South Asian Muslims shine at Saudi Arabia’s global Quran competition

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (MNTV) — Muslim contestants from South Asia made a strong showing at one of the world’s largest international Quran competitions in Saudi Arabia, with participants from Bangladesh, Burma, Maldives and Sri Lanka winning nine prizes across the men’s and women’s contests.

Three South Asian contestants topped their respective categories at the 46th King Abdulaziz International Competition for Memorizing, Reciting and Interpreting the Holy Quran, which concluded in Makkah on Aug. 19 after bringing together 334 competitors from 133 countries. 

Bangladesh recorded the largest number of winners from the four South Asian countries, taking four prizes.

Sheikh Muhammad Mahmoud Al-Hassan of Bangladesh placed third in the men’s category for memorization of the entire Quran with Tajweed, the set of rules governing correct pronunciation and Quranic recitation. He received 180,000 Saudi riyals ($48,000).

Another Bangladeshi, Muhammad Zakaria, won the men’s category for memorizing 15 consecutive juz, or sections, of the Quran, receiving 150,000 Saudi riyals ($40,000).

The Quran is divided into 30 roughly equal sections, meaning contestants in this category are required to memorize about half of the scripture in sequence. Saudi competition rules also require proper recitation alongside memorization.

Bangladeshi women also secured two prizes. Musfira bint Mahmoud finished third in the women’s full-Quran memorization with Tajweed category, earning 180,000 Saudi riyals ($48,000), while Rabitah bint Ramadan took third place in the 15-section memorization category and received 130,000 Saudi riyals ($34,700).

Contestants from Burma won three prizes, including two first-place awards.

Thein Gyi Mon won the women’s 15-section (juz) memorization category, earning 150,000 Saudi riyals ($40,000), while Thuria Naung took first place in the men’s 5-section (juz) category and received 65,000 Saudi riyals ($17,300).

The five-section contest requires participants to memorize five consecutive juz, equivalent to roughly one-sixth of the Quran, while maintaining correct recitation. 

Earlier official rules for the international competition describe the category as intended for contestants representing countries outside the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.

A third contestant from Burma, Shine Hteik, finished fifth in the men’s 15-section category, receiving 110,000 Saudi riyals ($29,300).

Sri Lanka’s Muhammad Imdad Ilyas Muhammad placed third in the men’s five-section memorization category and received 55,000 Saudi riyals ($14,700).

Maldives also appeared among the winners, with Fatima Shaya Zahir finishing fourth in the women’s full-Quran memorization with Tajweed category. She received 170,000 Saudi riyals ($45,300).

Together, the nine contestants from Bangladesh, Burma, Maldives and Sri Lanka received 1.19 million Saudi Saudi riyals ($317,300).

The competition was held at Masjid al-Haram, or the Grand Mosque, Islam’s holiest mosque in Mecca, from Aug. 6 to 19.

Its categories range from memorizing portions of the Quran to memorizing the entire scripture with Tajweed, interpretation or mastery of seven established Quranic recitation traditions.

Saudi Arabia’s Islamic Affairs Ministry describes the competition as testing not simply how much contestants have memorized but also the accuracy and quality of their recitation.

Saudi Arabia’s Abdulrahman bin Mukhtar bin Ahmed Muhammad won the top men’s prize for complete memorization using the seven Quranic recitation traditions, while Algeria’s Jumana Shraitiyah won the corresponding women’s competition. Each received 500,000 Saudi riyals ($133,300).

Organizers awarded 10.26 million Saudi riyals ($2.74 million) in prizes this year, the largest prize pool in the competition’s history.