Aa maqalo lisanuddawat ma bhi maujood chhe.

Today’s recitation was reminiscent of previous recitations of Sūrah al-Fatḥ by Al Syed al Ajal Shehzada Husain Bhaisaheb Burhanuddin Saheb DM who began reciting in a rich base voice from the 27th verse (Laqad Sadaqallahu) in the riwāyat of Ḥafṣ ʿan ʿĀṣim. The brief recitation consisted of the 27th, 28th and 29th verse of Sūrah al-Fatḥ. Interestingly, the entire recitation was delivered in the Shāṭibiyah variant of Ḥafṣ which is customary for Shehzada Saheb DM when the recitation is purely Ḥafṣ.

The main indicator to differentiate between the Shāṭibiyah and other Ḥafṣ variants is to keep track of the munfaṣil madd. If the munfaṣil madd is recited with tawassuṭ (4 or 5 ḥarakāt), it is most likely that the recitation is in the Shāṭibiyah variant. If the munfaṣil madd is recited with qaṣr (2 ḥarakāt), it is most likely that the recitation is in any of the several Ṭayyibah variants that permit qaṣr of the munfaṣil madd.

Shehzada Saheb DM once again ventured into the maqām Ḥijāz towards the end of the recitation. The maqām Ḥijāz, a versatile maqām, serves as a link maqām when a reciter wishes to transition into a maqām on a different scale. An example of Ḥijāz is posted below:

The very supple recitation came to a close with the end of Sūrah al-Fatḥ.

The Reciters of Egypt

Mustafa Ismail

As discussed in previous articles, Egypt has been home to some of the greatest Qur’anic reciters in contemporary times. The mark of a good reciter is his ability to master the various maqāmāt in addition to being an expert in the ten readings of the Qur’an. The latter enables the reciter to embellish their recitation with the farsh and uṣūl of the readings in combination with the various maqāmāt creating a product that draws the audience into listening to the Qur’an instead of that which is prohibited in Islam.

One such reciter is Shaikh Mustafa Ismail. Born to a farmer in Tanta, Egypt, Mustafa Ismail completed memorizing the Qur’an at the young age of 12. At the recommendation of a senior reciter, Sheikh Mohamed Rif’at, he enrolled in an academy in Tanta itself. By now, he was becoming locally known as a man with a sweet voice who recited in his own unique manner without imitating any known reciter. In his early twenties, he left Tanta for Cairo and, fortuitously, got an opportunity to recite on the Izāʿah radio in Cairo which maintains a very high standard for selecting its reciters. This was the year 1943 when Egypt was a monarchy ruled by King Farouk. Upon listening to his recitation on the radio, the King appointed Mustafa Ismail as the official reciter of the Royal Court. In 1944, the Izāʿah radio appointed him as the official reciter for reciting the Qur’an on Fridays in the Jami al Azhar.

In post-monarchic Egypt, Mustafa Ismail found favour with the new president, Anwar al Sadat and accompanied him on the historical presidential visit to Al Quds (Jerusalem) in 1977.

Mustafa Ismail was a master of maqāmāt and many composers and fellow reciters regarded him very highly.

He toured several countries and visited London and Paris among other places to deliver recitations. He passed away in 1978.

Below is a short recitation by Mustafa Ismail:

Ajwibat-uz-Zakireen

1. For the zikr of Al Dai al Ajal Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin RA and his saaye balīghah in making mumineen generous:

2. For the zikr of Amīrul Mu’mineen SA’s generosity which was also acknowledged by Muawiyah LA:

3. For the zikr of Al Dai al Ajal Syedna Taher Saifuddin RA on the subject of iqbāl and idbār:

4. For the zikr of Al Dai al Ajal Syedna Taher Saifuddin RA on the subject of selecting appropriate words to avoid accusing someone:

5. In the same context as above (verses from the following kalam – only the matla has been posted here):

6. On the zikr of mumineen in Paris benefiting from the waaz mubarak live:

شکر جتنا کریں کم ہیں – مولیٰ مولیٰ صدا دینگے

7. On the zikr of assimilating mumineen who have arrived here unregistered:

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Thank you for reading.