09/04/2008
Before the Islamic Revolution, there were some people who used to meet in
different places and recite the Holy Quran. But the ever increasing attention of
our youth and children to the Holy Quran basically started after the Revolution.
Prior to the Islamic Revolution, some of the qurra' [those who recite the Quran
with the proper rules of recitation] traveled to Iran, but no one ever knew when
they arrived or left. One of these famous qurra was Sheik Abul Ainein who had
been invited by Owaqaf [an organization responsible for the guardianship of
religious endowments] to travel to Mashhad. I had previously listened to a lot
of his records, and was very fond of his voice although I was not in close
contact with him.
By then, I had broken off all relations with those who had invited him, and
although I was truly interested in listening to his voice, I did not take part
in any one of the ceremonies they had arranged. They had formed a gathering and
were reciting the Holy Quran in the Goharshad Mosque [a famous mosque in Razavi
Khorasan province in Iran] under a very graceful iwan [a vaulted hall or space,
walled on three sides, with one end entirely open]. The congregation could
barely said to be a hundred. They were sitting in a circle, listening to the
recitation of the Holy Quran. The weather was very cold then, and my son Mojtaba
who was very young then, was also with me.
Since I did not intend to join them, I had to stay out in the cold weather to
listen to that qari's voice. As I previously mentioned, the number of the people
present was around a hundred. These days, however, almost everyone is interested
to listen when you go to a city [to recite the Holy Quran].
* Related by the Supreme Leader in his meeting with a number of
Qurra' of the Holy Quran on February 9, 1991.
* Source:
http://english.khamenei.ir
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