The first national Qur’an competition was held in the Islamic Centre of England, London. This competition was specifically geared towards young children and teenagers living in the UK.
The first round of this competition was held under the title of the Qur’anic lifestyle. The winners were awarded a certificates of appreciation, trophies and other exquisite prizes
This Qur’an competition was held in the last days of the month of Sha’ban with the cooperation and participation of 14 Islamic and educational institutions in the UK. A total of 370 competitors participated, whereby teenagers were divided into two age groups of 5 to 9 years and 10 to 15 years. The competition consisted of five categories namely, Recitation of Quran – Tartil(Proper order of recitation) and Tahqiq(Melodious Recitation), Memorization, Qur`anic Concepts and Drawing.
In the final part of the competition. 35 persons were selected in the disciplines of Recitation (both Tartil and Tahqiq) and Memorization, 14 from Painting and Qur’anic concepts.
They were given prizes based on their placement ranging from first place to third place, the closing ceremony for distribution of these prizes was held at the Islamic Centre of England.
The preliminary stage of this competition was held in person as well as online for competitors from other cities. The selected participants then moved on to the final stage.
In the painting and Qur’anic concepts section of this competition, 30 verses from the verses of the Holy Qur’an were selected based on living a Qur’anic lifestyle, and for each of these verses, a poster, one-minute motion graphic, a three-minute commentary for children and teenagers were produced.
All of these materials were provided to the young participants and they were asked to participate in an online contest based on these verses, as well as answer questions about the concepts provided. They were also asked to create a drawing based on their understanding of these verses. The drawings
received will then be broadcasted in the form of a video clip displaying the name of the participant.
Mehdi Muzaffar, a teenager who attained first place in the reading and memorization section of the competition said that he learnt the basics of the Holy Qur’an from the age of seven with his father, who also encouraged him to memorize the verses. The young Englishman considered memorizing and recitation the Holy Qur’an as a great experience and
added: “I am very pleased that by God’s grace, I was able to achieve such success with the Qur’an.” He also advised all teenagers to make the words of Allah (S) an example in their lives by learning and reading the Holy Book.
13-year-old Fatimah Al-Jamalan, the other selected teenager in the section of Recitation, painting and Quranic concepts relayed that her parents were her first source of encouragement in becoming attached to the Holy Qur’an and said, “By participating in this competition, she gained a new experience that strengthened her love for this book even more.”
