Even Non-Muslims Moved by Abdul Basit’s Voice: Son
Speaking in a televised interview on the anniversary of Abdul Basit’s death, Tariq said his father, who grew up in the city of Armant, memorized the Quran at the age of ten.
Tariq said that after learning recitation, his father went to Cairo and when he for the first time recited the Quran at Al-Sayeda Zainab Mosque in Egypt’s capital, people at the mosque were so impressed that they carried him on their necks.
Abdul Basit then joined Egypt’s Quran Radio as a reciter, he added.
“My father had a distinctive voice. God had given him an exceptional ability in recitation and Tajweed as well as a sweet voice and the ability to hold his breath for a long time.
“When people anywhere in the world listen to his voice, the Quran goes into their hearts.
“Even non-Muslims are moved when they listen to my father’s voice and it leaves a good impression on them.”
Monday, November 30, marked the 33rd anniversary of the prominent qari’s death.
Abdul Basit Abdul Samad is known as one of the greatest Quran reciters in the world.
He was born in 1927 in the village of Al-Maza’iza, south of Egypt. His grandfather was a pious man, a Quran expert and a memorizer of the Quran.
At 10, Abdul Basit finished learning the entire Quran by heart in his village. He also learned 7 styles of Quran recitation by the age of 12 and the 10 styles by 14.
He started reciting the Quran in mosques and religious centers and soon became very popular.
In 1951, at the age of 19, he went to the capital Cairo for the first time and recited verses from the Quran at Magham Zeynab. Famous Quranic figures and reciters like Abdul Fattah Sha’shaie, Mustafa Esmaeel, Abdul-Azim Zaher, and Abolainain Shoaisha were present at the event. His performance was so outstanding that the crowd requested him to recite for longer than his allotted 10 minutes by his audience, and he continued to recite for over an hour and a half; his listeners were captured by his mastery of pitch, tone and the rules of Tajweed.
In the same year, he started reciting the Quran in Egypt’s national radio.
Abdul Basit travelled to many countries around the world for reciting the Quran. Once in Jakarta, Indonesia, over 250,000 people gathered in a mosque and streets around it to listen to his recitation.
In 1952 he made the Hajj pilgrimage and recited the Quran in the Masjid-al-Haram in Mecca and Masjid-un-Nabi in Medina.
Listening to his inspiring recitations of the Quran, many non-Muslims are said to have embraced Islam, including 6 in Los Angeles and 164 in Uganda.
Abdul Basit Abdul Samad died of diabetes and liver disease in November 1988. Thousands of his fans attended his funeral. The funeral was also attended by ambassadors of Islamic countries in Cairo.
