Known as the “Sheikh of Makkah Reciters” and “Sheikh of Hijaz Reciters” due to his extensive knowledge of the recitations of Holy Qur'an, Sheikh Abbas Magadmi was one of the most noted reciters in the Kingdom at a time when the influence of the mass media was first emerging. Full name Abbas Mohammed Abbas Abdullah Hussein Ali Magadmi Qurayoush Al-Zuwaiby Al-Thubaity Al-Otaibi, Sheikh Magadmi was born in Makkah in 1342 H, corresponding to the Gregorian 1921, and was one of several Saudi reciters who became prominent at the time and attracted listeners in their thousands. A master of all styles but with particular connections to the Hijazi style, fortunately Sheikh Magadmi's recitations have been preserved for posterity after he overcame his initial reluctance to embrace the new forms of sound technology to become the first reciter on Jabal Hindi Radio and Aramco's Holy Qur'an Radio Station. The course of Magadmi's life was set early on when, at the age of three, he was stricken with chicken pox which, due to the lack of medical facilities in the day, left him blind. His father decided to help him adapt to his new sightless life where they lived in the Souq Al-Layl District of Makkah by furnishing him with the light of the Holy Qur'an, and enrolled him in recitation and memorization lessons given by renowned sheikhs, chief among them Sheikh Ahmed Abdullah Hijazi, Sheikh Ahmed Bin Hamed Bin Abdul Razak Al-Teji Al-Redi, Sheikh Mohammed Saeed Bashnak, Sheikh Saad Aoun, Sheikh Jaffar Jameel and Sheikh Mohammed Obaid. He also received instruction from Sheikh Abdul Raouf Maari, head of Holy Qur'an reciters in Egypt, Sheikh Saad Aoun, Sheikh Zaini Abdullah Barian and Sheikh Abdul Samad Jambi, Sheikh Seraj Quarout, and Sheikh Omar Al-Arbaeen. Sheikh Al-Sayed Alawi Al-Maliki further instructed Magadmi in jurisprudence and the hadith. Magadmi's amenable nature, virtuous character and understanding of the ethics of the Qur'an made him popular among his teachers, and he memorized the Qur'an while still very young. He soon racked up awards and certificates for his efforts, notably from Sheikh Mohammed Ali Zainal, proprietor of Al-Falah Schools in Saudi Arabia and India, and three licenses from Al-Azhar in Cairo. His recitations, characterized by the Hijazi style of reciters from Makkah and Madina, made their mark before the time of radio and television, but both the new mediums would soon emerge as a force to be reckoned with and, although skeptical at first of the religious permissibility of the new mediums, Magadmi was finally persuaded by Sheikh Mohammed Saeed Beshnak to record and thereby leave his gifts for future generations. Many of his recitations and readings can be heard nowadays serving as ring tones on mobile telephones. Magadmi also etched his name into the history books further afield by becoming first Saudi Reciter of Holy Qur'an on Indian radio while on a teaching mission in 1953. Magadmi remained in India for four years, reciting day and night. Sheikh Magadmi's name had begun to capture the attention of the press both at home and abroad, and in a December 1951 issue of Al-Manhal magazine, Abdul Qudus Al-Ansari, wrote of the sheikh's “unique method of recitation, fine sound, beauty of tone, and moving impact”. The Grand Sheikh of Qur'anic Reciters Sheikh Ahmed Hijazi was a known admirer of Sheikh Magadmi, while Sheikh Abdul Basit Abdus Samad, who instructed Magadmi in many of the more dexterous techniques of recitation that prove a challenge too far for many reciters, described his as “the master of Hijazi recitation”. In a documentary with Al-Jazeera last year, the now late Muhammad Abdu Yamani, the former minister of information, spoke of Sheikh Magadmi as a name synonymous with the Hijazi recitations heard at the Grand Mosque in Makkah. “Magadmi was a master of reading in multiple tone and key variation, his voice achieving greater heights of beauty the higher it went,” Yamani said. “He was one of the most notable reciters of the Holy Qur'an in Saudi Arabia of the last sixty five years.” Sheikh Mohammed Mahmoud Al-Tablawi, the head sheikh of reciters in Egypt, described Magadmi as one of the “leading figures among reciters”. “He was notable for his matchless control of voice and power of performance,” Al-Tablawi said. “He had a golden larynx from the time he was a child until old age.” Sajad Mustafa Kamal Al-Hassan, Secretary General of Holy Qur'an Memorization Society in Makkah, said of Magadmi: “He was one of the most renowned reciters of the Holy Qur'an in the whole of Saudi Arabia and was a leader of his generation with his voice full of sweetness, gracefulness, and variety of Hijazi intonation.” Sheikh Abbas Magadmi passed away in Makkah on Feb. 12, 1991 at the age of 69.
