Record registrations for Dubai Holy Quran Award

The Dubai International Holy Quran Award has announced that registration for its 28th international edition, set for 2026, has seen a record turnout within just three weeks of its launch.

This follows the qualitative additions approved by the Award’s Board of Trustees as part of its new development vision.

Ahmed Darwish Al Muhairi, Director-General of the Islamic Affairs and Charitable Activities Department in Dubai and Chairman of the Award’s Board of Trustees, revealed that the total number of applicants has exceeded 3,400 Quran memorisers from 85 countries worldwide — affirming the Award’s strong reputation and the eagerness to participate.

He noted that this figure, a significant increase compared to previous editions, reflects the Award’s vision to expand global participation and broaden its activities and international reach.

For the first time, the Award has opened participation to females through a dedicated category and has allowed direct individual nominations, alongside the usual nominations by the participant’s country or an accredited Islamic centre.

He affirmed that, by the grace of Allah Almighty and with the patronage and support of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, the Dubai International Holy Quran Award will continue to reinforce its status as the largest and most prestigious award honouring Quran memorisers.

This reaffirms the pioneering role of Dubai in serving the Holy Book of Allah and strengthens its position as a global centre for celebrating Quran memorisers from around the world.

Ibrahim Jassim Al Mansouri, Acting Director of the Dubai International Holy Quran Award, stated that the Award will begin reviewing and approving submissions from Quran memorisers, after which the evaluation stages will begin. The first stage involves recording a three-minute video recitation from any part of the Holy Quran, with suitable quality and without sound effects. Initial evaluation will be based on tajweed rules and the quality of performance.

In the second stage, remote testing will be conducted for those who qualify, with evaluation based on memorisation, tajweed, and performance.

In the third stage, a group of top contestants who achieved the highest scores in the second stage will be hosted in person in Dubai for live testing.

The first-place winner will be honoured at the closing ceremony, in both the male and female categories.

He confirmed that the judging committee of the Dubai International Holy Quran Award is selected by the Award’s Board of Trustees according to strict criteria to ensure fairness in evaluation and competition.

The committee evaluates contestants based on defined standards and mechanisms for memorisation, tajweed and performance.

The Dubai International Holy Quran Award has announced a new development vision for its 28th edition in the year (1447 AH – 2026 AD), aiming to make it more distinguished and impactful.

This reaffirms Dubai’s leading role in serving the Holy Quran and consolidates its position as a global centre for celebrating Quran memorisers from around the world.

The new edition features qualitative additions that enhance the Award’s journey, now in its 28th year. The total prize value for the Dubai International Holy Quran Award has been increased to more than Dhs12 million.

The first-place winner in both the male and female categories will receive one million US dollars, and the prize for the Islamic Personality of the Year category has also been raised to one million US dollars.

Among the key additions in this edition is the inclusion of a dedicated category for female Quran memorisers, raising the total number of award categories to three: full Quran memorisation for males, full Quran memorisation for females, and the Islamic Personality of the Year award.

The new edition also permits participation through direct individual nomination, in addition to nominations via an accredited Islamic centre or official entities worldwide.

The development vision further includes expanding international participation, updating nomination, judging, and evaluation mechanisms, and introducing other initiatives aimed at elevating the level of memorisation and performance among contestants.

WAM