Qur'anic recitation in Egypt and in Saudi Arabia

Qur'anic recitation (tilawa, qira'a, tajwid, tartil) is regulated by three sources:

• the mushaf: the Qur'anic text (without diacritical marks, developed under the 3rd caliph, Uthman)
• the qira'at: which add diacritical markings to that text
• ahkam al-tilawa: rules for recitation, including phonetics, how to begin and end, where one can (or must not) stop, relative syllable lengths

Applying these sources still allows plenty of room for variation, and thus multiple styles can and do form. In particular none of the three sources specifies anything about melodies to be used for chanting. In practice oral traditions have enshrined Egyptian styles using the maqamat, and these have spread (particularly through mass media) throughout the world as the normative style, applied for instance in Qur'an competitions). However a newer Saudi style has also risen to global importance over the past few decades.

There are two primary styles of recitation:

• Mujawwad (tajwid): more florid, melodic, extended, fully exploiting the system of maqamat, including free improvisation, modulation, and cadential endings (qafalat); used in particular contexts (e.g. funerals, or before Friday prayer) and cultures (e.g. Egypt)
• Murattal (tartil): more rapid, less melodic variation; used in different contexts (e.g. during prayer) and cultures (e.g. Saudi Arabia). Also uses maqamat, but in a more limited fashion; sometimes limited to a particular tetrachord.

There are also stylistic variations between regions; though the Egyptian style has been dominant for several centuries, the Saudi style (and murattal generally) is increasingly heard, due to strength of Saudi media worldwide. Everywhere reciters deploy the Arab maqamat for recitation, even in non-Arab Muslim countries where Arab music is not heard (e.g. in Indonesia, Iran, or Pakistan).

The musical style of tilawa may index musical ability, geo-cultural region, and theological doctrine.

Qur'anic recitation is performed in numerous contexts, including:

• during salah, canonical prayer, performed daily (every Muslim must recite individually, and the prayer leader recites publicly at certain times of the day)
• before or after prayer, especially on Fridays, or between maghrib (sunset) and ishaa (night) prayers, by a specialist
• at funerals
• at competitions
• on radio and television (often to open and close programming, but also on dedicated religious stations and channels)

Listening

Listen to a variety of Egyptian and Saudi recitations of the same passage from Surat Yusuf.

The Qur'anic text:

12:4 Ith qala yoosufu liabeehi ya abati innee raaytu ahada AAashara kawkaban waalshshamsa waalqamara raaytuhum lee sajideena

Behold! Joseph said to his father: "O my father! I did see eleven stars and the sun and the moon: I saw them prostrate themselves to me!"

Shaykhs Muhammad Siddiq al-Minshawy and Shaykh Mustafa Ismail are Egyptians. Shaykh Muhammad Gabril is also an Egyptian, but who adopts the Saudi style to a great extent. Shaykhs Abu Bakr al-Shatiri, Ahmad al-Agami, Ali Abd al-Rahman al-Hudhayfi, Muhammad Ahmad Badr, Sa`d al-Ghamidi, and Su'ud al-Sharim are all Saudis.