JEDDAH: Abdullah Basfar, secretary-general of the International Qur’an Memorization Organization (IQMO), has urged Muslims to practice the teachings of Islam in their daily life to deserve the title of the best nation brought forth for mankind.
“Reading the Holy Qur’an in the correct way and understanding the meaning of its verses are very important for Muslims in order to follow the divine message,” Basfar said, urging the public to put greater efforts to learn the holy book.
He was delivering the keynote speech during a ceremony that was held at the conference hall of the World Assembly of Muslim Youth (WAMY) to honor top scorers of the annual examination conducted by the Qur’an Study Center in Jeddah.
“The best among you is the one who learn and teach the Qur’an,” Basfar said quoting a saying of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). He also praised expatriate workers in the Kingdom for making use of their spare time to learn the holy book.
He criticized those Muslims who do not make any effort to learn the holy book. “Learning the Qur’an may be difficult for some, but not impossible. People master English and computer science despite the difficulties in learning them. So, we should make more effort to learn the Qur’an and its message for our success in this world and the hereafter,” said Basfar, who is a prominent Qur’an reciter and scholar.
Basfar described Qur’an learning centers as gardens (Rauda) of Paradise. “Recitation and memorization of the Qur’an is the first step to understand and practice the Qur’an,” he said, calling on Muslims to read the holy book carefully without making mistakes in pronunciation.
Shaheeda, Shafeena and Shabana Shamsuddin (first rank winners in three levels), Sareena, Maryam Imtiaz, Shamina Saleem and Shabana, who won the second rank, received certificates and prizes from Basfar’s wife.
Jamal Alwaye, supervisor of QSC, presided over the function, and Jamal Muhammad, a Qur’an researcher, spoke on environment and development in Qur’anic perspective. Siraj Kollam, coordinator, welcomed the guests.
