The Ghana branch of the Mohammed VI Foundation for African Oulema held its 5th edition of the Qur'an recitation competition in Accra.

The competition aimed to nurture and motivate African Muslim youth to develop the habit of learning and reading the Qur'an as well as a guide to shaping their lives on earth.

The competition was in three categories, which included memorization of the full Qur'an in the conventional Hafs style of recitation, memorization of the full Qur'an in the Warsh style of recitation, and proficiency in the traditional Moroccan style of memorizing five thematic parts of the Qur'an known as Ahzaab in a variety of styles of recitation.

At the end of the competition, Abdul Hanan Mohammed Amin, Sulaiman Dawud Tindawee, and Salih Uthman Hassan placed first, second, and third, respectively, in the Hafs recitation category.

In the Warsh category, Mohammed Auwal Yaqub emerged first, with Abdul Lateef Yaqub and Mahmoud Mohammed coming in second and third, respectively.

In the Khams Ahzaab category, Muhibbah Mohammed Khamis topped, beating Muhammad Amin Saleem Saeed and Abdul Sabur Mohammed to the second and third positions, respectively.

The winner in each of the three categories will represent Ghana at the Africa Grand Final.

In his address, the President of the Ghana branch of the foundation, Sheikh Mustapha Ibrahim, advised Arabic teachers to ensure that they monitor their students, especially those with Qur'an memorization, in order to take the learning and reading of the Holy Quran seriously.

According to him, the Warsh recitation is one of the challenges most students encounter, and therefore the Ghana branch of the foundation will ensure that it encourages and motivates the Muslim youth to become attracted to the Warsh recitation.

He added that the people of Morocco are more familiar with the Warsh recitation, hence the need to encourage Ghanaian Muslim youth.

He revealed that this year's competition was more successful compared to last year due to additional measures put in place and assured that next year will be the best.

He stated that the next competition will be at regional levels, and the finals will be held in Accra.