Contestants in Quranic Events Ought to Be Familiar with Lahn

Lebanese Quran reciter Abdul Rahman Abdul Qader Ewaz made the remark in an interview with IQNA, urging that courses on Lahn be held on the sidelines of such contests.

Ewaz, who has represented Lebanon in international Quran competitions in Iran, Jordan, Malaysia, Egypt and Morocco, said Quran contests are influential events at the personal and social level, adding that these competitions greatly help to promote the Quranic culture in society.

He said Quranic contests spread a magnificent spiritual atmosphere in society and shows the Muslim Ummah’s solidarity and unity.

Ewaz added that these competitions also help Quran memorizers and reciters to improve their Quranic skills and knowledge.

He said the contenders in these Quranic events feel being present in a great international spiritual gathering that features the Holy Quran.

He noted that inviting internationally-known Quran reciters as well as clerics, scholars, and religious preachers could help to elevate the spiritual level of these contests.

The Lebanese Quran reciter pointed to the characteristics required for those selected to serve as jury members of Quran competitions, saying that jury members should have mastery over their special field and be familiar with other fields as well, just like a Faqih who has mastery over Fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) and is also familiar with other religious sciences and the Arabic language.

Asked about the best international Quran competition in the world, he said, “I have not attended all international Quran contests, but I took part in many of them including those in Iran, Jordan, Egypt and Malaysia. To me, it seems that Malaysia’s International Quran Competition is superior to others in terms of organization and background.”

He said when he attended Malaysia’s Quran contest in 2007 as representative of Lebanon, he was surprised at how well-organized the event was.

According to Ewaz, Iran’s international Quran completion is also one of the bets in the world in terms of organization and its spiritual atmosphere.

Asked about his view on creation of an international body supervised by an international Islamic organization to select jury members for international Quran competition, the Lebanese Quran activist said the problems in judgments are not because of weakness of the jury members but actually they originate from the way policy-making is done in these competitions.

As for the best season for organizing international Quran competitions, he said summer is the best time as schools and universities are closed and Quran memorizers and reciters have the time to take part in the contests.

Elsewhere in his remarks, Abdul Rahman Abdul Qader Ewaz underscored the role of international Quran competitions in promoting Islamic unity and said these contests are first and foremost an invitation to unity in the Muslim world because they are attended by Muslims from different sects and schools of thought.

Born in 1981, Abdul Rahman Abdul Qader Ewaz is a Quran reciter and memorizer who has represented his country in several international Quran competitions in different countries including Egypt (2005), Jordan (2006), Malaysia (2007), and the Islamic Republic of Iran (2011).

He is scheduled to represent Lebanon in Morocco’s International Quran Competition this year.

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