pointed by the Muslim calendar. The ninth month,
Ramad:a ̄n—the month when Muh:ammad’s mission was first
announced to him with the transmission of the first revela-
tion (surah 96) by the angel Gabriel, and also the month of
the obligatory fast—is the occasion for public recitation of
one-thirtieth of the text each day in mosques and special
gatherings. The written text of the QurDa ̄n indicates these li-
turgical divisions with symbols in the margins marking each
thirtieth part (juzD), the halves of each of these, and the quar-
ters of each half. Another set of markings divides the text into
seven weekly sections. The apportioning of the text in this
fashion is separate from the literary chapter divisions (surahs)
and specifically applies to the liturgical and mnemonic func-
tions of reciting.
The actual speed with which a Muslim may choose to
recite the entire text (over a month, a week, three days, or
even in one night), like the question of which passage to re-
cite on a given occasion, is a matter of personal preference.
Various recommendations of the Prophet and his compan-
ions on these matters are found in the h:ad ̄ıth and are quoted
in the literature on QurDa ̄n recitation.
On important calendrical festivals (Euyu ̄d; sg., E ̄ıd), such
as the Prophet’s birthday (Mawlid al-Nab ̄ı), the Feast of
Fast-Breaking (E ̄Id al-Fit:r, at the end of the month of
Ramad:a ̄n), and during the pilgrimage assemblies in Mecca
during the twelfth month, QurDa ̄n recitation also plays an
important role. Whereas such public occasions call for the
skills of a trained reciter, every Muslim individually recites
a portion of the QurDa ̄n during the five daily prayers. The
most frequently recited passage is the brief first surah, the
Fa ̄tih:ah (Opener).
The Muslim lunar calendar captures in its festivals and
holidays the rhythms of sacred history that center around
God’s revelation to the Prophet and the sacred time of the
formation of the Prophet’s community (ummah) in Mecca
and Medina. Another set of social rhythms, the human life
cycle, is also celebrated by moments of recitation. The Mus-
lim rites of passage, including birth and naming of the child,
circumcision, acquiring the ability to recite the entire QurDa ̄n
from memory, marriage, and death, are normally celebrated
among family, friends, and neighbors, and it is common
practice to hire a QurDa ̄n reciter for the edification and enjoy-
ment of those gathered. Numerous political and social occa-
sions also call for a religious blessing attended by QurDa ̄n reci-
tation. Because QurDa ̄n recitation in the more ornate
mujawwad style is also a critical art form, a well-known recit-
er can attract a large and responsive crowd just to hear him
perform his art. Indeed, the ethnomusicological field re-
search of Kristina Nelson has shown that public knowledge
and appreciation of different personal styles of mujawwad
performance are very keen among reciters and their audi-
ences in Egypt today; such intense appreciation of QurDa ̄n
recitation is characteristic of all Muslim societies including
regions outside the Arabic-speaking Middle East.
The development of electronic media in the twentieth
century has created new contexts for QurDa ̄n recitation. Tape
recordings of the murattal and tajw ̄ıd styles of recitation by
famous recent and contemporary reciters are widely available
for private and public listening. Cassettes also allow individ-
uals to record their favorite reciter from the radio or at pri-
vate reciting sessions and to exchange tapes with other con-
noisseurs. Television stations in Muslim countries typically
begin and end each program day with a passage of QurDa ̄n
recitation; as the shaykh recites, the Arabic text rolls down
the screen in place of or in addition to the image of the recit-
er. In some non-Arabic-speaking countries such as Malaysia
and Indonesia, a simultaneous translation of the text in the
local language may also appear on the screen. Radio, howev-
er, is by far the most widely used broadcast medium for
QurDa ̄n recitation today. Most stations broadcast QurDa ̄n rec-
itation at selected intervals, along with religious poetry, read-
ings of the Prophet’s h:ad ̄ıth, and homiletic materials. Some
stations devote programming entirely to QurDa ̄n recitation
and other religious materials, and listeners are able to select
times for listening or recording their favorite passages and re-
citers from broadcast schedules in the print media. Along
with reciters famed for their skills and in high demand for
public and private recitations in person, those chosen for
broadcast performance are carefully screened, and many be-
come well-known personalities in Muslim societies. Given
the new media contexts of modern Islam, it is not uncom-
mon, therefore, for someone walking down a street to hear
the QurDa ̄n being recited from several sources at once—from
radios and cassette recorders in private homes, small shops,
and automobiles, along with those carried by passersby.
Throughout the Muslim world students, both male and fe-
male, compete in local and national QurDa ̄n reciting contests,
which are decided internationally each year at such re-
nowned centers as al-Azhar University in Cairo.The contexts of QurDa ̄n recitation described above have
a striking symbolic association with “occasions of revelation”
during the sacred time of the Prophet’s mission in Mecca and
Medina. Recitation then and now belongs to those signifi-
cant moments in the life of the community that call for
enunciation of the divine word. Tila ̄wah is, then, a meaning-
ful speech act governed by rules that situate the speaker and
the addressee within the sacred paradigm of God’s address
to humankind. The recited QurDa ̄n is, however, no more
considered by Muslims to be the actual words of the contem-
porary reciter than it is attributed to the prophet
Muh:ammad. The QurDa ̄n is enthusiastically held to be God’s
beneficent revelation to the Arabs in the seventh century and,
through the Arabs and their language, to the rest of human-
kind. Tila ̄wah as an Islamic cultural framework embraces not
only the sounds but also the cognitive processes of meaning
and the emotional responses appropriate to this symbol of
divine manifestation. A full appreciation of tila ̄wah, there-
fore, engages the student of religions with texts, rules, and
practices that touch virtually every aspect of Muslim society.9202 TILA ̄WAH