Today’s journey begins beyond the walls of Darul Qasim College and places us directly inside the Prophet’s ﷺ Mosque in the City of Light, al-Madina al-Munawwara. The floral, green carpets come into view accompanied by the soft smell of ṣalawāt (salutations) and the melodious sounds of Qurʾānic Recitation. Mawlana Arif Kamal, department chair of Qurʾānic Recitation, is seated in a small circle of student’s awaiting the arrival of their teacher, Shaykh Abdullah Al-Jarullah. One of the lead teacher’s in Madinah. Like all of the students seated, Mawlana Arif has been invited to recite to the Shaykh.
The act of “reciting to a teacher” is a part of the Islamic Intellectual Tradition, a tradition that our college holds onto and continues to utilize within the department’s development of courses, curricular materials, and teaching methodologies. Furthermore, traveling in the quest for more knowledge is key to our faculty’s maintaining a high standard of teaching and research in their respective fields.
Against this backdrop, Mawlana Arif illustrates through his own study of the Qurʾān while reciting, what it means to “recite to a teacher” and how these experiences not only inform his own teaching, but more broadly has shaped the department’s approach to the advanced study of Qurʾānic Recitation.