The Bash Hezzab () is the senior

Hezzab The Hezzab () is the Hafiz (Quran), hafiz or qāriʾ supervising or participating in the Hizb Rateb in Mosques in Algeria, mosques and zawiyas in Algeria according to the Algerian Islamic reference under the supervision of the Ministry of Religi ...

supervising the

Hizb Rateb The Hizb Rateb () is a collective recitation of Quran or dhikr or dua or wird done by murids and saliks in islamic sufism. Presentation The ''Hizb Rateb'' is a group tilawa of the Quran with one voice, in mosques, zawiyas, kuttabs and Qu ...

and Salka in

mosques A mosque ( ), also called a masjid ( ), is a place of worship for Muslims. The term usually refers to a covered building, but can be any place where Islamic prayers are performed; such as an outdoor courtyard. Originally, mosques were simple p ...

and

zawiyas in Algeria The Zawiyas in Algeria are religious buildings located in Algeria honoring the memory of patron saints and dedicated to Quranic and religious education. They are associated with Sufism, with each affiliated to a tariqa (torouq) brotherhood un ...

according to the

Algerian Islamic reference The Algerian Islamic reference is the fundamentalist and legal framework for the practice of the religion of Islam in Algeria within Sunnism under the tutelage of the Ministry of Religious Affairs and Endowments. Reference elements Sunnism A ...

under the supervision of the Ministry of Religious Affairs and Endowments.

History

The mosques in Algeria contain many

ine supervised by the ''Bash Hezzab'' along with other employees who take care of these buildings of

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

ibadah ''Ibadah'' (, ''‘ibādah'', also spelled ''ibada'') is an Arabic word meaning service or servitude. In Islam, ''ibadah'' is usually translated as “worship”, and ''ibadat''—the plural of ''ibadah''—refers to Islamic jurisprudence ( ...

. Historically, the Djamaâ Sidi Ramdane in the

Casbah of Algiers The Casbah of Algiers, commonly referred to as the Casbah (Arabic: القصبة, Al-qaṣabah, meaning "citadel"), corresponds to the old town or Medina quarter, medina of Algiers, the capital of Algeria. It is a historic district that has been l ...

housed one ''Bash Hezzab'' which supervised five ''Hezzabine''. The mosque of

Djamaa el Kebir Djamaa el Kebir (), also known as the Great Mosque of Algiers (), is a historic mosque in Algiers, Algeria. It is located within the Casbah of Algiers, Casbah (old city), near the city's harbor. Dating to 1097, it is one of the few remaining exam ...

was served by the mufti of Algiers, assisted by two ''

Imam Imam (; , '; : , ') is an Islamic leadership position. For Sunni Islam, Sunni Muslims, Imam is most commonly used as the title of a prayer leader of a mosque. In this context, imams may lead Salah, Islamic prayers, serve as community leaders, ...

s'', under their authority are placed a '' Moudaris'', explicator of the Quran, a ''Bash Hezzab'', head of the readers, six ''Hezzabine'' of first class, and twelve ''Hezzabine'' of second class.

Characteristics

The ''Bash Hezzab'' should be a senior hafiz of the

Quran The Quran, also Romanization, romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a Waḥy, revelation directly from God in Islam, God (''Allah, Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which ...

as a whole, with the narration of

Warsh recitation The Warsh recitation or riwāyat Warsh ʿan Nāfiʿ' () is a qiraʿah of the Quran in Islam. It is, alongside the tradition which represents the recitation tradition of Kufa, one of the two main oral transmissions of the Quran in the Muslim ...

. As for the ''Hezzab'', the condition of memorizing the entire Quran is due to the fact that it is not suitable and acceptable for him to read from the

Mus'haf ''Mushaf'' (, ; plural ) is an Arabic word for a codex or collection of sheets, but also refers to a written copy of the Quran. The chapters of the Quran, which Muslims believe was revealed during a 23-year period in Muhammad's lifetime, were wr ...

while he leads the ''Hezzabine'' and the group of readers () and directs them at the same time. It is obligatory for him to obtain a Quran Idjaza from an accredited body such as a zawiya or an ''Islamic institute'' to prove his merit for the position and religious responsibility, and he must possess a strong vocal layer that allows him to dominate the voice over the entirety of the

qāriʾ A qāriʾ (, plural ''qurrāʾ'' or ''qaraʾa''; feminine form: qāriʾa ) is a person who recites the Quran with the proper rules of recitation ('' tajwid''). Although it is encouraged, a qāriʾ does not necessarily have to memorize the Qura ...

s during the

recitation.

Functions

During the

Tilawa The Tilawa () is a recitation of the successive verses of the Qur'ān in a standardized and proven manner according to the rules of the ten recitations. Presentation # The ''Tilawa'' of the Quran is given in terms and meanings, because the Qi ...

of the

, according to

, the different

ine, or readers of the

Hizb A ''juzʼ'' (Arabic: ; : , ''ajzāʼ''; ) is one of thirty parts of varying lengths into which the Quran is divided. It is also known as parah (Persian language, Persian: ) in Iran and subsequently the Indian subcontinent. There are 30 ''ajzāʼ ...

, are placed under the authority of the chief reader, the ''Bash Hezzab'', while the ordinary

Talibe A talibé (also spelled ''talibe'', plural ''talibés''; , 'student'; pl. ) is a boy, usually from Senegal, the Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Chad, Mali or Mauritania, who studies the Quran at a daara (West African equivalent of madrasa). This ...

s may attend or be content to read books of precepts, and finally the

muezzin The muezzin (; ), also spelled mu'azzin, is the person who proclaims the call to the daily prayer ( ṣalāt) five times a day ( Fajr prayer, Zuhr prayer, Asr prayer, Maghrib prayer and Isha prayer) at a mosque from the minaret. The muezzin ...

s call the faithful to the

Salah ''Salah'' (, also spelled ''salat'') is the practice of formal worship in Islam, consisting of a series of ritual prayers performed at prescribed times daily. These prayers, which consist of units known as ''rak'ah'', include a specific s ...

with the

Adhan The (, ) is the Islamic call to prayer, usually recited by a muezzin, traditionally from the minaret of a mosque, shortly before each of the five obligatory daily prayers. The adhan is also the first phrase said in the ear of a newborn baby, ...

. Indeed, the ''Bash Hezzab'' in addition to chairing the ''Halqa'' () of the ''Hizb Rateb'' on a daily basis and ensuring the presence and attendance of the ''Hezzabine'', he welcomes among others the ''

Nass al-Houdhour The Nass al-Houdhour () are second rank Hezzabine reciting the Hizb Rateb and Salka (Sufism), Salka in Mosques in Algeria, mosques and zawiyas in Algeria according to the Algerian Islamic reference under the supervision of the Ministry of Religi ...

'' () who want to listen to the collective recitation or participate through the Quran that they memorize or read on the

s. He works on the reading of

Sahih Bukhari () is the first hadith collection of the Six Books of Sunni Islam. Compiled by Islamic scholar al-Bukhari () in the format, the work is valued by Sunni Muslims, alongside , as the most authentic after the Qur'an. Al-Bukhari organized the bo ...

throughout the holy month of

Rajab Rajab () is the seventh month of the Islamic calendar. The lexical definition of the classical Arabic verb ''rajaba'' is "to respect", which could also mean "be awe or be in fear", of which Rajab is a derivative. This month is regarded as one ...

in concert with the ''Hezzabine'' and ''Nass al-Houdhour''. In addition to ensuring the proper conduct of the ''Hizb Rateb'' and the recitation of the ''Sahih Bukhari'', the ''Bash Hezzab'' organizes the reading of educational books of

Maliki The Maliki school or Malikism is one of the four major madhhab, schools of Islamic jurisprudence within Sunni Islam. It was founded by Malik ibn Anas () in the 8th century. In contrast to the Ahl al-Hadith and Ahl al-Ra'y schools of thought, the ...

Madhhab A ''madhhab'' (, , pl. , ) refers to any school of thought within fiqh, Islamic jurisprudence. The major Sunni Islam, Sunni ''madhhab'' are Hanafi school, Hanafi, Maliki school, Maliki, Shafi'i school, Shafi'i and Hanbali school, Hanbali. They ...

such as

Muwatta Imam Malik ''Al-Muwaṭṭaʾ'' (, 'the approved') or ''Muwatta Imam Malik'' () of Malik ibn Anas, Imam Malik (711–795) written in the 8th-century, is one of the earliest collections of hadith texts comprising the subjects of Sharia, Islamic law, compile ...

, Matn Ibn Ashir, and the Risala fiqhiya among others. When the Salka is organized in a

mosque A mosque ( ), also called a masjid ( ), is a place of worship for Muslims. The term usually refers to a covered building, but can be any place where Salah, Islamic prayers are performed; such as an outdoor courtyard. Originally, mosques were si ...

or a zawiya, the ''Bash Hezzab'', through his religious and hierarchical skills, assists the

or the

Sheikh Sheikh ( , , , , ''shuyūkh'' ) is an honorific title in the Arabic language, literally meaning "elder (administrative title), elder". It commonly designates a tribal chief or a Muslim ulama, scholar. Though this title generally refers to me ...

in the course of this recitation of the entirety of the sixty

s of the

in a single day or overnight, whether the ''Salka'' is thus diurnal or nocturnal.

Gallery

File:Ivan Bilibin 182.jpg, ''Hezzabine'' reading the

File:Quran Reading.JPG, ''Hezzabine'' reading the

File:Bruner-Dvorak, Rudolf - Bosna, medresa 2 (ca 1906).jpg, ''Hezzabine'' reading the

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hezzab Islam in Algeria Sufism in Algeria Sufism Warsh recitation

History

Characteristics

Functions

Gallery

See also

References