Top Iranian Qari Calls for ‘Rhythm, Feeling and Responsible Innovation’ in Quran Recitation
His remarks come amid growing discussion in Quranic circles about how to balance technical precision with expressive delivery. Official competitions across the Muslim world heavily emphasise technical rules, sometimes leaving little room for spontaneity.
Mahdi Gholamnezhad, an international qari, told IQNA that most Iranian reciters are capable of improvisation and of adding elements that could be considered creative innovations.
However, he said, the real issue is the absence of a defined framework. Without limits, he explained, a qari might justify anything as “innovation,” resulting in performances that stray from recitational standards.
He warned that if a reciter adds new elements every time and labels all of them as innovation, “it will not be long before we face a recitation with no regard for rules and a non-standard performance, where familiar maqamat and melodies no longer remain.”
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Gholamnezhad said that even when introducing creative touches, a qari must set red lines for himself and commit to staying within an appropriate structure.
Beyond technical accuracy, he pointed to the importance of “rhythm and feeling” in recitation.
If a qari departs from these, he said, “the audience will experience a shock.” Proper tajweed, he added, can naturally guide a reciter and show the limits within which he should remain.
He also described the opposite problem: excessive restrictions. In many formal competitions, he said, judges impose narrow frameworks that lead to “soulless recitations” designed only to satisfy the scoring system.
As a result, he noted, the winning style may receive the highest marks yet fail to please listeners, because “it has only satisfied the taste of the judges.”
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The international qari, who is also a competition judge, said that judging guidelines need revision. He argued that the preferences of a small circle of judges often define competition outcomes, and those preferences tend to be “melody-driven.”
But performance, he said, requires more than technical elements. “It needs spirit and depth, and meaning-orientation must be taken into account, which we do not see on the stage.”
He observed that many top-ranked competition qaris are rarely invited to recite in public gatherings because their styles “do not attract the general listener.”
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