Mesmerizing the Koran

I had never before considered that there might be a competition for reciting the Koran. I cannot say that I was surprised to learn of one, but I do consider it ironic that a text emphasizing a personal connection to Allah can be placed under such judgment. To a certain degree the judges were exalting certain connections with the text and Allah over others, indicated by higher or lower scores.

I found the judges to be one of the most interesting parts of the competition. They were more emotional and compassionate than I would have imagined them. For instance, they allowed a flustered boy to recite the Koran in a prestigious mosque in Egypt and cried after one of the younger boys had a particularly beautiful recitation. This emotion demonstrates the power present in the Koran.

Additionally, I was intrigued that they were all Arabic speaking judges. One would presume that an international competition would have at least numerous multi-lingual translators if not judges from these other countries. In my opinion, this fact was a clear advantage for some contestants. However, it is presumably not necessary to understand Arabic in order to understand the Koran. An individual can connect with the Koran in other ways, especially sound. Sells addresses this point at some length in Approaching the Qur’an. He says:

“The point in presenting these commentaries is not that particular sounds have inherent meaning in themselves, but that the Qur’an shapes sounds into particularly powerful combination with meaning and feeling to create an effect in which sound and meaning are intertwined. Such combinations are not confined to a single word…rather, they cross the boundaries of words”  (164)

Sounds become a “powerful combination with meaning and feeling”. This mixture is possible for those who do not grasp Arabic to hear. By “cross(ing) the boundaries of words”, the message present in the sounds is possible for speakers of every language to grasp as long as they can listen to it.

I found even myself being drawn into the rhythmical chants of the Koran. I understand absolutely no Arabic, but I could feel the sentiment behind the words. There was a noticeable presence of a higher being.