Although Egypt is the original birthplace of the art of recitation in the Islamic world, in the contemporary media environment we are witnessing “the gradual forgetting of the authentic schools” and “a break between the new generation of qaris and the legacy of their predecessors.”

Today, some commercial and superficial recitations have replaced artistic and thought-provoking recitations, and the precise techniques of Waqf, Ibtida, tone and Tajweed, which are the result of centuries of experience of Egyptian masters, are not properly documented and introduced.

In a series of reports, IQNA aims to retrace the evolution of this art, from the “old school” to the emergence of “recitation geniuses”, while evaluating the current situation, and establish a bridge between the original Egyptian techniques and the artistic needs of today’s Quranic audience, so that the art of recitation returns from a “merely imitative ritual” to a “living and dynamic flow”.

This is because today’s glorious recitations stem from the traditional Egyptian school, and understanding this historical process is essential to understanding the authenticity of recitation. Also, in line with artistic modeling, introducing the styles and innovations of Egyptian pioneers is the best model for young qaris to improve the technical and spiritual standards of recitation.

The Egyptian school of Quran recitation is a magnificent structure that has been created by prominent qaris over several generations. What distinguishes the Egyptian school of recitation from other currents of recitation, especially the styles prevalent in the Persian Gulf region that have gained popularity in the last decade with the help of social media and satellite networks, is the deep connection that Egyptian qaris have established between the principles and teachings of reciting the Holy Quran and a precise understanding of musical maqams.

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This has nothing to do with singing or learning to play musical instruments, but rather with the qari’s understanding of the potential of his voice and larynx and adapting them to the translation of the meanings of the verses of the Holy Quran, accompanied by respect, fear and hope for divine help, victory and paradise during recitation, something that the great masters of the Egyptian school of recitation understood well and even excelled in, whether by nature or through study and practice.

Getting to know Abdul Wahab and Muhammad Rifaat

Most of the great Egyptian qaris loved music and learned it professionally. For example, Sheikh Muhammad Rifaat listened to the works of Beethoven and Mozart, just as Sheikh Mahmoud al-Banna learned the musical maqams professionally under Sheikh Darwish al-Hariri, who was the music teacher of Muhammad Abdul-Wahhab.

But Abdul-Wahhab or Umm Kulthum sought out reciters to learn the art of singing and the musical maqams, and they had close relationships with some of the sheikhs.

Ayman al-Hakim recorded details of this relationship in his book, “The Psalms of the Quran,” and quoted Sheikh Mustafa Ismail’s son as saying: “Once, my father was recording his weekly recitation in the radio building, and as he was leaving the building, he was surprised by the entry of Umm Kulthum. When Umm Kulthum saw him, she went to him to consult with him about a song she had just recorded, because she felt there was something wrong with it. When my father heard her, he told her the problem with the song.”

Whenever he went to Sheikh Muhammad Rifaat, Abdul Wahab became a student, or as he called it, “the sheikh’s servant,” and he remained a listener and friend of great qaris such as Sheikh Mustafa Ismail and Abdul Basit Abdul Samad.

Taha Muhammad Abdul Wahab was an expert in maqams and voices, an international referee in Egypt and the Arab world, and a doctorate in Quranic maqams who had taught a number of prominent qaris. Abdul Wahab studied with Sheikh Muhammad Rifaat and Ali Mahmoud. Umm Kulthum studied with Sheikh Abu al-Ala Muhammad and Zakaria Ahmed, both of whom were originally qaris, as well as with the father of modern Egyptian music, the Egyptian sheikh and reciter, Othman Hassan.

In this regard, Sheikh Muhammad Mutawalli al-Shaarawi presents a beautiful classification of the school of recitation in Egypt, saying: “Whoever wants to master recitation, listen to Sheikh Al-Husari; whoever wants purity of voice, listen to Sheikh Abdul Basit; whoever wants humility, listen to Al-Minshawi; whoever wants art in recitation, listen to Sheikh Mustafa Ismail; and whoever wants all of these, listen to Sheikh Muhammad Rifaat, because he is the school of music.”

Sheikh al-Qurra Muhammad Rifaat, was distinguished by a strong, distinct and flexible voice and could recite the verse easily with the appropriate musical positions and appropriate performance, making you feel as if he was the embodiment of the Quranic verse.

Safwat Akasheh, an expert in musical maqams, says: “Sheikh Muhammad Rifaat's voice is close to the alto pitch, which is one of the operatic vocal pitches, and his voice consists of 18 pitches and can sometimes reach 21 pitches. He harmonized the pitches with each other in the style of musical symphonies, and this is very evident in his recitation of the verses of the Quranic stories.”

Music critic Kamal Al-Najmi said about Sheikh Mustafa Ismail: “He had a unique, comprehensive and powerful voice, and his knowledge of maqams was unparalleled among the qaris, including Sheikh Rifaat. However, Sheikh Mustafa used his voice and knowledge to demonstrate the beauty and miraculous nature of the verses.”

It is therefore not surprising that Umm Kulthum and Abdul Wahhab listened to Sheikh Mustafa Ismail, developed a personal friendship with him, and eventually learned from his mastery of the maqams and performance.

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But Sheikh Abdul Basit Abdul Samad’s voice, with its own sadness and humility, shines in the maqam of Saba. Because of the power of his voice and the impact of his recitation, the late director Mustafa Akkad used Sheikh Abdul Basit’s voice in his famous film “The Message” as the voice of Bilal al-Jabashi, the muezzin of the Prophet (PBUH). This adhan was unique because of the impressive quality of Abdul Basit’s voice.

The Art of Listening to Quran Recitation

In addition to learning the secrets of the musical maqams that the great masters of the recitation school had instinctively understood and played a role in the melodious depiction of the meanings of the Holy Quran, Sheikh Mahmoud Al-Husari had another explanation for the spread of the Egyptian recitation school.

Far from being biased towards Egypt, Al-Husari attributes this distinction to an ancient and inherited Egyptian custom that may date back to the time of the Pharaohs, namely the unique death celebration customs and rituals that were modified with the arrival of Islam in Egypt, so when holding mourning ceremonies, the deceased’s family would bid farewell to their lost person by reciting the Quran, and this ceremony also extended to celebrations. Because, according to Sheikh Al-Husari, “whoever dedicates himself to something will excel in it.”

There is no qari in the world who can reach the level of the Egyptian qaris. Recitation at funerals and weddings allowed these qaris to refine their performance, making Quranic recitation a source of livelihood for the Egyptian qari.

What distinguishes Egypt in this regard, making it the “capital of Quranic recitation” and its qaris the most influential and famous qaris, is the unique style of performance. Thus, among the audience, we see some people standing up to admire the qari and shouting or cheering in a manner that is specific to the audience of Quranic recitation in Egypt.

The role of these listeners is not limited to expressing their “enjoyment” of the qari’s voice, but sometimes they intervene to correct the course of the recitation. This phenomenon attracted the attention of American scholar Christina Nelson in her book “The Art of Quranic Recitation”, in which she devotes an entire chapter to this phenomenon in Egyptian life.

It is worth noting that Egypt was among the first countries to broadcast the Holy Quran through the first dedicated Quranic radio network, established in 1964. Sheikh Mahmoud Al-Husari was the first to record the entire Quran in Tarteel recitation.

The emergence of Quranic Radio contributed to the fame of those with exceptional voices and a high level of skill, and saved the Egyptian school of Quranic recitation from extinction.

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