Written in wax. Some early Islamic opinions about Qur ānic phonography, Presented by Jan Just Witkam (University of Leiden) at the European Science Foundation exploratory workshop: Corpus Coranicum. Exploring the Textual Beginnings of the Qur ān. Berlin, 6-9 November 2005
Contents 1. The origins of phonography 2. Early study of phonography in an Islamic context 3. Phonography as a problem in terms of Islamic law 4. Answers to questions (the fatwa s). 5. C. Snouck Hurgronje and his early Qur anic recordings 6. G. Bergsträsser and his recordings of the Qur an
Making sound visible, by writing vibrations on a cylinder onto which a layer of soot has been applied (early 1870 s?). Source: S.Th. Stein, Das Licht im Dienste wissenschaftlicher Forschung. 2. Band (Halle 2 1888), fig. 116.
Thomas A. Edison s invention (originally of 1877) for recording and reproducing sound, in mass production. The home phonograph, and advertisement of 1898.
Already in 1878, Edison wrote out a number of possible uses of his invention, which did actually include scholarly and educational uses. Among the ten points of Edison two were conspicuous: the preservation of languages by exact reproduction of the manner of pronouncing, and educational purposes; such as preserving the explanations made by a teacher, so that the pupil can refer to them at any moment, and spelling or other lessons placed upon the phonograph for convenience in committing to memory. Linguists and anthropologists have used phonographs till well in the 1930 s. In the field, one and the same machine which was able to make a recording, and also to reproduce it, had a great advantage over the technically more complex sound recording on discs to be played by a grammophone, an invention developed more or less simultaneously to the phonograph. The manufacture of sound discs was much more complex and demanded a higher technical level than recording sound on wax cylinders.
Early study of phonography in an Islamic context When the Dutch islamologist Christiaan Snouck Hurgronje (1857-1936) in 1900 published an article on Muslim opinions on the recording of sound in general, and of the recitation of the Qur ān in particular, he was treating an issue which was then very modern. At that time Snouck Hurgronje was based in Batavia (Jakarta), where he held the influential post of official adviser to the Dutch colonial government on Indigenous and Arabian affairs. It was his job, among other things, to monitor new trends in the thinking of Indonesian Muslims, to report about these to the Dutch authorities and to write official advices. These advices have now become a prime source for the history of Islam in Indonesia in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. At the time they were conceived, however, they had a practical purpose and a very limited circulation indeed. His remarks on the phonograph are a typical spin-off of his official duties. Of the early authors on phonography two were in fact acquaintances of Snouck Hurgronje, Sajjid Oethman and Abdallāh al-zawāwī. The former probably offered his booklet of 1899-1900 on phonography to Snouck Hurgronje, the latter in 1908 sent him a handwritten copy of his fatwā.
Phonography as a problem in terms of Islamic law: The earliest document dates from 1899 and is a fatwa, a legal opinion expressed by Sayyid Uthmān. Sayyid Uthmān had at first issued a fatwā on the phonograph. When he was attacked by opponents on this fatwā, he wrote another, much more elaborate, fatwā in order to silence his opponents. The fatwā by Sayyid Uthmān, dated 1 Rabī I 1317, was published on pages 2-8, preceding his own work Tulū Badr al- Ilm al-murtafa, which is dated Batavia, 14 Gumāda I 1317 [July 1899]. The same volume contains a third text on the phonograph, and all three little works were produced on Sayyid Uthmān lithographic printing press.
Portrait of Sayyid Uthmān b. Abdallah b. Aqil b. Yahya, in Batavia, c. 1899, here shown with his decoration issued by the Dutch colonial government. Source: Weekblad voor Indië X (1913-1914), p. 1124.
Title-page of Sayyid Uthmān s main work on phonography, published by himself, Batavia in 1317/1899. The bombastic title indicates that the subject is a controversial one. It was in fact written during an exchange of arguments between the author in Batavia, and a more liberal mufti in Singapore. Source: Leiden University Library, 8206 F 6.
The matter of phonography is divided in the fatwa by Sayyid Uthman into three questions, which he answers as follows: 1. Is phonography an honest profession? Is performing the Qur ān and a singing woman from the same box permitted? Answer: If decency is guaranteed, it is permitted. 2. Are the sounds reproduced indeed the Qur ān? Is there a reward for the listener? Answer: No reward is gained, because the sound does not come from the mouth of a human being, and the Qur ānic sound which one hears from the phonograph is not produced by the human organ of speech. 3. If phonographic sound is not considered to be the human voice, may one listen to a phonographic copy of a strange woman s voice? Answer: If the listening arouses lust it is forbidden, if this is not the case, it is permitted. There is an analogy with the looking at the shadow of a strange woman, or at her image in a mirror.
Many more opinions were given. An opponent mufti (name unknown) in Singapore was much more liberal than Sayyid Uthman, and held the following views: - To listen to phonographically produced sounds is always permitted. - Listening to phonographically produced Qur ānic recitation brings reward. - Prosternation when hearing the phonographically produced sagda verses is recommended. - The engravings in the cylinder have the same legal status as script in a written or printed Qur ān.
Portraits (1884 and c. 1920) of Abdallāh b. Muhammad b. Sālih al- Zawāwī, who in 1908 issued a fatwa on Qur anic phonography. Source: Leiden University Library, Or. 12.288.
The fatwa by Abdallāh al-zawāwī on Qur anic phonography, dated Malaka, 12 Sha bān 1326 / 8 September 1908. Upper part of the author s own miswadda, autograph draft. Source: Leiden University Library, Or. 8952, Zawawi, 1908.
[The question] In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate There has appeared an apparatus which speaks with sounds, with singing, and all sorts of poetry, and it sings and it wails. On some of its tablets, which are called cylinders, there appears reciting of the Qur ān and of the Adhān. It has become a common commodity in the market place, in gatherings of people and in every café. It is sold everywhere, and the buyers are mostly Christians, Mazdeans and others. I herewith request an elucidation on its status according to the Law when it speaks Qur ān and the status of the cylinders from which the sound of the Qur ān is heard with the aforementioned apparatus. And all this from the viewpoint of religious respect, from the viewpoint of carrying and touching with ritually impure matter, and from the viewpoint of the prosternation for the recitation when a verse is heard from it at the hearing of which one should prosternate, and likewise in connection with the call to prayer (adhān), or when this is not required, since the opinions differ on its status, since there are opinions that stress the importance of this, and there opinions that are more lenient in this respect. [ ]
The answer: Praise be to God alone, and blessing and peace be upon him, after whom there is no prophet, and upon his family, his companions, his party and his army. It is known that the permitted is what God, He be praised, has permitted, and that the forbidden is what God, He be praised and exalted, has forbidden. He is silent abouth things, without being forgetful, but only because these were not asked about. It is known that this apparatus is something new, for the category of law of which there is not yet a specific text. [ ] Source: Leiden University Library, Or. 8952, Zawawi, 1908.
To the writer of these lines it appears that the problem can be divided into five questions, as you can see: 1. The discussion on the loudspeaker of the apparatus which is called grammaphone. 2. The discussion on tablets, the cylinders on which there is the sound of the Qur ān. 3. The discussion on the prosternation for the recitation because of the hearing of a verse from the loudspeaker whereby prosternation is necessary. 4. The discussion on whether or not the listener acquires the reward. 5. The discussion on whether or not the person who deposits his recitation on the tablets of the loudspeaker receives a reward or commits a sin. Source: Leiden University Library, Or. 8952, Zawawi, 1908.
The answer to the first question is that the apparatus falls, as far as respect is concerned, into the category of the Law, as long as it is, or is not, used. When it is used in order to perform the Qur ān, the obvious opinion is that this refers to the aim of the user. If his aim is preaching or giving attention by making it heard, or if there is another correct intention, apart from giving attention and preaching, such as that it is used as a help for pronunciation of the sounds or for reciting or for any other lawfully permitted purpose, there is no reason to prohibit this, and he should be rewarded according to the aim and intention which he had. If his aim was to play and to indulge in amusement, as is often the case with the listening to the aforementioned instrument, then it is forbidden and handling the apparatus should be considered a sin [ ]. Thus, as most people do only use the aforementioned apparatus for amusement and play, it is best to prohibit the performance of the Qur ān with it, and thus it will only be used for what it was originally designed, that is for singing and the like. Source: Leiden University Library, Or. 8952, Zawawi, 1908.
The answer to the second question is that the cylinders on which the Qur ān is recorded should be considered, as far as the Law is concerned, in the same way as tablets and the paper on which Qur ānic text is written, or as the leather with which a Qur ān is bound, because our respect for the paper and the tablets, and even more so for the leather, the cover and the boxes in which copies of the Qur ān are kept, is there all the time because of their relationship with the Qur ān [ ]. There is no doubt about it that we do that in a way very much different from how it was done in the time of the Prophet s companions. Likewise, there is the question of miniature copies of the Qur ān that can only be read with a magnifying glass. These are clearly respected by every well-informed person. Because all of what I have mentioned it seems that it is obligatory to pay respect to the tablets of the loudspeaker, that is to the cylinders. This is incumbent on whoever knows about the existence of the sound of the Qur ān on the cylinders, because of the respect with which one should treat the Qur ān. Source: Leiden University Library, Or. 8952, Zawawi, 1908.
This includes the engravings that are in the aforementioned cylinders and there is nothing that prevents this respect being extended to generally accepted lines of writing, except that the latter are perceived with the sense of seeing, known only by the writer, whereas the former are perceived with the sense of hearing, and every listener can hear them, and these are more suitable. As to miniature Qur ān copies, the writing in them can only be seen with a magnifying instrument. As to the tablets [and] the cylinders these cannot be heard except with the instrument of the grammophone. And that is why we are of the opinion that the [application of] analogy on this case is correct [ ]. Therefore it is incumbent on the person who knows what of the Qur ān is registered on the cylinders to treat them respectfully, just like tablets and paper on which there is Qur ānic text should be treated with respect. As to touching the cylinders with ritual impurity and to carry them with something ritually impure, they should from the perspective of the Law be treated in the same way as tablets and paper on which there is Qur ānic text. Source: Leiden University Library, Or. 8952, Zawawi, 1908.
And if the tablets and papers on which there is the whole or a part of the Qur ān are respected, and it is forbidden to touch or carry them with ritual impurities of different degree, why then would the tablets and cylinders of the grammaphone not be treated respectfully and would their being carried with ritual impurities not be forbidden, although the engravings in the tablets and the cylinders of the grammaphone are more worthy than lines of writing to be called writing because they are a natural writing that happens through the undulating of the air by the reading of the words by way of the wellknown needle, which faultlessly repeats the speech as the reader has produced it. The writing in the well-known script is commonly accepted writing which produces language according to its nature, but by description and convention, and sometimes the writer makes mistakes and the result is different from that what was dictated by the reader. He does not properly produce what is written, even if he is able to write, but he is the receiver of the recitation, which he does not render precisely as it is. Source: Leiden University Library, Or. 8952, Zawawi, 1908.
That is why a scholar of fundamentals has said that the continuity of the Qur ān is something in itself, and is not something dependent on being recited. However, we cannot say with certainty that our producing of this continuous Qur ān is identical to the way the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, recited the Qur ān. And had there been in his time a phonograph by which the Prophet s reciting had been preserved, then we would have certain knowledge about this and would it be considered as continuous. The respect for the Qur ān is a duty and to treat it with contempt is a grave sin, and leads to unbelief if it is done on purpose. Source: Leiden University Library, Or. 8952, Zawawi, 1908.
The answer to the third question: It is evident that there is no obligation under the Law to perform a prosternation when one hears a prosternation verse from the loudspeaker of the voice of the reciter, because there is no intention here. The jurisprudents have clearly said that it is not a lawful custom to prosternate upon hearing the Qur ānic recitation by someone who has no intention to recite, such as someone who is sleeping, and this apparatus is something inanimate, and the being inanimate prevails here. Source: Leiden University Library, Or. 8952, Zawawi, 1908.
The answer to the fourth question, namely: does the listener acquire reward? The answer is: If the listener listens with consideration, attention, understanding and obedience, then he will be rewarded. Here there is no difference whether the reciter is a Muslim or an unbeliever, an angel or a djinn, because the listener has the reward of his listening, and on the basis of that it is said that for listening to the Qur ān from the grammaphone, I mean from the apparatus that speaks the voice of the reciter, the listener is rewarded, if he listens well, and he is punished if he listens badly or if he takes the verses of God as play and an idle sport, as there is no difference between the listening from the mouth of a reciter or from the tube of the loudspeaker. Source: Leiden University Library, Or. 8952, Zawawi, 1908.
The answer to the fifth question, namely: Is there a reward from the person who deposits his recitation on the tablets of the loudspeaker or is he committing a sin by doing that? [The answer:] From all that has been mentioned before it is evident that the writing of copies of the Qur ān and tablets and the deposition of sound on the tablets is of one and the same category in the Law. I mean that for the person who seeks usefulness and reward, there is a remuneration. For the person who wishes to do business and play, there is no remuneration, on the contrary, he is punished, as the deeds are according to the intentions. My own opinion is that it is more suitable for the reciter that he does not deposit his recitation on the aforementioned cylinders as sound of the Qur ān, in order to prevent that this falls into the hands of people who are not serious and who act contrary to the religion, whereby lack of respect for the Qur ān can occur and then he who has deposited Qur ānic recitation is the cause thereof. God, He be praised and be exalted, knows best. Source: Leiden University Library, Or. 8952, Zawawi, 1908.
Title-page of a treatise on phonography and on insurance (treated as unrelated subjects), published in Cairo, 1324/1906-7, by Muhammad Nagib al-muti i. The author is the president of the Scientific Council of the High Sharī a Court of Egypt, and a former member of the Egyptian High Court. Source: Leiden University Library, 849 F 2
Muhammad Nagib al-muti i s questions and answers concerning Qur anic phonography: 1. Can a wax-cylinder of the Qur ān be considered on the same level as the Qur ān in book form? 2. Has the person who turns around the cylinder the same reward as the copyist of the Qur ān? 3. Can the person who turns around the cylinder be considered as a reciter of the Qur ān? 4. Are imperfections in playing the Qur ān a sin for the reciter who has been recorded, and are these repeated by repetition of playing, and is he rewarded if the performance is perfect? 5. The fifth question, whether it is real recitation or just the likeness of recitation which comes out of the phonograph, presupposes the questioner s ignorance of the inner workings of the phonograph, and these are then explained. Source: Leiden University Library, 849 F 2
6. What about the playful character of the mechanical recitation of the Qur ān? The author answers with an exposé on the serious applications of the phonograph. 7. What is the difference between the repetition of the divine revelation by a machine and by the Angel Gabriel? The answer centres on the difference between Lafz (the sound, of the machine) and Ma nā (the meaning, of the revelation). 8. The content of a legislative verse of the Qur ān becomes incumbent upon the believer, if this is said or quoted by a live person. 9. The sound of a Qur ānic recording played on the phonograph is always Qur ān, but the difference is in the speaker (al-nātiq), an intelligent one and unintelligent one. 10. With reference to Qur ān 20:12 (and also 79:16), the author finds a parallel in the Qur ān, where the Prophet Mūsā hears God s word coming out of a (burning) piece of wood. The wood is in fact not mentioned in the Qur ānic text, but the major commentaries explain the fire as burning on a piece of wood. Source: Leiden University Library, 849 F 2
11. How about it that God s word has to be recited with emotion (bihazn)? The answer is that a phonograph has no feeling, but who listens to God s word should feel the emotion, also when it is reproduced phonographically. 12. How about it if the phonograph also reproduces the sound of the Gospel? It can only reproduce one recording at the time. And nobody can say that when God s word is phonographically reproduced that this not the Qur ān. When the Gospel is phonographically reproduced, then that is the Gospel to its people. Source: Leiden University Library, 849 F 2
Music recording in the Dutch consulate in Jeddah, February 1909. From left to right: Tadjoedin, Sayyid Muhammad, Mas Muhammad Hasim, Haji Agus Salim. Photograph by consul N. Scheltema. Source: Leiden University Library Or. 26.365: OI D.47. Sound: CD 2a, track 11 (C 16).
Poster (in Sundanese) for the year 1339 AH of the Company Tag al-din in Batavia, which is active in the transport of pilgrims from South-East Asia. Muhammad Sa id operates in Batavia. His brother Gamal operates in Mekka. Source: Leiden University Library Or. 8952, s.v. Tag al-din.
Copy of the instructions given by Muhammad Sa id Tag al-din in Batavia to his brother Gamal in Mekka, concerning the recording of sound with Snouck Hurgronje s phonograph, 7 September 1906. Source: Leiden University Library Or. 8952, s.v. Tag al-din.
Instructions for phonography from one brother Tāg al-dīn to the other: Keep the apparatus clean and handle it with care. Keep it in its box. Keep the cylinders in their covers, also after the recording. Mention the name of the performer, or the name of the piece performed. Make 20 cylinders (qawalib) with Yamani singing Make 20 cylinders with pieces of local artists (localities between between Mecca and Medina are mentioned) [ ] Make 14 cylinders with Qur ān, from the short sūra s, so that one or two of the short sūra s can be recorded on one cylinder. [ ] (follow a great number of names of songs and musical pieces). Source: Leiden University Library Or. 8952, s.v. Tag al-din.
The cylinders with Higazi and Yamani sound, sent by Gamal Tag al-din from Mecca to The Netherlands. Source: Leiden University Library
Qur anic recordings, Higaz 1906-1909 Qur an CD/track cylinder length 1 5a/6 H22 2:26 1 4b/47 H16 2:29 (partly) 1 2b/43 D18 1:40 2: 285-end 2a/2 C 3 2:24 28:21-27 3a/1 D21 2:31 41:30-34? 3a/22 E16 2:47 93 2a/7 C12 1:47 94 3a/12 E8 2:11 95 3a/12 E8 -- 110 3a/11 E7 2:03 111 3a/11 E7 -- 112 3a/11 E7 -- 113 5a/6 H22 -- 114 5a/6 H22 -- Adhan, by Gabir Rizq 2a/23 C25 3:03 Total time on 11 cylinders: slightly less than 23 minutes