Every situation is a lesson to be learned and recitation is the best of it. Shaikh Abdul Basit ‘Abd us-Samad recites Quran in renowned way, by this believes he won three world Qirat competitions in the early 1970’s. Abdul Basit cites the many event as a miracle he had experienced during one of his travels, reminiscent of other accounts in Islamic history of Mecca converts from recitation.
Abdul Basit was born in a village called Armant in the southern part of Egypt in 1927. He memorised the Qur’an and became a hafiz with its seven readings.He was invited to recite during the Tarawih prayers at local mosques during Ramadan when he was just 14 years old. Abdul Basit was greatly influenced by the famous reciter Muhammad Rifat and used to walk miles to listen to his recitations on the radio.
In 1950, he came to Cairo where Muslims in many mosques were captivated by his recitations. On one occasion, he was reciting verses from Sura al-Ahzab (The Confederates), he was requested to recite for longer than his allotted 10 minutes by his audience, and continued to recite for over an hour and a half; his listeners were captured by his mastery of pitch, tone and the rules of tajwid (Qur’anic recitation).
Shaikh ‘Abd us-Samad was one of the first huffaz to make commercial recordings of his recitations, and the first president of the newly formed Reciters’ Union in Egypt. He is best known for his recitation of Sura Al-Fatiha, the first chapter of the Qur’an.
“A true Muslim is the one who does not defame or abuse others; but the truly righteous becomes a refuge for humankind, their lives and their properties“