Indian Muslim Welfare Association Organizes Quran Competition

Thursday, February 2, 2023

Indian Muslim Welfare Association held its annual Quran Competition on 6th January 2023 at Al Najat School in Salmiya. Students from countries where Muslims are in minority and studying in different schools in Kuwait were eligible to participate by registering online. To keep the spirits high and to benefit the students even during the pandemic, IMWA gave utmost importance to ministry guidelines regarding safety concerns to conduct these competitions reaching the students in their drawing rooms online, earning a good response from students all over Kuwait.

There were four categories in which participants could select and take part. Each of these categories was further divided into five groups in ascending order comprising students from primary level, middle school level, intermediate level, and high school level.

The four options for disciples were Quran Recitation, Elocution, Quiz, and Calligraphy. This year poster designing based on the theme given was introduced.

Quran Recitation. A large number of girls and boys registered to take part in this competition. Quran recitation is a source of communication with Allah. It refers to the act of reciting verses (ayat) of the Holy Quran out loud whether depending on summoning from memory or direct reading from the book of Allah. The purpose of recitation is to help students learn how to apply the information they've learned in the lecture. The judging criteria are based on, whether a student is reciting with voice, articulation, dramatic appropriateness, evidence of understanding, overall performance accuracy, physical movements, recitations, and supplications are all done to show humility and submission to Allah. Young children studying at the primary level gave a brilliant performance far better than one’s expectations.

Elocution is the art of public speaking that gives a student self-boost and confidence to speak in front of a large audience. It enables children to create a connection with the audience who is listening to them through voice modulation. Elocution should not be confused with speech. Speech is a formal address or a discourse delivered in front of an audience. Elocution refers to the manner of speaking, specifically the skill of clear and expressive speech. The topic is given well in advance for the participants to come well prepared. Candidates are judged on their style of expressing the words through physical movements and gestures while making eye contact with their audience. IMWA conducts these competitions to discover the hidden talents and confidence in the child which can benefit him by being a good orator in the future. Smart children gave a remarkable performance making the judges deeply ponder before deciding the winners.

Islamic Quiz is another interesting competition held by IMWA every year where both students and parents are given an opportunity to participate. Quiz questions are prepared based on topics from Hadees or sayings of the prophet which can help pupils revise without even realizing they are doing it. A quiz is a good way to motivate people, help them remember the content they had studied, and assess what they learned. Pupils can identify and take ownership of their knowledge gaps. It's also a great way to help them to plug the gaps to boost their confidence when it comes to formal testing of Islamic history and teachings of Islam. Quiz questions are set based on the syllabus sent to the participants of each group. The students are given half an hour to answer 50 objective types of questions. The quiz competition is open for participation for students studying in third grade upwards.

Islamic Calligraphy is the most highly regarded and most fundamental element of Islamic art. It is significant that the Quran, the book of God’s revelations to Prophet Mohammed, was transmitted in Arabic, and that inherent within the Arabic script is the potential for developing a variety of ornamental forms. Calligraphy can also be described as a visual art related to writing. It is the design and execution of lettering with a pen, ink brush, or other writing instruments. IMWA conducts this competition annually. During this competition, the students perceive a small verse or a sentence from the holy Quran written in artistic Arabic styles such as naskh, thuluth, muhaqqaq, rayhani, tawqi', and riqa'. The verse or an Arabic sentence is drawn on the board. The students are allotted half an hour to copy that content to the best of their ability for judges to evaluate their performance. The examiners judge the art of writing based on legibility and neatness, font formation and uniformity in fonts, pen strokes and their angle. The best presentations were exhibited during the award conferral to delight the audience.

Islamic Poster-making competition was introduced this year in the form of creating a poster based on a given theme. Students were asked to create a poster at home and present it on the day of the competition. School children put on their thinking caps to express their ideas on cardboard and created beautiful posters that provide visual, colorful, simple ways to communicate events, which took place during the prophet times. The best posters were displayed during the award conferral. Poster competitions that display children's work can reflect the attitudes of much of the community as children between certain ages tend to reflect their parents' ideas.

The results of the competitions were announced on the IMWA website. Special invitations were sent to parents of the prize winners, IMWA members with their families, patrons, presidents and secretaries of other associations, and well-wishers to witness the prize distribution.

The award conferral was held on Friday the 27th of January at Al Najat School. Prominent distinguished guests were invited to grace the occasion along with sponsors of the event - Al Kulaib Company, Al Faysal Bakery, and Al Ain Water Kuwait. The guests and sponsors were honored by presenting mementos and gift hampers. Quran Competition prize winners were awarded certificates along with cash vouchers. The best among the Quran reciters performed on the stage to the delight of the audience and the program concluded with a vote of thanks and the distribution of food boxes to all the invitees. IMWA thanked its sponsors for their kind support in making the event a success.

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