Shaban Abdul Aziz Sayyad; A Qari with Enthusiastic, Popular Recitations
Shaban Sayyad was born on September 20, 1940, in the village of Sarawak in Egypt’s Menofia Governorate.
His father, Abdul Aziz Esmail Sayyad was a known qari at the time and this was enough for young Shaban Sayyad to develop strong interest in Quran recitation.
He accomplished full Quran memorization at the age of seven. He then learned recitation skills and Tajweed, and at the age of 12, he was already receiving invitations to participate in Quranic circles.
After receiving his high school diploma, Shaban entered the faculty of Osoul El Dine in Al Azhar University and studied philosophy.
As far as his recitation is concerned, Sayyad followed the recitation styles of great masters like Sheikh Muhammad Rifat and Sheikh Mustafa Ismail.
In 1975, the top qari could successfully enter Egypt’s Quran Radio and this was a start for the broadcasting of his recitations, making him more famous across the country and in the Muslim world.
He recited the Quran in Egypt’s largest and most famous mosques, such as Al-Hussein (AS) Mosque and Al-Sayeda Zainab (SA) Mosque in Cairo.
During his lifetime, he travelled to many countries, including Kuwait, Jordan, Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Syria, Iraq, the US, Britain, France and Indonesia, offering valuable recitations to audiences from different nationalities.
Once Shaban Sayyad, Mustafa Ghalwash and Mohamed Mahmoud Tiblawi went to Kuwait and recited the Quran for one month there during the holy month of Ramadan.
Shaban Sayyad followed a popular style, meaning that his recitation was enthusiastically welcomed by local people of Egypt. This style also brought passion that affected the audience.
In addition to recitation, he also had a scholarly character. Although he did not accept a formal position at Al-Azhar, he taught lessons on Quran interpretation, Quranic concepts and Hadiths.
Shaban Sayyad passed away in 1998 at the age of 58.
Following is his recitation of Verse 32 of Surah Al-Furqan:
