Quran Recitation Style of Mahmud Ali Al-Banna: Simple and Amazing
Iranian Quran expert and prominent qari Ali Akbar Hanifi recently talked to IQNA about Al-Banna and his recitation style, excerpts of which are as follows:
Mahmud Ali Al-Banna had a full voice. As for style, he followed the path of masters like the late Mohammed Rif’at and Mohammed Salamah, who were qaris with amazing voices. Al-Banna began by following their style but later developed his own style of recitation. He is known by some experts as being among the 12 top qaris of the Muslim world in the first half of the twentieth century.
Al-Banna was a master in the tone of expression. Once he was reciting verses from Surah An-Nazi’at in one of Egypt’s provinces. When he recited verse 27 of this chapter “(People), is your creation harder for God than that of the heavens, which He created, raised and established”, one of the listeners was moved so much that he asked him to repeat it. Al-Banna recited the verse seven times, each time with a different tone so that it would show a new aspect of the content.
Al-Banna is among qaris whose recitation has little Tahrir (an ornament or trill in voice). He is a very good example of qaris with simple recitations. He was among the best qaris of the Muslim world but had little Tahrir.
Those who like to learn Quran recitation can begin by listening to Al-Banna’s recitations because imitating his style is easy. Basically, anyone who seeks to imitate something should begin with easy ones. I once was talking to my recitation teacher Master Sheikh Mohammed Fahmi Asfour. I suggested that he imitate the style of Al-Banna, which has little Tahrir. He did that and started imitating his style, telling me a week later that Al-Banna’s recitation is like a school as teaches a lot.
Late Mustafa Ismail once said about Al-Banna that he recites the Quran as it has been revealed.
