This initiative, which is taking place during Ramadan, aims to encourage both students and parents alike to study and memorise Prophetic hadiths.

Sunday marked the beginning of the five-day long ‘Junior Hadith Scholars’ competition – spearheaded by the Qatar Ministry of Endowments (Awqaf) and Islamic Affairs, in cooperation with the Ministry of Education and Higher Education (MoEHE).

The competition is open to government and private school children of all age groups throughout Qatar. Students will be tested on their memorisation skills of Prophetic Hadith and their ability to recall the narrators.

Hadiths are a compilation of the narrations and actions of Prophet Muhammad that the sahabah – or, the Prophet’s companions, initially developed and transmitted.

In Islam, Hadiths are an important source of religious law and moral guidance for Muslims.

The Hadiths unpack the fundamentals of religion, including belief, Islamic rulings and moral values.

Students will be tested on Imam Al Nawawi’s famous ‘Forty Hadiths’, which cover Islamic manners, restraint from anger, expiation of bad deeds with good deeds, charity, and brotherhood within Islam, among many other topics.

‘Education through example’

The competition is divided into five levels – allowing all students to compete according to their knowledge and ability. All participating schools are responsible for preparing the students and equipping them to be ready to compete.

While the focus of the competition is on Qatar’s students, parents can also take part.

According to the Awqaf Ministry, the competition for parents is divided into two levels. Participating parents can only take part if their child is also a contestant in the ‘Junior Hadith Scholars’ competition.

For Sheikh Khalid bin Mohammed Al Thani, the Director of the General Department of Endowments, parental involvement in this competition will create positive role models among students, through seeing how their parents seek to emulate the model characters of Islam’s revered Prophet.

Sheikh Khalid added that parental participation, especially in an initiative such as this, is the  best means of education through example.

Further, he said that the competition seeks to contribute to preserving the Arabic language among students and strengthen their oratory skills.