he came to Cairo where Muslims in many mosques were captivated
‘Abdul-Basit was born in a village near Armant city in southern Egypt. He was raised in an environment which nourished his motivating force and passion for reciting the Quran. His father was of Kurdish decent and his mother was Egyptian. His father Mohammed Abdus-Samad and grand father Abdus-Samad, were both recognized and respected for memorizing and reciting the Quran.
In 1950, he came to Cairo where Muslims in many mosques were captivated by his recitations. On one occasion, when he was reciting verses from Surah al-Ahzab, he was requested to recite for longer than his allotted 10 minutes by the audience, and he continued to recite for over an hour and a half; his listeners were captivated by his mastery of pitch, tone and the rules of tajweed (Qur'anic recitation).