Tilāwah: Sūrah al-Takwīr

Riwāyah: al-Sūsī ʿan Abū ʿAmr

Archive: Colombo, 1441

The Recitation

The recitation of Sūrah al-Takwīr awakened the audience to the remembrance of Imām Ḥusayn AS’s hardships, when, on the day of ʿĀshūrā, this sun of Ḥijāz lay deserted in the burning sands of Karbala. No word of adjective qualifies to fitly describe the stirring emotions demonstrated in the recitation today. May Allah Taʿālā bestow bountiful rewards upon the reciters of Qurʾān-e-Majeed.

Today’s recitation commenced on the note of rast and realigned almost immediately to ḥijāz a couple of words later. The maqām ḥijāz continued for the most part of the recitation which eventually settled into a slow and delicate bayāt that gracefully steered it towards completion. No recitation more soulful and emotional was heard before today. Despite its intricate delicateness, the recitation was powerful enough to extract a multitude of tears in the remembrance of Imām Ḥusayn AS.

For the first time in this Ashara Mubaraka, the audience was able to hear the Qurʾān in the beautiful riwāyah of al-Sūsī. Among the characteristics of this riwāyah is the idghām kabīr, a type of idghām (assimilation) which occurs when both elements of idghām are mutaḥarrik and bear the quality of being mithlayn (same), mutaqāribayn (of similar origin) or mutajānisayn (related).

Following are the examples that highlight al-Sūsī’s distinctions in today’s recitation.

Note: The penultimate āyat was recited in jamaʿ (an assemblage of all readings).

Distinctions of al-Sūsī

Questions may be posted below.

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Transitions of Sheikh Mustafa Ismail – Chapter 5

This is the final article of the Mustafa Ismail transition series. It will discuss the transitions of Sheikh Mustafa Ismail from nahāwand into rast.

The previous articles discussed Sheikh Mustafa Ismail’s approach towards nahāwand. This included a discussion of maqāms he uses to transition into and from nahāwand, and also maqāms that he uses alongside nahāwand.

Today, we will see how the Sheikh continues his recitation after nahāwand. A study of the Sheikh’s recitations reveals that in the majority of cases, he transitions from nahāwand into rast. Rast is one of the major maqāms that is used by all the qurrāʾ. It is a beautiful maqām with plenty of room for innovation (ibtikār).

The following examples will demonstrate how the Sheikh transitions from nahāwand into rast, and how he does so directly without any “intermediate” vehicle, unlike what we saw in his transitions into nahāwand.

Example 1

Example 2

Example 3

Example 4

Before playing this clip, prepare yourself to listen to one of the most beautiful renditions of nahāwand and rast ever heard.

May Allah Taʿālā grant a long and healthy life to Dāwūd al-ʿAṣr, our Mawlā al-Dai al-Ajal Syedna ʿĀlī Qadr Mufaddal Saifuddin till the day of reckoning. Our ears yearn for nothing more than listening to the shahādat of Imām Ḥusayn AS in the divine voice of Aqā Mawlā TUS. May endless forthcoming generations of mumineen be blessed with this exalted bounty.