BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN

WINNERS of the Islamic Da'wah Centre’s 33rd annual Al-Quran Recitation, Memorisation of Short Quranic Verses (Ayat-Ayat Lazim) and Dakwah Songs Singing Competition were named yesterday.

The event was held at the centre's conference hall.

The champions of each categories will be representing Brunei-Muara District at the national level competition to be held by the end of this month. The organiser has yet to confirm a specified date.

Muhd Nabil Hafizzuddin Abdullah Hussin and Siti Nur Afiqah Muhd Asnawi emerged as the champions in the Al-Quran Recitation for male and female categories respectively.

Muhd Haziq Muhd Sanif and Siti Nur Syahirah Muhd Asnawi won in their respective categories for the Memorisation of Short Quranic Verses, while a group of female converts who called themselves “Wardatul Muslimah” claimed the first place for the Dakwah Songs Singing category.

During an interview with The Brunei Times, Muhd Nabil Hafizzuddin who converted to Islam in 2010 attributed his success to his wife and his teachers who kept pushing him to do better in his recitals.

“At home, my wife would join in and recite the Quran together with me; and I am quite motivated too when my teachers told me that I have the potential to give good recitals of the Quran,” he said.

“For others especially new converts, I would suggest them to be closer towards reading the Quran and understanding its contents, because to me, understanding such would guarantee us goodness in this life and hereafter because every knowledge we have is included in it,” he added.

Sharing the same sentiment, Muhd Haziq, the champion of the Memorisation of Short Quranic Verses category, shared that reading the Quran - especially the short verses - would enable one to improve their skills to memorise.

“This is because whenever you read the (verses) and re-check them, you can spot your mistakes and the next time you read them, you will read better, but you should always practice them regularly,” he said.

“Alhamdulillah, I am happy to have won the competition and all the more, my brother had also won the second place in the Al-Quran recitation,” he added.

Speaking of representing Brunei-Muara in the national level competition, Muhd Haziq hoped that it would be a worthwhile experience for him.

In line with the event’s theme, “Al-Quran as the source for safety in life and the hereafter”, the competition aimed at encouraging converts to refer to the Quran and so that they would not stray from the right path.

Acting Director of Islamic Dakwah Centre, Ustazah Hjh Siti Azizah Hj Musa presented cash prizes and certificates to the winners.

The Brunei Times