TEHRAN – The 40th edition of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s International Qur’an Competition wrapped up on Wednesday as winners were awarded.
The closing ceremony of the international competition was held at the Tehran Summit Hall with the participation of contestants, organizers, and top Iranian officials, including President Ebrahim Raisi.
The panel of arbiters named Iran’s Hadi Esfidani as the winner of the men’s recitation category. Mustafa Branun from Thailand and Mustafa Ali from the Netherlands stood next.
In the men’s Tarteel recitation category, the top prize went to Muhammad Poursina from Iran while Bilal al-Shaikh Khalid from Syria and Muhammad Mahdi Ezzeddin from Lebanon ranked next.
In the men’s memorization category, Omidreza Rahimi from Iran won the first rank. Burhaneddin Rahimov from Russia and Khuzaifa Quraishi from Algeria were awarded as the next two top ranks.
In the women’s category of Qur’an memorization, Roya Fazaeli from Iran was awarded the top prize. Maimonah Badeqi from Nigeria and Nouria Jurian Erqa from Indonesia stood next.
Iran’s Adeleh Sheikhi was named the top winner in the women’s category of Tarteel recitation. Atiqeh Sahimi from Singapore and Doa al-Saeed from Iraq ranked next.
The prestigious competition began on Thursday and attracted Qur’an enthusiasts from around the world.
Representatives from more than 110 countries registered for Iran’s 40th International Qur’an Competition, but only 69 contestants from 40 countries made it to the final round after a rigorous screening process.
The annual event, organized by the Awqaf and Charity Affairs Organization, aims to promote the Qur’anic culture and values among Muslims and showcase the talents of Qur’an reciters and memorizers.
The representative of Saudi Arabia in the competition hailed the quality of the event.
“I found this competition full of spirituality,” Abdul Qadir bin Marwan Saqaa told IQNA on the sidelines of the competition.
“Putting efforts to learn, recite and memorize the Holy Qur’an shows how much we value God’s words and how much this sacred book means to us as young people and all Muslims,” he said.
Talking about the key role of the Qur’an in finding the right path, he recited verse 9 of Surah Al-Isra which reads: “This Qur’an shows the way to that which is the most upright and gives to the righteous believers the glad news of a great reward.”
The Saudi memorizer added, “When we show how much we care about this Quran as Muslims, other people respect it more because the Quran helps us live in the best way.”
He also praised the high level and quality of contestants and the competition in general.
Saudi Arabia had sent a representative to the Iranian contest for the first time. On Saturday, Saudi Ambassador to Tehran Abdullah bin Saud al-Anzi visited the venue of the competitions and saw the performance of his country’s representative.
A prominent Qur’an expert from Bangladesh underscored the need for taking recourse to the Holy Qur’an in order for new Islamic civilization making.
“All of us must resort to the Qur’an and follow its teachings,” Ahmed bin Yusuf al-Azhari, who was a member of the panel of judges, told IQNA in an interview.
“We should teach the Qur’an to kids from an early age and begin familiarizing the society with the Islamic culture from schools,” he added.
“That is how we can essentially make the future society Islamic and establish the new Qur’anic and Islamic civilization.”
Al-Azhari serves as the chairman of the Quran Recitation Society known as IQRA international Institute.