Every student who sits with a teacher at Mizmaar Institute joins something far older than the institute itself. For fourteen centuries, the Qur’an has travelled from heart to heart, voice to voice, teacher to student, in an unbroken line that reaches back to the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. That line has a name: the Sanad.
A Chain Measured in Voices
A Sanad is the chain of teachers through which the Qur’an has been passed down, from the Prophet ﷺ to the present day. Each teacher in the chain heard the Qur’an recited by the teacher before them, corrected and approved letter by letter, and then passed it on to their own students in exactly the same way.
It is not a reading list or a certificate of attendance. It is a living record of people, each one a link, each one responsible for carrying the Qur’an forward without changing a single sound.
How the Chain Began
The chain begins with the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, who received the Qur’an through the Angel Jibril. His Companions learned it directly from his recitation, word for word. They taught the next generation, who taught the next, and so on for fourteen centuries, each generation of reciters handing the Qur’an to the one after it.
The Qur’an was never preserved through recordings. It was preserved through a living chain of teachers, generation after generation.
Why a Recording Is Not Enough
Today, recitations from the world’s finest Qurra are a click away, and they are a blessing for every listener. But listening is not the same as learning. A video or audio file cannot hear you. Only a qualified teacher, sitting with a student, can:
- Correct mistakes in real time, the moment a letter leaves its proper place.
- Pass on direct authorization, confirming that the student now recites as they were taught.
- Sit with the student one on one, the way the Qur’an has been taught for over 1,400 years.
This is why Mizmaar teaches every student individually, with a qualified teacher, rather than through screens.
What Is an Ijazah?
An Ijazah is the authorization a teacher grants once a student has recited the Qur’an to them with complete accuracy. It is the moment a student formally becomes part of the Sanad: the teacher’s chain now continues through them.
Our founder, Shaykh Hassan Ali Kasi, is a Qari Al-Mujaaz who holds an Ijazah in the recitation of Hafs ‘an ‘Asim through a Sanad of just 29 narrators back to the Prophet ﷺ.
Why the number of narrators matters
The fewer the links between a reciter and the Prophet ﷺ, the shorter and more direct the chain. A Sanad of 29 narrators is regarded as one of the highest, most direct chains of our time, and it is the chain our students learn within.
Becoming the Next Link
At Mizmaar, the Sanad is not only something we teach about. It is something students can enter. The path looks like this:
- Complete Hifz. Memorize the entire Qur’an, for example through our Full-Time Hifz Program.
- Join the Ijazah & Sanad Program. It is reserved for students who have completed Hifz and show the discipline this certification demands.
- Recite under direct supervision. Every vowel, breath and rule of Tajweed is refined with the teacher.
- Receive your Ijazah. Your name joins the unbroken chain, and you become the next link.
A Chain That Now Reaches You
The Qur’an you recite today was carried to you by countless teachers who refused to let a single letter be lost. Learning with a Sanad is how we honor them, and how we make sure the chain does not end with us.
If you would like to begin that journey, explore our programs or reach out to our team.