In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
All praise is due to God, Lord of the Worlds, and may peace and greetings be upon our Master and our Prophet, Abul-Qasim al-Mustafa Muhammad, and upon his untainted, pure, chosen Progeny, particularly the Remnant of God on earth.
I am grateful to Almighty God that this gathering is being held again and for this pleasant, beautiful meeting and listening experience that this session provides. I also praise and thank Almighty God for the continuous increase in the number of Quran reciters. Today, our eyes and ears were enlightened, and we truly enjoyed the recitations that were performed by individuals from different cities, of various ages, and in diverse styles. They were all devoted to the Quran and reciting. I was also very pleased to see Mr. Rouhaninejad again. After more than 40 years, we heard his voice again.
He had an incredible voice in his youth at the time when he was a student of Mr. Mokhtari, may God’s mercy be on the late Mr. Mokhtari’s soul. That remarkable voice of his, praise God. My congratulations on the start of the holy month of Ramadan, which is truly a great Eid for the believers and those who are appreciative of it. We ask Almighty God to make this Ramadan a true celebration and blessing for the entire Iranian nation and for each and every one of you.
What I believe is important is for us to be able to quench society's thirst — our own society first — with the inexhaustible fountain of the Quran. We need this. We need it very much. There are problems in our individual lives, our personal lives, our morals, our behavior, and our spiritual growth that can be solved with the Quran. This also applies to our life in society, which includes relationships within society. That is, our communications with one another, our cooperating with each other, our interactions, and our mutual affection for one another. Another part [of our life] involves our dealing with those outside our society. These are our concerns. In all of these areas — both in personal matters and in social issues within the society as well as outside the society — we face challenges that can be solved using the Quran. The Quran can guide us in these areas and take us by the hand.
Today, in terms of our relations with the world outside our own society, the Iranian nation is faced with a vast front of power-hungry unbelievers or hypocrites. This is the [current] situation. We don’t have problems with other nations. Nations are either brothers with each other, or if they aren’t, they leave each other alone. It’s the power-hungry who meddle in the affairs of countries and nations. Today, we are among those countries that face a broad front of such power-hungry people. How should we deal with them? The Quran contains guidance on how to deal with them. The Quran makes it clear when we should speak with them, when we should cooperate with them, when we should strike them in the mouth, and when we should draw the sword. All of these are clearly outlined in the Quran.
Regarding social issues within the society — our relationships — you know that according to Islam, after monotheism, Islamic understanding, and being connected with God, the most important matter in the formation of an Islamic society is justice — social justice. After monotheism, the prophets didn’t invite people to anything as much as they invited them to justice. We have problems in the area of social justice, and the solution to this is in the Quran.
In terms of our personal lives and our personal condition, we are afflicted with moral and spiritual diseases. Not just us, but all of humanity today is suffering from these spiritual and moral ailments. People are afflicted with envy, stinginess, suspicion, laziness, pursuing desires, selfishness, and the tendency to prioritize their own interests over those of the society as a whole. These matters exist. These matters exist among us too, although we are an Islamic society. We have made some progress in certain areas, but at the same time, we also suffer from these afflictions. The remedy lies in the Quran. If the Quran is recited correctly — and I will briefly mention something about that shortly — if the Quran is recited and it is listened to, these ailments will be alleviated.
Not only does the Quran tell us the remedy — pay attention to this — it also shows us the way and creates motivation within us. This is important. There are many people who know the way, but they lack motivation. Intellectual and moral systems are unable to create motivation in them. The Quran generates that motivation. When the Quran is recited well, we listen well, and we contemplate it well, we can achieve remarkable results and cure our ailments.
The Quran itself has highlighted this matter, "It is He who sent to the illiterate [people] a Messenger from among themselves to recite to them His communications" (62:2). Recitation — it says he recites the verses. What is the result that comes from reciting the verses? "To purify them" (62:2). The recitation of these verses leads to purification. What does purification mean? It means a healing of the soul and heart. That is the meaning of purification. The human heart, spirit, and soul are healed of those ailments I mentioned earlier. This is what purification means. The Quran does this. The recitation of the Quran purifies.
"And to teach them the Book" (62:2). He teaches the Book to the people. What is the Book? The Book is the framework of individual and social life. It’s what God Almighty has termed "the Truth" in Quranic and religious expressions. The Book is the overall framework of individual and social life, the shape of social and individual life — a collection which the "Book" contains it, clarifies it, and is an expression of it. "And to teach them the Book and the Wisdom" (62:2). What is Wisdom? It’s knowledge, an understanding of the truths of the universe. [Something] that allows people to grasp the truths of the universe. The recitation of the Book teaches us these things.
"To recite to them." The Prophet (pbuh) recites the Quran to the people in order to accomplish the following things, "Purification, teaching the Book, and teaching Wisdom." What do you do? You, who are reciters, are doing the same work as the Prophet. You also recite. The act of recitation is a prophetic task. The recitation of the Quran is of such great importance — that you can change Quranic concepts into ideas that are accepted by the general public. There are thousands of important titles and headings in the Quran. For example, consider the verses “… so that people may maintain justice" (57:25), "Adopt [a policy of] excusing [the faults of people]" (7:199), and "Remember Allah with frequent remembrance" (33:41). All of these are different titles and headings.
One of the duties and functions of your recitation, if done correctly, is to change these concepts into certainties accepted by society’s thinking. It should become an established matter in society that one must maintain justice and that one must remember God, "Remember Allah with frequent remembrance"; that one must forgive his/her brothers and sisters, "Adopt [a policy of] excusing [the faults of people]"; that one must "fight in the way of Allah" (4:74); and the other concepts that exist in the Quran. This isn’t an overstatement. There are thousands of titles, topics, and headings in the Quran that can become a part of the common intellectual knowledge of the general populace. What makes this possible? Good recitation. [That’s when] the people’s Quranic knowledge will increase, and they will think in the way that the Quran has taught.
A person's movements and the way they walk are often a reflection of their thoughts. So reading and reciting the Quran, the work that you are doing, is this important. It can work miracles and produce remarkable results. However, this is contingent upon observing the etiquettes for recitation. This is what makes your duty more significant. You need to follow the proper etiquettes for recitation.
The first etiquette is that when you recite the Quran — whether you are by yourself at home or among a group here or anywhere else — you need to keep in mind that you are in the presence of God and are reading His words. Be mindful of the fact that you are in the presence of the Lord and you’re conveying His message and delivering His words to us. This will create a certain feeling in you. This is very important. That is the first etiquette.
Read the Quran while paying attention to its meaning. Today, I noticed that some of our brothers did this effectively, and the recitations were read while paying attention to the meaning of the words. Sometimes no attention is paid to the meaning, [so] the recitation has no impact. When you pay attention to the meaning and understand what truth is emerging from your throat — this is what it means to pay attention to meaning — it has an impact. A person may be a native Arabic speaker and Arabic is their mother tongue, but they don’t pay attention to the words they are uttering. In other words, it is essential that we understand what we’re reciting. This is what it means to pay attention to the meaning.
And recite the Quran using tarteel. Of course, in the terminology that is common among us today, tarteel refers to the way that recitations are read in these Quranic gatherings. A few people sit and recite in a style that is called tarteel. But that’s not tarteel. [When the Quran states,] "And recite the Quran [with tarteel] in a measured tone" (73:4), tarteel means reading the Quran with comprehension, contemplation, and pauses. "We have sent the Quran in [discrete] parts so that you may recite it for the people a little at a time" (17:106). This is tarteel. Tarteel is a spiritual matter. Know what you are doing, what you are reciting, what you are delivering to the person in front of you, and in what form you are presenting it.
This is also important and I may touch upon this as well. That’s what tarteel is. Of course, according to the conventional methods that are now well-known among reciters and those who have written about Quranic recitation, the Quran is recited in one of three ways: tahqeeq, tadweer, and tahdeer (hadr). Tadweer is something in the middle, and it’s what we now refer to as tarteel. Its scientific and technical name is tadweer. Above this is tahqeeq, which is the type of recitation you perform. Below that is hadr or tahdeer, which means reading the Quran quickly and rapidly. If the Quran is recited using tarteel — in the sense that I mentioned, not in the commonly understood sense — it will have an impact.
As a note on the side, let me say that reciting the Quran in the tadweer style, which we call tarteel, is a very important, interesting task. The fact that it has now become widespread throughout the entire country — in Mashhad, Qom, Jamkaran, Khuzestan, Ahvaz, Tabas — everywhere they recite the Quran and it is broadcast on television, this is something very valuable. This is a very good practice.
I may not be able to properly describe for you the immense joy and happiness I feel when I see different reciters coming together to read the Quran, both with proper tajweed and with correct pauses and starts, along with a beautiful, accurate articulation of the letters. This is truly remarkable. It’s very good. The more widespread this becomes [such gatherings] the better. In any case, tarteel in the sense that I have mentioned is a prerequisite for our recitations to be effective.
The third point is that the reciter’s goal in their recitation should primarily be to benefit themselves. When you recite the Quran, your primary intention should be to benefit yourself. Next, your aim should be to benefit your audience. Third, use the necessary stylistic and vocal embellishments appropriate for the Quran. These embellishments — a good voice, a pleasant tone, and the good styles that reciters employ — aren’t a problem. Fortunately, we see among our reciters — those whose recitations are broadcast on television or elsewhere, which I occasionally have the opportunity to see — that many of their recitations and melodic tones aren’t copied from others. They’re tones that they’re creating.
In the past, during the early days of the Revolution, our reciters had to imitate one of the famous Egyptian reciters, such as Abdul Basit, Mustafa Ismail, Minshawi, or others like them. But today, I see that this is no longer the case. Of course, there’s nothing wrong with imitation. In other words, if someone imitates a voice, the tone of a skilled reciter, learns that tone, and imitates it, there’s nothing wrong with that and it’s perfectly fine. But nowadays in our country, praise God, our reciters are creating their own original styles. You can see this in some of them. So if your primary goal is to benefit yourself and to affect yourself, and your secondary goal is to have an impact on your audience, if this is achieved, your listener will also gain humbleness. The audience’s humbleness before the Quran is the result of the nature of your recitation.
When you recite well — well, in the sense I’ve just described — you inspire humbleness in your audience’s heart. This humbleness is something very valuable and important. A state of remembering God is achieved. "Remember Allah with frequent remembrance, and glorify Him morning and evening" (Quran 33:41-42). This glorification, this remembrance, and this humbleness that are created in your heart as a result of the recitation are very valuable. We need these.
Of course, one of the issues in our country and other non-Arab countries is the matter of understanding the meaning, which is a problem we need to solve in some way. It’s one of the challenges we face. Fortunately, things have changed greatly today. When our reciters read nowadays, you can tell they’re paying attention to the meaning. They understand the meaning and are communicating with their audience. That’s not how it was in the early days of the Revolution. They would recite without understanding the meaning. As a result, this led to many lacks in the quality and style of their recitations and also in other aspects such as pauses and starts.
Praise God, it is good today, but this needs to become more widespread. In other words, when your audience listens to the Quran, they too need to comprehend what you are saying even if it is something general. This requires effort, and the responsibility for that effort falls upon the Ministry of Education and Edification, the Islamic Development Organization, and the Quranic institutions that are working in the field of the Quran. They need to sit down, think, and truly find ways. Of course, one approach is to write translations, which they do, and that’s good. But there are other ways as well that they need to explore and discover. This was about the reciter’s inner disposition and heart. Like I said, the reciter must recite the Quran while paying attention to the proper conditions.
The reciter’s appearance is also important. First, his demeanor should be that of a righteous person. At the beginning of the Revolution, whenever a reciter from a certain country wanted to come here, one of the conditions we would stipulate was that he must have a beard. Since they don’t consider shaving one’s beard to be something forbidden, they shave their beards. Even though he may be a cleric, he still shaves his beard. We made this a condition that when they would come to Tehran, this wasn’t allowed. All of them accepted this. I don’t recall a single case where someone didn’t comply.
Many reciters came. They were well-known reciters, the so-called famous reciters of their time, most of whom have now passed away. They all grew beards. None of them had beards when they would go to the places where they usually recited or in other countries, but they had beards here. This idea of being a righteous person is very important. Our own reciters must observe this as well. Since having a beard is a sign of righteousness and a mark of the virtuous, this is something that a reciter must definitely observe, especially a reciter who is going to perform on television, in public gatherings, in a mosque, or elsewhere.
The same applies to clothing. I was telling a friend of mine, who was often traveling, that when our reciters go to various countries — they are often welcomed, greatly admired, and received warmly — some of our reciters wear the local attire of those countries. I asked him, "Why? Why do you wear their clothes? You’re Iranian. Wear your own suit. At most, you could perhaps just drape an aba over your shoulders.” They wear the hats of those countries or dress in their garments, or some even wear the clothes of a certain Egyptian reciter, which is also a topic of discussion in itself. Why should they do such a thing? Maintain your own distinct, Iranian appearance.
Another issue regarding the appearance of reciting is avoiding forbidden melodies [alhan haram]. Pay attention to this. In the last gathering we had, which I believe was last year, I mentioned the names of several reciters. I was told, “The person you mentioned has many fans.” Yes, I know he has many fans. I enjoy his recitations as well. However, sometimes his recitation style is such that one notices, for example, that it isn’t any different from that of a certain Egyptian singer. It’s the same style. He’s reciting in the same way.
It isn’t a Quranic melody. A Quranic melody is something different, and it isn’t in conflict with good recitation. Right now, those of you who have recited here, these talented reciters of ours and those who recite even better than them, have lovely melodies. They recite well, it is beautiful and pleasing to listen to, and it isn’t Islamically forbidden. Therefore, it’s possible to avoid haram melodies.
I’ve already mentioned that there’s nothing wrong with imitating someone else’s recitation style. However, I truly cannot comprehend why we should put effort to hold festivals to train imitators. I don’t know where this idea comes from. For example, we sit down and teach people, "If you want to recite like Sheikh Mustafa Ismail, you have to read this part in this specific manner!" I don’t see why we should teach this. Now, if someone happens to learn something like this on their own, that’s fine. It isn’t a problem. By the way, I was the first to bring Mustafa Ismail's tapes to Mashhad. I ordered them from Arab countries and we distributed them. People in Mashhad didn’t know who Mustafa Ismail was. [I mean,] I admire his recitations, but the idea of teaching and telling our children, "Come and imitate him, Minshawi, Ahmed Shabib, or anyone else," doesn’t seem very logical to me.
One of the points to note is that various institutions are responsible for matters related to the Quran and are involved with the Quran. The Ministry of Culture is involved with the Quran, the Islamic Development Organization is involved, the Organization of Endowments and Charity Affairs is involved, the national broadcasting organization (IRIB) is involved, and there are other various institutions as well. Individual citizens and community groups are also involved with the Quran. Well, they should collaborate and help each other. The way to achieve this is that the Supreme Quran Council that has been established and determine policies, those policies should be taken into consideration. This is an important, beneficial task. We need to ensure that Quranic activities across the country are in line with various objectives and issues.
I noticed that some scholars of the Quran had held discussions — some of which were shared with me — and they raised important, noteworthy points about Quranic matters and issues related to recitation. They addressed these topics, emphasized them, and focused on them. Well, these efforts should be benefited from. In particular, the IRIB should welcome high-quality Quranic productions. They should truly support this. We currently have very good, outstanding productions in the field of recitations of the Quran. These need to be used so that people can benefit from them.
Fortunately, our country’s progress in the field of the Quran has been rapid. Compared to other countries that we’ve seen, it has been significantly faster. In a country where the Quran was once neglected, where recitations of the Quran were limited, and in large cities there were only two, three, or at most five Quranic gatherings, with perhaps six or seven reciters who recited the Quran well and with proper tajweed, praise God, throughout the entire country now — even in small towns and perhaps in some villages — there are talented, outstanding reciters who recite.
Well, these are areas where we stand out, and they cannot claim that the Islamic Republic hasn’t been able to make progress in Quranic matters. No, a great deal of good work has been done, praise God. But even more needs to be done. However, the points I have mentioned must be taken into consideration. That is, the main thing is that the spiritual fountain of the Quran should flow into the minds of the people, into their hearts, and as a result into our actions. That is the main thing. May God grant this success to you and to all of us.
Once again, I would like to thank all of you. I thank the organizers of this meeting as well as the esteemed host who led the meeting so well. I would like to thank each and every individual who recited or performed during today’s program. God willing, may you all be successful.
May God’s greetings, mercy, and blessings be upon you.
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