Sheikh Mustafa Ismail Used His Voice to Convey Meanings of Quran, Grandson Says
Speaking to an Egyptian TV network on the birth anniversary of his grandfather, Ala Hassani said any reciter is limited in specific musical positions and reads within the limits of his larynx.
He said Sheikh Mustafa Ismail had a very good command of his larynx and knew how best to use it.
He said all other reciters use the capacities of their unique voice but what distinguishes his grandfather’s recitations is that his voice conveyed meanings.
Hassani further said he has tried to collect his grandfather’s recorded recitations of the Quran, adding that what he has collected so far amounts to more than 3000 hours of recitations.
He expressed hope that the recordings will see the light of day again and every can hear Sheikh Mustafa Ismail’s recitations of the Quran and Adhan (all to prayer) on TV again.
Those interested can also download the recitations here, he noted.
Hassani also said that the people of Turkey like his grandfather’s recitations very much and that all qaris in Southeast Asia imitate his recitation style.
He went on to say that his grandfather was honored many times in Egypt and in other countries like Lebanon, Syria, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.
Mustafa Ismail was born in June 1905 in a village called Mit Gazal near the city of Tanta in Egypt’s Gharbia Governorate.
His parents named him Mustafa Muhammad Mursi Ismail. His father, who was a farmer, sent him to a Quran school headed by Sheikh Abdul Rahman Abulainain to memorize the Quran.
Mustafa Ismail managed to learn the entire Quran by heart at the age of 10.
He then started learning Quran recitation and Tajweed principles with Sheikh Idris Fakhir.
He first recited the Quran before a crowd at the age of 14. Those who heard his recitation at the Atif Mosque in Tanta were amazed by his beautiful performance and encouraged him to continue on the path of Quran recitation.
He did so by going to Cairo and learning more in the field from prominent Qari Sheikh Muhammad Rafa’at.
Soon he became a well-known Qari all over Egypt and travelled to many other countries, including Iraq, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Germany, Palestine, Britain and France to recite the Quran.
He also received many medals of honor in his own country and elsewhere.
They included two given to him by Egypt’s presidents, Gamal Abdel Nasser and Hosni Mubarak.
Another president, Anwar Sadat was also fond of the eminent qari’s recitations and imitated him in his own recitation.
