1 00:00:10,020 --> 00:00:12,150 In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful 2 00:00:12,710 --> 00:00:24,040 I am very thankful to you dear brethren and I really enjoyed [our session] today. 3 00:00:24,240 --> 00:00:35,860 The session [is] a very good, diverse, eloquent, beautiful and rich session. Thank God. 4 00:00:38,750 --> 00:00:55,110 [The fact] that I see, thank God, that every year the signs of progress in recitation of the Quran 5 00:00:56,440 --> 00:01:01,680 are evident among our youth, [and] among our people, 6 00:01:03,880 --> 00:01:05,790 gives me profound satisfaction; I thank God. 7 00:01:06,270 --> 00:01:12,350 Today also, God be praised, thanks to these very good recitations [of the Quran], 8 00:01:13,660 --> 00:01:19,510 [our session] was a rich, and meaningful, and inspiring session, 9 00:01:21,240 --> 00:01:30,260 especially with the notice that this creative, and articulate presenter gave us 10 00:01:30,260 --> 00:01:37,800 about forwarding the [spiritual] reward of these recitations and what took place today in this session, 11 00:01:37,800 --> 00:01:43,040 to the cleansed souls of the recent martyrs whose funeral was held in Tehran. 12 00:01:45,660 --> 00:01:55,350 Recitation of the Quran with a pleasant voice and a pleasant tone and according to rites and customs of recitation 13 00:01:57,820 --> 00:02:03,570 is a prelude to the instillation of the Quranic concepts into the hearts [of the people]. 14 00:02:05,330 --> 00:02:10,370 If we strip it of this benefit 15 00:02:11,680 --> 00:02:20,640 and look upon recitation of the Quran simply as a [performance with] pleasant voice and a musical reading, 16 00:02:22,130 --> 00:02:27,510 it will certainly fall from this lofty position. 17 00:02:30,200 --> 00:02:37,840 This much emphasis that the Quran must be recited with a pleasant voice 18 00:02:38,620 --> 00:02:43,400 and according to [its correct] rites and with pleasant tone, 19 00:02:44,860 --> 00:02:52,640 is aimed at [paving the way for] the Quran’s concepts to impact [people’s] hearts; [make us] become intimate with the Quran; 20 00:02:54,350 --> 00:02:59,970 [and help us] to assume the color of the Quran and the mood of the Quran and the shape of the Quran. 21 00:03:04,770 --> 00:03:14,730 If this is the purpose, then it has [a certain set of] conditions, [and] has [its own] rites. 22 00:03:15,640 --> 00:03:23,330 The first of those rites is that the reader of the Quran and the reciter of the Quran 23 00:03:23,710 --> 00:03:30,020 must recite [the Quran] by acknowledging [the truth of] the Quran, 24 00:03:32,150 --> 00:03:38,570 [and] by believing in the concepts of the Quran; believing in the concepts that he is reciting. 25 00:03:41,220 --> 00:03:54,220 If we do not know what we are reading, [if we] do not understand the concept, [and if those concepts] leave no mark on the depth of our souls, 26 00:03:54,440 --> 00:04:05,200 [then] the impact of our recitation on others and on ourselves would be insignificant. This is the first condition. 27 00:04:08,800 --> 00:04:17,400 What I ask the esteemed reciters and scholars and readers of the Quran 28 00:04:18,080 --> 00:04:27,930 to do is to pay attention to this point. Those verses [of the Quran] that they want to recite, 29 00:04:28,770 --> 00:04:34,840 they [must] review these verses in their minds, think about them, 30 00:04:37,620 --> 00:04:45,020 record the depths of these concepts correctly in their hearts and in their minds; 31 00:04:46,260 --> 00:04:54,480 [and then] recite [the Quran] with this spirit, with this background [and] with this readiness. 32 00:04:55,240 --> 00:04:59,910 Such recitation will influence the depth of souls of the audience. 33 00:05:04,420 --> 00:05:08,110 Of course, you have greatly advanced up to the present day. 34 00:05:09,710 --> 00:05:19,570 I have been observing the course of the Quran’s movement in the country for many years; 35 00:05:20,220 --> 00:05:24,660 today, our young people have progressed very well; 36 00:05:25,000 --> 00:05:29,950 our reciters, [and] our scholars are truly and fairly very good; 37 00:05:32,660 --> 00:05:39,350 however, there is still a lot of room to make an even bigger impact. 38 00:05:41,110 --> 00:05:45,080 I have written down two or three points. 39 00:05:46,060 --> 00:05:55,130 One [point] is that you aim through your recitation to induce the audience with the Quranic concepts. 40 00:05:57,910 --> 00:06:05,330 It is true that most of those listening to you do not understand Arabic and the language of the Quran, 41 00:06:07,750 --> 00:06:15,000 but the miracle of the Quran is for you to induce [your audience with] 42 00:06:16,000 --> 00:06:30,750 these Quranic verses in this situation – when they do not know [Arabic] – [and] from the depth of your soul and according to [correct] conditions. 43 00:06:31,000 --> 00:06:36,240 Concepts, even in brief, will be transferred to [people’s] minds. 44 00:06:41,530 --> 00:06:43,530 Well, this [transfer] has naturally its own conditions. 45 00:06:44,970 --> 00:06:52,860 I hear recitations that they air on recitation radio 46 00:06:52,860 --> 00:06:59,480 – which is a good opportunity [and] a good facility for listening to recitations – 47 00:07:03,220 --> 00:07:10,040 and I hear what our scholars [and] our good reciters read. 48 00:07:10,660 --> 00:07:19,860 Well, fairly speaking, in terms of pleasant voice, our reciters are very good, [and] are very prominent. 49 00:07:19,860 --> 00:07:25,170 These reciters have been, and are being, confirmed by foreigners; 50 00:07:25,370 --> 00:07:32,950 I have heard from them [foreigners] that they appreciate Iranian voices. 51 00:07:33,950 --> 00:07:40,710 Some of your voices are, fairly speaking, of good nature, and of good quality 52 00:07:41,820 --> 00:07:50,260 and enjoy good conditions of a prominent voice, which this should be accompanied with [correct] conditions of recitation. 53 00:07:50,680 --> 00:07:57,860 One condition for recitation [of the Quran] is that this verse of the Quran that you recite, 54 00:07:59,170 --> 00:08:08,950 you must certainly emphasis those points on which under normal circumstances 55 00:08:08,950 --> 00:08:13,350 if you want to make them understood, [you] put emphasis. 56 00:08:13,620 --> 00:08:26,480 If I wanted to draw a parallel with these eulogist gentlemen who read Persian poems, 57 00:08:28,280 --> 00:08:37,370 you see that every word, every purpose that is desired from a sentence 58 00:08:37,480 --> 00:08:43,000 or from a word or from an item, 59 00:08:43,750 --> 00:08:49,620 they] articulate it in such a manner that the concept is infused into the mind of the audience. 60 00:08:49,930 --> 00:08:55,660 [This applies to normal talking as well. [Even] when you are talking in a normal way, 61 00:08:57,020 --> 00:09:06,370 those words whose concepts are prominent from your viewpoint 62 00:09:06,840 --> 00:09:13,200 – the words that carry those concepts – [you] articulate them with a special stress. 63 00:09:13,530 --> 00:09:20,510 The Quran must be read in this way; stress on special words; 64 00:09:21,260 --> 00:09:34,680 articulate sentences and items in such a way that their theme and meaning will be infused into the mind of the audience; 65 00:09:35,110 --> 00:09:38,130 good interpretation; good articulation. 66 00:09:41,910 --> 00:09:49,950 Sometimes it is necessary for a topic to be absorbed by audience’s mind 67 00:09:50,200 --> 00:09:55,040 to repeat a sentence; [in that case] do this repetition. 68 00:09:57,310 --> 00:10:03,330 Perhaps a few years ago and in this very session, I criticized 69 00:10:03,480 --> 00:10:09,170 those [reciters] that repeat the [Quranic] verses excessively. 70 00:10:09,800 --> 00:10:15,860 I want to say that in some places, repetition is certainly necessary, [and] inevitable. 71 00:10:16,950 --> 00:10:23,440 With one time reading, the meaning is not transferred and it must be repeated. 72 00:10:23,510 --> 00:10:30,750 Sometimes a verse must be repeated two times, [or] three times. 73 00:10:31,680 --> 00:10:34,840 Sometimes two verses and three verses must be repeated. 74 00:10:36,820 --> 00:10:40,660 I don’t mean that extreme measures [must] be taken in this regard. 75 00:10:40,840 --> 00:10:52,040 I have seen some Egyptian reciters who go to extremes in this regard; it produces a negative impact. 76 00:10:52,970 --> 00:10:54,370 I do not mean extremes. 77 00:10:54,370 --> 00:11:01,880 That we repeat something ten times or eight times, this is not desirable. 78 00:11:02,150 --> 00:11:06,880 Now, perhaps this is usual in Arabic songs, 79 00:11:06,880 --> 00:11:09,910 but this is not desirable when reading the Quran. 80 00:11:12,260 --> 00:11:20,150 However, repetition to the extent that [it will help] this concept to be infused into the mind of the audience, is necessary. 81 00:11:21,400 --> 00:11:24,280 Sometimes you feel that a reciter 82 00:11:24,570 --> 00:11:27,770 as if has chosen a book without a purpose and is reading it; 83 00:11:28,860 --> 00:11:33,620 is reading the phrase and follows up on it; this is not good; [this] is not desirable. 84 00:11:35,930 --> 00:11:43,620 You must transfer the concept and reflect it on the mind of the audience; 85 00:11:44,510 --> 00:11:47,370 this [task] is sometimes [carried out] through repetition, sometimes through stress, 86 00:11:48,200 --> 00:11:54,550 sometimes through emphasis on a sentence, [and] sometimes through stress on a word; 87 00:11:55,640 --> 00:11:57,440 this step must be taken. 88 00:12:01,330 --> 00:12:10,110 Another point that must be taken into account is to observe the standards of tone. 89 00:12:11,220 --> 00:12:21,820 Of course, these Arabic tones, [and] these Quranic tones are not familiar for our people [and] for our reciters; 90 00:12:22,330 --> 00:12:24,550 these are not familiar tones. 91 00:12:26,730 --> 00:12:35,060 Therefore, you see when they read Persian poems, they read [those poems] with a proper rhythm; 92 00:12:35,220 --> 00:12:41,530 [however,] if the same person wants to read an Arabic poem or an Arabic sentence, 93 00:12:42,420 --> 00:12:50,130 they may not be able to select a correct rhythm [because] these tones are unfamiliar for us; 94 00:12:50,130 --> 00:12:56,620 are not familiar and known tones; [they] are not like Persian tones and Persian rhythms. 95 00:12:58,570 --> 00:13:06,660 However, the Quranic tones, due to being repeated among the people of the Quran and the people of recitation, 96 00:13:07,020 --> 00:13:14,220 have by and by become familiar and [people] have come to know them; these tones must be expressed correctly. 97 00:13:15,000 --> 00:13:23,510 I sometimes hear a reciter, with a pleasant voice, with very good voice, 98 00:13:24,950 --> 00:13:29,000 a voice that is both of good quality and good strength, 99 00:13:29,840 --> 00:13:36,880 [which] also enjoys good effect and writing power; [such a reciter] recites a [Quranic] verse, 100 00:13:36,880 --> 00:13:50,910 but does not observe the tone; to observe the tone, which means [observing] the order of rhythm, 101 00:13:51,200 --> 00:13:55,330 the thing your recitation is based on [is necessary]; 102 00:13:55,480 --> 00:14:01,460 you do not read the Quran in an ordinary way; [but you] read it with a rhythm. 103 00:14:01,570 --> 00:14:08,330 Perhaps in all religions 104 00:14:09,730 --> 00:14:16,600 – now as far as I have seen in some monotheistic and even non-monotheistic religions – they read the sacred scriptures with a rhythm; 105 00:14:18,680 --> 00:14:21,000 I have seen this up-close. 106 00:14:22,550 --> 00:14:29,660 Therefore, you do the recitation with rhythm; this rhythm should be expressed correctly. 107 00:14:30,260 --> 00:14:39,620 The tone must be expressed according to its own standards; otherwise, if it [the standard] is not observed, 108 00:14:41,260 --> 00:14:45,910 it will certainly not have a desirable effect; [and] sometimes it has [even] the opposite effect. 109 00:14:49,220 --> 00:14:55,400 I have to say a point. Almost all of you are reciters [of the Quran] who have come here; 110 00:14:56,770 --> 00:15:04,570 one of those things, which has become rife among Arab reciters – these Egyptians and others – 111 00:15:05,260 --> 00:15:13,600 and has been reflected in our country from there, is the importance attached to the long breath. 112 00:15:13,770 --> 00:15:16,130 I don’t understand what the point is; 113 00:15:19,020 --> 00:15:27,420 it is not necessary for us to connect the words of the Quran, sometimes the [whole] verses together 114 00:15:27,420 --> 00:15:34,040 because we want to read in a long breath; in my opinion, there is no necessity for this. 115 00:15:34,110 --> 00:15:42,770 Sometimes, it is necessary and expressing the concept of a verse depends on that it be recited in a single breath. 116 00:15:43,370 --> 00:15:44,680 Well, [in such cases] they [can] do that; 117 00:15:46,710 --> 00:15:57,200 otherwise, the beauty of recitation and the effectiveness of recitation is by no means dependent on the long breath, 118 00:15:57,330 --> 00:16:03,750 which now it is the art of some famous Egyptian reciters to [recite the Quran] with a long breath; 119 00:16:04,640 --> 00:16:12,200 [and] their audience, when they recite with a long breath, simplistically applaud longer and say Allah, Allah. 120 00:16:12,220 --> 00:16:16,020 In my opinion both what this [reciter] does is wrong, and what that audience does is wrong. 121 00:16:17,710 --> 00:16:23,350 Among good Egyptian reciters, prominent Egyptian reciters, 122 00:16:24,000 --> 00:16:28,060 we have one person or few persons whose breath is short, 123 00:16:28,550 --> 00:16:33,310 and whose recitation is very good, and whose impact is good; 124 00:16:34,530 --> 00:16:36,460 including Abdul Fattah Shashaay. 125 00:16:36,460 --> 00:16:45,840 You know his breath is short, but at the same time, one of the best and most effective recitations [of the Quran] 126 00:16:47,150 --> 00:16:55,000 –which God willing, the Almighty God would bestow his mercy and forgiveness upon him and all reciters of the Quran 127 00:16:55,950 --> 00:16:57,950 – is heard from this man. 128 00:16:57,950 --> 00:17:04,950 Therefore, I ask the gentlemen not to bother themselves with regard to the issue of [the length of the] breath. 129 00:17:06,840 --> 00:17:14,750 The same is true about addition; repetition of [Quranic] words and verses in tandem is by no means necessary. 130 00:17:15,000 --> 00:17:19,020 Now since the time is over and they are apparently going to say the prayers call, 131 00:17:19,420 --> 00:17:26,020 I want to say this word as well. I ask you to set limits for applause 132 00:17:26,730 --> 00:17:33,730 and saying “Allah, Allah” – which is an imitation of Arabs. 133 00:17:34,680 --> 00:17:40,350 Some people, as soon as the reciter starts recitation, 134 00:17:41,060 --> 00:17:44,440 they start following him by chanting “Allah,” 135 00:17:45,800 --> 00:17:50,950 as if one of the necessary sequels to his recitation is that 136 00:17:50,950 --> 00:17:53,800 this side must say “Allah!” It is by no means necessary. 137 00:17:55,710 --> 00:18:01,770 Sometimes you are greatly impressed or [the reciter] recites [the Quran] extremely beautifully 138 00:18:01,770 --> 00:18:06,410 or extremely effectively, now you involuntarily want to applaud 139 00:18:06,460 --> 00:18:13,040 – the applause for the Quran [recitation] according to what is customary among Arabs is saying “Allah, Allah” 140 00:18:13,040 --> 00:18:17,500 of course, they are not special to the Quran; even when they sing an ordinary song, they say “Allah, Allah” 141 00:18:21,230 --> 00:18:26,430 – now, this is not a problem. However, as soon as reciter starts 142 00:18:26,760 --> 00:18:33,050 reading [the Quran] and we start from this point to say “Allah, Allah,” is not necessary. 143 00:18:33,820 --> 00:18:41,370 I ask both yourselves and in sessions where you are heading those sessions 144 00:18:41,390 --> 00:18:45,290 or take part in them, recommend [the participants] not to go to extremes in saying “Allah, Allah;” 145 00:18:45,760 --> 00:18:49,610 when the reciter is reading [the Quran] very well, 146 00:18:49,870 --> 00:18:53,020 is reading very beautifully, there, well, it is no problem to applaud. 147 00:18:53,440 --> 00:18:57,790 However, [expecting] that [applause must start] from the very beginning [so that] one expects 148 00:18:57,840 --> 00:19:01,100 [the audience] to say “Allahu Akbar [God is Great]” as soon has he says, “I take refuge with God from the driven Satan,” [this is not correct]. 149 00:19:02,270 --> 00:19:06,430 I hope that God would, God willing, resurrect all of you with the Quran 150 00:19:07,370 --> 00:19:12,270 and build your world and the Afterworld with the blessing of the Quran. 151 00:19:12,320 --> 00:19:14,890 Peace be unto you and so may the mercy of Allah and His blessings.