He sang solo using his lute at numerous concerts, though this is not what brought him fame, or confirmed his status as one of the most gifted and popular composers of oriental music.

What brought him fame, however, was the unforgettable character of al-Missaharati, the man who announces the pre-dawn meal during the month of Ramadan, that he and Fuad Haddad created in 1951.

Composed to the beat of the traditional "Tabla" (Drum), it stirs up feelings of patriotism, nationalism and pride in Arab Muslim culture.

Critical of any national shortcoming, he was prompt to deride bureaucracy in his song Al-lstemara Rakba Al-Humara ("The Questionnaire on a Donkey").

But Ha'n hareb ("We Shall Fight"), which came out in 1956, and Al-Ard Bitetkalem Arabi ("The land Speaks Arabic"), composed after 1973, were also true expressions of pride in his country.