Quran competition champion started memorising verses at 10

Dubai: His teacher's wooden stick helped a 21-year-old Libyan earn the highest and most prestigious award in memorising the Quran.

The Libyan contestant won first place at the 15th edition of the Dubai International Holy Quran Award (DIHQA) and was honoured at a ceremony held on Saturday evening at the Cultural and Scientific Association in Al Mamzar.

Khalid Mohammad Salem Al Qandous emerged as the best among 90 entrants.

Gulf News spoke to Al Qandous, who hails from the Libyan town of Misrata.

Al Qandous started memorising the Quran since he was 10 and completed the process when he was 18.

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"I started memorising with one page per day, then moved to two pages and finally two-and-a-half pages."

Mistakes

Al Qandous laughed as he recalled how his teacher, Shaikh Abdul Hafaidh Al Rukba, used a wooden stick to punish him when he committed mistakes in reciting the Quran. He started memorising the Quran at a Masjid (mosque) and learnt the Quran by heart on the guidance of his teacher.

"November 10, 2008, was the day when I completed memorising the Holy Quran," Al Qandous said.

He said from morning till afternoon he used to be in school, and after coming back from school he went to the Masjid for three hours to memorise the Quran.

"I spent three hours daily in memorising the holy Quran" Al Qandous said.

He praised the efforts of his teacher in helping him memorise the Quran.

"I want to give a special thanks to my Shaikh for this award," Al Qandous said.

Al Qandous had earlier participated in two competitions. He topped a local competition in Libya in 2010 and placed sixth in another competition in Saudi Arabia in 2010.

Influence

Talking about the effect of the holy book on him, Al Qandous said the Quran has influenced his life and changed it for better.

"Memorising the Quran has helped me behave well and respect others," he said, wishing to someday become a teacher of Quran recitation and explanation."

Al Qandous said he is getting ready to complete his university studies and he will start studying the explanation (tafseer) of the Quran.

He said an important thing that greatly aids the process of memorising Quran is to understand the meaning of the ayat (verses) one is memorising, and know how they are linked to each other.

"Thus I should know the meaning of each ayat and should read the tafseer of the ayat," Al Qandous said

He thanked the committee and the organisers of DIHQA for their efforts.

"DIHQA is making a great impression among Muslims," Al Qandous said

He advised Muslim parents to continuously encourage their children in memorising the Quran, adding that he wouldn't have achieved what he has achieved without his family's support.

"The youth need constant encouragement and support from their parents. They have to build their confidence to memorise the Quran.

"I also hope for our youth to abandon all their differences and what is dividing them as Muslims, and unite to become a strong Islamic nation.

Al Qandous said he was thankful to the Libyan National Transitional Council and Misrata Council for choosing him to participate in the award despite the current instability in Libya.

Commenting on the current Libyan conflict, Al Qandous called on all Libyans to be patient as victory will come soon.

"I cannot live outside of Libya. Libya is my homeland and part of my heart," he said.

Profile

Khalid Mohammad Salem Al Qandous was born on September 14, 1990, in Misrata town of Libya. He is the eldest among his siblings. He has two brothers and five sisters.

As the first place winner of DIHQA competition, he received Dh250,000.