(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - As many as 51 of the 78 final contestants have sat for tests in the 15th session of the Dubai International Holy Quran Award. The award which began on August 7 is set to conclude on August 18 at the Cultural and Scientific Association in Dubai’s Al Mamzar area.
The sixth day of the Dubai International Holy Quran Award saw a number of surprises which changed the order of the top 10 contestants.
The first surprise was from the Iranian competitor, Mohammad Mahdi Khatibi, who has become the first contestant to make no single mistake, not even a simple one that deserves a bell warning during both morning with two questions and night sessions with three questions.
Reciting confidently and tunefully, Khatibi was able to attract the audience and the jury members registered no remarks at all and attentively listened to his reading as he professionally imitated the way of recitation of the late iconic Egyptian reader of the Holy Quran, Sheikh Mohammed Siddiq Al Menshawy.
The second surprise was by the Tunisian contestant Abdelaziz Ouerghemi who answered all questions with only one mistake.
Competently reciting, Ouerghemi captivated the audience and joined the list of possible toppers.
The same happened with the Mauritanian participant Mohamed El Moustapha Abdellahi Mouchtaba who made only one error. But, he quickly corrected his mistake and attracted audience attention with his distinguished recitation. Thirteen-years-old Mohamad Riad Alkhoja from Syria, is an example of brilliant memorisers who used to memorise 11 to 12 pages per day, and learnt the Holy Quran by heart in two years.
“I started memorising the Holy Quran when I was 13, and finished at 15,” he said, adding that most of his memorisation was in the summer at the Masjid of Mohammed Al Ashmar, Damascus. The key word of Alkhoja’s dedication to the Holy Quran is his family. “All my family members used to back me and encourage me that I spared no effort to successfully complete the sacred mission with the help of Sheikh Haitham Edleby.”
Twenty one-year-old Othman Yusuf Alshaalan, who represents Kuwait in the Dubai International Holy Quran Award, is a student of Shariah in Kuwait University.
Alshaalan began his journey with the Holy Quran at an early age. “I started memorising the Quran when I was six and finished at 15, and that was the first stage of this sacred mission.”
Taking memorisation to a more professional level, Alshaalan — who is specialised in the explanation of the Holy Quran and prophetic sayings — began his second stage with the Quran.
“My second ‘trip’ with the Quran started when I was 16 years old and finished at 17,” he said, noting that he has become more experienced and skilled in memorisation and recitation in this second stage.
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