Al-Absi's pauses with the Qur'an

In the month of the Qur’an, I remember my journalist friend, Muhammad Abdo Al-Absi, and his encounters with the reciters he admired.

Surah Maryam recited by Fares Abbad

Surah Az-Zukhruf recited by Mahmoud Al-Hosary

Surah Al-Hajj, which he memorized because of his great attachment to it

Surat Ar-Ra'd and all of its recitation by Sheikh Muhammad Rifat.

Every time I read Surah Maryam, or hear someone recite it, I remember my late friend Mohammed Abdo Al-Absi. In one of the first sessions I met Al-Absi in 2011, he was talking about Surah Maryam, and how much he loved listening to it recited by Fares Abbad. I don't understand maqamat, but Al-Absi spoke in depth about Abbad's recitation, and about the feelings he conveyed to the listener through sensing the meaning of each word.

Following the assassination of journalist Al-Absi in December 2016, Professor Mohammed Al-Ghabri wrote about Al-Absi's time with the Holy Quran: "He told me that the surah that most fascinated and awed him was Surat Al-Hajj, which he had memorized because of his attachment to it. He also used to listen to Surat Az-Zukhruf recited by Mahmoud Khalil Al-Hosary."

Al-Absi's most famous stance was with Sheikh Muhammad Rifat.

In November 2013, Al-Absi wrote under the title: "In the Realm of Sheikh Muhammad Rifaat." For me, I first learned about the famous Egyptian reciter from Muhammad Al-Absi's article, which led us to the wonderful book "Melodies of Heaven" by Egyptian journalist Mahmoud Al-Saadani.

In a radio interview, the musician of generations, Mohammed Abdel Wahab, who was one of Sheikh Rifaat’s closest associates, said, like many intellectuals and artists of that era, and perhaps the most surprising of them was the famous Lebanese historian Amin al-Rihani, who was Christian by religion.

Muhammad Abd al-Wahhab says in The Humility of the Elders: "I was his friend and at his feet" at the same time. He adds: "We were close friends most of the time. When the sheikh recited the Quran, I transformed from a friend to a servant."

At the end of the article, Al-Absi includes a link to Surat Ar-Ra'd recited by Rifaat and invites journalist Sami Ghaleb to listen: "Listen, my friend, you who are sensitive and attentive to hearing, to the sound and pronunciation of the letters qaf and ayn in particular, and their intense clarity and the extent of their coloration in the recitation, as in most of his captivating recitations."