DUBAI, 11 October 2006 — With his colorful traditional clothes, big hat and even bigger smile, Ahmed Magomedov looks like any ordinary boy. However, this 11-year-old has been wooing the audience at the Dubai International Holy Qur’an Award competition with his beautiful recitation of the Holy Book.
The fact that Ahmed memorized the whole Qur’an by the age of eight is amazing. Also astonishing is that he cannot speak a word of Arabic. For Muslims, however, what is more heartening is the fact that Ahmed hails from Kyrgyzstan, one of the countries that used to be part of the former Soviet Union. Many Muslims feared that Islam had been eradicated in the Islamic states that were under Communist rule. For them, Ahmed is one of the few but growing numbers of Muslims who it seems will carry the torch of Islam in that part of the world.
Ahmed, along with 81 other participants, is in Dubai to win the honor of being the best hafiz. The participants, 21 years of age or younger, come from every corner of the world to be part of this prestigious event.
The competition, which is offering awards totaling eight million dirhams, celebrates its 10th anniversary this year. An amount of 250,000 dirhams in prize money is available to the winner of the competition, 150,000 dirhams for the person who comes second and 100,000 dirhams for the one who stands third. The prize money reduces gradually as the order of merit travels down the list. Even the contestant who gains the least amount of points will be awarded 20,000 dirhams for participating.
Ahmed’s story of grit and determination to memorize the Holy Book, like many of the other contestants, is inspiring. When he was six, he left his parents and joined a boarding school in Tajikistan run by the Holy Qur’an Memorization International Organization (HQMI), an organization that is part of the Muslim World League (MWL). Ahmed’s father, who is a devout Muslim, had fled persecution in his homeland which borders Kyrgyzstan. He insisted that all his children should learn the Qur’an by heart, as he himself did not get the chance to do that.
Talking through a translator, Ahmed told Arab News, “My father grew up when the Communists were ruling so he did not get the chance to learn much about Islam. However, after the fall of Communism he became a devout Muslim. So he vowed that all of his children will memorize the Qur’an. Alhamdullilah, me and my three elder brothers have achieved that dream.”
It took Ahmed nearly two years to memorize the Qur’an. After he went back home he joined a school that focuses only on secular education, as there are no Islamic schools in Kyrgyzstan. Ahmed recites 10 chapters of the Qur’an every day to ensure it remains fresh in his memory and also devotes time to complete his schoolwork and still has time to play football and gymnastics.
When asked what he wants to become when he grows up, Ahmed despondently answered, “My father barely ekes a living farming a small plot of land. I think I will help him in farming as there are no jobs in my country.”
Another contestant from a country with a Muslim minority is Abdul Rahman Gilo from Guinea Bissau. The 18-year-old was taught the Qur’an in a centuries-old African Muslim tradition. Among West African Muslims knowledge is passed down from parents to child. If the parents are not knowledgeable of the Qur’an and its sciences they then send their children to a learned relative’s house. Abdul Rahman’s parents followed the same tradition.
“My family hails from a village which has no scholars. So they took me when I was six to live with my uncle who has ijaza (permission) to teach the Holy Qur’an.”
Under his uncle’s tutelage, Abdul Rahman was taught the sciences of Tajweed, Hadith and Fiqh in addition to Arabic grammar. “Being able to memorize the Holy Book is the best gift Allah can give to any Muslim. I advise every Muslim parent to make sure that their children memorize the Qur’an at a young age, for the Qur’an elevates a person’s status in life,” said Abdul Rahman.
