Abdurrahim Abdussalam An-Nabulsi

Jurist, Quran teacher, linguist and imam: many roles combined in a single person, Sheikh Abdurrahim Abdussalam An-Nabulsi, the Moroccan muqri’ (master of Quranic recitation) under whom many bearers of the Book of Allah and students of knowledge have trained, in both the Mashriq and the Maghreb.

Sheikh An-Nabulsi was born in 1965 in Marrakesh, into a family of memorizers of the Book of Allah. He owes his memorization of the Quran to his father, Abdussalam An-Nabulsi, who made sure he learned it by heart at an early age. The torch was then taken up by a number of sheikhs, who granted him ijazahs and taught him the principles of jurisprudence and the Arabic language.

Among the most prominent sheikhs under whom Sheikh An-Nabulsi studied are Sheikh Abu Ubaydah, who corrected his Tajweed in the narration of Hafs by way of the Tayyibah; Sheikh Ben Allal, with whom he studied grammar through the Alfiyyah; Sheikh Ahmed Mellah, with whom he studied the principles of jurisprudence and fiqh; and Sheikh Bazi, with whom he studied hadith.

Sheikh An-Nabulsi received an ijazah from Sheikh Ahmad Abdulaziz Al-Zayyat after reciting several complete readings of the Quran (khatmas) to him in Madinah and Cairo, the last of which was the major khatma of the ten readings (al-‘ashr al-kubra) by way of the Tayyibah, with the verifications (tahrir) drawn from Tanqih Fath al-Karim and its commentary. He then received an ijazah from Sheikh Abdul Ghaffar Al-Durubi after reciting several khatmas of the ten readings to him by way of the Shatibiyyah and the Durrah.

Sheikh Abdurrahim An-Nabulsi is one of the scholars who have enriched Arabic libraries with numerous works, such as the series “Nazariyyat al-Ihtimal fi Marsum al-Imam,” “Al-‘Ilal al-Bayyinah fi Wajh Hadhf al-Alif al-Layyinah,” “Bayan ma Inhadhafa Hashwan min al-Alifat” and “Siyaq Shadh al-Qira’ah wa ma Ilayhi min Ma’akhidh Kitab Sibawayh,” among others.

In addition, An-Nabulsi has produced a number of critical editions, including “Kitab Fara’id al-Ma‘ani fi Sharh Hirz al-Amani” by Ibn Ajurrum al-Sanhaji, the subject of his state doctorate; “Kitab al-Qawl al-Fasl fi Ikhtilaf al-Sab‘ah fi al-Waqf wa al-Wasl” by Abu Zayd Abd al-Rahman al-Qadi al-Miknasi, the subject of his advanced studies diploma; and “Nazm al-Bari‘ fi Qira’at Nafi‘” by Ibn Ajurrum.

Professionally, Sheikh Abdurrahim An-Nabulsi has served as head of the Imam Abu Amr al-Dani Center for Specialized Studies and Research on the Quranic Readings in Marrakesh, then as professor of tawjih al-qira’at (the justification of the readings) at the Faculty of Arabic Language in Marrakesh, and as professor of grammar and morphology at the Faculty of Arabic Language of Umm Al-Qura University in Makkah. He has also taught the Quranic readings at the Imam al-Shatibi Institute in Jeddah.

Moreover, Sheikh An-Nabulsi is the sheikh of the Imam Al-Zayyat maqra’a (Quran recitation circle), and he is the main muqri’ of the M’hamid district of Marrakesh during the month of Ramadan.