Music

From ‘Bokra’ to ‘Rajieen’: The History of Arabic Charity Songs

BYKhaoula Ghanem

April 15, 2026

“Music expresses that which cannot be said and on which it is impossible to be silent,” Victor Hugo wrote in 1864. More than a century later, that sentiment still rings true, especially when music steps in where words fall short. The latest example comes out of Egypt, where two of the country’s biggest names in music and film, Abu and Dina El Sherbiny, have joined forces on a purpose-driven release in collaboration with the Magdi Yacoub Heart Foundation and streaming platform Anghami to raise funds and drive support for children affected by congenital heart disease. But it wasn’t your typical charity single.

The song, dubbed Da2a Na2sa (missing beat), first dropped without its beat, leaving listeners with a version that felt slightly off, like something was missing on purpose, before the full track was released along with the music video when the campaign reached its goal. The idea is directly tied to children born with congenital heart disease, which affects more than 10 million newborns globally every year. Access to treatment remains uneven, especially across lower-income regions, where early care is often delayed or unavailable. On Anghami, listeners were invited to donate, and with every contribution, parts of the beat were gradually added back into the track. The more people gave, the more complete the song became, until it eventually reached its final version alongside a full music video release.

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It’s a clever inversion of how we usually experience music. Instead of passively consuming a finished product, audiences were asked to participate in its creation, and in doing so, they became part of something bigger than the song itself.

Still, charity songs are nothing new. The format has existed for decades, usually tied to moments of crisis or collective urgency. Globally, We Are the World remains the reference point, bringing together a long list of artists under the direction of Quincy Jones to raise funds for famine relief. The track set a template that has been repeated in different ways ever since, often relying on star power and wide distribution to drive impact.

In the Arab world, that model did not appear overnight. As early as 1998, Al Helm Al Arabi (an Arab dream) brought together a wide roster of artists including Ahlam, Angham, Latifa, and Mohamed Fouad, among others. In February 2024, the song was revived and re-recorded as the Gaza humanitarian crisis brought it back into focus. The new version features 12 artists, from Abu and Assi El Hallani to Balqees, Majid Al Mohandis, and Mohammed Assaf, alongside returning voices from the original lineup including Ahlam, Assala Nasri, and Walid Toufic.

At the time, the single was not strictly framed as a fundraiser, but it functioned as a unity anthem tied to the political mood of the time, setting the groundwork for the kind of large-scale collaborations that would later define charity songs in the region.

That foundation became more explicit with projects like Tomorrow/Bokra, a 2011 release that again involved Quincy Jones, this time working alongside Emirati entrepreneur Badr Jafar. The track brought together 24 artists from 16 countries across the Middle East and North Africa, marking a level of regional collaboration that was rare at the time.

The production credits alone tell part of the story. Moroccan-Swedish producer RedOne co-produced the track, while Lebanese soprano Majida El Roumi handled the Arabic lyrics and Iraqi singer Kathem Al Saher composed the music. Released during the early stages of the Arab Spring, its proceeds supported children through the World Food Programme and the Abu Dhabi Music & Arts Foundation. It also moved fast, becoming one of the quickest-selling Arabic singles at the time and pulling in millions of views online.

At the same time, not every song tied to a cause is created from scratch. In many cases, the region returns to existing tracks, recontextualizing them in response to new crises. Li Beirut is a clear example, having been revived and re-released in the aftermath of the 2020 Beirut explosion, with proceeds directed toward relief efforts. That same year, Algerian hitmaker Khaled (formerly Cheb Khaled) co-wrote and released the charity single Elle S’appelle Beyrouth in collaboration with Lebanese-born Brazilian DJ Rodge (Roger Saad), with proceeds supporting victims of the port blast. The track went on to top Lebanese music charts for six consecutive weeks.

More recently, the format has continued to evolve in response to ongoing events. Rajieen in 2023 is one of the clearest examples, bringing together 25 Arab artists including Afroto, Marwan Pablo, Issam Alnajjar, Zeyne, and Balti. The track was released in support of the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund, continuing a long-standing pattern of artists responding to the region’s political realities through music.

Although not an Arabic song, Billy Bragg’s 2024 release called Hundred Year Hunger tied to Greta Thunberg’s Freedom Flotilla initiative sits within the same orbit. The pro-Palestine protest track, which came after the United Nations declared famine for the first time in Gaza, incorporates an Arabic chorus built around the phrases “sumud” and “lan narhal,” terms closely tied to Palestinian resistance and the refusal of displacement.

While earlier charity singles depended on radio play, CD sales, and televised moments to reach audiences, today, distribution is instant, however, attention is harder to hold. That has pushed artists and platforms to think differently about how these releases are structured, whether through large-scale collaborations or interactive formats like the one Abu and Dina El Sherbiny are experimenting with now.

There is no single formula that defines an Arabic charity song, and that ambiguity is part of what keeps the format relevant. The region often returns to familiar tracks, reshaping them to meet new moments, while political and solidarity anthems continue to blur into charity releases rather than existing as a clearly defined category. What remains consistent is the role music continues to play, moving quickly across borders and carrying meaning in ways few other mediums can.

From ‘Bokra’ to ‘Rajieen’: The History of Arabic Charity Songs

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From ‘Bokra’ to ‘Rajieen’: The History of Arabic Charity Songs

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