Visually-Impaired Man Makes It to Quran Competition Semi-Finals
Gharbi Younes Gharbi has qualified for the semi-finals, beating out over 40,000 candidates from 80 nations across the world, thanks to his ability to apply the provisions of Tajweed, respect maqams, and use sound pitches in their appropriate place.
Tajweed is a set of rules governing the proper pronunciation of the Quran during recitation, while maqam means the system of melodic modes in reciting the Quran.
Gharbi memorized the Quran by hearing and repetition at the age of eleven with the help of his father, Mustapha Gharbi, who is also blind.
The father is a well-known Quran reciter in Morocco, where he is referred to as Sheikh of reciters.
Younes Gharbi's early exposure to the Quran enabled him to become a strong competitor in Quranic competitions.
He was the first contestant to qualify for the semi-finals in this year’s Quran recital category.
Gharbi won against the Yemini reciter Osama Abu Zeid, who is one of the most well-known Quran recitation contestants.
Abu Zeid was born in Medina, Saudi Arabia, and was a student of the Imam of the Prophet’s Mosque Sheikh Ibrahim al-Akhdar.
The finals will include eight contestants, four in the category of Quran recitation and four others in the category of Adhan.
Otr Elkalam offers the competition winners a prize estimated at MAD 31.3 million ($3.2 million), making it the highest of its kind in the history of competitions of this nature.
The first-place winner in reciting the Holy Quran will receive MAD 12.7 million ($1.3 million), while the first-place winner in performing Adhan will receive MAD 5.2 million ($533,000).
The other six contestants will share the remainder of the prize money.
The competition was organized in 2019 by Saudi Arabia's General Entertainment Authority (GEA) to showcase the best reciters and encourage recitation and memorization of the Quran.
Otr Elkalam, which is broadcast during Ramadan, is the first competition to include both Quran recitation and Adhan.
Source: Morocco World News
