BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN

LEARNING to recite the Quran with its proper tarannum (melodies) is becoming more accessible for youths as there are many programmes and capable teachers now.

Imams yesterday told The Brunei Times that in the past, they had to travel abroad in order to find proficient teachers who were able to fully teach them the proper techniques on applying melodies in reciting the Quran.

Hj Rosli Hj Bolaji, Imam of Masjid Kg Pulaie and a veteran qari said in previous years, proficient teachers were hard to come by. As such, most who taught _tarannum _were foreigners.

“I still remember riding a fisherman’s pick-up from my house in Kg Saba to Kg Sengkurong just to learn under a teacher that we had heard of; in the past the distance was considered far and the roads were bumpy,” he said.

“We usually start our lessons after Maghrib until around 10pm, and at the time I was with a group of colleagues who were also keen to learn,” the Imam said.

Hj Rosli also said that one of the most valuable lessons he learned was to apply the seven melodies - Bayati, Soba, Hijjaz, Nahawand, Rast, Sikkh and Jiharkah – into various verses of the Quran.

“This is because if you only apply the seven melodies to a specific verse and recite them more frequently compared to other verses, you will find difficulties in trying to apply the melodies (to other verses),” he said.

Comparing to the present, Hj Rosli said that learning opportunities for younger people are easily available as there are a lot of competent teachers as well as various programmes and schemes which youths can join.

“So hopefully (the youth) can grasp the opportunity (and realise how fortunate they are today),” said Hj Rosli.

Expressing the same opinion, Imam Hj Abu Samah Shukri Hj Mohd Hussein from Masjid Al-Muhtadee Billah in Kg Sungai Kebun, said that all mosques in the country now provide Al-Quran classes, thus making it easier for people to learn at an early age.

He also said the classes make it more convenient for parents to ensure that their children will have proper education especially in reading the Quran.

Hj Abu Samah Shukri said back in the 1970s and 1980s, his father had arranged for him to go to his teacher’s house to recite Al-Quran.

Back then, he was enrolled to a boarding school so he was only able to attend Al-Quran lessons once a week. However, he said that he also received an Al-Quran education four times a week at school.

Imam of Masjid Kg Kapok, Hj Sahbirin Hj Mohd Noor learnt Al-Quran reciting skills from renowned teachers in his village at Kg Ayer.

He started learning from them at the age of five and when he reached 11, he was already teaching reciting skills to younger children around his village.

“It was also quite difficult to find proficient teachers, but peopleback then, including my colleagues, had always displayed keen interest to learn and that should be taken example of by youths today.”

With the accessibility of proficient teachers nowadays, he called on the youths to open their minds so they could reserve within their hearts the interest to learn the Quran, as it is the both the worldly (dunia) and hereafter (akhirat) guidance for Muslims.

The Brunei Times