Two Qatari representatives will be competing in the entire memorisation of the Quran and 15 juz memorisation categories.
Qatar’s department of the Holy Quran and Quran Sciences, a subdivision of the Ministry of Endowments and Islamic Affairs (Awqaf), is competing in the 44th edition of the King Abdulaziz International Competition for the Memorisation, Recitation and Interpretation of the Holy Quran.
The Qatari delegation of contestants is led by Masoud Jarallah Masoud Bushareeda.
The contestants representing Qatar include Omar Mubarak Al Marri, who is entered in the memorisation of the entire Quran category.
Meanwhile, Abdulallah Turki Al Turki Al Subaie is entered in the 15 juz memorisation category.
Aside from 114 chapters, the Quran is also subdivided into 30 near equal parts. These subdivisions are referred to as juz, or ajzaa, which means part and parts respectively.
Both contestants’ entries are from nominations by the Qatari Quran Sciences division of the Department of Da’wah and Religious Guidance within the Awqaf ministry.
The competition began on August 8 with the arrival of the contestants in Makkah.
This was followed by preliminary qualifying rounds on August 9 then final rounds starting on August 10.
As part of the competition, the foreign delegations will also be treated to various Islamic museum and exhibition excursions in Makkah and neighbouring Madina – two of the holiest sites in Islam.
The competition will finish with a closing ceremony on August 21 at the Makkah Grand Mosque.
For Qatar’s Awqaf, participation in initiatives, such as the King Abdulaziz competition, is part of efforts to underscore the Gulf state’s commitment to upholding the Quran and encouraging young people to memorise and reflect on it.
Categories and prize money
At this year’s edition of the competition, at least 166 contestants from 117 countries worldwide are taking part.
Other than the two categories Al Marri and Al Subaie are competing in, other categories include memorising the Quran with interpretations as well as memorising the Quran with correct recitation and intonation.
The last category in this year’s competition is the memorisation of five juz with correct recitation and intonation for participants of non-member states of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation.
The judging criteria covers memorisation, performance, intonation, knowledge and interpretation.
In the memorisation portion of the competition, judges may deduct points for errors.
Contestants can also lose points for serious pronunciation mistakes, such as mis-reciting vowels or consonants.
Each contestant will be awarded a 5,000 Saudi Riyal cash prize, approximately $1,333.26, for their participation.
However, the top performers in the full Quran memorisation category, in which Qatar’s Al Marri is participating, will be awarded 500,000 Saudi Riyals, equivalent to approximately $133,326.22.
The second and third place winners will receive 450,000 Saudi Riyals and 400,000 Saudi Riyals respectively, which translate to around $119,993.60 and $106,660.98.
In the memorisation of the 15 juz category, which Qatar’s Al Subaie is competing in, at stake is 150,000 Saudi Riyal, approximately $39,997.87, first place.
The second and third place winners will receive 140,000 Saudi Riyals and 130,000 Saudi Riyals respectively, which are approximately $37,331.34 and $34,664.82. Unlike the entire Quran memorisation category, this one also includes cash prizes for fourth and fifth place winners.
