Muhammad Jebril

Muhammad Muhammad al-Sayyid Hasanayn Jebril (born 1964) is an Egyptian Qur'an reciter, known for leading the tarawih prayers at the Mosque of Amr ibn al-As in Cairo for more than a quarter of a century (1988–2015). He has lived in London since July 2015. ^{1 2}

He was born at Tahouria in the Shibin al-Qanatir district of Qalyubia, had memorised the whole Qur'an by nine, won the national Qur'an competition several times, and graduated from al-Azhar University with a licence in Sharia and law. ¹

He led the tarawih at the Mosque of Amr ibn al-As from 1988. Known for his devout voice and moving supplications, he drew hundreds of thousands of worshippers, above all on the Night of Power. In 1996 he founded the International Islamic Centre for Qur'anic Sciences (Dar Ubayy ibn Ka'b) in Cairo, and he has presented television programmes including 'A Verse and a Supplication' on Egyptian television and 'Beloved of God' on Jordanian television with Ahmad Nawfal. ¹

On the night of 27 Ramadan 1436 (13 July 2015) his qunut supplication called down judgement on 'the oppressors' and 'the sorcerers' media'. The Ministry of Awqaf called this a political use of the prayer, and the minister, Muhammad Mukhtar Gomaa, barred him from preaching and leading prayer; on 15 July 2015 he was stopped at Cairo airport from travelling to London. ¹

He sued before the Council of State, and on 27 October 2015 the administrative court, presided over by Counsellor Yahya al-Dakrouri, annulled the travel ban, holding that freedom of movement is guaranteed by the constitution and may be restricted only by a reasoned judicial order. ¹

Wikidata listed articles on him in five Wikipedia editions on 6 November 2026: Arabic, Egyptian Arabic, English, Russian and Ukrainian. ²

• Arabic Wikipedia article, revision of 27 January 2026. ¹

• Wikidata item Q12240333. ²