ISLAMABAD: Qur’an reciters from over 40 countries are taking part in the first ever International Qirat Competition organized by Pakistan, which is underway in its capital city Islamabad. 

The five-day International Qirat Competition (IQC-2025) features over 40 Qur’an reciters from the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) member countries, who are sharing the stage to recite passages from the holy book. 

The judges’ panel comprises three international and five Pakistani jurors. One reciter from Pakistan is also participating in the competition. 

“I am very happy to be in Pakistan. I enjoy reading the Qur’an,” Mamaddu Adamah Bah, a reciter from Guinea, told Arab News on Tuesday. 

Hamza Muaz, a Qur’an reciter From Bahrain, shared that he had started memorizing the Qur’an with his father as a child. 

“I learnt while listening to the great reciters such as Sheikh Al-Minshawi and Sheikh Abdulbaset Al-Samad,” Muaz said, referencing the names of famous Qur’an reciters from Egypt. 

Abdul Rasheed Abdul Razzaq, a Qur’an reciter from Pakistan, noted that this was the first time a global competition of such a nature was being organized in Pakistan. 

“Today, we are seeing foreign Qur’an reciters in Pakistan,” Razzaq said. “Just like we go to foreign countries and represent our country there, similarly, we are seeing representatives from other countries in Pakistan.”

The jurors will evaluate the Qur’an reciters’ performances on tajweed, which refers to application of the rules of reciting the holy book, melody, rhythm and the spiritual impact of their deliveries.

The grand prize distribution ceremony will take place on Nov. 29 at the Jinnah Convention Center in Islamabad, where the winners will be bestowed with awards. State-level dignitaries are expected to preside over the concluding session.

In his speech at the opening of the competition, Pakistan’s Religious Affairs Minister Sardar Muhammad Yousaf hoped the event would help promote Arabic language in Pakistan.

“This will bring success in this world and the Hereafter,” Yousaf said on Monday. “Arabic is the language of the Qur’an, and it is essential for all of us to learn it so that we can read, understand, and act upon the Holy Qur’an.”