Qur'anic Recitation and The Aesthetics of Piety

Qur'anic recitation and azan (the call to prayer) are heard everywhere on the Muslim–Arabian Peninsula. Even those outside the Islamic tradition find Qur'anic recitation (tilawa) very beautiful. This article is an attempt to work out some of the puzzles—aesthetic and moral—of appreciating tilawa from outside the tradition. I defend an appreciation of tilawa that is aware and admiring of its piety, but appreciates it as an object of beauty. I further attempt to show how this does not violate Islamic precepts on the “art” of tilawa.