Friday Journal : 04th December 1998 |
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Articles in this issue |
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Introduction:
The presence of the Iranian prodigy, Sayyid Mohammad Husain Tabatabaee at this year's great Hajj pilgrimage rituals and his spectacular participation at various Qur'anic contests there amazed the other pilgrims.
Kayhan's correspondent in Mecca has talked to Mohammad Husain's father on the subject, The following text is a part of this interview.
The glorious presence of Iran's five-year-old prodigy, Sayyid Mohammad
Husain Tabatabaee at this year's Hajj pilgrimage and his spectacular
participation at various Qur'anic events and competitions here,
astonished the pilgrims of other countries. His great command over
the meaning and the context of the verses surprised the reciters
and memorizers of other countries, particularly the Egyptian masters
at Mecca's
"A Night with the Holy Qur'an" event.
Mohammad Husain had also separate exclusive meetings with the Saudi Information Minister and the Saudi Minister of Interior in which he answered their questions. When they noticed the precision of Mohammad Husain's replies regarding the Holy Book and his application of the Holy verses of Qur'an, they requested him to attend another meeting with the family members of high-ranking Saudi officials to witness his miraculous command over the Holy Qur'an. At this meeting, they had also invited the most prominent Saudi Arabian reciters and memorizers of the Holy Qur'an, some of whom are well known all over the Islamic world. There, Mohammad Husain for two hours answered numerous questions of a large crowd of Qur'anic masters and reciters, which greatly surprised and impressed every one. At the end of this meeting, a Saudi Arabian author who has published over a hundred books about the Holy Qur'an so far and trained hundreds of Qur'an reciters himself opined: `Sayyid Mohammad Husain Tabatabaee is the great miracle of Qur'anic knowledge and the history of Islam has never before witnessed such a prodigy." He further added, "Should I attempt to describe all the various capabilities of Mohammad Husain to those memorizers of the Holy Qur'an who have not seen him, I'm afraid they may accuse me of insincerity, and I won't blame them, because it is truly hard to believe if one has not seen or heard him in person.
During the Hajj pilgrimage rituals, Mohammad Husain also met various interested groups, besides his participation at Qur'anic events, and answered the questions of every individual.
I once had a chance to talk to Mohammad Husain's father; who is himself a memorizer of the Holy Qur'an, as well as being his son's teacher.
According to him, Mohammad Husain began memorizing the Qur'an when he was 2.5 years old. His mother, too, who knows the whole Qur'an by heart, played a great role in teaching him the Holy Book. Even when he was a suckling infant, being rocked in his cradle, he heard his mother recite Qur'anic verses. Therefore, one could say, he got acquainted with the Qur'an ever since he was very little and in fact from the very beginning of his life.
When asked, `How good Mohammad Husain's command is in memorizing the Holy Qur'an!" His father replied, "He knows the whole Qur'an by heart, while having a perfect command over the meaning of verses and their relation to the whole text."
"He can tell from the meaning which verse you have in mind as well as which other verses convey the same meaning.
"He can even tell you the verse's number, the page and the first verse at the top of the next page and the following other four pages. He also knows by heart the full text of several other poetry books, such as the great Iranian poets, Sa'di's Golestan, and Mohtasham Kashani's Diwan."
One of the characteristic of Mohammad Husain is his appropriate use of the holy verses of Qur'an in his routine conversations.
Mohammad Husain's father explains:
"Mohammad Husain reasons with his peers with Qur'anic verses while at play, although they might not understand!"
"For instance once his younger brother was running after him to beat him. Sayyid Mohammad Husain ran to me to take refuge, while reciting the verse, "We saved him (Moses) from the Pharaoh and the cruel deeds of their group" while he meant "Save me from my brother and his cruelty!" Or once when his sister had blocked his way he instantly recited the verse, "And do not sit in every path, blocking the path of Allah."
"I remember once I asked his sister to have some honey, and she refused," says Mohammad-Husain's father; "Right then he recited the holy verse, `O Messenger! Why do you deprive yourself of what Allah has bestowed upon you?' All in all, he appropriately utilizes verses very often in his daily life."
I then asked Mohammad Husain's father to refer to other examples of his Qur'anic conversations. He said, "When he met the former Iranian President Rafsanjani, the president had prepared a prize for him. As soon as he saw the gift he recited the verse, "And I'll send them a gift, so watch carefully what their reaction would be upon receiving it"' which was referring to when Bilqees (Queen of Sheba) ruler of the land where the sun was worshipped had been advising her messengers how to behave when delivering her gift to Prophet Solomon!
The president laughed a lot at this and emphasized, "Mohammad Husain your talent is unique and research must be done regarding the method of your learning."
Ayatollah Khaz'ali tested the Qur'anic knowledge of Mohammad Husain for three hours on three consecutive days. He succeeded to answer the Ayatollah's questions thoroughly in various fields including terminology, meaning, recitation, and memorization. During one of these sessions Ayatollah Khaz'ali told Sayyid Mohammad Husain, "I want to give you a garment as a gift on the occasion of Eid ul-Ghadir;" he instantly replied with the Qur'anic verse, `The garment of piety; that is the best garment" and he meant' "if you can, provide a spiritual prize for me, not a material one!"
In his meetings with Ayatollah Javadi Amoli, Ayatollah Hasanzadeh Amoli and Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi, Mohammad Husain recited verses from the Holy Qur'an. Those meetings are recorded and the tapes are worth listening to several times. The interesting point is that he is capable of fully utilizing relevant verses or a combination of them in his arguments, which is much more important than memorizing the Qur'an itself. When one of his friends took his coloured pencils while drawing, he recited the verse, "So leave them (the wheat) in their sheaths" meaning, "leave the pen in its pack!" The verse belongs to the Surah Yusuf in the Holy Qur'an."
Mohammed Husain studies at Qom Theological School. His father says, "Sayyid Mohammad Husain has completed primary courses in Arabic grammar at the Theological School. His name is now among the names of B.A.students that receive a scholarship upon a suggestion made by Ayatollah Meshkini and the other masters and approval of Ayatollah Ostadi. His scholarship money is spent for buying the books he needs and since he is a voracious reader; my limited income was really insufficient both for his tuition and for buying so many books, so this scholarship, thank Allah, helped us!"
We asked Mohammad Husain's father whether he thinks his sons is a gifted child. "No," he replies, "He's not an exceptional child. His talent is not that much above average, although he may be a bit better than the majority. All the Muslim children, I believe, can achieve what he has. Of course, a devoted teacher can help children externalize their talents. If all the members of the family are acquainted with the Holy Qur'an, it helps the children a lot. At our house, Sayyid Mohammad Husain grew up in an atmosphere where both his parents and his sister who is two years older than him, all had learned the Holy Qur'an and know it by heart. He himself is now the Qur'an teacher of his three-year-old brother; who is memorizing all of the Holy Qur'an as well.
At the end I asked Sayyid Mohammad Husain Hashemi Tabatabaee to give us journalists a piece of advice. He replied with reciting six verses from Surah Hojarat. "O believers! If a wrongdoer brings you a message, investigate and substantiate it, lest you might harm people in ignorance, then be sorry for what you have done."
(As stated in the Persian daily `Kayhan's" interview with the Iranian 5-year-old genius reciter of the Holy Qur'an in Mecca)
