MAKKAH: Minister of Islamic Affairs Sheikh Abdullatif Al-Alsheikh inaugurated on Saturday the final rounds of the 46th King Abdulaziz International Competition for Memorizing, Reciting and Interpreting the Holy Qur’an at the Grand Mosque in Makkah.
Held under the patronage of King Salman, the event features 334 participants — 202 male and 132 female — from 133 countries.
In a video conference address, Al-Alsheikh said that the leadership’s patronage reflected Saudi Arabia’s dedication to the Holy Qur’an. He noted that the ministry had expanded the competition over the past eight years, increasing the number of winners from 12 to 50 and raising total prizes to SR10,260,000 ($2,730,000).
Following the address, judging committees began evaluating recitations across five categories, with the event attended by prominent scholars, imams and delegation heads and receiving extensive global media coverage.
Contestants are competing in five categories: Memorizing the entire Holy Qur’an according to seven recitations; memorizing the entire Holy Qur’an along with interpreting its vocabulary; memorizing the entire Holy Qur’an; memorizing 15 consecutive parts; and memorizing five consecutive parts.
