Africa-Press. What was broadcast by a local source at the beginning of June was not merely old recordings pulled from the archive, but rather it seemed like a new discovery of a voice that has remained present in the hearts of millions despite the passing of its owner decades ago.
As the station began airing a rare recitation of the late Egyptian reciter Muhammad Sidqi Al-Manshawi, the new recordings took over social media platforms in Egypt, and Al-Manshawi’s name remained among the most discussed for several consecutive days, surpassing major sports and news events. This scene raised an old question: what is the secret that keeps this voice alive after more than half a century?
The story began in the 1960s when Al-Manshawi recorded a complete recitation for the station. Although the review committee approved the recitation and praised it, the reciter was not satisfied. After listening to the recordings himself, he felt that some tapes did not meet the level he aspired to, so he submitted an official request to re-record parts of it.
In a rare move that reflects his meticulous nature and strong commitment to perfection, Al-Manshawi personally covered the costs of re-recording, re-recording 32 tapes out of the original 82 that comprised the complete recitation. After completing the work, the committee officially approved the new version in 1967.
However, the surprise is that this version did not reach the public; it remained preserved in the station’s archive for decades.
Questions That Are Hard to Ignore
Sheikh Ahmad Issa Al-Masri, former head of the Egyptian reciters, believes that what happened raises questions that are hard to ignore, affirming that Al-Manshawi did not request the re-recording for no reason, but because he sought a higher level of vocal performance.
Al-Masri stated that Al-Manshawi “succeeded in the tapes he re-recorded,” adding that he listened to the new version himself and noticed in it “a tenderness and spiritual qualities that were not present in the previous recitation that was aired for decades.”
He confirmed that the differences between the two versions are very clear, explaining that the new recordings are characterized by “brightness in sound, strength in performance, and very high beauty and spirituality,” considering that these qualities are evident to anyone comparing them with the previously known recordings.
However, what astonished Al-Masri the most was the fact that these tapes remained away from the public for so long, questioning: if the reciter requested the re-recording, and the station responded to him, and the committee officially approved the new version, why did these recordings remain locked away for nearly sixty years?
He said that this question has troubled him since he listened to the new recordings, noting that their late appearance opens the door to many questions about the fate of other recordings that may still be preserved in the archive.
Al-Masri did not hide his astonishment at the rumors about the existence of other rare recitations by Al-Manshawi in different narrations, confirming that he had previously heard some uncirculated recordings of the reciter, and that he received tapes from the recitation that was recently aired, indicating that parts of it had circulated in a limited scope.
He did not stop at questioning the reasons for the delay in broadcasting the new recitation, but linked the issue to similar cases witnessed in the Egyptian radio archive, stating that what happened “seems to be intentional,” citing the experience of the late reciter Mahmoud Khalil Al-Husari, who recorded recitations in the narrations of Al-Duri about Abu Amr, Warsh, and Qalun in 1963 and 1964, but they did not reach the public until 2001.
He added that he was recently surprised by circulating posts written by Fadia, the daughter of Al-Manshawi, discussing the imminent airing of other rare recitations of her father in the narrations of Shu’bah about Asim, Warsh about Nafi’, and Al-Duri about Abu Amr, recordings he had not heard of over the past years.
There Is Ambiguity
Al-Masri stated that the emergence of this information now raises further questions about what the archive contains of undisclosed recordings, adding: “There is ambiguity, and I do not understand why this is happening now?” referring to the timing when these rare recordings began to appear successively after decades of being away from listeners.
However, his discussion did not only focus on the lost recordings but also extended to the unique status that Al-Manshawi holds in the hearts of listeners.
According to Al-Masri, Al-Manshawi was not just a skilled reciter or a beautiful voice, but he combined quality performance, precision, beauty of sound, and deep spirituality all at once. He said that there is a “Quranic spirit” unique to Al-Manshawi’s recitation that cannot be found in the performance of any other reciter, even among the great figures of the Egyptian school.
He added that recent years have proven that this exceptional acceptance has not diminished, as “you can hardly enter a place without hearing the voice of Al-Manshawi,” considering that God has granted this reciter a special acceptance that has not been repeated with others.
When asked about the closest voices to his heart among the great Egyptian reciters, the former head of the Egyptian reciters did not hesitate to answer: “Sheikh Al-Manshawi,” justifying that his voice combined what is difficult to find in others; precision, beauty of performance, and spirituality that touches hearts before ears.
Perhaps for this very reason, the return of this rare recitation has turned into an exceptional event in Egypt and the Arab world; for the matter was not merely about broadcasting old recordings, but rather a restoration of a voice that many still see as representing one of the greatest moments of recitation art in modern times, and a delayed echo of a man who sought perfection in his reading, leaving the impact of that search resonating in the ears of listeners sixty years after his passing.
