12. The Role of a Muqri (Reciter)

The Prophet of Islam received his first revelation in 610 AD. The first word of this revelation was iqra’, that is, read or recite. However, following this divine command, the Prophet became a muqri or reciter. He began to recite the Quran to the people. Wherever, he saw a gathering of the people, he went there and recited the revealed portion of the Quran to them. We find in different traditions that ‘he presented Islam to them by reciting the Quran.’

The Companions of the Prophet also adopted this principle. Virtually, every Companion became a muqri or reciter. Whenever, he came to confront some people he turned to be a muqri. He went and recited some parts of the Quran to them. The Prophet also sent some of his Companions to Madinah to recite the Quran to them before his Migration. One of them was Musab bin Umair. His task was to go to the people and to recite to them the verses of the Quran. This was his dawah work.

In the age of the Prophet and his Companions the printing press was not invented. That time, the only solution to spreading the message of God was to remember some parts of the Quran and then to recite them to the people with the help of memory.

According to this, the history can be divided into two periods: pre printing press age and post printing press age. In the pre printing press age, the role of a muqri (reciter) was to remember the Quran with the help of memory and then to recite them to the people. After the invention of printing press the role of a muqri (da‘ee) would be naturally changed.  Now what they have to do is to prepare more and more copies of the Quran and then distribute them among the people. Before the invention of printing press the name of that role was that of muqri and after the emergence of the printing press the name of that role would be that of a distributor. 

This distribution of the word of God in the form of book is not a simple task rather it is a peaceful expedition of great nature. In ancient period, the muqri culture emerged under this expedition. In the present age of press, the distribution culture should appear under this expedition.