‘Abdul-Basit ‘Abdus-Samad (Arabic: عبـدُ الباسِـط مُحـمّـد عبـدُ ٱلصّـمـد), or Abdel Basit Abdel Samad, or Abdul Basit Muhammad Abdus Samad (1927 – 30 November 1988) was an EgyptianQuran reciter and Hafiz.[3] He is part of a quadrumvirate, along with Siddiq Al-Minshawi, Mustafa Ismail, and Al-Hussary, which are considered to be the most important and famous Qurra of modern times to have an outsized impact on the Islamic World.[1][4][5][6][7][8][9] He was the first president of the Reciter's union in Egypt. He is known by the title "Golden Throat" and "Voice of Heaven" due to his melodious style, breath control, and unique emotional and engaging tone.
Early life
Sheikh Abdul Basit Abdul Samad was born in the year 1927 in the village of Al-Maarazeh situated in Qena Governorate, Egypt. From a very early age, he was committed with the memorization and recitation of the Quran. His grandfather, Sheikh Abdul Samad, was well-known for his memorization of the Quran and known for his ability to memorize the Quran according to tajwid. His father, Muhammad Abdul Samad, was also a reciter of the Quran and worked as a civil servant in the Ministry of Communications.[10]
Sheikh Abdul Basit Abdul Samad had two older brothers, Mahmoud and Abdul Hamid Abdul Samad who used to memorize the Quran at the Madrasa, the young Abdul Basit joined them when he was six years old. Teacher of Abdul Basit noticed that he was quick in his memorization and very observant and keen to follow his teacher with all the pronunciation of the letters and the stop and start positions. His teacher also noticed his talent for recitation and great voice.[citation needed]
Education
Abdul Basit finished learning the Quran at age of 10 and then requested his grandfather and father to continue his education with the Qira’at (recitations). They both agreed and sent him to the city of Tanta (Lower Egypt) to study the Quranic recitations(‘ulum al-Quran wa al-Qira’at) under the tutelage of Sheikh Muhammad Salim, a well known teacher of recitaion of that time.[citation needed]
A day before his departure to Tanta, Sheikh Muhammad Salim arrived to the Religious Institute in Armant in order to settle there as a teacher of Recitations. The people of the city established an association in Asfun Al-Matanah to preserve the Quran, so that Sheikh Muhammad Salim could teach the memorization of the Quran and its recitations. Abdul Basit went to him and reviewed the entire Qur’an with him, and then memorized the Al-Shatibia, a classical text of the science of the seven recitations.[citation needed]
When Sheikh Abdul Basit reached the age of twelve, he was requested from all the cities and villages of Qena GovernorateEgypt, especially Asfun Al-Matanah, with the help of Sheikh Muhammad Salim, who recommended Sheikh Abdul Basit everywhere he went, as Sheikh Salim's testimony was trusted by all people.[citation needed]
Career
Sheikh Abdul Basit Abdul Samad officially started his career as a Quran reciter in Cairo at the age of 23, when he was invited to attend the celebration of the birth of Sayyida Zainab. Where on the final night of the celebration, top reciters of the era were present including Sheikh Abdul Fattah Al-Shashaa’i, Sheikh Mustafa Isma’il, Sheikh Abdul Azim Zahir, Sheikh Abu Al-Aynayn Sha’iisha. The young Sheikh Abdul Basit tried to find a place for him among the audience of listeners to listen to these famous giants of recitation, see them and sit with them.[citation needed]
After midnight, Sheikh Abdul Basit was accompanied by one of his relatives, who knew the officials in the Sayyida Zainab Mosque. He got the permission for Sheikh Abdul Basit to recite. He said: “I present to you a reader from Upper Egypt, whose voice is sweet and beautiful, and he will recite to you for ten minutes.” At that moment, the mosque was completely full to end, and the audience listened to his amazing voice that took the hearts of the listeners to the point that all attendees of the mosque yelled on top of his voice “Allah Akbar!” ("God is the greatest!"). Every time Sheikh Abdul Basit wanted to concluded the recitation with “Sadaqallahul Azim” ("Allah Almighty has spoken the truth"), the audience insisted that he keeps on reading, and he did so for about two hours and finished the recitation in the early morning.[citation needed]
After this experience, Sheikh Abdul Basit thought about applying to radio station as a Quran reciter, but he hesitated due to his affiliation with the Upper Egypt, nevertheless, he choose to pursue a career as a Quran reciter. Sheikh Abdul Basit was appointed as a Quran reciter on the radio in the year 1951.[citation needed]
‘Abdus-Samad was among the first huffaz to make commercial recordings of his recitations.
In 1955, he travelled to Jakarta, Indonesia. The mosque was filled with attendees and they were outside the mosque for a distance of about a kilometer. The square opposite the mosque was filled with more than a quarter of a million Muslims listening to the Sheikh standing on their feet until dawn.
He also travelled to South Africa, where upon his arrival, officials sent him radio and television journalists to interview him.
He also travelled to India to celebrate a major religious ceremony held by one of the rich Muslims there. After his arrival, Sheikh Abdul Basit faced a moving situation. All those present were taking off their shoes and standing on the ground and they bowed their heads down looking at the place of prostration and their eyes overflowed with tears crying until the Sheikh finished recitation and his eyes tears shed from this humble attitude.
He has won three world Qira'at competitions in the early 1970s.
Illness and death
He suffered from complications from diabetes later in life, but his liver problems coincided with diabetes, and he could not fight these two conditions together. He contracted hepatitis less than a month before his death and was admitted to a hospital but his health deteriorated further. This prompted his children and doctors to advise him to travel London for treatment, where he stayed for a week. He was accompanied by his son Tariq, who was asked to take him back to Egypt.[citation needed]
He died on Wednesday, November 30, 1988. His funeral prayer was held on the following day after Dhuhr Prayer, the attendants of his funeral included ambassadors of various countries, as well as kings and heads of state. He was laid to rest in the graveyard of Imam Shafi Mosque, Egypt.[12]
Children
He was survived by his sons, namely, from oldest to youngest, Yasir, Hisham and Tariq. Following his father's footsteps. Yasir also became a Qari. In 2006, a mosque in his native village of Armant in Luxor, Southern Egypt, was opened under his name.[13]
