(b Jizan, Saudi Arabia, 1949). Saudi singer, composer and ‘ūd (lute) player. His father was a well-known sailor who died when Muhammed was two years old. Muhammed began singing at the age of six, and at nine he received his first vocal training through the study of Qur'anic recitation, which, along with the call to prayer (adhān), he offered at school events. About the age of 13 he became involved with amateur traditional singers and learnt to play the ‘ūd. Because of his close proximity to Yemen, he encountered master musicians of the al-yamānī style. He gained a diploma in shipbuilding and was offered a scholarship to study in Japan, but declined the offer, preferring to become a professional musician. His first recognized composition was Hala yā bū sha'ar tha'ir (1965). He went on to record over 80 albums in a variety of styles, including popular Egyptian styles, but he has been most appreciated for his folkloric, traditional Saudi and Gulf pieces. He gained an international reputation and has often been called ‘fanān al-‘arab’, ‘The Artist of the Arabs’. He established the largest cassette-tape manufacturing plant in the Gulf region, and by the end of the 20th century he was the owner of the successful recording and production studio Sawt Al-Jazīrah.
H. Sadaqah: Afānīn [Master musicians] (Jiddah, 1985)
A.-T.F. ‘Aqlan: Al-Safar ‘ala matn al-kalimah [Travelling through words] (Jiddah, 1994)
LISA A. URKEVICH