A very rare maqam that begins with Jins Athar Kurd on the tonic and is followed by Jins Hijaz Kar on the ghammaz (the fifth degree), with its identity arising from the exact structural blend between Kurd and Nawa Athar / Nikriz.

Athar Kurd is a very rare maqam as a full independent maqam. It is understood as a blend between Nawa Athar / Nikriz and Kurd, and for that reason it is placed closer to the Nikriz sphere than to plain Kurd.

Athar Kurd is very rare as a full independent maqam. Modern references describe it as one of the relatively late-used and peripheral maqamat within the broader Arabic network of ajnas and maqamat. It is usually linked to the Nawa Athar / Nikriz sphere more than to plain Kurd, because its structure is understood as a blend between Nawa Athar and Kurd, and that is the reason for its name: Athar + Kurd.

• The tonic on which Jins Athar Kurd is built
• The fifth degree: the ghammaz, because it carries Hijaz Kar in the direct practical explanation
• The raised fourth: the central auditory marker that immediately separates the maqam from plain Kurd

• The direct practical definition of the maqam is: Jins Athar Kurd on the tonic, followed by Jins Hijaz Kar on the ghammaz (the fifth degree)
• Athar Kurd can be reached either from Jins Kurd by raising the fourth by a semitone, or from Jins Nikriz by lowering the second by a semitone
• Its identity is not understood from scale alone, but from the way the compound relation between the two ajnas is made audible
• A common mistake is to perform it as if it were simply Kurd with one altered note, and that causes the maqam’s identity to disappear

• Establish Jins Athar Kurd as a self-standing entity
• Bring out the raised fourth clearly
• Ascend to Hijaz Kar on the fifth
• Return while preserving the maqam’s structural relation to both Kurd and Nawa Athar / Nikriz together

• Athar Kurd can be derived from Kurd by raising the fourth by a semitone, and this is the clearest and most direct structural distinction between the two
• It can also be understood as a form close to Nawa Athar / Nikriz after lowering the second by a semitone, so it stands structurally between the two worlds rather than being a simple Kurd branch
• It shares with Saba Zamzama a certain rarity and relatively modern context, but Athar Kurd remains more explicitly tied to Nikriz / Nawa Athar, while Saba Zamzama belongs to the Saba world with a lowered second
• The most important point to state explicitly is that Athar Kurd is extremely rare as a full maqam, and appears more often as a fleeting color or modulation inside other maqamic contexts