DUBAI (WAM)

The Dubai International Holy Quran Award announced the selection of the late reciter Sheikh Mahmoud Khalil Al-Husary as the Global Quranic Personality for its 28th edition (1447H – 2026).

This recognition comes in appreciation and gratitude for his enduring scholarly Quranic legacy, which left a profound impact across the fields of Quranic service throughout the Islamic world, as well as his outstanding contributions to the science of Tajweed and the contemporary Quranic school.

He will be honoured during the ceremony to be held on March 2 to recognise the winners of the most beautiful Quran recitation for 2026.

This recognition reflects the esteemed status of Sheikh Mahmoud Al-Husary, his vast knowledge, and his lasting pioneering role in serving the Holy Quran. Sheikh Al-Husary was a towering Quranic figure, and one of the leading reciters of the modern era, distinguished by precision of performance and clarity of recitation, and he played a major role in establishing strong scientific foundations in Tajweed rules.

The Global Quranic Personality Award, valued at $1 million, is one of the categories of the Dubai International Holy Quran Award, alongside the most beautiful Quran recitation for 2026 award in the male category valued at $1 million, and the female category valued at $1 million.

Ahmed Darwish Al Muhairi, Director-General of the Islamic Affairs and Charitable Activities Department in Dubai (IACAD) and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Dubai International Holy Quran Award, affirmed that the selection of the late reciter Sheikh Al-Husary as the Global Quranic Personality for the 28th edition reflects the vision of the wise leadership in honouring scholars who have left an indelible mark in serving the Holy Quran.

He noted, “This recognition represents an expression of loyalty to a lifetime of giving that spanned decades, during which the late reciter established a unique school of recitation and mastery, and laid the foundations for a rigorous scientific methodology in Tajweed from which generations across the world have benefited.”

Sheikh Mahmoud Al-Husary was the first to produce an officially approved radio recording of the recited Mushaf according to Tajweed rules, contributing to the spread of his recitation across the world and establishing his Quranic school as a guiding beacon for reciters and students of knowledge.

The late reciter served as the Chief of Egyptian Reciters, and former head of the Mushaf Revision Committee. He was born on 17 September 1917 in the village of Shubra Al-Namla in Gharbia Governorate, Egypt, and passed away on 24 November 1980.

Sheikh Al-Husary memorised the Holy Quran before the age of eight, and later studied the ten Qira’at at Al-Azhar. In 1957, he was appointed inspector of Egyptian Quran recitation centers; in 1958, deputy of the Egyptian Recitation Council; in 1959, reviewer and proofreader of Mushafs by decision of Al-Azhar.

In 1961, he was appointed by presidential decree as Chief of the Egyptian Reciters; and the following year he became deputy head - and later head - of Al-Azhar’s Mushaf Revision and Correction Committee.

Sheikh Al-Husary also served as President of the World Union of Quran Reciters. He was the first to recite the Quran at the United Nations in 1977, at the Royal Palace in London in 1978, and the first reciter to read the Quran at the White House and the United States Congress, where he was received by US President Jimmy Carter.

He played a leading role in establishing the world’s first Holy Quran radio station, and in the audio compilation of the Quran. His voice was the first broadcast on Quran Radio on 25 March 1964.

Sheikh Al-Husary was also the first to record the Quran in the narration of Hafs ‘an ‘Asim in 1961, Warsh ‘an Nafi’ in 1964, Qalun and Al-Duri ‘an Abi ‘Amr Al-Basri in 1968, the instructional Quran (teaching method) in 1969, and the interpretive recited Mushaf in 1975.

He left a valuable scholarly legacy, most of it focused on the Holy Quran and its sciences. Among his most prominent works are “Rules of Quran Recitation”, “The Ten Qira’at from Al-Shatibiyyah and Al-Durrah”, “Guidelines for Understanding Stops and Starts in Recitation”, “The Finest Legacy in the History of the Fourteen Reciters”, “With the Holy Quran”, and “The New Approach to the Science of Tajweed”.