ABDULBASIT MOHAMED ABDUS-SWAMAD (RA) - A Renown Reciter of the Holy Quran AbdulBasit Abdus-Swamad (Rahimahullah) was born in 1927 in a village near Armant city, Southern Egypt and died in November 30, 1988 (aged 62) in Cairo, Egypt. AbdulBasit was a renowned Qaari (reciter of the Quran). As such, many modern reciters try to imitate his style. He won three world Qiraat competitions in the early 1970s. One of the first huffaadh to make commercial recordings of his recitations, and the first president of the Reciters Union in Egypt. AbdulBasit began Hifdhul Quran when was only 6yrs and completed at 10 under Sheikh Ameer. He used to walk 3km to hear Sheikh Rif’at recite Quran on the radio. He began imitating his style of Qiraat and by 12 people were calling him Sheikh. He then studied Qiraat under Sheikh Saleem Hamadah. He was invited to recite Qiraat from age of 13 In 1950 he recited in Cairo and his fame spread in Egypt. In 1951 AbdulBasit was approved to recite on the radio station Idha’atul Quraanul Kareem. Egyptians began buying radios only to hear him reciting. In 1953 he was appointed official reciter at Masjid al-Imam ash-Shafi where he remained for 15 years, then Masjid al-Husain from 1985-1988. He was raised in an environment which nourished his motivating force and passion for reciting the Quran. His father Mohammed Abdus-Swamad and grand father Abdus-Swamad, were both recognized and respected for memorizing and reciting the Holy Quran. Once, he was reciting verses from sura al-Ahzab (The Confederates) he was requested to recite for longer than his allotted 10 minutes by the audience, and he continued to recite for over an hour and a half; his listeners were captivated by his mastery of pitch, tone and the rules of tajweed (Quranic recitation). AbdulBasit travelled to many countries to recite Quran, among them; Saudi Arabia, Palestine, Jordan, Syria, Algeria, Iraq, Malaysia, Indonesia, Pakistan, India, South Africa (1966 and 1981), Senegal, Somalia, USA, UK and Russia. He was awarded 12 medals from different governments. In his visit to Indonesia, Jakarta, he recited the Quran in countrys 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. He also recited for more than two hours at the Darul Uloom Deobands 100 years celebration in the early 1980s where scholars from all over the world were present in the thousands. In 1987, whilst on a visit to America, Abdus-Swamad related a story from one trip he made to the Soviet Union, with then Egyptian president Jamal Abdel Nassir. He was asked to recite for some leaders of the Soviet party. Abdus-Swamad recounts that four to five of his listeners from the Communist Party were in tears on hearing the recitation, although they didnt understand what was being recited, but they cried, apparently touched by the Quran. Indira Gandhi, an Indian prime minister and political leader always felt touched by his recitation and would stop alongside to appreciate his recitation. Sheikh AbdulBasit had 11 children: 7 sons and 4 daughters, all of whom memorised the Quran. Following his fathers footsteps, the elder son Yasir has also become a Qaari. May Allah SW rest his soul in peace and grant him Jannah.
Posted on: Tue, 20 Jan 2015 06:59:26 +0000