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Fate willed that Sheikh Muhammad Saeed Malhas, the reciter of Palestine, would prove the correctness of his opinion regarding the rules of Tajweed for a word in the Holy Qur’an, which his teacher in the Kuttab had disagreed with him about. He was fortunate to find a scrap of paper from an old book of Tajweed rules while on his way to the mosque, on which was written that rule which confirmed the correctness of the boy’s opinion, which formed a turning point in his life, so he started to study Qur’anic sciences and delve into them.
The above summarizes many details that accompanied Sheikh Malhas (90 years old) in his youth when he engaged in learning the Holy Quran and being creative in reciting it in the mosques of his city of Nablus, but a difference of opinion on a Tajweed ruling made him leave for another mosque, even though his opinion stemmed from a rule that his sheikh had taught him at that time.
Because this teacher was not convinced, the boy Malhas sent an elaborate letter to Sheikh Mahmoud Al-Hosari, the leading reciter of Egypt at the time, asking for his opinion on this ruling and on other matters. Al-Hosari responded by confirming the boy’s opinion.
This incident marked a turning point in Sheikh Malhas’s life. He began to study and absorb the sciences of the Qur’an in different ways, and despite his young age, he became able to hold scholarly gatherings for those older than him in the mosques of Nablus.
Sheikh’s Notebook
: Sheikh Malhas recounts that his passion for learning the Qur’an and the rules of Tajweed led him to set a path for himself in this science. He was guided to collect his ideas, print them, and put them in an organized notebook entitled (A Treatise on the Rules of Tajweed of the Qur’an according to the narration of Hafs bin Sulaiman) and sent it to Sheikh Mahmoud Al-Hosari, the reciter of Egypt.
Sheikh Al-Husari quickly responded by praising the book, for presenting an easy and accessible method for teaching the rules of Quranic recitation, and that was in 1950, according to Sheikh Malhas.
He adds that this pleased him greatly and encouraged him to print it, and this had an impact, as scholars and those eager for a simple and clear explanation flocked to his book, "and the book's fame spread far and wide."
The book was not intended for Sheikh Malhas alone, but rather, interested students of his in the study circles in the mosques delivered it to the Palestinian Rafiq Al-Natsha, who was the director of the office of the Minister of Education in Qatar, so he approved the teaching of the book in the schools there and then its printing.
The first edition of the book was published in Egypt in 1953, the second edition was published by Qatar National Printing Press in 1958, and the third edition was published in Sudan in 1969.
The book was subsequently published in 18 editions, accompanied by revisions and simplifications of everything that was difficult to explain.
It was not only the mosques of Nablus that housed Sheikh Malhas as an imam and teacher, but he also held scholarly gatherings in areas within occupied Palestine in 1948, and worked as a teacher in religious colleges and schools in the West Bank, "even though his education was only basic."
He adds to Al Jazeera Net that the sheikh is considered "a pioneer of the science of Tajweed and its revival in Palestine in a systematic and academic manner," and he distinguished himself by introducing it into written and spoken form after it had previously been oral. Sheikh Mustafa al-Kouni, head of the Quran Memorization Committee in Nablus, says that the Ministry of Religious Endowments authorized Sheikh Malhas to offer certified courses in mosques, attended by young and old alike, which led to the spread of Quran memorization centers.
The simplified method of presenting rulings and clarifying them with pictures and continuous revisions is what distinguished Sheikh Malhas’s book, in addition to speaking in the language of the age and classifying it in an easy way by placing the verse, the ruling and the example, and concluding the book by collecting all the words that may cause confusion for learners.
The Sheikh’s love for the Qur’an increased when he founded (the Holy Qur’an Radio in Nablus), which is the only one in Palestine, according to the supervisor of the radio, Sheikh Muhammad Nour Ali, who adds that Sheikh Malhas devoted his life to recitation, to the point that he would listen to the recitations of local and international Qur’an sheikhs before broadcasting them on the radio, “and whoever finds mistakes in his recitation, he refuses to broadcast it.”
Despite his old age and poor health, the Sheikh still maintains the recitation of the Holy Quran with all its meanings and rulings.
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