His Excellency the Minister: Jeddah University Competition for the Glorious Qur’an Encourages the Spirit of Contest to Sense the Status of this Glorious Book

His Excellency the Minister, the General Supervisor of the Charitable Associations for the Memorization of the Glorious Qur’an in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Shaikh Dr. Abdullatif bin Abdulaziz Al Ashaikh, praised the attention and care for the Book of Allah and its Memorizers by the government of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud, and His Highness the Crown Prince, May Allah preserve them. For example, the Kingdom adopted various competitions to enhance the spirit of contest, as it is fully aware of the status of this Noble Book. He stressed that these Qur’anic competitions have become a prominent landmark in various state institutions to instill honorable contest among young people to memorize and care for the Book of Allah. This statement by His Excellency came on the occasion of launching the Jeddah University Competition for the Glorious Qur’an for male and female students in Jeddah Province, in its 11th session on Sunday 8/6/1441 AH, sponsored by His Royal Highness Prince Mishaal bin Majid bin Abdulaziz, Governor of Jeddah. He explained that holding this competition is an extension of the approach adopted by the leaders of the Kingdom and their care for the Glorious Qur’an and its people, especially in the educational institutions, as they are fertile environment to care for male and female students, in order to upgrade their Scholarly and educational level, and direct them to memorize, recite, ponder on and act upon the Book of Allah. His Excellency indicated that the Kingdom’ s care for the Glorious Qur’an is inherent in this blessed country, since its foundation by the late King Abdulaziz, until this prosperous era, the era of the Custodian of The Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud. Currently, the Kingdom is adopting many approaches, including teaching and memorizing the Qur’an through Qur’an Memorization Associations spreading across the Kingdom’s regions, cities, governorates and centers which amount to 202 associations. The number of male and female who completed memorizing the whole Qur’an is 11426. He also indicated that the numbers of memorization study circles in the Mosques, prisons, social guidance houses, etc. are 23559 for males and 18939 for females. In addition, the number of male students therein is 364452, while the number of female students is 484802. Additionally, the Kingdom took care of the Musḥaf by establishing the world's largest printing house in Madinah, which is supervised by the Ministry, and which is a leading example in serving the Glorious Qur’an, Praise to Allah, in terms of printing and publishing it across the world. His excellency appreciated the care by His Highness the Governor of Jeddah for this competition, which lasted over a decade, with the participation of various universities and colleges. Moreover, His Excellency praised the efforts made by the University in organizing this competition and celebrating, honoring and appreciating the memorizers of the Book of Allah duly. In conclusion, His Excellency invited the community to participate in this blessed competition, and to direct the energies of male and female students towards the Glorious Qur’an, in accordance with the saying of the Messenger (PBUH): “The best amongst you is the one who learns the Qur'an and teaches it."