THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, February 20, 1996 TAG: 9602200276
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ESTHER DISKIN, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Long : 122 lines
Over the month of Ramadan, the Koran is chanted from cover to cover, all 114 chapters in poetic Arabic. It runs to about 400 pages in an English translation.
Muslims celebrate Ramadan, the holy month of spiritual discipline that ends today, by gathering nightly to pray and listen to a recitation of the Koran, their holy book.
Throughout the month of Ramadan, the Koran is chanted from cover to cover, all 114 chapters in poetic Arabic - which runs to about 400 pages in an English translation.
Most Muslims are content simply to hear the verses unfold each night. But a few at the Islamic Center in Norfolk have achieved a feat that inspires awe among their fellow worshipers: They have committed the entire Koran to memory and can chant it with melodic precision.
Sharif Hafiz, a 64-year-old professor of education at Norfolk State University, is one of them.
Hafiz began memorizing the Koran at age 7, and he never tires of its mysterious beauty. ``The Koran has its own special melody; no one has ever written one sentence like it,'' he said. ``It has unique diction, its own melody. Its expressions are rhythmic. . . . You listen to it and it melts people down.''
In countries where Islam is the dominant religion - such as Pakistan, where Hafiz was born - training for young children to memorize the Koran is not uncommon. The training is typically given to boys, though girls are sometimes encouraged to learn.
The challenge of memorization lies not only in the words, but in the specific, note-by-note melody that must be followed in chanting the entire book. Those who accomplish this feat of memory are often referred to by a title of respect that loosely translates as ``preserver of the Koran.''
These people are often called upon to lead the congregation in the special recitation of the Koran during Ramadan, considered to be the month when the Koran was revealed to Muhammad, the religion's great prophet.
In the United States - where preservers of the Koran are in short supply among the 6 million Muslims nationwide - congregations sometimes import someone to lead them during Ramadan.
This year, the mosque in Hampton has flown in two memorizers from Egypt. ``Anyone who knows it by heart is in a much better position to teach it, rather than one who has to look it up,'' observes Ahmed Noor, director of the Hampton branch of the Foundation for Islamic Knowledge.
In Norfolk, Hafiz shares the honor of leading services with three Old Dominion University students: Mohammad Almansour, 36, of Saudi Arabia; Yahia Abdelhemid, 28, of Egypt; and Ashraf Attia, 27, also of Egypt.
All three started memorizing the Koran before the age of 10. Abdelhemid said that while he sometimes has difficulty memorizing dates in history or mathematical equations, the Koran seemed to glide into his mind.
``When I memorized the Koran, it was easy,'' he said. ``It is one thing about memorizing the Koran which makes it very different from any other thing.''
Hafiz started his training after a plea from his father, a farmer who did not know how to read or write.
One day when Hafiz was only 7, his father heard an imam - or religious leader - recount the blessings that would be bestowed upon a man whose sons had memorized the Koran. Such a man, the imam said, would be given a hallowed status on the Day of Judgment.
Hafiz's father returned home from the mosque and asked his young son, ``Will you make me that father?'' That same day, father and son went to the mosque to enroll the boy in lessons with a master teacher.
For several years, Hafiz carried on his training in the Koran for two or three hours each night, in addition to his regular classes at public school. His aspiration, he said, was to match the mental prowess of his teacher, whom he revered as a father-figure.
``His memory was so strong that no one ever needed to correct him,'' said Hafiz. ``He never made one mistake! Never.''
By the time he was in ninth grade, Hafiz was ready to lead prayers during Ramadan. He later helped teach two of his brothers, though, he says with a rueful smile, he has not been able to teach his 17-year-old son.
Hafiz moved to the United States in the 1960s and his entire family eventually followed. His father, who is 93, lives in the area, and sometimes comes to hear his son recite.
``Most every devoted Muslim has this wish, that they or their children would attain this honor,'' Hafiz said. ``He was lucky, with the Lord's blessing, that his wish was fulfilled.'' MEMO: WHAT IS RAMADAN?
Ramadan is the name for the ninth month of the Muslim calendar, which is
organized according to the cycles of the moon. During this month,
Muslims around the world observe the hours between daybreak and sunset
as a time of self-denial. They do not eat or drink, and they abstain
from sexual relations and other pleasures of the senses, such as
listening to music. After an evening prayer, they break the fast with a
small meal.
Muslims are expected to pray five times a day, but they have additional
prayers during Ramadan. Each night, they read a portion of the Koran,
their holy book, a ritual that allows them to complete it during the
month.
Today Muslims in Hampton Roads will observe ``Eid Al-Fitar,'' a
celebration that ends the monthly observance. About 1,000 Muslims are
expected to gather at the Hampton University Convocation Center, where
morning prayers begin shortly after 8a.m. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo by GARY C. KNAPP
Sharif Hafiz, a Norfolk State University professor, began memorizing
the Koran at age 7 in Pakistan.
Photo by GARY C. KNAPP
Members of the Islamic Temple near the campus of Old Dominion
University in Norfolk gather for an observance of Ramadan, which is
the holy month of spiritual discipline. About 6 million people
follow the Islamic faith in the United States.
by CNB