qāriʾ

A qāriʾ (Arabic: قَارِئ, lit. 'reader', plural قُرَّاء qurrāʾ) is a person who recites the Quran with the proper rules of recitation (tajwid). While in modern times the term refers primarily to professional reciters, historically the qurrāʾ represented an elite class of scholars and early Muslim settlers who played a pivotal role in the administration and political history of the early Rashidun Caliphate. Although it is encouraged, a qāriʾ does not necessarily have to memorize the Quran, just to recite it according to the rules of tajwid with melodious sound. The quadrumvirate of Al-Minshawy, Abdul Basit, Mustafa Ismail, and Al-Hussary are generally considered the most important and famous reciters of modern times to have had an outsized impact on the Islamic world.