Akbar Nizami and Gufran Nizami are among the most renowned Qawwali singers in the Sufi style, known for both Astana Gayki and the modern Qawwali tradition. They belong to the legendary Sikandrabad Gharana, which has produced Indian musical giants such as Ustad Qudratulla Khan Sahab and Ustad Kifayatullah Khan Sahab.

They are the sons of Aziz-uz-Zama. Akbar Nizami learnt Qawwali from his brother, the late Ustad Ghulam Sabir Nizami, and performed in over 4,000 shows with him since 1982. He also received training in classical compositions from Haji Ustad Altaf Hussain Khan Sahab, a Padma Bhushan awardee of the acclaimed Khurja Gharana, who was his maternal grandfather.

The ancestors of these traditional Gharanas have been classical vocalists, Dhrupadiyas, composers, musicologists, and poets for more than 700 years—closely associated with Hz. Nizamuddin Aulia and Hz. Khwaja Amir Khusro (R.A.) in Old Delhi.