Sheikh Mohamed Mahmoud Al-Tablawi is the head of the Egyptian Readers Syndicate, born on November 14, 1934 in Egypt, and memorized the Qur'an at the age of nine, and began his career in reciting the Qur'an at the age of 12 years, joined the radio after he refused 9 times, and his fame spread in Arab and Islamic countries, he died on the fifth of May 2020.

Birth and upbringing

Sheikh Mohamed Mahmoud al-Tablawi was born on November 14, 1934 in the village of Mit Okba in Giza governorate, and is originally from Sharqiya and Menoufia governorates, and is his father's only son.

He married 3 wives and had 8 sons and 5 daughters, and his first marriage was at the age of 16 years, and he married the second at the age of 19 years and had his first son and a girl he called "Prince", then came his third marriage, and he has more than 30 grandchildren.

Al-Tablawi narrates that his grandfather preached to his mother during her pregnancy that whoever is in her womb will be one of the memorizers of the Holy Qur'an, and also says that he heard his father praying to God Almighty to make his son one of the memorizers of the Qur'an and clerics, so he swore to fulfill his father's dream.

The Sheikh was distinguished by his gentleness of character and his sense of humor.

Study and scientific training

At the age of four, he began studying in the schools of his village, which is known for its interest in memorizing the Holy Qur'an, and his sheikh paid him special attention and care because of the distinction, talent, high ability and long breath he touched in it.

He completed memorizing the Book of Allah at the age of nine, and he regularly visited the book to review the Holy Qur'an and confirm it with his peers once a month.

Religious experience

Tablawi began as a reader at funerals at the age of 12 years and was not known at the time, and he used to read for 10 piasters a night, and when he became 15 years old, the return increased to 5 pounds.

Then he became famous and unique in reviving Quranic nights alone, and was invited to revive the funerals of senior staff and prominent personalities as well as senior readers, and became the favorite reader of a number of large families for the strength of his performance and high capabilities, as he was able to read the Qur'an for a continuous period of time up to two hours without fatigue or fatigue.

He worked as a reciter at the beginning of his career at the Matosian Tobacco Company, and his job was to read the Qur'an and raise the call to prayer in the company's mosque, and he became famous in Giza and Cairo through this work.

The sheikh recounts about his beginnings that he used to walk between houses moving and reading a quarter of the Qur'an at each house for a small amount, and revealed that this method contributed to people's knowledge of him and the spread of his reputation.

He tried to join the Egyptian radio, but failed 9 times in the recitation exam, and the reason for his failure was his lack of knowledge of vocal and musical maqams.

On the tenth time, when he took the exam, he passed, and the committee praised his abilities, performance and ability to move between places.

Tablawi, the owner of the rare genius voice in the world of recitation of the Holy Quran (Al Jazeera)

He was adopted as a reader on the Egyptian radio in 1970, and recorded short recordings of his recitation that won the admiration of people, and became a new phenomenon in his time, so they called him "the phenomenon of the era", as they called him "the reader of kings and presidents", and he was also called "the head of the readers syndicate" and "the ambassador of the Qur'an", and "the last grain in the rosary of the great reciters", and was distinguished by his unique way and his distance from tradition or subordination to any previous method.

On the radio, he recorded the Qur'an twice, the first for 75 hours, and the other for 33 hours, and became famous in the Arab and Islamic nations, and traveled to different countries at the invitations of Islamic councils and ministries of endowments.

He spent Ramadan in some years with Muslim communities in Western countries, and the number of countries he visited reached more than 80 Arab and Islamic countries, and he received invitations to commemorate the funeral of Queen Zain Al-Sharaf, mother of King Hussein of Jordan, at Raghadan Palace for 7 days.

He read the Qur'an in the hollow of the Kaaba while he was visiting Saudi Arabia and that was the time of washing the Kaaba, so King Khalid bin Abdulaziz Al Saud asked him to read the Qur'an from within.

In the seventies, he was chosen as a reader of Al-Azhar Mosque, and contributed to the establishment of the Syndicate of Reciters, and then appointed a syndicate of Egyptian readers, whose number at the time reached 12 thousand reciters.

The Sheikh expressed several times his regret for the poor financial conditions of reciters and the lack of services provided to them, which prompted a large number of people with beautiful voices and talents to withdraw from the field.

He also represented Egypt and Al-Azhar in several conferences, and participated in judging many competitions for memorizing and reciting the Holy Quran around the world, and generational musician Mohamed Abdel Wahab said that he "has miraculous vocal cords, because they perform the impossible tone."

He retired from reading after showing signs of fatigue and the effects of aging and illness, but he remained connected to the Holy Qur'an and stamped it once a week.

Roles and Responsibilities

  • Member of the Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs.
  • Member of the Qur'an Committee and religious advisor at the Ministry of Awqaf.
  • He represented Egypt in many conferences.
  • He worked as an arbitrator in competitions for memorizing the Holy Quran.
  • He was appointed President of the Egyptian Readers' Syndicate.

Awards and Recognitions

  • King Hussein honored him during his visit to Jordan in 1973.
  • He received a medal from Lebanon during the celebration of Laylat al-Qadr.

Death

Sheikh Mohamed Mahmoud al-Tablawi died on the fifth of May 2020 after suffering from illness at the age of 86, and hundreds participated in his funeral and prayers for him, including a large number of sheikhs, and was buried in his family's cemetery in Basateen in Cairo.