Holy Quran competition may be expanded

The local Dubai Holy Quran Award is studying ways to expand the competition into a Holy Quran Research Division, according to Ibrahim Bu Melha, Dubai Attorney-General and Chairman of the award.

The new division would be divided into three categories: 10 chapters of the Holy Quran, 20 chapters and the entire scripture. He said: "For example, young men and women will be asked to write about the story of each Sura (chapter) if they are in a particular category. They will also have to know where the Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) was when the Sura was revealed to him by God."

The local competition closed yesterday and the prize ceremonies will be held on Thursday for men and on Friday for women. The authorities are also looking to expand the Dubai International Holy Quran Award, Bu Melha said. In this award, scholars will have an opportunity to compete in researching the Holy Quran and jurisprudence.

The two proposed expansions aim at encouraging Islamic and Holy Quranic research, Bu Melha said. For the local competition, authorities are trying to coordinate with Dubai TV so that children with good voices can recite the Azan and prayers on the air.

The award is also working to qualify UAE nationals to become members of the judging committee. Khalifah Al Tunaiji, a young national, is on the judging committee of the local competition. He was sent by the award to Saudi Arabia for three months where his recitation and reading techniques were developed under the supervision of a prominent scholar, he said.

Meanwhile, memorising the Holy Quran has helped young participants to excel at school, some contestants say. Seven-year-old Eman Taha Mohammed Ali Shaheen is in grade 2 at a Fujairah public school. Her father, a preacher, started teaching her when she was six years old and she memorised the entire Holy Quran in two years.

Eman, who came fourth in the Sharjah competition last Ramadan, is taking part in this competition in the whole Holy Quran category. Her mother, a schoolteacher, said that Eman and her five-year-old brother have exceptional memorising abilities. Her son has memorised 20 chapters.

Zaid Jamal Saeed, 10, is in grade 4 in Al Ahnaf school in Abu Dhabi. "I do not feel exhausted after memorising verses from the Holy Quran, and the time I spend doing this does not clash with the time needed to study," he says. "On the contrary, I feel more motivated to study after finishing the recitation."

Although he has finished memorising the entire Holy Quran, he is taking part in the 20-chapter category. "I took part in last year's competition in the 10-chapter category. I came third and was awarded Dh8,500 which I gave to my father," said Zaid, who was complimented by the judges after his recitation.

His father, an Arabic language teacher, started teaching him the Holy Quran when he was four years old and then sent him to a centre where he was taught by a preacher. "I used to sit for three hours a day memorising and reciting what I had memorised. I finished memorising the whole Holy Quran in four years," he said.

Hibatullah Abdul Radhi Ahmad, 11, is in grade 6 and is a top pupil in her school in Sharjah. She says that her parents started her on memorising the Holy Quran when she was four years old.

She memorised for two hours a day. This has helped her to grow determined even in her schoolwork, and she can sit for hours doing homework and studying.