Meeting with Quran Reciters on the First Day of the Blessed Month of Ramadan

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

It was a very good session; diverse and the recitations were also good. The supplications and prayers and the group recitations were, thanks be to God, very good. Let us learn to hold sessions solely for listening to the words of God. There are many sessions, but there is a need among our people - who are sincerely interested in the Quran - for sessions that are just for listening. Besides the session where our youth, our learners, learn to read the Quran, or learn Tajweed, or are taught various recitations, the reciter of the Quran, the one who recites the Quran, should come and sit, and just as we gather at a pulpit, we gather to listen to a eulogy, we should gather to listen to the recitation of the Quran and benefit from it. All of our discussions, arguments, speeches, rhetoric, and poetry, if they are correct, are secondary. The essence is the word of God; it is divine revelation. These pure and sacred words were revealed from the unseen to the sacred heart of the Prophet, and the Prophet entrusted them to us.

And we thank God that our Quran has remained untouched and has not been distorted until today; let us make use of this. If the youth do not know the meaning of the Quran - since they are not familiar with Arabic - they should take these translated Qurans, which, thanks be to God, are diverse and numerous today, and as the reciter reads the Quran, they should underline the verses and look at the translations, benefit from them, and understand. Listen directly from God and familiarize your hearts with the words of God; make your hearts accustomed to it. We have shortcomings in these areas. In education, the recitation of the Quran should be taught to the youth in such a way - even if it is selected and chosen verses - that our youth who learned these verses in childhood will have them before their eyes throughout their lives; they should use them in various situations. The call to prayer has been raised.

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