World-renowned Quran reciter Shaykh Ahmed Nuaina to visit Milwaukee

Shaykh Ahmed Nuaina of Egypt is widely seen as the link between Egypt’s golden era of Quran recitation and the present.

Legendary Quran reciter and scholar Shaykh Ahmed Nuaina of Egypt will visit Milwaukee Saturday to serve as the honorable guest reciter at The Night of Divine Recitation, 6-8 p.m., at Masjid Al Quran, 11723 W. Brown Deer Rd., Milwaukee. RSVP is requested.

Nuaina, 72, is widely considered one of today’s leading Quran reciters and the last living link between the golden era of Quran recitation of the early 20th century and today. 

“His recitation reflects the depth, discipline and spiritual gravity that defined those masters, making him a towering figure in his own right,” said Masjid Al Quran religious director Imam Hafiz Muhammad Shafique in an interview with Wisconsin Muslim Journal.

On Oct. 14, Nuaina was appointed Egypt’s chief qari, a prestigious position that recognizes his skill and decades of dedication. (A qari is one who recites Quran according to the tajwid (the proper rules of recitation).

He will be joined by Shaykhs Ibrahim Bakeer and Saifullah Muhammad. Bakeer is a U.S.-based Egyptian specialist in tafseer (critical explanation) and maqamat (styles of reading) of the Quran, with 15 years of experience. He is the founder of the Maqamat Institute, which provides academic and practical training in Quranic recitation. Muhammad is co-founder of the Salam Community in Minneapolis, a space for Muslim students at the University of Minnesota to gather.

Bringing the legend to Milwaukee

“This will be a great opportunity for the Quran lovers,” said Masjid Al Quran religious director Imam Hafiz Muhammad Shafique. “Shaykh Ahmed Nuaina belongs to a special class of renowned Quran reciters and may well be the last representative of that generation. “His mastery, spiritual presence and adherence to the classical tradition of tilawah (the practice of reciting the Quran aloud with proper pronunciation) place him in a unique and honored position within the history of modern Quran recitation. To listen to this legend in person is something you’ll always remember and can tell others about.”

Imam Shafique first learned of Qari Nuaina more than two decades ago, when an Egyptian friend gave him a cassette tape of him reciting Quran. “I loved to listen to him and continued through the years from cassettes to CDs to YouTube,” he said. “His recitation has a certain beauty. It is very enjoyable to listen to him.”

Two years ago, Imam Shafique had the opportunity to meet Shaykh Nuaina in person when he was invited to speak at the Global Tasawwuf Conference held in Alexandria, Virginia. “I was so very happy to meet him personally,” Imam Shafique recalled. “After meeting him, I gained even more respect for him because he’s a kind and humble person. He’s not only a beautiful reciter but also a beautiful person.”

Then, just two weeks ago, an instructor from the Madina Institute, Shaykh Saifullah Muhammad, “a very popular Islamic scholar from Minnesota who will be one of the reciters at the event Saturday, asked if we’d like to host Shaykh Nuaina in Milwaukee.  I said we’d love to have him and please make the request. Even though we didn’t have much time, it was such a wonderful opportunity. The next day they confirmed it and we announced the program.”

Famous Muslim scholar talks about Qari Nuaina

Imam Shafique shared a YouTube video with WMJ that featured American Muslim scholar and theologian Shaykh Yasir Qadhi, Ph.D., spoke about meeting Qari Nuaina. He told the story as an example of how, if one is dedicated and persistent, Allah will open doors, and you’ll go places you never expected.”

Qadhi is dean of the Islamic Seminary of America and resident scholar of the East Plano Islamic Center in Texas. He is also the chair of the Fiqh Council of North America, which guides the Muslims of the U.S. and Canada in all matters related to Shari’ah (Islamic law).

Here are the highlights (paraphrased): 

Qari Nuaina is one of the living legends, a top scholar of Quran and recitation today. Look him up on YouTube and you’ll find he has the highest hits of Islamic recitation.

Shaykh Ahmed Nuaina is a pediatrician by training and worked as a highly skilled, full-time doctor. He told me that he was born into a secular, upper-class, rich Egyptian family and was not practicing Islam. But in his late twenties, God gave him the desire to memorize the Quran. 

Many people would consider that too late, but he decided he was going to do it.

He was in Egypt. Islamic scholars were everywhere. And it so happened that in his local masjid, there was a professor who taught Quran recitation. Nuaina went to the shaykh and said, “I want to memorize the Quran, but I’m a doctor and I don’t have much time. Can you help me?”

The scholar said, “I don’t have much time for one-on-one. I’m a busy guy, too. But let’s do this. Every day, you will memorize and perfect two lines of the Quran. I have only one condition. There is no vacation. You have to do this every day; memorize it with all the correct pronunciation and tones. Perfect it.”

Nuaina replied, “I know I’m busy, but I can do more than two lines.” However, the teacher insisted that he do only two daily and be consistent.

When the teacher heard him reciting, he said, “Allah has given you the flutes of David.”

Slowly but surely, this busy pediatrician learned and doors began to open up. He became a master and people began inviting him to recite the Quran. Today, the world knows him as one of the top Quran scholars worldwide. 

“Our religion is not a religion that is encouraging mediocrity,” Shaykh Qadhi concluded. “Allah never wants us to be average. Allah tells us to strive for perfection, to strive for excellence, to aim for the very highest.”