Qari ‘Abdul-Basit ‘Abdus-Samad
(1927–1988)
(عبد الباسط عبد الصمد), was a renowned Qari (reciter of the Qur'an). As such, many modern reciters try to
imitate his style. Qari to have won three world Qira'at competitions in the
early 1970s. ‘Abdus-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, and a key sura in the five daily Islamic
canonical prayers
Early life
‘Abdul-Basit was born in
a village near Armant city
in southern Egypt. He was raised in an environment which nourished his
motivating force and passion for reciting the Quran. His father Mohammed
Abdus-Samad and grand father Abdus-Samad, were both recognized and respected
for memorizing and reciting the Quran.
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 tajweed
(Qur'anic recitation).
Travles
‘Abdus-Samad travelled extensively outside Egypt; in 1961, he recited
at the Badshahi Masjid, in Lahore Pakistan as
well as reciting in one of the biggest Tablighi Madrasa's in Bangladesh, the
Hathazari Madrasa in Chittagong. He visited Indonesia (1964/1965 ), Jakarta,
and recited the Qur'an at the biggest Mosque. The audience filled the entire
room of the mosque, including the frontyard; about a 1/4 of a million people
were hearing his recitation till dawn. Also in Pekalongan (city of Batik ), he
recited at the Masjid Jame' (Masjid Kauman), His recitation captivated the
whole audience. In 1987, whilst on a visit to America, ‘Abdus-Samad related a
story from one trip he made to the Soviet Union,
with then Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Naser.
‘Abdus-Samad was asked to recite for some leaders of the Soviet
party. ‘Abdus-Samad recounts that four to five of his listeners from the
Communist Party were in tears on hearing the recitation, although they didn't
understand what was being recited, but they cried, apparently touched by the
Qur'an.
Indira Gandhi, an Indian prime minister and
political leader always felt touched by his recitation and would stop alongside
to appreciate his recitation.
‘Abdus-Samad died of acute hepatitis on Wednesday, November 30,
1988, and is survived by his three sons (from oldest to the youngest): Yasir,
Hisham, and Tariq. Following his father's footsteps, Yasir has also become a Qari.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abdul_Basit_%27Abd_us-Samad
