Qari Barakatullah Saleem, a prominent Afghan Quran reciter, died in Kabul on Saturday.

Saleem’s family said that he did as a result of an illness.

“Last week he came from Pakistan and he was sick and today he died,” said Naeem Pacha Shinvari, a cousin of Saleem.

“My teacher, Qari Barkatullah Saleem, has served his compatriots for many years and has made tireless efforts in this way,” said Naqib Rahman, one of his students.

In the meantime, the Islamic Emirate and some religious scholars have called the death of Qari Barkatullah Saleem a great loss for Afghanistan.

“The death of Qari Barkatullah Saleem is a great loss for the Afghan nation,” said Amanullah Ahmadi, a religious scholar.

Since he was nine years old, Qari Barakatullah Saleem had begun to memorize and recite the Holy Quran. Saleem placed first eight times in the International Quran Recital Competition.

Saleem was one of the prominent teachers in the Tarteel (the term is commonly translated in reference to the Qur'an as recitation, "in proper order" and "with no haste") and Tajwid (a set of rules for the correct pronunciation of the letters with all their qualities and applying the various traditional methods of recitation) sections.