Bangladeshi boy is the
 most beautiful reciter

The competition, a branch of the Dubai International Holy Quran Award, saw the participation of memorisers from Bangladesh, Cameron, UAE, Netherlands, Egypt, Uganda, Yemen, Afghanistan, Niger, Bahrain, Tajikistan, France, and Indonesia.

Ibrahim Bu Melha, Chairman of the award organising committee, and Adviser to the Ruler of Dubai for Cultural and Humanitarian Affairs, said, however, only five of these contestants won in the competition.

“Apart from Rumman who came first, Yemeni Ebrahim Saeed came second, Egyptian Mohammed Ashraf was third, Indonesian Ulul Amri Jaenudin came fourth, and Afghan Ahmad Harir secured the fifth position.”

These were chosen in view of certain performance standards, spanning the tune, purity, and enchanting impact of the competitor’s voice, along with the observation of the set recitation rules ‘Tajweed’, proper articulation, and techniques of stops and pauses, he added.

The winners were awarded with special prizes of Dh5,000, Dh4,000, Dh2,000, Dh2,000, and Dh1,000. “The third and fourth contestants, scoring the same marks, got the same prize of Dh2,000,” Bu Melha said.

The five toppers of the ‘Most Beautiful Recitation’ contest, along with the top ten of the main Quran memorisation competition, and the Islamic Personality of the year are to be honoured in the concluding ceremony to be held on Monday (July29).

Bu Melha explained that the 18-day Dubai International Holy Quran Award — July 10-27 — saw a rich cultural programme of 22 lectures in Arabic, Bengali, Malayalam, and Tamil, apart from a tough Quran memorisation competition with competitors from 80 countries.

“The Dh1 million Islamic Personality prize is to be granted to renowned Indian scholar Dr Zakir Naik.” Grand Imam of Al Azhar Dr Sheikh Ahmed Al Tayyeb was first named for the prize, but he was replaced by Dr Naik due to the Imam’s inability to travel as a result of Egypt’s worsening security situation.

The 11-category award, which seeks to serve the Holy Quran and promote the general standard of the Quranic performance, had contacted over 160 countries to participate in the competition which is held under the patronage of His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.

“Big prizes up to Dh950,000 await the top ten Quran memorisers: the first will be awarded Dh250,000 while the second is given Dh200,000, and the third Dh150,000. Winners from the fourth to the tenth will be gifted Dh65,000 --— Dh5,000 less each.”

The rest of the participants shall be awarded as per their performance; bonus of Dh30,000 to each of those scoring 80 per cent and above, Dh25,000 to whoever scored 70 to 79 per cent, and Dh20,000 to memorisers with below 70 per cent records.

The function saw the presence of Shaikh Majid bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairman of the Dubai Culture and Arts Authority, other dignitaries and senior officials.

ahmedshaaban@khaleejtimes.com