from Geniuses of Qur’anic Recitation in the Twentieth Century
by Shukrī al‑Qāḍī
In late 1966, Shaykh al‑Bujayrimī was the designated reciter of the Qur’anic chapter at the ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al‑ʿAzīz Mosque in Heliopolis. During that period, the late Saudi monarch, King Saud ibn ʿAbd al‑ʿAzīz Āl Saud, was residing in Cairo, where a palace in Heliopolis had been placed at his disposal. He would attend the Friday prayer at the ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al‑ʿAzīz Mosque.
On one such Friday, he listened to Shaykh Maḥmūd al‑Bujayrimī reciting verses from Sūrat Ibrāhīm. The King was visibly moved to tears when the reciter reached the words of the Almighty:
“Our Lord, I have settled some of my offspring in a barren valley near Your Sacred House, our Lord, so that they may establish prayer. So make the hearts of the people incline toward them, and provide them with fruits, that they may give thanks.” (Qur’an 14:37)
When the recitation concluded, King Saud shook the Shaykh’s hand and said to him:
“You have made me weep, Shaykh Bujayrimī.”
The following day, the King invited him to his palace, accompanied by the Minister of Awqāf at the time, Dr. Aḥmad Ṭuʿaymah. The King asked him to recite that very verse repeatedly, listening with deep emotion. As he bid him farewell in the presence of those gathered, King Saud said:
“Truly, the Qur’an was revealed in Mecca, recorded in Istanbul, and recited in Egypt.”