Qawwali takes place in the context of a mehfil-e samāʿ, a “gathering for [spiritual] listening.” The most significant of these gatherings take place in Sufi shrines on the anniversary of the death of the saint who is associated with the shrine. Lesser mehfil-e samāʿ are held throughout the year on Thursdays, when Muslims remember the deceased, or on Fridays, the day of prayer. Qawwali performances may also be arranged to offer spiritual nourishment on other special occasions.

The Indian composer and Persian-language poet Amīr Khosrow (1253-1325) is the popularly acknowledged creator of qawwali, and his works form the foundation of the traditional qawwali repertoire. Indeed, most traditional performances of qawwali both open and close with songs that are attributed to him; the closing song, known as rang.

Persian (Farsi) devotional verse, not only by Amīr Khosrow but also by such poets as Rūmī and Ḥāfeẓ, is the source of most of the qawwali repertoire, although there also are many texts in Punjabi and Hindi.

many qawwali songs praise Muslim teachers, saints, or Allah. However, the bulk of the repertoire addresses spiritual love in terms of worldly love and intoxication. To the unaccustomed listener, these songs may seem antithetical to the teachings of orthodox Islam, but qawwals and their audiences readily recognize the imagery as a metaphorical expression of the euphoria brought by communion with the divine spirit.