Ibrahim Muhammad Nasir, a law student at the University of Maiduguri, has achieved a remarkable feat by securing the second position in the prestigious King AbdulAziz International Qur’anic Competition. This edition of the International King Abdulaziz Competition for the Holy Quran memorisation, recitation and interpretation, took place at the Grand Mosque, Islam’s holiest site in Mecca, for 11 days with the participation of contestants from 117 countries.
The event was organised by the Saudi Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Call and Guidance and held under the auspices of King Salman bin Abdulaziz. The prestigious competition is named after late king Abdulaziz, the founder of Saudi Arabia. The kingdom, Islam’s birthplace, organises several religious competitions.
The jury of the final qualifiers of the 44th edition of the King Abdulaziz International Competition for Memorization, Recitation, and Interpretation of Holy Quran Saturday listened to the recitations of 14 contestants from Kenya, Congo, Egypt, Uganda, Kuwait, Djibouti, Sri Lanka, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Yemen, the Philippines, Ghana, Jordan, Portugal and Bahrain. Minister of Islamic Affairs, Dawah and Guidance and General Supervisor of the King Abdulaziz International Competition for the Memorization, Recitation and Interpretation of the Holy Quran Sheikh Dr. Abdullatif bin Abdulaziz Al Al-Sheikh opened the final qualifiers of the 44th competition at the Makkah Grand Mosque Saturday August 10, 2024. The jury resumed its work Sunday by listening to the recitations of other contestants.
This year a record-breaking 174 contestants representing 123 countries will vie for recognition for their devotion to Holy Quran, the Ministry said.
5 categories
The competition is divided into five categories:
- Memorization of the entire Holy Qur’an, with accurate recitation and intonation following the seven rules of recitation
- Memorization of the Qur’an along with interpretation of its terms
- Memorization of 15 juz (parts) of the Qur’an with proper recitation and intonation
- Memorization of five juz with correct recitation and intonation
- A category for shorter lengths of memorization with corresponding recitation and intonation requirements.
Earlier, the Ministry had released a comprehensive plan for the competition along with a guide for the participants.
“The newly released guide serves as a valuable resource for participants, offering a detailed breakdown of the competition’s various aspects. It delves into the competition’s overall objectives, providing insight into its role in promoting the memorization, recitation, and profound understanding of Quran”, the Quran contest organisers said. In the first category, the top three winners will receive SR500,000, SR450,000, and SR400,000. The opening ceremony was attended by a large number of officials, contestants and their companions, and visitors to the Grand Mosque, including Umrah performers and worshipers.
Last year, in the first category, Ayoub bin Abdulaziz Al-Wahibi from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia secured first place and received a prize of SAR500,000. Saad bin Saadi Sleim from Algeria came in second place, earning SAR450,000, while Abu Al-Hasan Hassan Najm from Chad achieved the third position, receiving a prize of SAR400,000.
In the second category, Ammar bin Salem Al-Shahri from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia claimed the first position and was awarded a prize of SAR300,000. Mohammed bin Adnan Al-Omari from Bahrain secured second place, receiving a prize of SAR275,000. The third position went to Abdulaziz bin Malik Atli from Syria, who received a prize of SAR250,000. Similarly, in the third category, the winners include Mohammed bin Ibrahim Mohammed from Somalia, who clinched first place and received a prize of SAR200,000. Second place went to Shuaib bin Mohammed Hassan from Sweden, who was awarded SAR190,000 while Faisal Ahmed from Bangladesh secured the third position, earning SAR180,000 Saudi Riyals, and Mohammed Mufid Al-Azza from Indonesia claimed the fourth spot and received SAR170,000. Siraj Al-Din Muammar Kandi from Libya rounded off the top five, receiving a prize of SAR160,000.
Meanwhile, regarding the fourth category, the winners are as follows: Mohammed Ghai from Senegal secured the top position, earning a prize of SAR150,000. Hatem Abdulhamid Falah from Libya claimed the second spot, receiving an award of SAR140,000 and Yassin Abdulrahman from Uganda achieved the third position, with a prize of SAR130,000. Mashfiqur Rahman from Bangladesh attained the fourth position and was granted SAR120,000 while rounding off the top five, Abdulkader Yousef Mohammed from Somalia received a prize of SAR110,000. Also, as for the fifth category, Elias Abdou from the country of Larionion secured the first position, earning a prize of SAR65,000 while the second place went to Ibrahim Shahbandari from India who was awarded SAR60,000. Marwan bin Shalal from the Netherlands achieved the third position, receiving SAR55,000 and Mustafa Sinnanovic from Bosnia and Herzegovina attained the fourth position and received SAR50,000. Lastly, Hassib Amrullah from North Macedonia took fifth place, earning a prize of SAR45,000.
The King Abdulaziz Quran Competition is organized annually by the Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Dawah, and Guidance.
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