Umm Al-Qura University held a celebration ceremony yesterday (Tuesday), at Prince Faisal bin Fahd Hall, in Al-Aziziyyah, for the scholarship students who passed the Quran memorization test. The ceremony was attended by His Excellency Prof. Abdullah bin Omar Bafail, the UQU President, His Eminence Sheikh Dr. Faisal Ghazzawi, the Imam and Preacher of the Grand Mosque and Dean of the College of Dawah and Fundamentals of Religion, His Eminence Sheikh Dr. Yasir Al-Dusari, Imam of the Grand Mosque, His Excellency Dr. Hasan Bukhari, the Dean of the Institute of Arabic Language for Non-Native Speakers, a number of the deans of the colleges and supportive deanships, and faculty members at the university.

In the ceremony, the Nigerian PhD student Saeed Al-Raji expressed his deep appreciation and gratitude for the care and attention extended by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and his Crown Prince to the scholarship students studying in the Saudi Kingdom, lauding their continued support and leading role in serving Islam and Muslims.

Moreover, he highlighted the positive impact of the Quran Memorization Circles on the scholarship students, helping them speak Arabic fluently and graduating excellent memorizers and skilled reciters of the Quran who have mastered the Tajweed and Arabic grammar rules. In these Quran Memorization Circles, the students learn the Qur'an sciences and different modes of recitation, study the interpretation of the Noble Quran, and understand the meaning of its verses. He also noted that such lessons serve as a beacon of knowledge for Muslim students, graduating skilled reciters of the Quran who can have a powerful impact in the Da`wah arena when calling people to goodness and guiding them to the straight path.

During this year, 10 students completed the memorization of the whole Quran, 4 mastered the 7 Mutawatir (with a great number of narrators) modes of recitation, and 16 students passed the test of the Charitable Association for Holy Qur'an Memorization in Makkah Al- Mukarramah with distinction, in both categories of the competition: the whole Quran, and half of the Quran.

On his part, His Excellency Prof. Abdullah bin Omar Bafail, the UQU President, lauded the commendable efforts exerted by the scholarship students, and their dedication to learning the Qur'an and acquiring religious knowledge. He highlighted the cabinet's decision, which stressed the importance of taking good care of the scholarship students, qualifying them on the academic, spiritual, educational and professional levels. During the ceremony, His Excellency honored the distinguished students who completed the memorization of all the Quran, and the Quran teachers for the lauded efforts they exerted to graduate a Qur'anic generation of young Muslims who have mastered the recitation of the Qur'an and can skillfully ponder on its meanings.