Gramophones may be a thing of the past, but a rare vinyl gramophone record possessed by an expatriate has become a precious addition to the International Fair and Museum of the Prophet's Biography and Islamic Civilization in the holy city of Madina.
Karimadath Mohammed Shafi from Kozhikode, an avid fan of gramophones and their records who collected anything and everything related to the olden-day music system and repaired some of the gramophones possessed by antique collectors in and around the city, had never imagined that he would be shot into fame one day when he stumbled upon the records containing recitations from the Holy Qur'an by Shaikh Abdul Basit Abdul Samad ten years ago.
He told the Observer that he always wanted to preserve it at some place that really values the item and to let the global pilgrims who visit Madina cherish the timeless voice of Abdul Basit.
Last week, he arrived in the holy city as per a pre-fixed appointment to meet with the authorities through one of his close aides in Saudi Arabia and handed over the precious collection to the museum officials.
Shaikh Abdul Basit Abdul Samad is a famous reciter born in Armant, Egypt in 1927. His amazing style of recitation and application of Tajweed rules made him the winner of three awards in international recitation competitions in the 1970s. These priceless gems of unique recitation were donated to this museum by Muhammad Shafi and have become petroglyphs that will last forever.
"I've been keeping this vinyl record for the past 10 years because from the day I possessed it, I had a desire to give it to any one of the good museums. Ten years ago when I had come here in Madina, in a Quran press, I had seen an ordinary cassette and CD, and from that time itself, I felt if I could keep my gramophone here, it would be nice," shared the antique collector, with the Observer.
“This is my hard work for the past 10 years and in the end, Alhamdulillah, it happened through a friend in Saudi Arabia, and I'm grateful to the Almighty and everyone around who helped me keep the collection for the generations to come,” an emotional Shafi adds.
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