īqāʿāt

īqāʿāt , in Islamic music, rhythmic modes—i.e., patterns of strong, intermediate, and weak beats, separated by pauses of various lengths. A well-developed system of such modes was described by medieval theorists. Although six or eight basic modes are included in most treatises, many more have actually been used. The complete pattern, or period, repeated throughout the piece, is composed of smaller sections analogous to the feet of poetic metres. The various modes are said to...