“There is no objective higher than the learning of Qur’an,” he said, adding that the memorizers of the holy book are among the most honored near God.
Prince Khaled made this comment while addressing a ceremony at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Sunday night, which was held to honor 25 winners of the King Abdul Aziz International Qur’an Recitation and Memorization Contest.
“The Qur’an is the guide to success in this life and the hereafter,” Prince Khaled said. “It’s the divine constitution for the whole humanity.”
He said King Abdul Aziz established the Kingdom, which reached the peak of its progress during the rule of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah, on the basis of the Qur’an and Sunnah.
As many as 188 contestants from 64 countries took part in the annual competition, which was held inside the Grand Mosque in Makkah. Islamic Affairs Minister Saleh Al-Asheikh opened the event on Dec. 26 and highlighted Qur'an’s role in unifying the Ummah.
Abdullah bin Abdul Mohsen Al-Qurafi was the top winner who received SR75,000 in cash prize in addition to a certificate. Ishaque Saeed Wakau won the second place (SR72,000), Yasin Bujumua third (SR69,000), Muhammad Ali Muhammad Ali fourth (SR66,000) and Abdul Rahman Samaela fifth (SR63,000).
The Ministry of Islamic Affairs has allocated SR888,000 in cash prizes to the winners. Other major winners were Ainul Arifin Rafiqul Islam (SR55,000), Ammar bin Salahuddin Buqes (SR52,000), Muhammad Bakr Yousuf (SR49,000), Ahmed Shahbun (SR46,000), Wisal Yazji (SR43,000) and Abdul Rahman Hussein (SR40,000).
Winners also included Omar Al-Shoalan (SR37,000), Ibrahim Al-Sanusi (SR34,000), Abdul Rahman Muhammad (SR31,000), Erfan Abdul Rasheed (SR28,000), Adel Al-Rimi (SR25,000), Badr Alam (SR22,000), Ahmed Mushfiqul Rahman (SR19,000), Sabir Al-Zaaibi (SR16,000), Najmuddin Al-Mirghani (SR13,000), Zuwain Anwar Yousuf (SR10,000), Shaka Shadza Makris (SR8,000), Amanullah Muhammad (SR6,000), Muhammad Shadba (SR5,000) and Talha Nadat (SR4,000).
