.

Each occupied a distinctive territory:

• Al-Mooji excelled at concentrated melodic invention.
• Kamal al-Taweel combined modern structure with national and romantic song.
• Baleegh Hamdi drew deeply from Egyptian folk rhythm and orchestral passion.
• Sayyid Makkawi united popular Cairo, religious tradition, and musical theatre.
• Mohammad Sultan specialized in lyrical drama, singer-centered melody, and emotional orchestration.

His partnership with Fayza gave his work a recognizable identity, but his compositions for other singers and cinema show that his musical language was broader.

Influence on Later Arabic Music

Sultan’s influence can be heard in composers who prioritize the singer’s emotional personality rather than imposing a fixed style.

His work offers several lessons:

Write for the Individual Voice

The singer’s range, color, diction, and personality should shape the melody.

Prepare the Climax

A powerful note is more effective when the preceding sections create anticipation.

Respect the Lyric

Instrumental complexity should not make the words unintelligible.

Use Maqam Dramatically

Modulation should follow emotional change.

Treat Repetition as Development

A returning phrase should acquire new meaning.

Preserve Melody Within Modern Production

New instruments and technologies need not eliminate Arabic melodic identity.

Musical Legacy

Mohammad Sultan’s legacy rests on several major achievements.

The Fayza Ahmad Repertoire

His songs for Fayza form one of the most substantial and emotionally coherent bodies of work created for a single Arab singer.

Literary Song

Works such as “Risala Min Imra’a” show his ability to transform modern poetry into extended musical drama.

Film Music

His scores helped shape the atmosphere of approximately fifty Egyptian films.

Multi-Generational Collaboration

He composed for singers from the golden age through the cassette and satellite eras.

Preservation of Vocal Tarab

Even in modern recordings, he maintained the importance of maqam, vocal phrasing, and emotional development.

Institutional Service

His leadership within the Society of Authors and Composers supported the professional recognition of musical creators.

Why His Music Endures

Sultan’s melodies endure because they were built around human emotional experience.

“Gharib Ya Zaman” addresses the bewildering changes of life. “Khalliku Shahdin” asks others to witness the truth of love. “Allamitni al-Dunya” reflects upon lessons learned through suffering. “Aywa Ta‘abni Hawak” acknowledges emotional exhaustion, while “Risala Min Imra’a” gives a woman space to tell her own story.

These themes remain recognizable because Sultan did not bury them beneath technical complexity.

His compositions are sophisticated, but the listener first experiences melody and feeling. Technical knowledge supports the emotion rather than replacing it.

Conclusion

Mohammad Sultan’s artistic journey began in a cultivated Alexandrian home where his mother played piano and oud. It passed through law school, acting, Egyptian cinema, radio composition, marriage, personal loss, film scoring, and collaboration with several generations of Arab singers.

He might have remained a successful actor, but music gave him a deeper and more enduring role.

His partnership with Fayza Ahmad transformed both artists. Sultan found the voice capable of realizing his most intimate musical ideas, while Fayza found a composer who understood every shade of her emotional and vocal personality.

Together, they created songs of love, pride, memory, betrayal, and endurance. Their music made private emotion public without making it artificial.

Beyond Fayza, Sultan wrote for some of the Arab world’s most important voices and created music for dozens of films. He adapted to changing media while maintaining his commitment to melody, maqam, and expressive singing.

Mohammad Sultan was not simply the husband and composer of Fayza Ahmad. He was a major architect of Egyptian romantic music—a composer who understood that the finest melody does more than accompany words. It reveals what the words alone cannot say.

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