His Excellency Prof. Abdullah Bafail, President of Umm Al-Qura University,( sponsors the Arabic Language and Artificial Intelligence Exhibition and the accompanying events, which will be launched next Sunday and will last a period of five days. This exhibition, which is the first of its kind at university level, will be held in the King Abdulaziz Hall at the university’s campus in Al-Abdiyyah. The events will be launched in the presence of the UQU Vice President for Female Student Affairs, Dr. Sarah Al-Khuli, on the occasion of the World Arabic Language Day 2019.

The organizer, the College of Arabic Language and Literature, has set three time periods for attending the exhibition: two time periods for men, the first being from 9 a.m. until Dhuhr prayer and the second being after Maghrib prayer until 9 p.m. As for the time allocated for women, it is from 2 p.m. until Maghrib prayer.

This exhibition comes at a time when the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia provides unlimited support for the Arabic language at various spatial and temporal levels. The great efforts it has contributed were instrumental in issuing a historic decision by the United Nations General Assembly to adopt Arabic as an official language among the working languages of the United Nations, as of December, 1973.

In this regard, the University Vice President for Student Affairs, Dr. Sarah Al-Khuli, posed a question about why the Arabic language celebrates its World Day. She answered her question saying, "The Arabic language is a global language with hidden meanings and eternal characteristics. It is unique in its terse expressions and its marvelous metaphors. The person who attaches himself to it will reach excellence. The person who studies it in depth will be an erudite scholar."

She added, “On the Arabic Language and Artificial Intelligence Day, the extraordinary effort to digitize Arabic is highlighted. The brains of those exerting such efforts are distinguished for comprehending the greatness of this language; this is because of its unique characteristics, which earned it a place on the forefront. Artificial intelligence is reaching its limits to fathom this language."

About the importance of holding the exhibition, the Vice Dean of the College of Arabic Language and Literature, Dr. Hasah Al-Rashud, uncovered the lofty goals of the exhibition, upheld with the great support from the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdul-Aziz, and his Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman (may Allah protect them), as well as the wise government. She continued to say, "Umm Al-Qura University, represented by the College of Arabic Language, is keen to pay attention to the language of the Holy Quran in many fields, including the celebration of the World Arabic Language Day that is held every year, and the establishment of this exhibition during the current year as an extension of the aspects of care and concern for the language of the Qur’an."

During her talk, Dr. Al-Rashud highlighted the utmost care for the Arabic language by the Ministry of Education as well as the Emirate of Makkah Province, the great support from His Excellency the President of Umm Al-Qura University, Prof. Abdullah Bafail, and the careful follow-up from the Dean of the College of Arabic Language and Literature, Dr. Yusuf Al-Sulami. She continued, "The organization of the exhibition represents the fulfillment of some of the rights of the Arabic language that Allah granted us; He sent His last Book in this language to this Ummah as a guide and a light. I pray to Allah for Him to accept this deed and make it purely for His sake, and to make it beneficial to the Arabic language and its people."

The Vice Dean of the Arabic Language and Literature referred to the participation of several parties in the exhibition, including King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz International Center for Arabic Language, the College of Computers and Information Systems, Wadi Makkah for Technology, Makkah Literary Cultural Club, the Institute of Arabic Language for Non-Native Speakers, the Arabic Language Academy on the internet, and the Joint First Year College, as well as other parties.

It is worth mentioning that the celebration of the Arabic language is scheduled to take place on the 18th of December every year, given that the decision of the General Assembly to officially adopt the Arabic language as one of the working languages of the United Nations was issued on that day.