MAKKAH, 15 September 2007 — Ten outstanding students who memorized the Holy Qur’an will be honored during a ceremony to be held on the terrace of the Grand Mosque after Taraweeh prayers today. Makkah Gov. Prince Khaled Al-Faisal will attend the event, organized by the Charitable Society for Memorization of the Holy Qur’an in Makkah.
Main sponsors of the society as well as a number of its teachers who have completed 25 years of service will also be honored during the function, according to Abdullah ibn Muhammad ibn Obaid, chairman of the society.
As many as 2,468 students of the society, including 975 who memorized the whole Qur’an, attended examinations this year, Obaid said, adding that more than 2,000 of them passed the exams supervised by a special committee.
The society was established 40 years ago. “It is the mother of all other Qur’an memorization societies that were established later in different parts of the country,” said Nawaf ibn Abdul Mutalib Al-Ghalib, deputy chairman of the society.
“In fact, the society in Makkah has been opening similar societies in other cities and sending money to meet their expenses,” he added.
The society takes care of Qur’an studies in Makkah and surrounding areas by providing classes for both boys and girls. It also supervises the Al-Arqam Institute for Training Qur’an Teachers at the Grand Mosque. “More than 70,000 students have so far graduated from the society’s schools,” Ghalib said.
The deputy chairman said the society’s budget was running surplus for the last five years, which points to the organization’s financial stability and good management.
“The board of directors has been trying to increase the society’s revenues and cut unnecessary expenditures. We also utilize the society’s real estate assets in the right manner,” he said. The society has buildings and endowment properties that were donated more than 30 years ago.
“We want to depend on our own financial resources, rather than donations, to meet our expenditures,” he added.
