Majd Al-Hadmi
Translated and modified
by QFM
With the early appearance of the
radio in our countries as a popular instrument, the radio stations have sought
to bring the reciters of the Holy Quran to recite in specific times across the
air.
This was clearly demonstrated
during the period of the British occupation and the Jordanian rule, and this
practice has remained to this day. The period between the 1940s and 90s
witnessed frequent visits of famous reciters from the Islamic world, especially
from Egypt, whose readers are distinguished by their method of investigating
recitation according to the rules of Tajweed which is based on the long
breathing and toning between the vocal sounds.
This method is a pictorial
reading of the Quranic text by the voice of the reciter, so it has been more
popular and more accepted than other methods by the people of al-Quds.
In 1942, Sheikh Abu Al-Enein
visited al-Aqsa Mosque after he received an invitation from the British Near
East Radio, which was based in Jaffa. He read several recitations during the
month of Ramadan. he was the first Egyptian reciter
to recite Quran in al-Aqsa Mosque in our modern era.
In 1957, Sheikh Mohammed Siddiq
Al-Menshawi visited al-Aqsa Mosque and impressed the worshipers with his voice,
which they received directly after they heard it through the radio station.
He read different parts of surat
Al-Isra, Mariam, Al-Fajr, and Al-Balad and they were the most beautiful
recitations that he read in al-Aqsa. According to what we found in this short
research, Al-Menshawi visited al-Aqsa Mosque four times, in 1957, 1961, 1962,
1964.
The broadcasters were following
Sheikh Mohammed Siddiq Al-Menshawi to record his recitations because of the
scarcity of his voice and the tranquillity that he conveys to his audiences.
He has several remarkable situations, he
refused to join the delegation of the Egyptian reciters who visited al-Quds in
1968 after it fell down under the Israeli occupation. Sheikh Al-Manshawi died
in 1969.
In addition, Sheikh Abdul Basit
Abdul Samad who is remarkable by his golden larynx visited al-Aqsa Mosque in
1964. He read several famous recitations from surat Al-Isra, Alanbia’a,
Al-Ahzab, Al-Naml and all the short surats.
Sheikh Muhammad Salah al-Din
Kabara - Sheikh of the reciters of Tripoli- also recited in al-Aqsa Mosque in
1947, and had wonderful recitations at al-Aqsa Mosque during his stay in
al-Quds for a year.
He also recorded some recitations
for Al-Quds Radio during his period of residence before the occupation of
Palestine, and visited al-Quds again in 1964 to recite during the holy month of
Ramadan.
The general Sheikh of the
Egyptian reciters Sheikh Mahmoud Khalil Al-Husari also visited al-Aqsa Mosque
in 1968, and read several different recitations.
Sheikh Muhammad Salah al-Din
Kabara and Sheikh Mahmoud Khalil Al-Husari
The famous Sheikh Mustafa Ismail
also recited in al-Aqsa Mosque during his several visits in the fifties and
sixties of the last century. Most recently when he was accompanied by the
Egyptian President Mohamed Anwar Al-Sadat in 1977 during his visit to al-Quds
before signing the Camp David agreement.
Sheikh Mustafa Ismail recited in al-Aqsa
Mosque during the Eid prayer before Al-Sadat's speech in the Zionist Knesset.
Sheikh Mustafa Ismail at al-Aqsa
Mosque
In spite of the popular rejection
of Al-Sadat’s visit to al-Quds, and although the people of al-Quds received
Al-Sadat by the controversies, in addition to condemning the closure of al-Aqsa
Mosque after preventing the people to enter al-Aqsa for the Eid prayer because
of Al-Sadat's visit, but the perception towards the reciters was separate and
different, the people were admired be their performance and welcomed them by
warm reception.
This perception is not limited to those who
accompanied Al-Sadat, but also includes multiple visits of a number of reciters
who visited al-Quds after the 1978 Egyptian-Israeli peace agreement (Camp
David).
Reciters from outside Palestine
were also invited to participate in the national and social events. It is worth
mentioning here the invitation of the Palestinian Red Crescent Society in
al-Quds to Sheikh Mustafa Ismail to attend its monthly social medical
symposium, convened by the society, which was then headed by Dr. Salim Maatouq.
Moreover, Sheikh Mohammed Ali
Al-Banna, Mahmoud Siddiq Al-Menshawi, Mahmoud Tablawi, Mohammad Al-Tukhi,
Mohammed Al-Abd, and other reciters of the Islamic world read and recited the
holy Quran in al-Aqsa Mosque.
The most prominent reciters of
the local radio, (from Palestine) is the reciter Sheikh Abdullah Yusuf, who
used to recite at al-Aqsa Mosque in the official recitations, Friday prayers
and Eid prayers as a reciter of al-Aqsa Mosque. He was distinguished by his
beautiful voice, his elegant dress with his formal suit, and his kuffiyeh which
is always covered his head.
The voice of Sheikh Abdullah
Yusuf remained in the memory of the people of al-Quds, remembered by the
generations who heard him on the Jordanian television which continued to
broadcast his recitations after his death (1988-1989). He has several different
recordings of the Holy Quran and prayers.
The reader of the Ibrahimi
Mosque, Sheikh Mohammad Rashad Al-Sharif also visited Al-Aqsa Mosque. He was
also reciting in al-Quds Radio in the 1940s. Sheikh Al-Sharif was hired in 1966
as a reciter of al-Aqsa Mosque, the only reciter of al-Aqsa who recorded the
whole Quran. He visited al-Aqsa Mosque three years ago, and it was his last
visit before his death in Amman last year.
Sheikh Mohammad Rashad Al-Sharif
recites Quran at al-Aqsa Mosque
Among the reciters who received
the honor of reciting the holy Quran in al-Aqsa Mosque; Sheikh Dawood Attallah,
Yasser Qulibu, Mohammed Al-Ghazzawi, Atta Shaher Rashid and Naji Al-Qazzaz.
After the Palestinian Authority took over the
administration of the West Bank and Gaza, official invitations were sent to the
Egyptian Ministry of Awqaf to send Egyptian reciters to read at the al-Aqsa
Mosque during the month of Ramadan. This tradition remained until 2002.