Ahlul Bayt News Agency, The top 10 winners, as well as the Islamic Personality of the year, Former Sudanese President Field Marshal Abdul Rahman Swar Al Dahab, will be honoured at a function to be held at the Dubai Chamber of Commerce.
Dr Saeed Harib, deputy chairman of the organising committee, on Saturday night honoured the media people who covered the 17-day event.
The participants said the contest had helped much in enhancing their memorisation. The Mauritanian contestant, Sidi Mohamed Cheikh, one among the last batch of participants, said he learnt the Holy Quran by heart in three years. “I started at seven and finished at 10.”
Luckily, Cheikh had been brought up in a family of scholars. “My father, a preacher, and my two brothers who have memorised the Quran in full, were a great help to me,” he said.
Topping all contestants in his first local competition, Cheikh was nominated for the Dubai award.
Meanwhile, Muhammad Rizki, from Indonesia, had a different interesting story to tell. To memorise the Holy Quran, Rizki had to leave his family and village for seven years. “I had to study the Holy Quran at Al Khair Institute in another town where I stayed for 11 months, and then spent the month of Ramadan with family; this happened for seven years in a row.”
Rizki started memorising the Quran at the age of eight. Though he finished the Quran in three years, he had to study further at Al Khair Institute for four more years. It was Rizki’s sharp memory and tuneful recitation that secured him first position in local competitions and got him nominated for the Dubai award.
Rizki’s family had always encouraged him to learn the Holy Quran reminding him of the bountiful reward in life and the Hereafter. “And this is exactly what I did although I do not speak Arabic language well; I can only understand a little.”
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