Localized Timbres and Tonalities of Qur'ānic Recitation: From Africa to Indonesia

Abstract

Abstract: Throughout most of its history, Islam localized to globalize, spreading a universal message of belief in the oneness of God ( tawḥīd ), which flexibily adapted to global cultures. This process was facilitated in part through oral traditions of performance and transmission. Such functional adaptation supported globalization by catalyzing engagement with local populations, enhancing the impact of Islam's theological message. This article examines the ways in which this process occurred in the context of Qur'ānic recitation, more specifically the ways in which timbral and tonal variations of Qur'ānic recitation came to reflect local sonic cultures. The article begins by noting the centrality of language performance to Islamic ritual practice and identifies elements of that practice which are fixed and variable. It further describes how Qur'ānic recitation is constrained by three fixed textual sources, namely the unvocalized Arabic text ( muṣḥaf ), the canonical "readings" of Qur'ānic recitation ( qirā'āt ), and the established rules of recitation ( aḥkām al-tajwīd ). Beyond these three elements, however, Qur'ānic recitation can adapt in dialectical relation to the local soundscape, including language and music. Over many generations this adaptive process resulted in a broadly ramified structure, which has steadily eroded since the late nineteenth century due to new technologies of mass media and rapid transport. Nonetheless, local varieties of Qur'ānic recitation persist into the twenty-first century, as illustrated by this article's analysis of six different recitations of the first chapter of the Qur'ān, al-Fātiḥa (The Opener), drawn from a selection of reciters from Egypt, Saudi Arabia, sub-Saharan Africa, and Indonesia. The analysis of these recitations, highlighting timbral and tonal differences in relation to local culture, suggests lines of inquiry for future research in this domain.