Master Minshawi’s Quran Recitation: Simple, Distinctive and Pleasant
His recitations were simple but at the same time distinct and pleasant and capable of attracting different tastes.
Muhammad Sidiq Minshawi (1920-1969) was a pious man who was raised in a pious family. His father and brothers were also Quranic figures.
It was a tradition in his family to focus on the Quran, spirituality and Taqwa (God-fearing) and staying away from worldly issues.
He said in an interview that in childhood, he first learned the Quran by heart and then started learning the skills of recitation. This was the tradition followed by qaris in Egypt.
Minshawi’s masterpiece recitations came when he was about 47 years of age, two years before his death.
There are no recordings of his recitations from his teenage years and youth. One reason for that is his keeping a distance from the government and political issues. As a result, little attention was paid to his recitations.
Minshawi’s voice is the most appealing and beautiful among the Egyptian qaris who rose to prominence in the early 20th century. People with every taste like his voice.
The older he grew, Master Minshawi moved closer to having simple recitations, that is to say, he would pay more attention to words than Lahn (rhythm) and Sawt (melodious voice).
This was while he was at the peak of Lahn and Sawt capacity and talent. That is why Minshawi is a very good role model for Quran reciters.
Born on January 20, 1920 in the city of Al Minshah in Sohag Governorate of Egypt, Minshawi was raised in a family of Quran reciters.
He learned the entire Quran by heart at the age of 8 and a year later began learning Quran recitation.
Minshawi soon became a prominent Qari both in the styles of Tahqiq and Tarteel.
He traveled to many countries, including Indonesia, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Iraq, Pakistan and Sudan, for Quran recitation.
Minshawi died in 1969 at the age of 49.
