BA Documents the Life of Sheikh Muhammed Rifat, Heaven’s Guitar
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The BA has started documenting the history and life of Sheikh Muhammed Rifat, also known as “The Miracle’, in cooperation with his granddaughter.
The documentary collection of Sheikh Rifat includes several pictures of his recitals as well as personal pictures of him and his family. It also includes some articles that were written about him, the cooperation agreement between him and the Egyptian Radio, and the agreement to inaugurate the Egyptian Radio during a ceremony that was held to celebrate the occasion at the Cairo Opera House.
The BA continues to search for the hidden treasures in Sheikh Rifat’s archive in order to properly reveal and present the most astounding reciter of the verses of the Holy Quran in the 20th century; his style in recitation was exceptional and unique.
Sheikh Muhammed Rifat was born on 9 May 1882 in Cairo. He lost his sight when he was only two years old. He memorized the Holy Quran at the age of five, as he went to school (kuttab) at Fadl Pasha Mosque, al-Sayeda Zeinab District. Sheikh Muhammed Rifat also studied methods of qur’anic readings and recitations (Qira'at), qur’anic exegesis (tafsir), as well as Arabic maqam under the sheikhs of his time.
During the first week of Ramadan, a night in appreciation and in commemoration of Sheikh Muhammed Rifat will be held at the BA Sinnari House (Cairo). The event will be attended by a number of public figures, and it will feature some of his rare recordings.