Same Rafi

Sami Rafi (Persian: سمیع رفیع‎‎) is an Afghan singer, composer, poet and painter of Tajik ethnicity from Afghanistan. He completed his studies in arts in India and lives currently in Germany. Sami Rafi was born in Kabul into a highly erudite family with his father Rahimdâd Khan Safi having served the following posts:

He had memorised the Quran and was a great authority on the interpretation of the Quran and was a famed Islamic jurist and eminent mystic (Sufi), who had many devout pupils and disciples (murids) across Afghanistan, mention can be made of late Ustad Khalilullah Khalili and late Abdul Hamid Aseer a.k.a. Qandi Agha, who would earnestly attend and listen to his teachings .

Rafi, besides studying the prose and poetry of Persian mystics and philosophers, displayed great interest in those teachings and scholarly meetings, and assumed, even as a child, pride of place among other regular students and murids who would later be present at every Friday evening gatherings of Kabul khanqahs where he would lavish mystical music and poetry.

Rafi had a passion for music and soon set out to learn and master it. It was his friend Akhtar Shawkat who encouraged him to formally learn the fundamentals of classical music whereupon he went to be instructed under great Indian music masters Ustad Allauddin Khan, Ustad Hafiz Ahmad Khan etc.

His meeting with the king of classical music Ustad Faith Ali Khan was Rafi's rebirth into the world of music. Since then Rafi has been accompanying his Ustad on all his musical tours and programs across Europe playing harmonium, tanpora etc. and thus adding to his experiences!!

Rafi has scored a number degrees and diplomas in the fields of literature, education and psychology from Bergische University, is married and lives in Germany

His last CD featured many songs based on Nemat Mokhtarzada's poems