Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak Int’l Holy Quran Competition, 3rd edition, starts
Dubai – UAE
Sallam Sallam
The Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak International Holy Quran Competition, 3rd edition, started on Sunday, November 4, at the Scientific and Cultural Association at Al Mamzar area, Dubai
The milestone event is annually held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai
The first day saw the presence of Ibrahim Mohamed Bu Melha, Adviser to the Ruler of Dubai for Cultural and Humanitarian Affairs and Head of DIHQA Organising Committee, members of the Organizing Committee, officials of the Scientific and Cultural Association, sponsors of the competition, memorisers and their assistants, mass media, and a large audience
Sheikh Abdel Fattah Tarouti, Egypt, Member of the arbitration committee, started the activities of the first day by reciting some verses from the holy Quran in spiritually uplifted the audience
Ahmed Al Zahid, Head of the Media Unit and Member of the Organizing Committee, welcomed all participants who flocked to Dubai from all over the Arab and Islamic world
“The Dubai International Holy Quran Award spares no effort to lift up the bar, and score outstanding records in terms of Quranic competitions worldwide”
The third edition of the Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak International Holy Quran Competition is to see stiff competition from all contestants who wish to get high scores and rank up high, he added
“The preliminary scores of the arbitration committees showed that the performance of all contestants is exceptional and far beyond expectation”
The competition, one of the largest Quran competitions for females in the world, is seeing more contestants year after year, he underscored, wishing participants all the best, and a good stay in the UAE. “We are so grateful for all the local and international media for covering and broadcasting the activities of the competition”
The competition is being telecast live through the DIHQA channel and Noor Dubai satellite channel in coordination with the Dubai Media Inc, he stated. “The Emirates Telecommunications Corporation (Etisalat) has added the Dubai International Holy Quran Award Sat. channel to the list of channels available on its e-Life service, while the Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company (du) is telecasting the competition activities via satellite”
The arbitration committee includes Prof. Dr. Salem bin Garmallah Al-Zahrani, Saudi Arabia, Dr. Mohamed Fahad Kharouf, Syria, Sheikh Ali Hassan Al Ali, UAE, Sheikh Abdulfattah Al Tarouti, Egypt, Sheikh Sadiq Mohammed Abdullah from, and Sheikh Tahir Idris Al-Naim, Nigeria
In his speech, Prof. Dr. Salem bin Garmallah Al-Zahrani, Saudi Arabia, paid tributes to the tireless efforts of the organising committee of the Dubai International Holy Quran Award that has been founded by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai
“The competition has been named after H.H Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak in recognition of her white hands worldwide. She has supported and sponsored so many charitable, social and humanitarian activities around the globe, giving special attention to Quran memorisers in every nook and corner”
The arbitration committee uses an updated electronic program that helps calculate the scores of all contestants accurately and impartially, he pointed out. “The performance of contestants is extensively judged, with special consideration to their voice, command of recitation rules, mainly how to start and end reading a verse of the Quran,” he said, noting that top 10 winners will be honoured at the end of the competition
“The first day of the competition (Sunday) saw six contestants including Maryam Samiyah Ismail, Cameroon, Zainab Ali Hasan, Iraq, Fatima Parker, South Africa, Alhassan Rawiah Murad, Saudi Arabia, Nidah Salim Mamarungcas, Philippines, and Jihad Barkoui, Belgium”
Bilal Al-Badour, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Scientific and Cultural Association at Al Mamzar area, Dubai, said the Dubai International Holy Quran Award, one of the most important international awards and initiatives, has been instructed by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai
“This outstanding competition sheds light on the role of holy Quran in purifying the souls of memorisers who long wished to chip in this magnificent 22-year-old global award”
The Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak International Holy Quran Competition gives special attention to full Quran female memorisers who are aspired to be pious mothers in the future, he added
“The holy Quran is actually a bridge to a bright future for memorisers as it protects them against all evils, boost their standard Arabic language, and correct their thoughts and attitudes”
The third edition of the competition is seeing a big development in terms of the number of participants who hit 67 this year. “It is an honour to participate in a competitions that holds the name of the ‘Mother of the Nation’ H.H Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak”
The sessions of the first day of the competition came to a close with the distribution of several cash prizes presented by the Organizing Committee to the audience as per a raffle draw
Interviews with contestants
Maryam Samiyah Ismail, Cameroon, was one of the aspirant contestants who took the stage in public on the first day of the competition
Ismail, who was accompanied by her elder sister, speaks French fluently and few Arabic words
“I have come all the way from Cameron to proudly represent my country in this prestigious competition which attracts hundreds of competent full Quran memorisers from around the globe”
The Grade-4 student has learnt the Quran by heart at the Imam Nafia Al Madani School back home. “I learnt French and Arabic languages there”
Though Ismail has six brothers and sisters, she was the only one as of yet who managed to memorise the Quran in full. “My teacher was a great help for me in this regard,” she said, extending her sincere wishes to the organising committee for running this competition
“Such Quran competitions help Quran memorisers refresh whatever they have learnt and realize their dreams,” she said, wishing to win the Dh250,000 top prize to help her parents and support those who wish to complete their studies, and memorise the Quran in full
19-year-old, Zainab Ali Hasan, Iraq, was accompanied by her mother to Dubai. The aspirant memoriser, despite her visual impairment, did not lose hope, and memorized the Quran in full
“It was not actually an easy job, considering my visual impairment, and lack of Quran study centres, but I managed to do it with the help of Almighty Allah”
A small cell phone was a great help for Hasan in her journey with the holy Quran. “I also listened to the Quran recordings available on the internet for renowned Quran readers, such as Sheikh Abu Bakr Al-Shatri”
This way Hasan completed her memorization of the Holy Quran. “It was only when my family moved to Kurdistan at the age of 17 that a special Quran centre to master my memorization and prefect my recitation”
Having far excelled all local competitors back home, Hasan has been nominated for participation in this international competition. “There is no excuse, and anyone can learn the Quran by heart disregard all challenges and hardships”
13-year-old contestants, Fatima Parker of South Africa, is the youngest participant in the third edition of the competition this year. Though it was hard for her to speak Arabic, but she was happily smiling all the time
“This is my first participation in an international Quran competition,” she said. “I started memorising the Quran at the age of seven and finished when I was 12 with the help of my family”
Parker is the only one in her small family who has had the honour of memorising the Quran in full. “My elder brother is too slow in memorising the Quran, but he will hopefully finish it one day”
“My parents are the key word in my journey with the holy Quran which has made me closer to Almighty Allah”
