Perhaps the best loved shbah ("Praise song") for the Sabbath, the hymn praises this longed for day of rest. It is the song most likely to be heard at Sabbath meals, and is sung with verve, by family and friends—either between courses or at the end of the meal. Performed in the ajam mode (its melodic intervals equivalent to the North Indian bilâval, to the Karnâtak dhîrashankâbharaNam and Western major scale), this song lends itself well to impromptu harmonisation. Middle Eastern music is characterised by an absence of harmony, so that when harmony is encountered, the effect is unusual and surprising.