Sharing Quran’s Message with People, Turkish Memorizer’s Passion
"The Holy Quran is the nourishment of the soul. Meeting the Quran means having a dialogue with the Creator. My aim is to make the voice and the glad tidings of the Quran heard not just by Muslims but by everyone in this world,” he said in an interview with IQNA.
The Quran activist, who hails from Istanbul, said he started learning the Quran since early childhood.
"My affinity with Quran started with my own family,” he stated, noting that his grandfather, father and mother are themselves memorizers of the Quran.
"My beloved mother raised us by having us listen to the cassettes of Quran recitations by Abdul Basit Abdussamed. The leading Quran masters of Turkey and Istanbul used to visit our house, reciting the Quran, giving advice and saying prayers.
Our dad would my brothers and I by his side, open a Quran, and recite and we would listen to him. I never forget this snapshot in my memory. God has blessed us with our dad Husnu Okumuş as our first Quran teacher. That voice gave us relaxation, took away our naughtiness and filled our hearts with peace. For this reason, my brothers Veysel, Sadi and Muhammed Sami, and myself, became memorizers of the Quran.”
Asked about the method he used to learn the Quran by heart, Selman said, "As a child, the easiest way for me to memorize the Quran was to listen to it. The first time when I opened some verses to learn by heart it was very difficult for me. Some people said I wouldn’t be successful. I was 10 years old and it was a page from the Surah Hud. If I could memorize that page, it would be the beginning of becoming a Quran memorizer. I was so excited that I memorized it very quickly and made my first step forward by saying Bismillah (In the Name of God). Moving on memorizing the Quran became a passion and love for me. I was conquering the top of the world every time I managed to connect one word with the another. This passion and love continued till the last Surah and verse.
"I would read out aloud the pages along with several memorizers or memorizing students who were available at that time. With this method I was able to memorize one page in 30 minutes. Now I am practicing the same method with my pupils. So they become memorizers very easily.”
As for the love for the Quran and Quran activists among the people in Turkey, he said that since the era of the Ottoman empire, there has been a high regard and respect for the people reciting and serving the Quran in Turkey.
"When the Quran is recited, people close their eyes, open their hearts, listen to it with a pure faith, let tears flow and enjoy this divine atmosphere. I always appreciate our people because of their love for the Quran and those who memorize and recite it.”
Selman has taken part in several international Quran competitions in different countries, winning top ranks in some of them.
He bagged the top prize in international Quranic events in Turkey (2000) and Croatia (2004), and came 5th in competitions in Saudi Arabia (1995) and Malaysia (2005).
The Turkish Quran activist also came 6th in an international Quran contest in Egypt in 1994.
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