RIYADH: The 25th Prince Sultan bin Salman Contest for Memorization of the Holy Qur’an for children with disabilities concluded with 34 winners, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Sunday.

Prince Sultan bin Salman bin Abdul Aziz, who is president of the Disabled Children’s Association, congratulated the winners. 

He said the competition owed its success to the great importance that King Salman attached to the memorization of the Qur’an and the efforts to expand associations and bodies concerned with fostering a sound Islamic upbringing.

He said this came as part of the king’s directives to join the board of directors of the Disabled Children’s Association to take care of this important group.

Prince Sultan explained that the competition had enjoyed a distinguished presence at a local and international level over 25 years, with about 2,600 children taking part. It had started strong with the presence of the late Sheikh Abdul Aziz bin Baz in the first edition, followed by the late Sheikh Mohammed bin Saleh Al-Uthaymeen, with distinguished scholars continuing to take part in the competition’s activities after that.

The competition’s next phase would see great development in light of the achievements made in previous years, he added.

Prince Sultan expressed his appreciation for the efforts of the competition’s organizers, hoping that the celebration next year would have in-person attendance once coronavirus had been eliminated.

The secretary-general of the competition, Abdul Aziz bin Abdulrahman Al-Subaihin, said that this year’s contest received 110 applications to participate. Of these, 86 applicants from the Kingdom, the UAE, and Bahrain were found eligible. 

There were 34 winners this year, 19 of whom were boys.

“All the winners have been honored by the association’s centers across the Kingdom’s regions and governorates,” he added.