A maqam built on Jins Hijaz on Dukah (D), with a final repose on Dukah (D), a major upper center on Nawa (G), and multiple internal colorings in the upper region.

Hijaz is one of the core maqamat in Arabic music. AMAR describes it as the sixth maqam and explains that it can be understood in two ways: either as a Bayati with a raised third, or as a Sikah whose distance between the second and third has widened.

In practical listening and performance, the Hijaz family is recognized through its characteristic lower structure and its powerful sense of directional motion. Its branch maqamat are often differentiated by upper-jins color, degree function, and how the maqam expands beyond the initial Hijaz identity.

The practical sayr of Hijaz usually works like this: it begins from Dukah (D) and establishes Jins Hijaz clearly, so the listener should hear from the outset the tonic on Dukah, the special second as Sikah (E half-flat), and the Hijaz degree moving toward Nawa (G). After that, the natural expansion reaches Nawa (G), and from there the broader maqamic region may begin: either Rast on the fourth, Nahawand on the fourth, or the development toward Hijaz in the jawab, before the maqam finally returns to Dukah (D).

• Dukah (D): the final tonic and modal center, and AMAR states explicitly that Hijaz is settled on Dukah
• Nawa (G): a very important upper center of repose, because the natural Hijaz jins extends to it and many modal expansions begin from it
• Kardan (upper C): an important jawab station when the maqam expands above
• Husayni (A): important in some paths, where an original Bayati flavor may appear from Husayni inside Maqam Hijaz

• Traditional performers prefer to treat the second degree here as Sikah (E half-flat), not Kurd (E-flat)
• The Hijaz degree itself lies between Jaharkah (F) and Nawa (G), but it is closer to Jaharkah
• Hijaz is not well understood if reduced to a single jins only, because it has multiple internal routes
• The mere presence of a Hijaz jins inside another maqam does not automatically mean we are in Maqam Hijaz itself

• Stabilize Dukah (D) and Jins Hijaz clearly
• Bring out Sikah (E half-flat) and then the Hijaz degree moving toward Nawa (G)
• Ascend naturally to Nawa (G) and establish it
• Color the upper region through Rast on the fourth, Nahawand on the fourth, or Hijaz in the jawab
• Return clearly to Dukah (D) and cadence there

• Rast on the fourth
• Nahawand on the fourth
• Hijaz in the jawab
• Bayati on the original degree in some phrases or descending pathways
• These are not always departures from Hijaz, but may belong to the maqam’s own internal network