Qur'Anic Recitation

7/27/2019 Qur'Anic Recitation

1/8

5HFLWHUDQG/LVWHQHU6RPH)DFWRUV6KDSLQJWKH0XMDZZDG6W\OHRI4XUDQLF5HFLWLQJ$XWKRUV.ULVWLQD1HOVRQ6RXUFH(WKQRPXVLFRORJ\9RO1RWK$QQLYHUVDU\,VVXH-DQSS3XEOLVKHGE\University of Illinois PressRQEHKDOIRISociety for Ethnomusicology6WDEOH85/http://www.jstor.org/stable/851400 .$FFHVVHG

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use, available at .http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp. JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use provides, in part, that unless

you have obtained prior permission, you may not download an entire issue of a journal or multiple copies of articles, and youmay use content in the JSTOR archive only for your personal, non-commercial use.

Please contact the publisher regarding any further use of this work. Publisher contact information may be obtained at .http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=illinois. .

Each copy of any part of a JSTOR transmission must contain the same copyright notice that appears on the screen or printed

page of such transmission.

JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of

content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms

of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected].

University of Illinois Press and Society for Ethnomusicology are collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve

and extend access toEthnomusicology.

http://www.jstor.org
http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=illinoishttp://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=semhttp://www.jstor.org/stable/851400?origin=JSTOR-pdfhttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=illinoishttp://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=illinoishttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/stable/851400?origin=JSTOR-pdfhttp://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=semhttp://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=illinois


2/8

RECITER AND LISTENER: SOME FACTORS SHAPINGTHE MUJAWWAD STYLE OF QUR'ANIC RECITING

Kristina NelsonAlthough mostMuslims erceive ecitationftheQur'ans a uniqueart, separate from music (in spite of a shared melodic system,maqam/maqamat, shared techniques, aesthetic expectations and eco-nomics), the nature of the response elicited by recitation ends to com-promise that uniqueness. Two facts give this issue its importance: hesuspicion with which some Muslimshave traditionally egardedmusicinany context, and belief in the uniquenessand divine originof the text,which precludes a musical treatmentof the sort to which any other textmight be subjected.Attemptshave been made to regulateboththebehaviorof reciterandlistener andthe soundof Qur'anicrecitation tself in aneffort to keeptherecitation separate from music, whether sacred or secular. The mainthrust of this regulationis on maintaining he primacyof the text. Itsdivine nature must be compromisedneitherby the subvertingof the per-formance so that listeners are moved by virtuosicmusicalityrather hanby the significanceof the text, norby the recognizedchangethat musiccan effect on a text.In the Arabicsongthe meter of the text, the melodicsystem,and theunderlyingrhythmicpattern fqt1c)all interact.To adapt he Qur'anic extto the built-inrhythmicpatternsof a fixed tunewould be to denynotonlythe supremacyof the text, butto deny its verynatureandidentity,whichis characterizedby fixed durations.Thus,the impositionof the fqatcor ofa given melody on the Qur'anictext is forbidden,but the use of spon-taneous melody, inspiredby the text andthe moment, s not.' Theaccep-tance of melodic recitationof the Qur'anby mainstream eligiousauthori-ties and scholars is based on the recognitionof the power of music toheightenthe listener's emotionalparticipationn the recitation,as well asto contributeto his understanding f the text, thus involving he listenermore completely in the experience.Against this background,I propose to discuss some aspects of theinteraction between the reciter and his public, and the role of actualperception and response in shaping the elaboratelymelodic style ofFinal version, rec'd: 8/25/810014-1836/82/2601--041$0.35 O 1982Society for Ethnomusicology,nc.

41


3/8

42 ETHNOMUSICOLOGY,ANUARY 982Egyptian Qur'anicrecitation known as Qur'dnMujawwad.Specifically,these aspects are:(1)perceptionof reciteras artist; 2)audienceresponse;(3) reciter's response to audience;(4) effect on audienceexpectationsofthe media's treatmentof reciters.The Egyptian style of Qur'anicrecitation s well known all over theIslamic world; indeed, for many it epitomizesQur'anicrecitation.Thestyle is so well established thatmost professionalrecitersin Egyptcon-sider some form of musicaltrainingessential to an effective recitation.The perceptionof Qur'anicrecitationas a uniqueart is widespread,but is often explainedin termsof the artof music. Forexample,recitersproudlyperceive themselves as recitersfirst, but musical artistssecond,regardlessof the varying degree of musicality n theirstyles. The art ofQur'anic recitationis often favorably comparedto that of singing,notonly by the recitersthemselves, butby manymusicians.Partof the basisof this perceived superiority s the divine natureof the text, but recitersand musiciansexplainit in morespecificterms as well. Forexample,thereciter's skill is seen as greater hanthe singer'sbecause he mustperformwithinthe stricter imitations mposedby the text. The reciter s boundtoa comprehensiveset of rulesgoverning he oral renditionof theQur'an.Ihave heardEgyptianmusiciansmarvelthat a recitercouldproducesucheffective musicgiventhe restrictionshe must observe withregard o eachsyllable in terms of timbre,durationandpronunciation, s well as struc-turing of the text. For example, whereas the singeris relativelyfree todraw a breath regardlessof the sequence of the text, the recitermustobserve complex rules as to where he may interrupthe sequenceof theQur'anictext, andwhetherhe maycontinue nsequenceor mustreturn oa previous point in the text. In otherwords, the challengeto the artistictalent of the reciter s consideredgreaterbecause of thegreater imitationsplaced on his choices as a performer.Moreover, in spite of the limitations, he reciteris consideredmorecreative and innovative. As one reciterexpressed, "Everything he re-citer utters [melodically]comes from his head, unlike the singerwho hasthe help of composer, chorusandinstruments. 2Ideally,the recitation snew every time with no imitationor memorization.As ShaykhIbrahimish-Shacshdciexpressed it, if a reciterrecites the same verse the sameway every time, "some would call thatmelody-makingtalin), andthatis forbidden. You mustnot even use the samemaqdm or every mentionof Hell.'"3 The art of melodic improvisation,once the mark of a per-former'stalent, is no longerso prominenta featureof Egyptianartmusic,but it remains an essential element of the Qur'dnMujawwadstyle ofrecitation.Artisticsensibilityandmusical alentareonlypartof what s required


4/8

NELSON:RECITER NDLISTENEROFQUR'AN 43of the reciter, for unlikethe singer,he carriesa greatresponsibilityortheeffect of his rendition. The intentof recitation s to involve the listenertotally in the meaningand significanceof the Revelation,an intentwhichgoes beyond entertaining,or stirring he emotions. The followinganec-dote, told me by one of Egypts'mostpopularandwell-regardedeciters,the late ShaykhMustafaIsmacil,illustrates he difficulties n defining heprofessional identityof the Qur'anicreciter when only the soundof therecitation is considered. ShaykhMustafaandcAbd il-Wahhib,a prom-inent Egyptianmusician-composer,happenedto be stayingin the samehotel in Beirut. They got togetherand were talking,and, at one point,cAbd il-WahhLb andedtheCIdto ShaykhMustafa.Reciting hefirstlineof a poem, he said, "Sing." "I don't sing," said ShaykhMustafa."Goon, sing," saidCAbd l-Wahhdb."I don't know how to sing.I only reciteQur'an," saidShaykhMustafa.cAbdil-Wahhabookback theCaid.Laterhe asked, "How can you do the thingsyou do [in reciting],and not beaware of what it is?" "I believe in God," replied Shaykh Mustafa.Thisstory was told to me to pointout the homagepaidto the reciter's skill asartist, somethingof which ShaykhMustafawas justly proud.4A common feature of EgyptianQur'anicrecitation and the impro-visatory Arabicart musictraditions that melodicphrasesarefollowedbya pause. In these pauses the listenersrespondvocally to whatthey havejust heard. How muchvocal response(tajiawub)s consideredpartof theperformancemay be judged by its inclusion n manycommercialrecord-ings, and by the fact that such recordingsare preferredby the publictothe studio recordings.H. H. Touma,discussing hisvocalresponse,men-tions that "at a concert of secularmusicanArabaudiencewillrelease thetension duringthese short phrases by utteringwords of praise or loudshouts, while at a religious ceremony it is the name of Allah or of theProphetMuhammad hat is calledout" (Touma1976:35). InEgypt,how-ever, I foundthis distinctionoftenlacking: n addition o the sighs, shoutsand such standardphrases as "AllaSh,"A.llh yiftahCalek" MayGodrewardyou!), "Sallican Nabi" (Bless the Prophet!),and"Ahsant"(Welldone!), I heard, "Ya bulbul in-Nil" (Oh nightingaleof the Nile!),"Khudna macak"(Takeus withyou!), "Mish kida"(Too much!),and theadmiring,but untranslatable,"Ya fitiwwa,ya fatwana."Listenerswouldalso shout out their requests, and these were particularly evealingoftheir expectations: "Again, so we can memorizeit!" "How about thehigher register?" (ig-gawab), "Give us (maqam) Shiri!" "(maqam)Saba! By the Prophet,we're waitingfor ?aba!" Wheretherewere mu-sical references to other reciters, knowledgeable isteners would shoutout the name of the reciter quoted in delightedrecognition,with suchcomments as, "He's taken us back thirty years!"


5/8

44 ETHNOMUSICOLOGY,ANUARY 982Although a subdued and respectful response on the part of thelisteners is the norm,and reciters are criticizedfor provokingan uncon-trolledresponse, the vocal andboisterousresponseto a reciter'spersonalartistry is common enoughto account for one of the mainobjectionstomelodic recitation of the Qur'an: t elicits a response inappropriateo thenature of the text. A commonly voiced criticismis that listeners arestimulatedby the melodyover and above theirstimulationbythemeaningof the text. A prominentreciter, the late Shaykh MahmfidKhalil il-Husari, told me thatrecitingwith melodies s permissible,"exceptfor thesinging[i.e., when it becomeslikesinging]and abuse of it whichresults nlisteners following the melody and not the meaning."5Still, many reciters consider at least a minimumof vocal responseessential to their reciting, citing three primaryreasons. First, vocal re-sponse is encouragingand inspiresthe reciter's skill.The studiocontextmakesyoufeel constrained,butpeople encourage, ndthereis tagdwub (=tajdwub), and things come out better thanyou imagined heycould.The morepeople thereare, the more enthusiasm have, andall thisencouragesme, and gives me the right spirit.In studio recordings he mutualharmonywith listeners s missing.In order tomake a recording f a qualityacceptable o theRadio,I imaginehatI am infrontof a crowd.6

This last comment comes from a reciter whose reputations limitedbe-cause his studio recordings,which have the wider audience,are admit-tedly less inspired than his live performances.There is a consensusamonglistenersin generalthatstudiorecordings end to be inferior o liveperformances:listeners would agree with the reciter who said that liveperformancesare "where the great art happens."7Second, the recitercan learn or sharpenmusicalskillsby payingheedto listeners'comments,that is, by correlating he comments with specificphrases. ShaykhMu?-tafa Ismacil described his own training n these terms:

Amongthe listenerswere a numberof musiciansandartists.Theyremark,"Ohhe's doing (maqdm) Baydti." "How did you do this Saba?" That's how Ilearned. I listened to theircomments.I used to reciteeverynight,andtheywerealways there.8Third, reciters also dependon theiraudienceto guidethem to the mosteffective and meaningfulrecitation. That there is a thin line betweenmakingthe recitationmeaningfulo listeners andwooingthemwithone'sskill is demonstratedby the followingcomments:The responseof thelisteners s also important ecause he recitercanbring hemback if theirattention wanders.

The alert reciter is aware of the listeners .. is able to know theirresponsetoeverything, and if they don't like something,he can change. Even the blind


6/8

NELSON:RECITER NDLISTENEROFQUR'AN 45reciter antell from he crowd.Theaudience oesn'thave o behysterical;herecitercan sensethe moodandencouragementf a calmer udience.I like to interactwith the crowd,and to do thatyou have to do whattheywant.I can reciteforanhouror two andyouwon'tget bored. I change hemelodyas Isee response. If I see you like (maqdm)Saba, I'll give you a lot of it.

The late Shaykh MubammadRif'at (d. 1950)epitomizesthe ideal of theQur'an reciter for Muslimsall over the Islamic world in termsof piety,appropriateintent, use of musicalityin recitation,and effectiveness ofrecitation. Mr. Husen Rifcat,his son, told me thatShaykhRifcatfeltthateveryone has a maqdmto whichthey are particularly esponsive, so hetried to vary the maqdmaitn reciting n order to touch a widergroupoflisteners (personalcommunication).That there is some correlationbetween a reciter'sattitudeto vocalresponse and the style of his recitation s indicatedby the factthat,of themost popularreciters in Egypt today, the late ShaykhMustafaIsmacil,often criticized for the rowdiness of his listeners,is considered he mostmusical. Others,such as ShaykhCAbdl-BasitCAbds-SamadandShaykhMubammad t-Tablawi,oftencriticized orpanderingo the tastes of theirlisteners or for showing off, exhibit a high degree of virtuosityin theirreciting (primarilyn terms of breathcontrol anduse of the highregister).On the other hand, the late Shaykh MahmildKhalil il-Husari,whosereputationrests on his eruditionandon the correctnessof his recitation,and who, moreover,deniesany influenceof the crowd on his reciting,9sgenerallyjudged by respectful,but subdued istenersas "lacking n art."The reciter who is responsive to his listeners, who acknowledges heirrole in his training,and who dependson theirencouragementor inspira-tion, tends to recite in a more musicallyvirtuosicstyle. Moreover,themutualityof listener andreciterresponsetends to reinforce hemusicalityof the recitation,and the reciter, in fulfilling he musicalexpectationsofhis listeners, also defines them.The musical expectations of the listeners are furtherreinforcedbythe policies of the National Radio and Television Union. In hiringandsupervising professional reciters and their work, the supervisorycom-mittee (Lajnatal-Qurri')follows a recognizedstandardof recitation hatsanctions musicality.It is commonfor a reciterwho is buildinga reputa-tion and is encouragedto audition for the Radio to make an effort tomaster the principlesof the maqimiztbeforeapplying or audition, orheknows that musical skill is requiredof the Radioreciter.A Radioreciterautomatically commandsprestige and higherfees: the term, iztici (onewho broadcasts)afterhis namesignalsa certainstandard f competence.Therefore, since a certainlevel of musicalskill is requiredof the broad-cast reciter, the Radiopolicyfunctions to shapethe tastesof the listenersby giving the more competently musical recitation high status.


7/8

46 ETHNOMUSICOLOGY,ANUARY 982Expectationsare further hapedby the media'sgivingsome recitersasuperstartreatmentwithinterviews,magazinespreads,andguestappear-ances on talk shows, thus contributing o the whole syndromeof thepersonality cult with its fierce loyalties, fan clubs, and so on. Suchpub-licity has furtherhelped to blur the line between reciter and singer intermsof the reciter'sprofessional dentityand thelisteners'expectations.In conclusion, it is intent, expectation, perceptionand responseonthe part of those involved in Qur'anicrecitation hatare crucial n main-tainingthe idealseparationbetweentheart of musicandtheartof recitingthe Qur'anandin shaping he actual sound of recitation.The intentof thereciter, the expectationsof the listener, their mutualresponses,and therole of the media all interactto establishand, in the case of themedia,tosanctionthe moremusical recitationas ideal.Although hemusicalityof arecitationneed not compromise ts separateness rom the artof music--indeed, it is generallyrecognizedandacceptedthatmusicalitynQur'anicrecitationis important n drawing he listener moredeeply intoan act ofreligious devotion-still, there may be some resistance to the forceswhich encourage musicality n recitation, or it is also recognized hatthisvery musicality may undermine he properintent of recitationby trans-forming the act of devotion into mere musical entertainment. t is the

personal attitude of the recitertowardsthese shaping orces whichmaydetermine the extent of musicalityin his personalstyle.ACKNOWLEDGMENT

The interviews,discussions,conversationsandperformances ponwhich thispaper sbased were made possible by grantsfrom the Social Science ResearchCouncil and theFulbrightCommission or a year'sresearchandfieldworknCairo,Egypt,during1977-78.gratefully acknowledgetheir support.NOTES

1. See Ibn Khaldunn.d.: 426;al-Jawziyya1970:168,69; bnal-Jazari1908:4; al-Qari'1948:22,23; al-Qurtubi1968:16;and al-Suyuti1910:1/109.2. Interview, 5/3/78, ShaykhMahmfidMubammadRama"an.3. Interview, 6/19/78, ShaykhIbrahimish-Shacshici.4. Interview, 2/3/78, ShaykhMu~gafasmacil.5. Interview, 2/16/78, ShaykhMamifidKhalilil-IJugari.The responsibility f the re-citer for the responsehe elicits and the disapprovalwith which a noisy response s viewedhave a long history.It is reported hatwhenal-Shaficid.820A.D.) recited,peopleweptandincreasedtheir clamourandweeping"because of the beautyof his voice . .. andwhen hesaw this, he would stop reciting"(al-Sacid1967:315-316).6. Interviewswith ShaykhMaImiidMubammadRama4in(5/3/78),ShaykhMusgafaIsmacil (2/3/78), and ShaykhHishim Hiba (7/21/78)respectively.7. Interview,2/3/78, ShaykhMuSgafasmaCil.8. Interview, 2/3/78, ShaykhMustafaIsmaCil.9. Interview,2/16/78, ShaykhMahmlidKhadil l-Hiugari.


8/8

NELSON: RECITER AND LISTENER OF QUR'AN 47REFERENCESCITED

Ibn al-Jazari1908 al-Tamhid ft clm al-Tajwid. Cairo: CAli Hasan al-Farra.Ibn Khaldfinn.d. Muqaddimah.Cairo:al-Maktabah l-Tujauiyyahl-Kubri.al-Jawziyya, Ibn Qayyim1970 Zid al-Micdd. Vol. I. Cairo.al-Qri', cAli ibn SultanMuhammad1948

al-Mina, al-Fikriyyah: Sharh.al-Muqaddimah al-Jazariyyah.Cairo: Maktabah waMatbaCah Mugtafaal-Babial-I.alabiwa Awlidih.al-Qurtubi

1968 Al-Jdmic i-Ahkdm l-Qur'dn.Vol. I. Cairo:Daral-Katibal-CArabii I-TibiCah al-Nashr.al-Sacid, Labib1%7 Al-Jamc al-?awti l-Awwil li l-Qur'dn al-Karim aw al-Mufhaf al-Murattal. Cairo:Dar al-Kitib al-cArabi i l-Tibacahwa l-Nashr.al-Suyfiti,Jalidal-Din1910 Al-Itqdn ft c Ullimal-Din. Vol. I. Cairo:MatbacatHijazi.Touma, Hasan Habib1976 "Relations Between Aesthetics and Improvisation n Arab Music," WorldofMusic 18 (12):33-6.

Qur'Anic Recitation

Documents

Transcript of Qur'Anic Recitation