Duba: Stirring renditions and recitals of Quranic verses by contestants from 76 nationalities enthralled the audience for 11 nights of the 19th Dubai International Holy Quran Award.
Initially, 83 contestants registered for the annual contest, but seven were disqualified by the arbitration committee for showing poor performance.
The last session of the competition was held on Saturday when seven contestants performed.
Among the last contestants were Mohammad Ebrahim Kakar from Afghanistan, Sattorov Alizhon from Kyrgyzstan, Russian Murad Rabadanov, Mohammad Shafaan Sulaiman from Maldives, Abdul Rahman Ahmad from Ethiopia, Pakistani Taha Imran and Tareq Anwar Ansari from Nepal.
Ethiopian Abdul Rahman Ahmad was among the more assured performers on the last day with his flowing rendition.
The 19 year old, who is a teacher of Quran in Addis Ababa, seemed pleased with this performance.
“I thank Allah Almighty for granting me the ability to do well. This is my first international competition and I am very happy to be here. Dubai has been really hospitable and warm,” said Ahmad.
Dubai resident Taha Imran, 11, from Pakistan, is one of the youngest participants this year.
Born in Lahore and brought up in Dubai, Imran began memorising the Quran at Imam Abu Hanifa Centre for Quranic Studies Dubai at the age of six and completed it when he was nine years old.
“This is my first competition and I hope to do well. I believe this can be a great platform for me to move ahead in this field,” said Imran, who is aspiring to get enrolled in the prestigious Al Azhar University in Cairo.
The last contestant of the year, Tareq Anwar Ansari from Nepal, reached Dubai fighting against all odds.
The 13 year old from a remote district in Nepal 450km away from the capital Kathmandu is the only son of a farmer, who reached Dubai defeating 19 others in a national competition.
“I just can’t believe I am here to perform on this great stage. It was always my father’s dream that I achieve great success in life. For me coming here to perform at the international stage itself is a great achievement,” said Ansari, who memorised the Quran last year at an Islamic school in the state of Bihar in neighbouring India.
Winners in both the ‘Memorisation’ and ‘Most Beautiful Recitation’ contests will be announced at the concluding ceremony on July 7 to be held at the Cultural and Scientific Association, Al Mamzar.
The winner of the prestigious contest walks away with a cash prize of Dh250,000.
