Mohammed bin Rashid honors the most beautiful Quranic voices of the year 2026 as part of the Dubai International Holy Quran Award
Dubai, 3 March / WAM / His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, may God protect him, this evening, honored the winners of the most beautiful Quranic voice of the year 2026, as part of the 28th session of the Dubai International Holy Quran Award.
This came during his reception, in the presence of His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman of the Dubai Civil Aviation Authority and Supreme President and CEO of Emirates Airline and Group, His Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, President of the National Olympic Committee, His Highness Sheikh Majid bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, and His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, to the finalists in the Dubai International Holy Quran Award, at the Umm Suqeim Council in Dubai.
His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum praised the high level demonstrated by the competitors in the twenty-eighth session of the Dubai International Holy Quran Award.
His Highness said: “Today we honored an elite group of the people of the Holy Qur’an… The blessing of this blessed month is complete with glorifying the Book of God… and celebrating these Qur’anic talents who are considered ambassadors of peace, love, and the values of goodness and tolerance… We believe that honoring the people of the Qur’an is honoring the status of knowledge and virtue, and serving the Book of God will remain the highest thing we are honored by.”
During the meeting, which was characterized by its atmosphere of faith, shaded by reverence and tranquility, everyone listened to fragrant recitations from the voices of the contestants who reached the final qualifying stage in the male and female categories. The male category included Abdullah Faisal Al-Butti from the State of Kuwait, Karar Laith Saad from the Republic of Iraq, and Omar Ali Awad from the Arab Republic of Egypt, while the female category included Aisha Al-Rumi from the Republic of Indonesia, and Jana Ihab Muhammad. Ramadan from the Arab Republic of Egypt, and Sarah Abdel Karim Al-Hallaq from the Syrian Arab Republic.
His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum honored the first winner of the most beautiful Quranic voice of the year 2026 in the male category, Karar Laith Saad from the Republic of Iraq, with a prize of one million dollars, and the first winner of the most beautiful Quranic voice of the year 2026 in the female category, Jana Ihab Muhammad Ramadan from the Arab Republic of Egypt, with a prize of one million dollars.
His Highness also honored the contestants from the two categories who reached the final qualifying stage, where Omar Ali Awad, from the Arab Republic of Egypt, won second place, while Abdullah Faisal Al-Bati from the State of Kuwait won third place, Aisha Al-Rumi from the Republic of Indonesia won second place, and Sarah Abdul Karim Al-Hallaq, from the Syrian Arab Republic, won third place.
The first winner from the male and female categories for the most beautiful Qur’anic voice for the year 2026 was chosen within the 28th session of the Dubai International Holy Quran Award, by opening the door to public voting for the six finalists who reached the final stage.
Development vision
His Excellency Ahmed Darwish Al Muhairi, Director-General of the Department of Islamic Affairs and Charitable Activities in Dubai and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Dubai International Holy Quran Award, said: “The award, under the guidance and visions of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, may God protect him, embodies the commitment of the Emirate of Dubai to consolidating its position as a leading global center in serving the Book of God and its sciences.”
His Excellency pointed out that the developmental vision of the current session of the award and the qualitative additions it included contributed to expanding international participation and motivating new generations to devote themselves to learning the Holy Qur’an with mastery and distinction, thus enhancing the award’s message of preparing ambassadors for the values of peace, tolerance and love from people of the Qur’an around the world.
He pointed out that the record participation of distinguished voices confirms that the Dubai International Holy Quran Award translates the efforts of the Emirate of Dubai at the international level in inspiring young people and connecting them to the Holy Quran to adhere to its tolerant values and teachings, and encourage them to compete in memorizing and reciting it by honoring them, and honoring those interested in its sciences, whether scholars or institutions who have provided great services to the Book of God.
His Excellency Ahmed Al Muhairi congratulated the winners and praised the excellence they demonstrated in mastering recitation and good performance, wishing them continued success and success in their journey with the Book of God, and that they be a role model and source of inspiration for their peers in various countries of the world.
The Dubai International Holy Qur’an Award had announced the selection of the late reciter Sheikh Mahmoud Khalil Al-Hosary, may God have mercy on him, the sheikh of all Egyptian reciters and the former head of the Committee for Correction of the Qur’an, the international Qur’anic figure, with a value of one million dollars, in recognition of his historical status as an imam of reciters and in recognition of the path that his Eminence granted to the service of the Book of God, as he was the first to authenticate the recited Qur’an in audio in the world, in order to preserve the Book of God and preserve the originals. He recited with unparalleled precision and mastery, as his voice became a school for generations and a guiding beacon for everyone who wanted to recite the Qur’an.
During its 28th session, the Dubai International Holy Quran Award witnessed intense competition between competitors from various countries of the world after it worked, through its new development vision, to expand the door to international participation, to achieve a major leap in the number of participants. The award received 5,618 applications for participation from 105 countries, 30% of which were in the female award category. Registration applications included entries from Arab and Islamic countries and Islamic communities in the United States, Canada, Russia, and countries from various continents.
During the first evaluation stage, all applications of male and female applicants to participate in the award and their recorded recitations were subjected to evaluation, based on the provisions of intonation and good performance, and according to accurate and fair mechanisms, controls and standards, as the award selected 525 participants, including 373 in the male branch, and 152 in the female branch, to move to the second judging stage.
The second judging stage represented an important stage of competition, as judging was conducted via direct visual communication between the contestants and the judging committee, to evaluate the most beautiful Qur’anic voice of the year 2026, mastery of the rules of intonation, and good performance, according to precise and equal controls and standards from a judging committee that includes an elite group of proficient and licensed scholars in the sciences of the Holy Qur’an who have extensive experience in judging international competitions. At the conclusion of the second stage, the six contestants were selected to move to the final stage.
The Dubai International Qur’an Award had launched a new development vision with unprecedented qualitative additions in its 28th session, to establish a double position at the global level and a more influential role in serving the Book of God, its sciences, and its good recitation. At the forefront of its qualitative additions was the big jump in the value of the total rewards for the award to more than 12 million dirhams, so that the value of the prize for the first place winner in the male branch was one million dollars and the value of the first place winner in the female branch was one million dollars, as well as raising the value of the International Qur’anic Personality Award. To a million dollars.
This new development vision, which came under the directives and great support of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, may God protect him, constituted a strategic shift through which Dubai strengthens its influential efforts at the international level in stimulating distinguished talents in the field of mastering the recitation of the Holy Qur’an, this field which is considered one of the most prestigious fields of science and knowledge, as raising the value of the awards to this size, which makes them the largest in the world, is considered to raise competition to unprecedented levels, and places the interest of young people and their families. And the institutions based on teaching them the Qur’an, achieving the highest levels of mastery, are on new paths of seriousness and diligence.
In addition to increasing the value of the awards, participation was opened for females for the first time through a special category for them. The new session also witnessed the expansion of the circle of international participation, the modernization of nomination, judging and evaluation mechanisms, and the opportunity to participate through direct personal nomination, in addition to the usual nomination from the participant’s own country or by an accredited Islamic center in accordance with the approved conditions, which opens the door to more talents from various parts of the world, and contributes to consolidating the leadership of the award at the global level.
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