Under the patronage of King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, and on his behalf, Prince Faisal bin Bandar bin Abdulaziz, Governor of Riyadh Province, yesterday (Friday) evening awarded the winners of the regional competition of the King Salman bin Abdulaziz Prize for Memorization, Recitation and Interpretation of the Holy Quran “For Boys”. The 27th session, the implementation of which will be supervised by the Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Calls and Guidance.
Arriving at the ceremony, the Riyadh regional leaders were greeted by the Minister of Islamic Affairs, Convocation and Guidance, Dr. Abdul Latif bin Abdulaziz Al Sheikh, General Director of the Games, and Yousef bin Abdullah Al Banyan, Minister of Education.
In his speech, the Riyadh Regional Governor expressed his great pride and pride in receiving this blessed award, which bears the name of King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, for his efforts in memorizing, reciting and interpreting the Holy Quran. He congratulated the winning contestants and wished them continued success in serving the Book of God and serving the nation under the direction of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and the trusted Crown Prince.
The ceremony began with the recitation of a verse from the Quran, followed by one of the contestants. The Minister of Islamic Affairs, Calling and Guidance then gave a speech in which he thanked the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and the Crown Prince for their continued support to the Book of God and its people, and thanked the Emir of the Riyadh Region for his respect for the closing ceremony and his continued support for the Holy Quran and everything that is useful to its people.
Minister Al Sheikh emphasized that the competition is a national project with a strong impact, going beyond the concept of competition in memorization and memorization mastery and establishing the Holy Quran as a way of life in the souls of young people and instilling its values in their actions and morals. He explained that the continuation of the competition and the widening circle of participants every year reflects the great care the wise leaders have for God’s scriptures and his people, and their zeal to raise up a generation, may God bless them, who will be enlightened by the guidance of the Qur’an and proud of their religion, uninfluenced by ideology. He avoids deviant and strange paths and adheres to the values of the middle path and moderation.
Al-Sheikh said that the development and excellence that this competition has achieved in its results, and the great influence it has had on maximizing the status of the Holy Quran among the people, is due to the grace of God, as a result of the generous and continuous support from the sponsor and founder of this competition, His Highness King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, and as a result of the follow-up and attention of the Crown Prince, which contributed to the spread of the competition. Evaluation at local and international level.
Mr. Al Sheikh added that this session saw a wide participation from different regions of the Kingdom, with (more than 3,600) male and female contestants taking part in the preliminary round, of which (129) male and female contestants qualified for the final round, with a total prize pool of 7 million riyals and male and female winners being crowned, and we look forward to them becoming a guiding light and a good example in their communities.
Al-Sheikh congratulated the male and female winners and called on them to continue their connection with the Qur’an in recitation, meditation and deed, making it their means of word and deed, and asked God to protect the kingdom and perpetuate its security and blessings of faith.
Afterwards, the Riyadh Regional Heads and the audience heard examples of the contestants’ recitations and also watched a visual presentation in which the progress of the local awards was reviewed, including the most important information and statistics related to the current session, in light of the generous support and care they have received from their wise leaders.
At the end of the ceremony, Prince Faisal bin Bandar honored the judges and the winners of the competition’s six categories, who were awarded prizes of over 7 million riyals in addition to medals for excellence. At this time, they received souvenirs and took commemorative photos with the winners of each category.
The ceremony was attended by a number of the kingdom’s princes, officials, and the president of the Holy Quran Memorization Society, in addition to the parents of the competitors and people interested in the Quran.
