Indian Muslim Welfare Association organized its annual Quran Competition on the 18th of October 2019. The event was held at Al Najat Boys’ School, Salmiya. The occasion was open to international students from countries where Muslims are in minority. The participants comprising of boys and girls from standard three to class twelve were classified into four segments. Over 400 enthusiastic students were tested for their Islamic knowledge in the fields of Quran Recitation, Elocution, Quiz, and Calligraphy.
Quran Recitation translated Qira'at refers to variants in the recitation of the Quran. There are ten different recognized schools of qira'at, each one deriving its name from a noted Quran recitator. The recitator also known as Qari reads or recites from his memory the melodic passages from the holy Quran on a single tone level. Quran recitation has developed to be a discipline. Young Children are trained at Madrasas to pronounce every word clearly and correctly and undergo various exams before they become Qaris .IMWA conducts Quran recitation with an aim to discover the hidden talents embedded in young generation.
Elocution was selected by IMWA to be one of the segments for Quran Competition because it inspires correct usage of grammar, vocabulary, style of speech.
Participating in elocution imbues a child with confidence as he develops an apt form of expressions and voice modulations when it comes to public speaking. Elocution was judged based on the manner of speaking, specifically the skill of clear and expressive speech
Quiz reinvents the education system and gives students a break from traditional classroom learning. IMWA chose to have a written quiz to test the Islamic knowledge of participants. Quiz competition was open to parents who shared the question paper along with senior group students. The quiz was based on the book “When the Moon Split”, a manuscript written by eminent Islamic scholars referring to Islamic history.
Calligraphy the fourth segment of the Quran Competition is the art of forming beautiful symbols by hand and arranging them well. An opportunity is given to participants by IMWA to test their skills and techniques for positioning and inscribing words that show integrity, harmony, rhythm and creative fire. IMWA had anticipated that the art of calligraphy enhances creativity in young minds, who with great skills patience and accuracy would give their best in scripting these artistic letters in Arabic.
While the children were full of activity in their respective classrooms with the judges and invigilators their parents were given the opportunity to attend a lecture delivered by Sh. Ahmed Al Rumh in the auditorium. He spoke on the topic - “Importance of knowledge in Islam”. The speaker emphasized seeking wisdom which is not a product of schooling but a lifelong attempt to keep away from ignorance.” Parents who gathered in large numbers were impressed to be educated on a topic which most of them were ignorant about. After the speech they delightfully appreciated the IMWA organizers efforts in holding such informative program which benefitted one and all.
Parents and participating children were treated with sumptuous breakfast during the morning session followed by delicious lunch in the afternoon session.