Statements at the Gathering of Affection with the Quran on the First Day of the Blessed Month of Ramadan 1436

In the Name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

We are very grateful to our dear brothers, and truly today we have benefited; this session is a very good, diverse, eloquent, beautiful, and profound one; thanks be to God. Seeing that, thanks be to God, every year, signs of progress in the recitation of the Quran among our youth and our people are evident, deeply pleases me; we thank God. Today, thanks be to God, due to the blessing of these very good recitations, it was a session full of meaning and spirit, especially with the reminder that our eloquent and talented host provided regarding dedicating the reward of these recitations and what transpired in this session to the pure souls of the recent martyrs who were buried in Tehran.

Reciting the Quran with a pleasant voice, good tone, and the proper etiquette of recitation is a prerequisite for the concepts of the Quran to penetrate hearts.

If we take this benefit and view the recitation of the Quran merely as a pleasant sound and a form of singing, it will certainly fall from this lofty rank. The emphasis on reciting the Quran with a pleasant voice, with etiquette, and with desirable tones is for the purpose of making the concepts of the Quran effective in hearts, to become familiar with the Quran, to embody the color of the Quran, the character of the Quran, and to take on the form of the Quran. If this is the goal, then it has certain conditions and etiquettes. The first etiquette is that the reciter of the Quran and the one reciting it must recite with acknowledgment of the Quran, with belief in the concepts of the Quran, and with belief in the concepts they are reciting. If we do not know what we are reading, do not understand the meaning, and it does not have an effect on the depths of our souls, then the impact of our recitation on others and on ourselves will be diminished; this is the first condition.

My request from the esteemed reciters and teachers and readers of the Quran is to pay attention to this point; the verses they wish to recite should be reviewed in their minds, they should contemplate them, and truly register the depths of these concepts in their hearts and beliefs; with this spirit, with this background, and with this readiness, they should recite; this recitation will have an effect deep in the souls of the audience.

Certainly, until today, you have made great progress; I have been observing the movement of the Quran in the country for many years; today our youth have made significant progress; our reciters and teachers are truly and fairly very good; however, there is still much room for greater impact.

I have noted two or three points. One is that you want to convey Quranic concepts to the listeners through your recitation. It is true that most of your listeners do not know Arabic and the language of the Quran, but the miracle of the Quran is that even in this situation—while they do not know—if you convey these verses with depth of soul and under the right conditions, the concepts, even if in a general way, will be transferred to their minds. Well, this naturally has conditions. I hear recitations that are broadcast on the recitation radio—which is a good opportunity, a good possibility for listening to recitations—and I hear what our esteemed teachers and good reciters are reading. Well, honestly, in terms of pleasant voice, our reciters are very good, they are outstanding. This has been acknowledged by foreign reciters; we have heard from them that they praise Iranian voices. Some of your voices are truly of good quality, possessing the good conditions of an outstanding voice, which must be accompanied by the conditions of recitation.

One of the conditions of recitation is that the verse of the Quran you are reciting should emphasize the points that, in ordinary circumstances, if you want to convey it, you emphasize those points. If I were to make an analogy, to those who recite Persian poetry, you see that every word, every meaning that is desired from a sentence or from a word or from a phrase is articulated in such a way that that meaning settles in the mind of the audience. It is the same in ordinary speech. In ordinary conversation, you also articulate those words whose meanings have prominence in your view—with a specific emphasis; you should read the Quran in this manner; emphasize specific words; articulate sentences and phrases in such a way that their content and meaning settle in the mind of the audience; good expression, good articulation. Sometimes it is necessary for the matter to settle in the mind of the audience that the sentence be repeated; this repetition should be done.

Perhaps a few years ago in this very session, I criticized those who excessively repeat verses. I want to say that in some places, repetition is necessary, it is essential.

With one reading, the meaning is not reflected, and it must be repeated; two times, three times, sometimes a verse must be repeated, sometimes two or three verses must be repeated. My intention is not that excess should be done in this regard. We have seen some Egyptian reciters who excessively do this; it has a negative effect. Excess is not my intention; that we repeat something ten times or eight times is not desirable. Now, perhaps in Arabic singing, this practice is common, but in Quran recitation, this practice is not desirable. However, repetition to the extent that this meaning settles in the mind of the audience is necessary. Sometimes one feels that the reciter is as if they have just picked up a book and are reading it, following the text; this is not good; it is not desirable. You must convey the meaning and reflect it in the mind of the audience; this is sometimes done through repetition, sometimes through emphasis, sometimes through emphasis on a sentence, sometimes on a word; this work must be done.

Another point that must be considered is the observance of the standards of tone. Of course, these Arabic tones, the Quranic tones are unfamiliar to our people and our readers; these are not familiar tones.

Thus, you see that when reading Persian poetry, it is read with its appropriate melody; if this person wants to read an Arabic poem or an Arabic sentence, they may not be able to choose the appropriate melody; [because] these tones are foreign to us; they are not familiar and accustomed tones like Persian tones and melodies. However, Quranic tones have gradually become familiar due to repetition among the people of the Quran and recitation; people have become acquainted with them; these tones must be articulated correctly. I sometimes hear a reciter reciting with a pleasant voice, a very good voice, a voice that has both good quality and strength, and good ability to articulate, reading a verse, but they do not observe the tone; observing the tone of the speech, that is, the rhythm of the melody, the thing that your recitation is based on, [is necessary]; you do not read the Quran in a normal way, you read it with melody. Perhaps in all religions—now to the extent that I have seen in some monotheistic religions and even in non-monotheistic religions—sacred texts are read with melody; we have observed this closely. Therefore, you read the recitation with melody, and this melody must be articulated correctly.

The tone must be articulated according to its standards; otherwise, if it is not observed, it will certainly not provide the desired effect; sometimes it may have the opposite effect.

I want to mention one point; you are all reciters who are present here; one of the things that has become common among Arab reciters—these Egyptians and others—and has been reflected into our country is the emphasis on long breaths. I do not understand the reason for this; there is no necessity for us to connect the words of the Quran, sometimes the verses, to each other just because we want to take a breath; in my opinion, there is no necessity. Sometimes it is necessary, and the articulation of the meaning of the verse depends on it being read with one breath; well, yes, they should do that, but the beauty of recitation and the impact of recitation is in no way dependent on long breaths; that now some famous Egyptian reciters have their art in reading with long breaths; and the audience, when they read with long breaths, they encourage them more and say Allah, Allah. In my opinion, both this [reciter] and that audience's action is wrong. Among the good Egyptian reciters, we have prominent reciters whose breath is short, their reading is very good, and their impact is good; among them is Abdul Fattah Shashai. You know his breath is short, but at the same time, one of the best and most impactful recitations—may God Almighty include him and all reciters of the Quran in His mercy and forgiveness—comes from this man. Therefore, I request that you gentlemen do not trouble yourselves regarding the issue of breath.

Similarly, there is no necessity for the repetition of words and verses consecutively.

Now, since time is up and apparently they want to call the adhan, I will also say this word: I request that in encouraging and saying "Allah Allah"—which is also an imitation of the Arabs—observe the limit. Some, as soon as the reciter starts reading, begin to chant "Allah" behind him as if one of the necessary follow-ups to his reading is that this side says "Allah"! There is no necessity for this. Sometimes you are affected or he reads very beautifully or very effectively, and you want to encourage him—encouraging the Quran, according to what is common among the Arabs, is saying "Allah Allah"; of course, they do this not only for the Quran; they also say "Allah Allah" for ordinary melodies—they do not have a problem with that—but that as soon as the reciter starts reading, we begin to say "Allah Allah", there is no necessity. I request that you yourselves, and in the sessions where you are the masters of those sessions and participate, advise that in saying "Allah Allah" they do not be excessive; where the person is truly reading very well, very beautifully, there it is fine to encourage, but that from the beginning [in such a way that] sometimes one only expects that as soon as he says "A'udhu billahi min ash-shaytan ir-rajim", they say "Allah Akbar" [is not correct].

We hope that God willing, He will associate all of you with the Quran and bless your world and the hereafter through the Quran.

Peace be upon you and God's mercy and blessings.