Dubai: At least 27 contestants have taken part in the Dubai International Holy Quran Award (DIHQA) in four days since the start of the annual competition.

Multiple claims have already been laid for the prestigious prize by contestants since Wednesday, with nine-year-old Burundian Niyituga Zaidi among the performers on Friday.

Zaidi, the youngest participant this year, won many hearts with his soulful rendition of the Quranic verses, though he had several lapses of memory towards the end.

Performing in front of a packed house, the little Burundian was visibly nervous.

Not so nervous was Filipino Mohammad Fat’hi, who became an instant star among the sizeable Filipino audience.

“I think, by the grace of Allah, I have done well and I hope to be among the top,” said 20-year-old Fat’hi, who reached Dubai after eliminating more than two dozen contestants in a tough competition in the Philippines.

He memorised the Quran at the age of 13, accomplishing the task of committing to memory all 604 pages, 114 chapters and 6,236 verses of the Quran in just over two years.

Fat’hi’s mother, who is a teacher, was his main pillar of support, while his two older brothers have also memorised the Quran.

Coming from a middle class family from Balindong, Fat’hi has won two major regional contests before this, winning trips to Makkah for Haj, one of which he gifted to his sister and he plans to make use of the other this year.

Iraqi contestant Abdul Rahman Majeed also completed memorising the Quran in just two years.

“All praise be to Almighty Allah who has guided and inspired me to start memorising the Quran in 2008, and completed the holy journey in 2010 in Samarra city,” he said.

The student of Sharia at the Grand Imam College said his sacred mission started at the mosque where he learnt the Quran by heart under the guidance of a renowned teacher at his village.

“The summer holiday and weekends were not just for fun because I used to spend most of my time memorising the Quran,” he said.

With that rare commitment, Majeed showed exceptional performance in all the local Quran contests in which he participated, and hence he was deservedly nominated for DIHQA.

Another scintillating performer this year is Qatari contestant Abdul Aziz Gani.

“I am honoured to have this precious chance and compete in this grand international award which attracts Quran memorisers from across the globe, and it is my first participation abroad,” said Gani, who is a student of jurisprudence at the Umm Al Qura University, Makkah.

DIHQA offers a top prize of Dh250,000, which will be awarded after the final on July 7.

Seven more contestant are to appear on stage on Sunday night. Those are Wedou Ahmad Aghrabatt from Mauritania, Palestinian Mousa Madfaa, Mohammad Shaikh from South Africa, Bahraini Ammar Hasan Al Alawi, Sri Lankan Mohammad Abdul Cader Mohammad, Amisse Atibo from Mozambique and Ebrahim Iyi Djobo from Togo.