NILAI, March 31, 2017 – The knowledge of Qiraat (methods of reading) and Sanad (chain of narrators) of the Quran are mostly discussed in the Arabic language. Learning and understanding this type of knowledge is usually done through a teacher who himself learned it from his own teacher through Talaqqi learning (direct learning in study circles). These are the confronted norms when learning the Qiraat.

The efforts of upholding the knowledge of Qiraat was carried out by many parties, and Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia (USIM), through the Faculty of Quran and Sunnah Studies (FPQS), wanted to take part in these efforts by recently organizing a one-day seminar with the theme of: The Knowledge of Qiraat and Sanad 2017 in Khazandarah, Shoubra, Egypt.

“Generally, many are interested in learning these two disciplines. Therefore, those who are experts in this field are needed to teach so that the available expertise is further developed, and the community would be able to benefit a lot”.

“To achieve this goal, specializing in this field requires the person to master all the related basic knowledges, such as the memorization of Quran, the ‘Asharah As-Suhgra (the ten minor methods of reading) either theoretically or practically, in addition to extensively studying matn Ash-Shatibiyyah (The famous poem of Imam al-Shatibi) by understanding it and memorizing it, as well as the poems of Ad-Durrah Al-Mudhiyyah (The Illuminating Pearl) and Tayyibati-n-Nashr (The Goodness of An-Nashr)” explains Dr. Khairul Anuar Mohamad, a lecturer at FPQS who presented some works at the seminar.

Dr. Khairul Anuar Mohamad, who is also te Director of the Islamic Centre in USIM, have also presented some of his work related to the Qiraat and Sanad of the Quran, and stressed to the students at Shoubra the importance of consistency in revising the memorized of the Quran, and to make use of the chances they get to learn by Talaqqi through qualified teachers with Sanad. Egypt is known for its many scholars who became a global reference in all disciplines, including the knowledge of Qiraat. One of them as Syeikh Abdul Fattah al-Qadhi, a Quran verifier in Egypt, and the first Qiraan lecturer at the Faculty of Quran in the Islamic University of Madinah; he wrote many books, including an explanation for matn Ash-Shatibiyyah and matn Ad-Durrah Al-Mudhiyyah that are still currently used as references.

Another lecturer from FPQS who also presented his work in this seminar is Ustaz Norazman Alias who discussed the development and reception of the society in Malaysia regarding the Sanad of the Quran. He stated that offering Talaqqi classes with Sanad have attracted more people to follow them compared to Tajweed classes. However, a number of learning centres that offer this program have different methods among each other, which needs some reviewing.

“Concerning the Sanad, there were people who are smart roask about As-Sanad Al-‘Aali that is nearer to the Prophet -peace be upon him- that means number if its narrators is small, or ask about As-Sanad An-Nazil that means the number of its narrators in more”, said Ustaz Norazman Alias.

The seminar where 148 participants have attended was complemented by the dean of FPQS, Associate Professor Dr. Adnan Mohamaed Yusof. In his speech, he spoke about the development of this knowledge in Malaysia, the direction and future prospects of graduates of Qiraat in Malaysia. He also informed that USIM will soon offer a degree program in the knowledge of Qiraat. This program will give the chance to those who have finished the memorization of the Quran to learn the seven Qiraan of the entire Quran by Talaqqi.

The seminar ended by listening to the advices, and instructions from Syeikh Sayyid Ali Abdul Majid, a scholar of the Quran from Egypt. He is the deputy director of Quran revision in Egypt, an interviewer for selection of Qari’s for Egyptian radio stations, and a judge for the International Tilawah Competition that is organized by JAKIM.

Organizing the Qiraat and Sanad seminar has given a lot of benefits to the Malaysian who are learning this indepth over there. Therefore, later when they return to the country they will be able to fulfil the needs of the community in the further development of studying the knowledge of Qiraat and Sanad.

Prepared by:
Zaini Othman
Strategic Communication Centre (StraComm)
Level 1, Canselori Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia (USIM)
71800 Nilai, Negeri Sembilan
Tel : 06-798 8026/8027/6284 Faks : 06-798 8204