Abdul Basit 'Abd us-Samad

Sheikh Qari Abdul Basit 'Abd us-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. He is the only Qari to have won three world Qirat competitions in the early 1970s. 'Abd us-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 called Armant in southern Egypt.

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 .

Travels

'Abd us-Samad travelled extensively outside Egypt; in 1961, he recited at the Badshahi Masjid, in Lahore, Pakistan. In 1987, whilst on a visit to America, 'Abd us-Samad related a story from one trip he made to the Soviet Union, with then Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser.

'Abd us-Samad was asked to recite for some leaders of the Soviet party . He chose to recite Sura Ta-Ha, which is an important sura in Islamic history; it...
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