Children reciting al-Fatiha and Surat an-Nass

Audio file

Date recorded: September 1, 1967 to September 30, 1967
Contributor(s): Performer: Unidentified children; Recordist: Lomax, Alan
Subject(s):
Genre: prayer, recitation
Culture: Moroccan
Instruments: voice
Setting: Qur'an school
Location: El Ksiba, Azilal, Tadla-Azilal, Morocco
Physical form: Reel to Reel
Tape number: T2097
Track Number: 18
Archive ID: T2097R18
Note: On this track, the children recite the opening sura (chapter) of the Qur'an, Surat al-Fatiha: "In the name of God, the Benificent, the Merciful/ Praise be to God, the Sustainer of Worlds/ the Benificent, the Merciful/ Master of Judgement Day/ Thee we worship, Thine aid we seek/ Show us the straight path/ The path of those upon whom Thou hast bestowed Thy grace, not of those who have earned Thy wrath, nor those who have gone astray." The second sura (chapter) recited by the children is Surat an-Nass (Mankind), the 114th sura: "Say: I seek refuge in the Lord of mankind/The King of mankind/ The God of mankind/ From the evil of the sneaking whisperer (Satan)/ Who whispereth in the hearts of mankind/ Of the jinn and of mankind."
Transcript:
Belongs to: El Ksiba 9/67
About the session: A series of Amazigh songs, including dance songs featuring bendir accompaniment as well as tamawayt (improvised solo vocal). Recorded on the roadside near the town of El Ksiba in the Middle Atlas Mountains, Tadla-Azilal region. The bulk of this session was not recorded specifically in El Ksiba, but en route there (see Lomax's explanation, T2097, track 3). Children reciting from the Qur'an at an unidentified mosque school in El Ksiba, in the Middle Atlas Mountains. Before the colonial period, religious schools were the main source of primary education in Morocco, and remain important in teaching basic literacy in Arabic, especially in remote areas. Students learn by memorization and mass recitation (in the rhythmic cadence heard here) of surat (chapters) of the Qur'an.
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