It is an art form deeply rooted in the early centuries of Islam; relying on melodic recitation, it gradually evolved into one of the most potent expressions of Muslim cultural soft power, attaining artistic and social maturity through contexts such as Friday Quran recitations, the call to prayer (adhan), religious rituals, and state patronage.

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”.

Although sound recording technology arrived in Egypt in 1903, the art of Quranic recitation did not benefit from this modernity for several decades. During the early years of recording companies' operations in Egypt, prominent qaris refused to record their recitations. This reluctance was shared by singers, who were wary of the new invention and preferred to wait—observing its success with second-tier vocalists—before committing to it themselves.

The situation was more complex regarding Quran recitation; whenever a new invention concerning the Quran emerged, it was met with skepticism and religious reservations. Adoption was often delayed until the passage of time validated the invention, establishing it as an accepted reality of the era.

Furthermore, the limited recording duration in those early years—initially three minutes, later extended to six—likely contributed to the delay. Such a short timeframe was undoubtedly insufficient to capture a recitation that truly reflected the art form as it existed at the time.

The Earliest Recorded Recitation in Egypt

The oldest surviving recording of a Quranic recitation dates back to 1905, featuring Sheikh Muhammad Salim reciting Surah Maryam. The following year, he recorded another recitation, this time from Surah Yusuf.

Little is known about this individual—though recordings of his singing also exist—leaving it unclear whether he was a renowned professional qari or merely a vocalist who recorded these passages as part of the recording companies’ initial trials.

Researching the history of great reciters during the first quarter of the 20th century leads us to four names whose voices have since been lost: Mahmoud Al-Qaisuni, Hussein Al-Sawwaf, Hanafi Bar'i, and Sheikh Ahmed Nada—the latter being a master of the art who passed away in 1932, two years before the launch of the radio.

The inauguration of the radio was a pivotal event that captured the earliest recorded memories of qaris like Sheikh Muhammad Rif’at (1882–1950). He inaugurated Egyptian radio with his voice on May 31, 1934, earning his place in history as a founding figure of this art form.

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Although Rif’at was already renowned for his unique, beautiful voice and profound emotional depth decades before the radio’s launch, the medium granted him immortality. For nearly a decade, he remained the most prominent qari in terms of presence and popularity—a radio superstar rivaled only by Umm Kulthum and Abdel Wahab—until illness prevented him from reciting in 1943. He held a special place in the hearts of listeners, a status that remains undisputed to this day.

From Sheikh Rifa'at’s generation, there was another reciter—older than him and considered the earliest famous qari whose voice has been preserved for us: Sheikh Ali Mahmoud (1878–1943). He was a reciter, singer, and munshid (religious chanter) who had recorded several vocal albums in the 1920s; however, only six recordings of his Quran recitations have survived, most likely recorded during private gatherings.

Yet, the most significant name of that generation following Sheikh Rif’at is Sheikh Abd al-Fattah al-Sha’sha\i (1890–1962), who was the second qari to broadcast on the radio. He began his career as a vocalist before becoming a Quran reciter. Only a few recordings of his recitations have survived. He possessed a magnificent voice and held a distinguished position in the art of recitation. He lived a long life, leaving behind a rich audio legacy in which he maintained his vocal power and brilliance until his final days.

The Golden Age of the Sacred Art of Quranic Recitation

During the 1930s, several qaris from subsequent generations joined the radio service. The most prominent among them were Sheikh Taha Al-Fashni (1900–1971) and Sheikh Abdul-Azim Zahir (1904–1971). They were followed by two young qaris who rose to prominence before the age of twenty—Sheikh Abu al-Ainain Shuaisha (1922–2011) and Sheikh Kamil Yusuf al-Bahtimi (1922–1969)—who recited on the radio for a time, left, and then returned in the 1940s.

The 1940s and the early 1950s saw the arrival of several distinguished reciters at the radio station; today, they are celebrated for the artistic evolution they brought to the history of recitation, their widespread popularity, and the richness of their recorded works.

The Most Famous and Influential Egyptian Qaris

Notable among these famous reciters are Mahmoud Khalil al-Husari (1917–1980), Mahmoud Ali al-Banna (1926–1985), Abdul-Basit Muhammad Abdul-Samad (1927–1988), and Muhammad Siddiq al-Minshawi (1920–1969), alongside Sheikh Shuaisha and Sheikh Al-Bahtimi, who had joined the radio service earlier. The central figure of this era—and the most influential and prolific qari—was Sheikh Mustafa Ismail (1905–1978).

Sheikh Mustafa Ismail entered the realm of radio broadcasting from a position of high prestige: the Royal Palace. In 1944, following a highly acclaimed recitation in Cairo, he was invited from his village in Tanta to the Royal Palace. He served as the Royal Palace’s qari for eight years—until the Egyptian monarchy was overthrown in 1952—with the radio broadcasting his recitations directly from the palace before he officially joined the station’s roster of qaris.

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Sheikh Mustafa Ismail is credited with the most significant artistic evolution in the field of recitation; he imbued the art form with greater appeal, transforming long, melodic phrases into the captivating style of recitation that audiences desired.

Driven by these artistic innovations—made possible by the extraordinary vocal range God had bestowed upon him—the very nature of recitation shifted. Audiences in public gatherings, mosques, funeral processions, and other venues began to engage more deeply with the Quran. This transformation is clearly evident in Sheikh Mustafa Ismail’s recorded recitations.

Sheikh Mustafa Ismail’s contemporaries were influenced by his artistic innovations, which eventually became established norms for them. From the 1950s onwards, the art of recitation emerged as a vital instrument of soft power for both Islam and Egypt. Qaris rose to stardom, receiving annual invitations to perform across Arab, Islamic, and even non-Islamic nations. They garnered immense popularity in places like Morocco and Indonesia; through this generation, the Egyptian style of recitation became the standard for the Islamic world, heard and emulated globally.

The 1960s and Beyond: The Loss of Egypt’s Centrality in Recitation

The 1960s saw a surge in the recording of recitation events and the emergence of new formats, such as the Tarteel (measured, rhythmic recitation) style of the entire Quran. First recorded by Sheikh Mahmoud Khalil al-Husari in 1960—and subsequently by four other renowned reciters—this development opened new avenues for listening to Quranic recitations. It marked the first time an audio record of the complete Quran was produced, paving the way for similar projects.

During the 1960s, radio introduced audiences to a number of talented qaris possessing varying degrees of skill. However, none quite matched the creative brilliance or popularity of their predecessors. This shift may be attributed to changes in radio’s technical parameters or, perhaps, an evolution in public listening tastes. Among the most famous qaris to join the radio ranks in the 1960s were Ibrahim al-Sha’sha’i, Muhammad Abdul-Aziz Hassan, Ahmed Muhammad Amer, and Muhammad Ahmed Shabib. However, the 1970s witnessed a transformation that caused radio to lose its central role; cassette players proliferated in villages, broadcasting the voices of reciters of varying calibers. Companies established across Egypt’s provinces focused their production on local qaris who lacked radio accreditation—some of whom had even been banned from reciting by Al-Azhar—thereby reducing radio to merely one of several distribution channels.

This shift predated the widespread dissemination of these recitations via the internet, where individual reciters maintained their own websites, YouTube channels, and social media pages to livestream performances in high-definition video—free from the oversight, licensing, artistic classification, or scholarly guidance of specialized committees. Undoubtedly, this open landscape eroded established hierarchies, compromised the general artistic standard, and leveled the playing field among all reciters.

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