Born on December 21, 1955 in Lamongan on the island of East Java, Indonesia, Maria Ulfah, was the ninth of twelve children. At a young age, she was introduced to the Quran by her parents, a Haji and Hajjah themselves. Her father himself was particularly influential in her Quranic studies l, remind her that she was equal to any man or woman. She began training for Quran recitation competitions at the age of six under the tutorial of her older sister. Her father would stage reciting competitions in their hometown to give her real experiencing in reciting the Quran outside of their home. After attending an Islamic boarding school, she was even more encourage to pursue the art of recitation and had made a career out of it. Today, she is an internationally respect figure in Quranic recitation and has toured the US, Egypt, Australia, Canada, and Malaysia to showcase her talent. She is the manager of the Central Institute for the Development of Quranic Recitatiok and a lecture at the Institute for the Study of Quran and the National Islamic University of Indonesia. She is also the recipient of a number of awards and in 1980 in Malaysia, she became the first woman to win an international Quranic recitation award. She remains a significant figure in the art of Quranic recitation and has been recognized as Southeast Asia’s premier Qāri’ah, or female reciter of the Quran.