Dubai: An eight-year-old Indian boy has won a sermon contest in Dubai — in Arabic.
Young Ebrahim Shabandri's Arabic language and public speaking skills made him the top ‘Preacher of the Nation’ in the contest, according to his father Fahim.
Arabic is not Ebrahim’s mother tongue – he speaks Nawayathi, a variant of Konkani spoken in India’s Karnataka state.
But young Ebrahim learned Arabic – and Quran studies – at Ibn Khaldoun Private School in Sharjah, where he is now joining grade three.
Ebrahim did not have to practise too hard for the performance as his hobby happens to be preaching to his younger siblings and cousins.
“Whenever they meet, he makes them sit around him while he preaches to them,” said Fahim, who lives in Sharjah.
“He never misses religious events in Dubai. Ebrahim has a natural talent for speaking well. I thank Allah for him and pray to keep him sound.
“The family is very honoured at the award.”
The contest was held as part of the annual Ramadan Forum in Dubai World Trade Centre, which ended on Monday.
Dozens of contestants took to the stage to demonstrate their skill — in Arabic or English — at delivering an Islamic sermon.
Ebrahim’s lecture on ‘Sins of the Tongue’ urged the faithful to weigh their words carefully. Citing a saying of Prophet Mohammad (PBUH). Ebrahim reminded the audience that “the Muslim is he from whose tongue and hands people are safe.”
Shabandri said Ebrahim stressed that no one has the right to say hurtful words to any person. “My son said ‘the tongue is the root cause of problems between people’. We always need to be careful of what we say, and how we say it.”
The father-of-four added it was the first time Ebrahim had taken part in a contest. “Winning it was doubly joyful to him as it was about Islam, which is close to his heart.”
The 13th edition of the Forum was organised by the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) and held under the patronage of Shaikh Ahmad Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, chairman of the Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation.
