Riyadh Gov. Prince Faisal bin Bandar. (SPA)

Riyadh Gov. Prince Faisal bin Bandar honored winners at the 18th edition of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman Local Competition for Holy Qur’an Memorization and Interpretation in Riyadh on Wednesday night.

Addressing the large audience of scholars, the prince lauded the great efforts of King Salman in the service and support of Islam, the Holy Qur’an and the Sunnah.

“Serving the Holy Qur’an and everyone who takes care of it is a major characteristic of this Kingdom.

The founding of King Fahd Qur’an Printing Complex is a clear example of this,” he said.

Speaking to reporters at the end of the event, the prince ruled out the possibility of limiting (decreasing) the number of Holy Qur’an memorization sessions in the Kingdom, stressing that the country will continue to support these sessions because they are in the right path, and its graduates are the ones who will carry the flag of the Holy Qur’an on every occasion and situation.

“The Holy Qur’an is the most sacred blessing on us as nation of Islam … we must thank Allah that we are living in a blessed Kingdom that has implemented the rules of Shariah since it was founded by King Abdulaziz,” he pointed out.

Minister of Islamic Affairs Sheikh Saleh Al-Asheikh lauded King Salman for his continuous support to the Holy Qur’an and its memorizers, citing this competition as a good example of this.

“This is natural because the Holy Qur’an and blessed Sunnah are the constitution of the country. We are very thankful to King Salman for patronizing the competition,” he said.

“We are very proud of the 113 youngsters who participated in the competition, of whom 60 were male and 53 female. They have now become more competent and confident in [their] participation in the international Qur’an memorization contest with the help of Allah,” he added.

Prince Faisal awarded male winners their prizes, while girls were awarded their prizes a day earlier by Princess Nauf bint Sultan on behalf of the patron of the female winners’ ceremony, Princess Latifa bint Abdulaziz.

Cash prizes totaling SR600,000 were awarded to the winners in five different categories: memorization of the Holy Qur’an fully with knowledge of recitation and interpretation; memorization with knowledge of recitation; memorization of 20 chapters with recitation; memorization of 10 chapters with recitation; and memorization of five chapters with recitation.

Also, each of the 111 participants was given SR2,000 as a stipend in addition to provision of accommodation, meals and transportation.

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